The London production 2

is that how the blocking in PONR done now?
I don;t remember christine just sitting there in the first section of her chorus

and what's with the 'grab the phantom then lunge to the right, then lunge to the left'? seems almost cheesy. Maybe they just exagerated the usual movements.

I sort of liked the little blooper with the cowl coming off early and him fumbling to get it back over, because by then we allready know (and christine knows) it's the phantom, so that adds an air of despiration to his part.

So apparently the "Magnetic Portcullis" happened recently at Her Majesty's. That is, when the lasso malfunctions in the Final Lair, so the Phantom never get to place it around Raoul's neck, Raoul is sucked towards an apparently magnetic portcullis and cannot move. I've only seen a blurry picture of it from when it was once done in the World Tour. I think it's a very good backup and would like to see it sometime!

This is something I hope I NEVER EVER EVER EVER get to see

These are some other shots from London Historical Society's website on historic theatres, I think they are from about 97-99ish, shame though they are so small and somewhat blury

What do you mean you hope you never see it? Because it would mean Phantom's no longer at HM's?

yes, it would mean that phantom has closed, atleast the Bjornson version anyways, I think it is unlikely they will ever transfer it, but knowing RUG, if they ever wanted to do a transfer they probably would use the opportunity to mount the revised touring version instead.

"The full list of performers for the awards ceremony is now confirmed — there will be music from André Rieu, Gary Barlow, Gareth Malone and the Military Wives, Milos Karadaglić, Russell Watson, Amore, Nicola Benedetti, Andrea Bocelli and the cast of The Phantom Of The Opera."

http://www.classicbrits.co.uk/

Da fuk? The Classic Brit Awards 2012, tonight.

It's Ramin and Sierra performing so technically not the current cast of The Phantom of the Opera unfortunately!

starryeyed wrote:It's Ramin and Sierra performing so technically not the current cast of The Phantom of the Opera unfortunately!

Thanks for posting this news, operafantomet and starryeyed. Ramin & Sierra performing Phantom again? Yay! Since the 25th RAH, they have become one of my fave Phantom "couples" (and yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the 25th RAH too).
Whatever they end up singing, I hope it's recorded and posted on YouTube or somewhere so I can see it.

Here is some rehearsal pictures:

Classical Brits

Not sure why the captions say it is ML and SE though!

starryeyed wrote:Here is some rehearsal pictures:

Classical Brits

Not sure why the captions say it is ML and SE though!

Oooo, thanks for posting the link to those rehearsal pics! It's so fun to see them...it's like part Sierra/part Christine meets the Phantom.

Yeah, though, they wrote the wrong names in the captions -- how could they not know it wasn't ML and SE.

Also, here's the link to the Classical Brits Awards ceremony photo gallery:

http://www.classicbrits.co.uk/gallery/ceremony

There are quite a few pics of Ramin & Sierra's performance of WYWSHA and MOTN (plus the two of them in full costume "Photo Op" pics). So nice to see Sierra wearing the Wishing dress!

Plus, in the "Red Carpet" gallery there's a couple of pics of Ramin & Sierra in their formal wear (sans Phantom costumes).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQYIZc92whA

Just stumbled on this new interview with Anna O'Byrne. Most of it is fairly fluffy stuff but I found the fact she actively sought the role & auditioned (as opposed to being approached by tptb) quite interesting.

I've had a pleasure to see the show yesterday. Full house, fantastic atmosphere. Even after seeing it for the 16th time still got goosebumps when the chandelier went to our heads, it's so effective when you're watching from center of row C. Anna O'Byrne is such a GREAT actress. Also, I read some not that positive reviews of Marcus Lovett's Phantom, but must say his portrayal seemed faultless to me yestarday. Especially in the Final lair scene. That was just... WOW. Both the leads sounded and acted perfect on stage. Beautiful Layla Harrison was on as Meg and Anthony Hansen as Raoul. He has nice strong voice, but the thing that kept me distracted all the time he was on stage was his strangely put wig. For some reason they made his head look like he was a character in the Alien Nation TV series (as my fiancee pointed that out).

Overall, it was a wonderful evening at Her Majesty's. Made my one night trip from Slovakia to UK so worth it!

mona lisa wrote:I've had a pleasure to see the show yesterday. Full house, fantastic atmosphere. Even after seeing it for the 16th time still got goosebumps when the chandelier went to our heads, it's so effective when you're watching from center of row C. Anna O'Byrne is such a GREAT actress. Also, I read some not that positive reviews of Marcus Lovett's Phantom, but must say his portrayal seemed faultless to me yestarday. Especially in the Final lair scene. That was just... WOW. Both the leads sounded and acted perfect on stage. Beautiful Layla Harrison was on as Meg and Anthony Hansen as Raoul. He has nice strong voice, but the thing that kept me distracted all the time he was on stage was his strangely put wig. For some reason they made his head look like he was a character in the Alien Nation TV series (as my fiancee pointed that out).

Overall, it was a wonderful evening at Her Majesty's. Made my one night trip from Slovakia to UK so worth it!

Glad you enjoyed!

I just watched the Phantom segment of the Classical Brit Awards on TV. Sierra and Ramin just leave me cold now and I find the whole thing off-putting. It's not really their fault, it's just the completely negative associations they conjure up in my mind. Sierra does a good Wishing but completely spoils it with her bizarre pronunciation of those Ls and Ramin just sounds permanently off-pitch, shouty and overly North American in accent for my tastes. Of the two, I think Sierra is by far the stronger performer. With her I sometimes feel like I am watching Christine; with Ramin I can only ever get the sense of watching Ramin in a mask. His presence also conjures up the image of rabid fangirls in the audience too. The reviews of his performances in LND and the RAH event; at heart he just doesn't have much of a stage presence, something I think Ms Boggess does have, even if I don't necessarily like everything she does. The Sierra/Ramin formula is so boring now; please ALW go and get yourself a new muse. Have an affair with one if you must.

I'm just going to leave this here.



Even without having seen his performance, Marcus Lovett gets my respect.

~Madame~

Nicely done, Mr. Lovett.

~LCD

mona lisa wrote:I've had a pleasure to see the show yesterday. Full house, fantastic atmosphere. Even after seeing it for the 16th time still got goosebumps when the chandelier went to our heads, it's so effective when you're watching from center of row C. Anna O'Byrne is such a GREAT actress. Also, I read some not that positive reviews of Marcus Lovett's Phantom, but must say his portrayal seemed faultless to me yestarday. Especially in the Final lair scene. That was just... WOW. Both the leads sounded and acted perfect on stage. Beautiful Layla Harrison was on as Meg and Anthony Hansen as Raoul. He has nice strong voice, but the thing that kept me distracted all the time he was on stage was his strangely put wig. For some reason they made his head look like he was a character in the Alien Nation TV series (as my fiancee pointed that out).

Overall, it was a wonderful evening at Her Majesty's. Made my one night trip from Slovakia to UK so worth it!

I was at the matinee on the same day, and I have to say I mostly agree with you. Anna is a truly wonderful Christine, and plays her as a somewhat shy, underconfident young girl in desperate need of guidance and direction. Her Wishing was fantastic, she acted right through the song. I'll admit that her TOM cadenza was a little shaky, but vocally, though I'm no expert, she sounded very good indeed, and seems to have great control over her voice. I saw Antony's first performance as Raoul, and yes, his wig is strange - but I think it's partly because he naturally has a high hairline? He has a really nice voice with a pleasant tone to it, but it sounded a little "tight" at some points (difficult to describe, almost as if he was trying too hard - I wonder if it was nerves/adrenaline?). He took his time to warm into the performance acting-wise, but I think he really conveyed a caring young man (his boyish looks really help here) who passionately wants to protect Christine.
I am a little bit on the fence about Marcus's Phantom, though he seemed to suffer a few mishaps throughout the performance (the cloth covering the Mirror Bride got caught on the proscenium, he almost lost his hat when the angel rose at the end of the first act). What I did like was how his Phantom was a marked contrast to Raoul - he sounds like a mature man, which actually reminded me a little of Nigel Richards. Also, all credit to him for successfully pulling off an English accent, with only slight hints of American "r" sounds occasionally (Ramin's Canadian accent always bugged me because it was so out-of-place). Also, his Final Lair was really quite moving: his Phantom seems to successfully maintain a dignified front, but when the emotion comes through - collapsing to the floor, oh so slowing crawling over the stage to clasp the veil - it's really quite affecting. And his response to the kiss was lovely: almost as if he had, for the first time, experienced something truly beautiful/transcendent. That being said, I found him vocally a bit of an acquired taste, although he is an accomplished singer and his voice is perfectly pleasant, it just doesn't seem "Phantom-like" to me in the way that, say, JOJ or Scott Davies' are. I also found his MOTN a little underwhelming, but I always think that is a tremendously difficult song to pull off. I think he will be very good indeed in a few months' time.

LadyCDaae wrote:Nicely done, Mr. Lovett.

~LCD

Yeah, I agree...I really like his comments.

Scorp wrote:

I just watched the Phantom segment of the Classical Brit Awards on TV. Sierra and Ramin just leave me cold now and I find the whole thing off-putting. It's not really their fault, it's just the completely negative associations they conjure up in my mind. Sierra does a good Wishing but completely spoils it with her bizarre pronunciation of those Ls and Ramin just sounds permanently off-pitch, shouty and overly North American in accent for my tastes. Of the two, I think Sierra is by far the stronger performer. With her I sometimes feel like I am watching Christine; with Ramin I can only ever get the sense of watching Ramin in a mask. His presence also conjures up the image of rabid fangirls in the audience too. The reviews of his performances in LND and the RAH event; at heart he just doesn't have much of a stage presence, something I think Ms Boggess does have, even if I don't necessarily like everything she does. The Sierra/Ramin formula is so boring now; please ALW go and get yourself a new muse. Have an affair with one if you must.

SLAYED. My thoughts exactly. When watching her sing on the 25th last year, the only part of the show I enjoyed was her 'Wishing'. I'm pretty sure he grabbed them because of how big of a hit the Phantom 25th was.

Madame Giry wrote:I'm just going to leave this here.



Even without having seen his performance, Marcus Lovett gets my respect.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!

Mona Lisa, very glad you liked the current cast so much. Cool to have caught the understudies for Raoul and Meg too.

Oh, and happy 26th anniversary to the London production tonight!!

[quote="justin-from-barbados"]These are some other shots from London Historical Society's website on historic theatres, I think they are from about 97-99ish, shame though they are so small and somewhat blury



This is by far the best picture I've seen of how Maria Bjørnson designed the Phantom sets as a sort of extension of the Her Majesty's Theatre interior. The boxes line up perfectly, and the red drapes match that of the velvet seats. I've seen Phantom in many theatres now, but HMT still feels like the theatre the sets were created for. There's something about the proportions throughout.

Thank you so much for sharing these, Justin.

It does fit quite snugly in there. I will never forget the first time seeing it in London after only seeing it in the HUGE Pantages in Toronto.

The proportions of the proscenium are perfect in London and it just fits so neatly under the arch

New photos:
http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/sights-sounds/photos?album=2&gallery=12&utm_source=Social&utm_medium=Update&utm_campaign=London%2B2012%2BPhotos

some dont seem to be working thourh, for me anyways.

what an odd looking Masquerade one though, kind of makes me wish it was actually photoshopped, lol

I know realised why that masquerade looks so odd, they didnt put in the statues with the candles on the end of the steps

Some very nice shots there. Only one I'm slightly underwhelmed by is the boat - I see that background is there again, making what must be its fourth or fifth appearance!

The first thing I noticed in the Masquerade shot was Hula Girl! I remember on POL at one point there being a rather extensive conversation about that costume...

starryeyed wrote:The first thing I noticed in the Masquerade shot was Hula Girl! I remember on POL at one point there being a rather extensive conversation about that costume...

*giggle*giggle* That was the first thing I noticed too! Second time she makes it into the brochure in recent time. Always makes me happy.

I LOVE these new photos. Love them so much. Yeah, the backgrounds are photoshopped. But the people themselves are not photoshopped to death, like previous brochures. And photographer Alastair Muir has captured some magic moments, very intense, and with good gestures and facial expressions. So much more depth and feelings to these than the one from Michael Le Poer Trench's hand.

Just wanted to mention that today is the 14th anniversary of my first time seeing Phantom. I saw Glyn Kerslake, Jill Washington and Mike Sterling in the leading roles and they were all brilliant!

hi there! I'm new here, hoping that this is the right place to put my question! after many years of being a sortof Phantom fan (and seeing one huge disappointment of a performance at her maj's where we got John Owen-Jones's understudy and alt Christine back in 2004/2005 ish) I recently went back and saw the incredible Scott Davies in the role while Peter Jöback was away last June. And that has started a whole new wave of being a fan! I've heard that Marcus Lovett is on holiday again soon but I'm finding conflicting dates online; Marcus himself tweeted the week commencing 28/10 but the official site says early November. I quite enjoy Marcus in the role but am absolutely dying to see Scott Davies again, so my question is: does anyone know the correct holiday dates? Or how I could find them out? I know that some actors (from other shows) are quite approachable on twitter about holiday dates but I'd be afraid to be that annoying person and ask Mr Lovett! I really hope that I can make it to see Scott Davies perform again!