25th anniversary celebrations

The BBC radio show called 'The Phantom Phenomenon' with Don Black as the narrator/interviewer (he's already mucked up the pronunciation of Leroux's novel) is underway right now for anyone online who wants to listen: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/

They're playing a lot from the RAH album...I don't really like it. It doesn't have the haunting quality of the OLC...in fact the sound is rather rough.

ALW's already come on air to dismiss the whole thing as a "load of hokum" and "rubbish". Maybe his unfavourable view of the story is why he thought he could get away with such a ridiculous story for LND.

Interestingly, they seem to ignore completely ALW's more recent adamant assertions that he never wrote the show for Sarah Brightman, saying on the contrary that he did.

Don't worry if you've missed it, it'll be on the Listen Again feature not long after the original broadcast.

I've seen a couple of people pointing this out over at the official FB site:

Apparently the Blu-Ray and DVD cover credits the original staging of Hal "ince". I'm thinking some serious re-printing is happening as we speak... So the original UK release might end up as a collectors item?

It's also been confirmed that the Blu-Ray is region free, unlike the DVD. So those who live outside the UK and cannot wait (AND have a Blu-Ray player) can buy the UK version now instead of wait until February.

operafantomet wrote:I've seen a couple of people pointing this out over at the official FB site:

Apparently the Blu-Ray and DVD cover credits the original staging of Hal "ince". I'm thinking some serious re-printing is happening as we speak... So the original UK release might end up as a collectors item?

I noticed that yesterday after I'd watched it, I better take great care of it in case it ever becomes valuable

I also saw the Eiffel Tower but I didn't know when it was built and I probably wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't read about here. I never noticed Ramin carrying Sierra though, will have to pay more attention next time I watch it.

I really thoroughly enjoyed it, just as much as I did at the cinema, it was nice to see the action close up and I think they did a good job with the make up, when I sat near the stage once at Her Majesty's I was a bit disappointed that I could see that JOJ had wigs on lol. I would have liked the documentary to have been a bit longer, think it was less than 30 minutes, it was very interesting though.

Apart from the trailer for LND ha ha ha I love it (at least it lets you skip to the main menu).

FINALLY!!!

Phantom wins "Best Long Running West End Show" for the production at Her Majesty's Theatre, and "Best Theatrical Event of the Year" for the Royal Albert Hall concert. The latter also won for "Best Theatrical Venue".

YAY!!!

Link to all the winners:
http://broadwayworld.com/article/2011-BWW-UK-Award-Winners-Announced-ROCK-OF-AGES-GHOST-WIZARD-and-PHANTOM-All-Win-20111205_page1

http://blog.musicaltheatrenews.com/2011/12/ramin-karimloo-john-owen-jones-simon.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fwckr+%28Musical+Theatre+News%29

Not sure this is the right thread, but I guess ^this^ has to do with the show's 25th anniversary anyway.

Miss von Krolock wrote:http://blog.musicaltheatrenews.com/2011/12/ramin-karimloo-john-owen-jones-simon.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2Fwckr+%28Musical+Theatre+News%29

Not sure this is the right thread, but I guess ^this^ has to do with the show's 25th anniversary anyway.

I want to see it! You don't get to see Earl on TV too often

Some pictures here if you scroll down:

Link

That candelabra intrigues me. It can't be nicked from her majesty's. Either its from the RAH lair truck, or better, from the new UK tour. If they project the candelabras on the tour, I think I will die inside...!
OG

thephanfullerton wrote:That candelabra intrigues me. It can't be nicked from her majesty's. Either its from the RAH lair truck, or better, from the new UK tour. If they project the candelabras on the tour, I think I will die inside...!
OG

Remember they have a solid lot from the previous UK tour as well. They could have nicked it from there.

operafantomet wrote:

thephanfullerton wrote:That candelabra intrigues me. It can't be nicked from her majesty's. Either its from the RAH lair truck, or better, from the new UK tour. If they project the candelabras on the tour, I think I will die inside...!
OG

Remember they have a solid lot from the previous UK tour as well. They could have nicked it from there.

Fair point
OG

So Nicole Scherzinger is ALW's latest... muse? I hope there will be clips of this on Youtube... Am not expecting much from her, but I'm curious about her performance (the dress makes me cringe though...). And JOJ, Ramin and Earl sharing the stage

Thought I'd throw this up here. Ad for the 25th DVD/Blu Ray from Sunday's Australian paper The Age:

Speaking of ads, YOU CANNOT ESCAPE adverts plastered everywhere in London for the RAH DVD and CD. Cameron has gone to town on this. Almost every Tube station I use, if not literally every Underground station, has at least a couple of these on the walls:



Ironically, this is being publicised and pimped FAR FAR FAR more than the 2004 film. They're not even selling the latter at HM's any more, I don't think. I never saw so many ads for the film back in the day. I'm not even sure Paint Never Dries was publicised as much as this. It seems to be working, though -- the DVD and the CD tend to be found in the 'bestsellers' sections of various shops.

I just really, really, really hope that the existence of these does not preclude a filming, one day, of the brilliant original. With the designs as they're supposed to be. And the direction of Hal Prince, rather than a wannabe (sorry, Mr Connor, but you let me down).

I haven't bought either the DVD or the CD yet, but for those who have the latter, is it true the sound quality is really, really bad? Apparently Nigel Wright et al f***ed up with a really rushed job, if the reviews on Amazon are anything to go by.

EDIT: Just saw those pics of the Royal Variety Performance. I didn't watch it, maybe I will later. What did Scherzinger attempt to sing? And why is ALW using what looks like a crutch? Is he in good health?

Scorp wrote:Speaking of ads, YOU CANNOT ESCAPE adverts plastered everywhere in London for the RAH DVD and CD. Cameron has gone to town on this. Almost every Tube station I use, if not literally every Underground station, has at least a couple of these on the walls:


Ironically, this is being publicised and pimped FAR FAR FAR more than the 2004 film. They're not even selling the latter at HM's any more, I don't think. I never saw so many ads for the film back in the day. I'm not even sure Paint Never Dries was publicised as much as this. It seems to be working, though -- the DVD and the CD tend to be found in the 'bestsellers' sections of various shops.

I just really, really, really hope that the existence of these does not preclude a filming, one day, of the brilliant original. With the designs as they're supposed to be. And the direction of Hal Prince, rather than a wannabe (sorry, Mr Connor, but you let me down).

I haven't bought either the DVD or the CD yet, but for those who have the latter, is it true the sound quality is really, really bad? Apparently Nigel Wright et al f***ed up with a really rushed job, if the reviews on Amazon are anything to go by.

EDIT: Just saw those pics of the Royal Variety Performance. I didn't watch it, maybe I will later. What did Scherzinger attempt to sing? And why is ALW using what looks like a crutch? Is he in good health?

My main gripe with the sound quality of the DVD and CD is that Ramin's voice has been autotuned and edited a ridiculous amount. The actual placement of his voice has been lowered, which sounds ridiculous. The worst example is the entire "you alone can make my song take flight" from the Final Lair, which just sounds artificial. In particular the final note has been edited to remove the nasal quality that was present in the live broadcast. There are also points in which the video and audio tracks don't match, such in STYDI where another version of "damn you" has been inserted and the end of it isn't even in tune. As far as I can tell Sierra's vocals haven't been 'attacked' nearly as much as Ramin's have.
A note on the editing: the title song has been edited to 'hide' the use of the doubles, which I found hilarious.

Lycanthrope wrote:

Scorp wrote:Speaking of ads, YOU CANNOT ESCAPE adverts plastered everywhere in London for the RAH DVD and CD. Cameron has gone to town on this. Almost every Tube station I use, if not literally every Underground station, has at least a couple of these on the walls:


Ironically, this is being publicised and pimped FAR FAR FAR more than the 2004 film. They're not even selling the latter at HM's any more, I don't think. I never saw so many ads for the film back in the day. I'm not even sure Paint Never Dries was publicised as much as this. It seems to be working, though -- the DVD and the CD tend to be found in the 'bestsellers' sections of various shops.

I just really, really, really hope that the existence of these does not preclude a filming, one day, of the brilliant original. With the designs as they're supposed to be. And the direction of Hal Prince, rather than a wannabe (sorry, Mr Connor, but you let me down).

I haven't bought either the DVD or the CD yet, but for those who have the latter, is it true the sound quality is really, really bad? Apparently Nigel Wright et al f***ed up with a really rushed job, if the reviews on Amazon are anything to go by.

EDIT: Just saw those pics of the Royal Variety Performance. I didn't watch it, maybe I will later. What did Scherzinger attempt to sing? And why is ALW using what looks like a crutch? Is he in good health?

My main gripe with the sound quality of the DVD and CD is that Ramin's voice has been autotuned and edited a ridiculous amount. The actual placement of his voice has been lowered, which sounds ridiculous. The worst example is the entire "you alone can make my song take flight" from the Final Lair, which just sounds artificial. In particular the final note has been edited to remove the nasal quality that was present in the live broadcast. There are also points in which the video and audio tracks don't match, such in STYDI where another version of "damn you" has been inserted and the end of it isn't even in tune. As far as I can tell Sierra's vocals haven't been 'attacked' nearly as much as Ramin's have.
A note on the editing: the title song has been edited to 'hide' the use of the doubles, which I found hilarious.

WTF?!

Don't want to have to autotune the recording to death? Then don't cast someone who sings off-pitch so much. Just sayin'.


Send all hatemail to omguhater@ilovemediocrity.com


EDIT: Dear God. I just listened to bits of the recording on Spotify. What the hell is going on here? I didn't notice it live, but some of these orchestrations are ridiculous. ALW thought it would be clever to put an ACOUSTIC guitar, like in the movie, into the Phantom's verse in the title song. Whyyyyyy?! This is beyond 80s cheese, it's just bad, especially as the synth beat is so noticeable. The sound balance is all over the place. The electric guitar at the end is far too loud. And Ramin sounds constantly out of breath. I find the final lair pretty unlistenable. "You alooooooone [gasp] can make [gasp] my song take flliiiiiiiiight [gasp] it's over now [gasp] the music [gasp] of [gasp] the [gasp] niiiiiiiiiiiiiight".

o.O

Wow. What did I just get myself in to. I just bought a copy of the CD yesterday and it will be shipped to me in the States in the next few days...

This makes me sad to hear the "work" they've done on it. Autotuning?! WTF?

When I saw the broadcast in the cinemas (and "watched it" many times since) I didn't think it all that bad, and even didn't mind Ramin's voice. I was looking forward to getting the CD.

Now I'm not so sure.

On another note:
RE Nicole Scherzinger. Supposedly she's classically trained. I found a video of her on Youtube singing a piece from an opera with no accompaniment, and it looked spur of the moment. I was floored. She sounded great. She's singing the main title theme with Earl, Ramin, JOJ, and I'm not sure of the 4th gentleman with her.

I just watched last year's Royal Variety Performance last night with husband. Wow. You guys over there are so lucky to have an amazing variety show like this. Two hours of music, comedy and NO COMMERCIALS!! We laughed, and enjoyed the hell out of it. Told my husband that this year's one is coming up soon. He's looking forward to watching this one too. I saw a tweet this morning from Earl Carpenter saying it would be at 7:30pm on ITV1 on Decmeber 14th, I think?

The 4th gentleman is Simon Bowman who, poor thing, no one seems to know how he is when talking about the RVP. Can't blame people though Ramin, JOJ and Earl are far more public.

I just listened to some parts of the CD on Amazon and to me it sounds pretty bad. I haven't bothered buying/ordering the CD or DVD yet and I'm not sure I ever will after listening to the CD now. I thought there was something wrong with my headphones when I started listening to the Prologue. I hope that at least the DVD is watchable. My parents are really looking forward to see the DVD so I thought I might get them a copy for Christmas but if it's in the same style as the CD...

I'm not even touching that CD.

I made a mistake with the soundtrack to the movie that shall not be named, not going to make that same mistake twice.

I got this from another site, but apparently RUG made a mistake with the box set for Phantom 25.

When you purchase the set, you get a 'ticket' to download one of six international cast recordings. There is a glitch and you can download all six. This is legal and authorized by the record company. You do this online by providing the number of the OLC that came with the 25th Anniversary box set.

Just fyi-ing for those who are looking for cast recordings that can't get them due to locations or out of print, but have the 25th set.

I'm devastated about what I hear on the bad quality of the anniversary DVD. Ramin Karimloo autotuned to death? Many technical glitches? Bad sound quality in general? How incredibly... pointless. Most of all I wonder what Ramin Karimloo himself think of the "improvements". Cause if they are that noticeable, it's affecting his reputation as a singer. Sure, there have been comments on off pitch moments in the past, but I'd rather have that than one where he sounds like electronic!Phantom...

But I take it the DVD is of better sound? Or are we talking the same soundtrack as in the CD? I've seen people comment on the international FB site that there are times you can tell it's been worked on, like mouths moving when there's no singing, and some words being chopped. But I haven't seen any comments on autotuning.

ML6, thanks for the info of the international CD glitch.

So why Simon Bowman at the Royal Variety? The others are obvious as far as Cameron/ALW are concerned. Of course he's an alumni but his presence seems a bit...random, making up the numbers?

PMB1034 wrote:So why Simon Bowman at the Royal Variety? The others are obvious as far as Cameron/ALW are concerned. Of course he's an alumni but his presence seems a bit...random, making up the numbers?

I dunno. A sort of repeat from last years Royal Variety, when he performed in the "Valjean Quartet" with John Owen Jones, Colm Wilkinson and Alfie Boe?

So I got the RAH DVD today.

Why in the WORLD does Sierra Boggess sound Indian at places? Many places she use a retroflex L ("thick L), a sound that doesn't even exist in English. But it's one of the most common ways of imitate Indian dialects. It can be heard in TOM, when she pronounce the words "always" and "will". She also has it in "angel" (my soul was weak...) and "all" (the sadness of the world). Totally mock Indian.

And many times she pronounce the vowels A and E as Æ (think the A in English "trap"). She's singing "awææææy", for example. And "Æææænter" (at last, master), "wæææking" (moment). Sound like when someone is parodying Californian teenagers.

I love how Sierra Boggess appeared in the role in RAH, so I'm not saying it to put her down in any way. I just think it's bizarre to listen to. Sounds like she's invented her own dialect. Does she speak/sing like this when sticking to American-English as well? I can't remember.

operafantomet wrote:So I got the RAH DVD today.

Why in the WORLD does Sierra Boggess sound Indian at places? Many places she use a retroflex L ("thick L), a sound that doesn't even exist in English. But it's one of the most common ways of imitate Indian dialects. It can be heard in TOM, when she pronounce the words "always" and "will". She also has it in "angel" (my soul was weak...) and "all" (the sadness of the world). Totally mock Indian.

And many times she pronounce the vowels A and E as Æ (think the A in English "trap"). She's singing "awææææy", for example. And "Æææænter" (at last, master), "wæææking" (moment). Sound like when someone is parodying Californian teenagers.

I love how Sierra Boggess appeared in the role in RAH, so I'm not saying it to put her down in any way. I just think it's bizarre to listen to. Sounds like she's invented her own dialect. Does she speak/sing like this when sticking to American-English as well? I can't remember.

Her strange dialect is one reason to why I didn't enjoy her performance very much, it was so strange to listen to and somehow it really bothered me when those random words where sung so differently.

BTW, what is the sound on the DVD like? Is it as bad as people have said?

EarlFan wrote:Her strange dialect is one reason to why I didn't enjoy her performance very much, it was so strange to listen to and somehow it really bothered me when those random words where sung so differently.

BTW, what is the sound on the DVD like? Is it as bad as people have said?

I think people have complained on the CD more than the DVD. They seem to have worked more on Ramin Karimloo's voice there, to make it "CD friendly" when not seen in context of his acting. And the result is, according to reviewers on Amazon and elsewhere, not good at all. But I haven't bothered to listen to the CD, I must admit, so I can't confirm or deny this.

The DVD sounds fine enough to me. If it's the DVD version people have complained about, I'm a bit embarassed, as I can't hear too many issues. Small glitches here and there, but nothing minor. And Ramin Karimloo is wonderfully off pitch in the places I remembered... Good video editing too, smoother than the live version.

I think the issue with Sierra Boggess' pronunciation is extra strange for us Scandinavians, as her use of retroflex L and the exaggerated Æ sound belongs to rural dialects here. It's not something I'm used to hear in English, apart from maybe people imitating Indian accents. And that just clash so badly with 19th century Christine!

ETA: I just noticed that the DVD is rated differently in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. In Sweden children from 7 years can watch it, in Norway it's 11, while you have to be 15 in Denmark!

operafantomet wrote:
I think the issue with Sierra Boggess' pronunciation is extra strange for us Scandinavians, as her use of retroflex L and the exaggerated Æ sound belongs to rural dialects here. It's not something I'm used to hear in English, apart from maybe people imitating Indian accents. And that just clash so badly with 19th century Christine!

The weird 'L' was very, very noticeable to me too, and I'm a native English speaker. I couldn't fathom it and found it rather annoying actually.

I watched this again last night, and listened for Sierra's "L's" I didn't find anything too strange about them. It sounded to me like a Mid-Western American trying to sing with a bit of a British accent, actually...but it didn't bother me. Seems to me I've heard this before but I couldn't tell you off the top of my head who.

*shrugs*

The more I watch it, though, the more I end up liking this concert, even with a few quirks here and there.

Here's the Royal Variety Performance bit with the 4 Phantoms and Nicole Scherzinger:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh4y3dm0wDg&context=C2dcebADOEgsToPDskIOpr4mw5a_btil6Oo0gH3N

Apparently, it was all sung live (according to JOJ on Twitter). Am actually more impressed with her cadenza than with her performance in the rest of the song. And the Phantoms didn't disappoint I liked it!

I'm not sure, perhaps I was just "expecting" it to switch to a track for the cadenza but I thought I picked up a definite "change" at that part.

I didn't particularly like the performance though I liked The Phantom's performances, especially Earl's, I think I'll like him a lot when I see him. I just didn't particularly rate Nicole, it was something about her accent I didn't like.

Bleh. And that cadenza was, without a doubt, lip-synched.

Miss von Krolock wrote:Here's the Royal Variety Performance bit with the 4 Phantoms and Nicole Scherzinger:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh4y3dm0wDg&context=C2dcebADOEgsToPDskIOpr4mw5a_btil6Oo0gH3N
Apparently, it was all sung live (according to JOJ on Twitter). Am actually more impressed with her cadenza than with her performance in the rest of the song. And the Phantoms didn't disappoint I liked it!

Heh, the way they had it staged with the four Phantoms in a semi-circle around her, looking a tad angry, I imagine one of them saying "I bet we can sing her off the stage! Come on boys, sing!"