25th anniversary celebrations

What's up with the current multiple-Phantoms-and-one-Christine trend? I find it a bit... well.... One Phantom will do, thankyouverymuch.

Haven't seen the Royal Variety clip, I've only been online on my phone these last couple of days. But I've read very many places that the cadenza is playback. I still assume it features Nicole's voice, though?

Becky wrote:

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!"

Hahahaha!!! That might explain it.

Watched the clip last night. Not bad. Loved seeing the multiple Phantoms. *hearts* Earl and JOJ. Bowman not bad and Ramin not bad either.

I don't know if it's a trend for multiple Phantoms, just this and the 25th anniversary. Have there been other instances of this?

This was recorded last week, so Nicole may have done the cadenza live that night, but in post production, it was replaced with a recorded one??

I was not lovin' the dress though. Way too bling-y. Something toned down would have been so much better. I found I was paying more attention to the bling than I was to her singing.

Will be watching the full variety performance tonight. Am looking forward to it

PhantomsGhost wrote:I was not lovin' the dress though. Way too bling-y. Something toned down would have been so much better. I found I was paying more attention to the bling than I was to her singing.

Totally agree! That dress was just waaaaaay too much.

About the playback. I really can't tell whether the cadenza was live or not, just from watching the video. But I ask myself, if it was indeed playback, then why were JOJ, Ramin and even Wendy Ferguson (on Twitter) commenting on the fact that she did it live?

Miss von Krolock wrote:I can't tell whether the cadenza was live or not, just from watching the video. But I ask myself, if it was indeed playback, then why were JOJ, Ramin and even Wendy Ferguson (on Twitter) commenting on the fact that she did it live?

Maybe as PhantomsGhost said: she sung it live in the concert, but they have altered it afterwards? As mentioned, I haven't seen the clip, so I can't tell what's going on. JOJ is usually dead honest, though...

operafantomet wrote:What's up with the current multiple-Phantoms-and-one-Christine trend? I find it a bit... well.... One Phantom will do, thankyouverymuch.

I'm assuming it's another of ALW's "Let's keep trying and tweaking it along the way until people like it" things.

I myself, prefer multiple Christines.



TAFKaR

operafantomet wrote:What's up with the current multiple-Phantoms-and-one-Christine trend? I find it a bit... well.... One Phantom will do, thankyouverymuch.

Well, if they only used one Phantom, it's pretty obvious who ALW would choose at the moment and I think I'd go insane from the overkill. Especially given the fact that this person's forthcoming album uses a product description which reads as follows:

Critically acclaimed as one of, if not the, greatest Phantom for his display in the 25th Anniversary Concert of Phantom of The Opera at The Royal Albert Hall, Ramin has received several Best Actor awards plus a prestigious Olivier Award nomination

(Yes, this is real -- see the description on Amazon here).

Honestly. Just a bit OTT, no? I mean, I can think of a more obvious Phantom who actually WON an Olivier Award for his performance in the role.

Scorp wrote:

operafantomet wrote:What's up with the current multiple-Phantoms-and-one-Christine trend? I find it a bit... well.... One Phantom will do, thankyouverymuch.

Well, if they only used one Phantom, it's pretty obvious who ALW would choose at the moment and I think I'd go insane from the overkill. Especially given the fact that this person's forthcoming album uses a product description which reads as follows:

Critically acclaimed as one of, if not the, greatest Phantom for his display in the 25th Anniversary Concert of Phantom of The Opera at The Royal Albert Hall, Ramin has received several Best Actor awards plus a prestigious Olivier Award nomination

(Yes, this is real -- see the description on Amazon here).

Honestly. Just a bit OTT, no? I mean, I can think of a more obvious Phantom who actually WON an Olivier Award for his performance in the role.

Whomever wrote that product summary sounds a LITTLE too bias.

Scorp wrote:Critically acclaimed as one of, if not the, greatest Phantom for his display in the 25th Anniversary Concert of Phantom of The Opera at The Royal Albert Hall, Ramin has received several Best Actor awards plus a prestigious Olivier Award nomination

Goodness. I would be embarrassed if anyone tried to sell me that way, no matter how genuine their intentions were.

And now I want a .gif of Ramin bowing to Crawford during the encore, if only to serve as a reminder that he, at least, recognizes his betters.

~LCD

Scorp wrote:

operafantomet wrote:What's up with the current multiple-Phantoms-and-one-Christine trend? I find it a bit... well.... One Phantom will do, thankyouverymuch.

Well, if they only used one Phantom, it's pretty obvious who ALW would choose at the moment and I think I'd go insane from the overkill. Especially given the fact that this person's forthcoming album uses a product description which reads as follows:

Critically acclaimed as one of, if not the, greatest Phantom for his display in the 25th Anniversary Concert of Phantom of The Opera at The Royal Albert Hall, Ramin has received several Best Actor awards plus a prestigious Olivier Award nomination

(Yes, this is real -- see the description on Amazon here).

Honestly. Just a bit OTT, no? I mean, I can think of a more obvious Phantom who actually WON an Olivier Award for his performance in the role.

Infuriating. I admit Ramin impressed me in the Final Lair and a couple other moments acting-wise in the RAH concert, but in general, he's vastly overrated in the role, particularly vocally. And he just doesn't have the gravitas to convincingly portray the character.

Raphael wrote:I myself, prefer multiple Christines.

Yummy.

LadyCDaae wrote:And now I want a .gif of Ramin bowing to Crawford during the encore, if only to serve as a reminder that he, at least, recognizes his betters.

Amen.

Raphael wrote:

operafantomet wrote:What's up with the current multiple-Phantoms-and-one-Christine trend? I find it a bit... well.... One Phantom will do, thankyouverymuch.

I'm assuming it's another of ALW's "Let's keep trying and tweaking it along the way until people like it" things.

I myself, prefer multiple Christines.



TAFKaR

The stuff that dreams are made of.

PhantomsGhost wrote: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.

A native English speaker over at the POTO board commented on Boggess' pronunciation, the things that are bugging me might be better explained there:

But yes, her vowel sounds were VERY strange ... "Here in this room he 'colls' me softly ... somehow I know he's 'olways' with me ..." "Wishing you were somehow he-yer again" etc ... it was rather distracting

http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=14215&forum=9&PHPSESSID=f8c05bc551b56ef7d42c218d35328c94

Now, this person is commenting on her vowels, but in turn those vowels are affecting how she pronounce the L's. Might be a regional American dialect, but it is seriously odd to listen to. And I can't remember her talking/singing like that in the past, not in LND either where she would probably also go for a British flair. I just wonder what's going on in the concert. Again: I think Boggess was adorable, she really impressed me in the RAh version. But her pronunciation sometimes breaks the spell.

operafantomet wrote:

But yes, her vowel sounds were VERY strange ... "Here in this room he 'colls' me softly ... somehow I know he's 'olways' with me ..." "Wishing you were somehow he-yer again" etc ... it was rather distracting

Hmm. Reminds me of Winona Ryder's British accent in "Bram Stoker's Dracula."

TAFKaR

operafantomet wrote:

PhantomsGhost wrote: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.

A native English speaker over at the POTO board commented on Boggess' pronunciation, the things that are bugging me might be better explained there:

But yes, her vowel sounds were VERY strange ... "Here in this room he 'colls' me softly ... somehow I know he's 'olways' with me ..." "Wishing you were somehow he-yer again" etc ... it was rather distracting

http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=14215&forum=9&PHPSESSID=f8c05bc551b56ef7d42c218d35328c94

Now, this person is commenting on her vowels, but in turn those vowels are affecting how she pronounce the L's. Might be a regional American dialect, but it is seriously odd to listen to. And I can't remember her talking/singing like that in the past, not in LND either where she would probably also go for a British flair. I just wonder what's going on in the concert. Again: I think Boggess was adorable, she really impressed me in the RAh version. But her pronunciation sometimes breaks the spell.

Ahhhh finally someone addresses this! I actually noticed her odd pronounciation in LND. It annoyed me back then already and even more on the concert. I don't think it's an American dialect, it's more like a Boggess thing I guess.

Raphael wrote:

operafantomet wrote:

But yes, her vowel sounds were VERY strange ... "Here in this room he 'colls' me softly ... somehow I know he's 'olways' with me ..." "Wishing you were somehow he-yer again" etc ... it was rather distracting

Hmm. Reminds me of Winona Ryder's British accent in "Bram Stoker's Dracula."

TAFKaR

Hahaha! You're so right!

Miss von Krolock wrote:

operafantomet wrote:

PhantomsGhost wrote: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.

A native English speaker over at the POTO board commented on Boggess' pronunciation, the things that are bugging me might be better explained there:

But yes, her vowel sounds were VERY strange ... "Here in this room he 'colls' me softly ... somehow I know he's 'olways' with me ..." "Wishing you were somehow he-yer again" etc ... it was rather distracting

http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=14215&forum=9&PHPSESSID=f8c05bc551b56ef7d42c218d35328c94

Now, this person is commenting on her vowels, but in turn those vowels are affecting how she pronounce the L's. Might be a regional American dialect, but it is seriously odd to listen to. And I can't remember her talking/singing like that in the past, not in LND either where she would probably also go for a British flair. I just wonder what's going on in the concert. Again: I think Boggess was adorable, she really impressed me in the RAh version. But her pronunciation sometimes breaks the spell.

Ahhhh finally someone addresses this! I actually noticed her odd pronounciation in LND. It annoyed me back then already and even more on the concert. I don't think it's an American dialect, it's more like a Boggess thing I guess.

Colorado accents tend toward either Midwest/American standard or Western drawl (ie. "cahll" as opposed to "coll"). If anything I'd suspect she's overcompensating and rounding out her vowels too much.

~LCD

LadyCDaae wrote:Colorado accents tend toward either Midwest/American standard or Western drawl (ie. "cahll" as opposed to "coll"). If anything I'd suspect she's overcompensating and rounding out her vowels too much.

~LCD

I was listening to the 25th CDs yesterday and thinking about this conversation on this thread. The midwestern accent is what I consider very, very plain. I'd bet someone who comes from this background probably would enunciate even more to make it sound to their ears as if they have an accent. But the amusing thing is they pretty much wouldn't have to because when I hear someone from the UK sing, whether it be pop, or classical, etc, their accent almost goes away and they sound, well, midwestern. (at least to my ears. Funny story. When I was 12, and discovered Duran Duran it took me probably about a year to realize they were from England. I had never head them speak, just sing. When I finally was able to watch an interview and heard them speak, I was shocked. Ahhh. The days before the internet.)

Oh, BTW, after listening to the 2-discs on two different sound systems I don't find anything 'off' about them, nor do I hear any autotuning. The CD's sound...well, like a soundboard recording (Which it is, of course. Just an official one) . All in all I'm happy with it. I almost like the CD more because then I can picture in my head the regular stage show and not the staging at the RAH which at times bothered me.

But this may all be moot points. I'm not a singer, so I can't judge why or how someone sings. I just know what I like to listen to.

PhantomsGhost wrote:But the amusing thing is they pretty much wouldn't have to because when I hear someone from the UK sing, whether it be pop, or classical, etc, their accent almost goes away and they sound, well, midwestern. (at least to my ears. Funny story. When I was 12, and discovered Duran Duran it took me probably about a year to realize they were from England. I had never head them speak, just sing. When I finally was able to watch an interview and heard them speak, I was shocked. Ahhh. The days before the internet.)

Now, to me, the guys in Duran Duran have very thick British accents even when they sing, but most of the time, I agree with you. It's true of most trained singers in general. Here, the most Southern-sounding speakers sound purely general-American when they sing.

Miss von Krolock wrote:

operafantomet wrote:

PhantomsGhost wrote: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.

A native English speaker over at the POTO board commented on Boggess' pronunciation, the things that are bugging me might be better explained there:

But yes, her vowel sounds were VERY strange ... "Here in this room he 'colls' me softly ... somehow I know he's 'olways' with me ..." "Wishing you were somehow he-yer again" etc ... it was rather distracting

http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=14215&forum=9&PHPSESSID=f8c05bc551b56ef7d42c218d35328c94

Now, this person is commenting on her vowels, but in turn those vowels are affecting how she pronounce the L's. Might be a regional American dialect, but it is seriously odd to listen to. And I can't remember her talking/singing like that in the past, not in LND either where she would probably also go for a British flair. I just wonder what's going on in the concert. Again: I think Boggess was adorable, she really impressed me in the RAh version. But her pronunciation sometimes breaks the spell.

Ahhhh finally someone addresses this! I actually noticed her odd pronounciation in LND. It annoyed me back then already and even more on the concert. I don't think it's an American dialect, it's more like a Boggess thing I guess.

Yeah it's just Boggess' odd pronunciation -- what she does is neither American nor British. Re the odd 'L' sound that I find rather annoying, listen to how she sings 'calls me softly' in AOM and 'the tears I might have shed for your dark fate grow cold and turn to tears of hate' in the Final Lair on the RAH recording. If you can't hear it there, I'm not sure I can ever explain it, but it isn't a normal pronunciation.

It doesn't grate on me nearly as much as Ramin's constant gasps for breath, though.

Just watched the Albert Hall DVD. Much much better than the movie but I have a hard time enjoying Ramins voice, tho his acting was good.

Compared it with the webcast and can see a lot of "studio magic" when Ramin sings out of tune but I can totally understand it cause its an official release.

One question tho: Why oh why did they cut the "let the audience in" line from Seal my fate? It's there in the webcast but not on the dvd, makes no sense!

Scorp wrote:
It doesn't grate on me nearly as much as Ramin's constant gasps for breath, though.

Ramin seems to admire Michael Crawford. Maybe he could get some tips from MC about breath control.

Looks like PBS will be airing this in March: Click

Bric wrote:

Scorp wrote:
It doesn't grate on me nearly as much as Ramin's constant gasps for breath, though.

Ramin seems to admire Michael Crawford. Maybe he could get some tips from MC about breath control.

Har. Ramin admiring Crawford? Unlikely. He admires Colm and 'rocky' Phantoms.

Just read an interview with Boggess and she said she admired Crawford, too (although her admiration for him originated with "Hello Dolly" rather than "Phantom").

TAFKaR

ML6 wrote:

Bric wrote:

Scorp wrote:
It doesn't grate on me nearly as much as Ramin's constant gasps for breath, though.

Ramin seems to admire Michael Crawford. Maybe he could get some tips from MC about breath control.

Har. Ramin admiring Crawford? Unlikely. He admires Colm and 'rocky' Phantoms.

It was polite and courteous of Ramin to compliment Crawford at the RAH, but not sure how much he admires his Phantom. I'm sure he's well aware of how much of how the role is played is down to MC's original interpretation, but he seemed fairly dismissive of MC's portrayal when I spoke to him years and years and years ago when Ramin was not a known entity ("Ramin KarimWHO?"). I also think Ramin misunderstood Crawford's portrayal too. In one interview before a certain-show-that-I-will-not-acknowledge opened, Ramin went on about how MC "humanised" the Phantom and kept emphasising this aspect of MC's portrayal. While MC did do that, and made the Phantom more sympathetic than he had been in previous incarnations of the tale, I don't think Ramin appreciated that MC still understood that the Phantom had to still be mysterious, menacing, threatening, dangerous and, at times, downright psychopathic. In a recent interview promoting *that* show in Oz, Tim McFarlane mentioned how the Phantom had been "overhumanised" at the Adelphi. I never saw that show and never will do, but I assume that Ramin probably went a bit too far with humanising the Phantom and made him just some ordinary uninteresting bloke as an unintended consequence. Gerard Butler did the same.

Re-watched the RAh DVD today. Looking closer at the editing. In general it's much improved from the live broadcasting, although it wasn't bad either. But "Wandering Child" annoys the crap out of me. It has some beautiful moments, but why did they feel it necessary to switch camera angle at every line? Yes, I know it's a trio and three people are singing, but you don't have to show all of them at all time, you know...

I wish they would have lingered more at each singer, it would have told the story much better. Wandering Child is usually one of my favourite scenes, but the editing ruins it. Or at least the middle of it, from when Raoul enters. It won't make any duo lovers prefer the trio, when even an avid trio fan (=me) thinks it ruins the scene instead of adding cool tension....

operafantomet wrote:Wandering Child is usually one of my favourite scenes, but the editing ruins it. Or at least the middle of it, from when Raoul enters.

Fraser!Raoul ruins any scene by entering it

TAFKaR

LadyCDaae wrote:And now I want a .gif of Ramin bowing to Crawford during the encore, if only to serve as a reminder that he, at least, recognizes his betters.

~LCD

You know, seeing this photo was about the only thing that made that whole event bearable for me.... And Ramin got to HUG Michael, too! Arrrrrgggghhhh!!!! (oh, how I wish Michael had sung something!)

operafantomet wrote:Re-watched the RAh DVD today. Looking closer at the editing. In general it's much improved from the live broadcasting, although it wasn't bad either. But "Wandering Child" annoys the crap out of me. It has some beautiful moments, but why did they feel it necessary to switch camera angle at every line? Yes, I know it's a trio and three people are singing, but you don't have to show all of them at all time, you know...

I wish they would have lingered more at each singer, it would have told the story much better. Wandering Child is usually one of my favourite scenes, but the editing ruins it. Or at least the middle of it, from when Raoul enters. It won't make any duo lovers prefer the trio, when even an avid trio fan (=me) thinks it ruins the scene instead of adding cool tension....

Yeah, I really disliked how they edited Wandering Child for the DVD release. I thought that the original version from the Livecast was actually handled pretty well with appropriate camera angles and focus duration. Now it seems really choppy and jarring. I wonder if it's because they wanted to make it more 'actiony'? Bah. Oh well.

By the way, Molina, *thank you* for that photo.

~Madame~