Phantom costumes - real and replicas 1

As promised... My Christmas tree. Yes, the presents DO go under the skirt...




Also, I had a friend visiting the other day. We're attending a Renaissance "Saturnalia" (mid winter celebration), and I needed to fit her into some of my costumes. She tried on various stuff, also items not related to the party. And wow, she looked splendid in the Hamburg Phantom costumes! Fit her like a glove. I would have slapped her, had she not been one of the nicest girls I know of...


I just can't get enough of the ridiculous amount of silver stars on the Star Princess skirt.

operafantomet wrote:

Raphael wrote:

operafantomet wrote:I need it! I want it! I gotta have it!

You sound like me and apple!porn.

I have just put up my Elissa skirt on the bust. It's officially my Christmas tree. I'll decorate it with Christmas ornaments, put a star on top, and put presents under the skirt. Pictures to follow...

That is just about the coolest thing I have ever heard
Is anyone getting any Phantom Christmas presents this year?
Oh, Phantomfett; have you got your organ yet? That would be quite a Christmas present! A bit like the phantom version of santa's sleigh. Now you just need a set of candelabras for the reindeers
OG

operafantomet wrote:As promised... My Christmas tree. Yes, the presents DO go under the skirt...



I just can't get enough of the ridiculous amount of silver stars on the Star Princess skirt.

Is that the bodice of your new wishing dress in the background, operafantomet?
OG

Good eye there! Haha, yes it is. It's gotten lavender/silver appliqués in front. These will be covered with charcoal/blue beads. I've done one cuff, the other cuff, the whole front and the collar remains... Ugh. So now it just hangs there.

operafantomet wrote:Good eye there! Haha, yes it is. It's gotten lavender/silver appliqués in front. These will be covered with charcoal/blue beads. I've done one cuff, the other cuff, the whole front and the collar remains... Ugh. So now it just hangs there.

Well I must say, its looking awesome! I really like the main material used.
On your Elissa tree, some of those ornaments coincidentally look very much like hannibal elephants!
OG

thephanfullerton wrote:On your Elissa tree, some of those ornaments coincidentally look very much like hannibal elephants!
OG

I'm SO happy you noticed the elephants!

I've worked on some collages of Christines who's performed the roles on different continents and/or in different productions. The idea has been to find as similar as possible poses, to see how they look in the respective costumes.

There is of course Sarah Brightman, who originated the role in the UK and US. Because there's a million pictures available, it was easy to find the same poses repeated. She looked more vampish on Broadway, with more makeup and sharper dresses, while she looked more girlish and even a bit more pre-raphaelittish in West End.



Rebecca Caine, who was alternate in London before originating the role in Toronto. She's one of very few singers who got to wear both the silver and the pink Masquerade dress. Judging from how she has described the pink version, I almost get the impression she preferred the silver one. But I personally prefer how she looked in Toronto. The London ones made her look a bit drab.



Rebecca Pitcher has been in the US tour, on Broadway, and also in the World Tour. But she brought a US dressing gown with her when joining the World Tour. Which was a good thing, the Aussie ones are really unflattering to the wearer. Compared to how long Rebecca Pitcher played the role, there are surprisingly few pictures of her, and most are in the dressing gown. So half the collage is of that....



Ditto for Marni Raab, she's also done Broadway, the US tour and the World Tour. I think she look good in both styles.



And then there's Claudia Cota, who shared the role with Irasema Terrazas in Mexico before becoming principal in Argentina. But it was the same bunch of costumes and sets used, so she didn't look all that different. I had very few pictures of her from Mexico, though.



Sierra Boggess, who originated the role of Christine in Las Vegas together with Elizabeth Loyacano. She later did the Royal Albert Hall concert, where she was dressed in UK styled costumes. I like her in both styles; I think she look grander and (like Brigthman) more vampish in the US ones, while she's gotten a cuter and more girlish look in the UK costumes.



I also tried making some on Ana Marina (Aussie/West End), Renée Knapp (Hamburg/Aussie), Patti Cohenour (Bway/Canada), Elizabeth Southard (ditto), Tamami Sai (Korea/Japan) and a few others, but I don't have enough pictures really compare anything. Suggestion on others?

ETA: Oooooh.... Kimilee Bryant! If I'm able to dig up enough pictures of her Basel run.

some things I made for "Stitches of Time"
monkey music box:
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/19112011369.jpg
my dress: (on stage and backstage)
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/393340_307172642641004_100000448125211_1098272_26976111_n.jpg
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/310213_509073713124_308300118_201000_1001056955_n.jpg
Raoul tailcoat:
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/07112011352.jpg
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/07112011350.jpg
(my actor didn't wish his face to be seen)
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/384153_307212299303705_100000448125211_1098977_707071832_n-1.jpg
and on a side note:
my hairstyle:
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/23112011371.jpg

littlelotty004 wrote:some things I made for "Stitches of Time"
monkey music box:
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/19112011369.jpg
my dress: (on stage and backstage)
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/393340_307172642641004_100000448125211_1098272_26976111_n.jpg
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/310213_509073713124_308300118_201000_1001056955_n.jpg
Raoul tailcoat:
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/07112011352.jpg
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/07112011350.jpg
(my actor didn't wish his face to be seen)
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/384153_307212299303705_100000448125211_1098977_707071832_n-1.jpg
and on a side note:
my hairstyle:
https://2img.net/h/i346.photobucket.com/albums/p434/littlelotty004/23112011371.jpg

Awesome! The black dress looks like the white one Christine wears in the movie version...is that what you were going for? It's very pretty!

Just thought I'd share this.. My attempt at sketching the Aussie/World Tour Costume that Carlotta and Piangi wear during Hannibal. I keep messing up on Piangi's freakin' hand.

vmkwinner wrote:Just thought I'd share this.. My attempt at sketching the Aussie/World Tour Costume that Carlotta and Piangi wear during Hannibal. I keep messing up on Piangi's freakin' hand.

That sketch is all kinds of awesome!

Thanks so much! It took me a long time to make, so that means more than you think. I tried to make it as close as possible.

littlelotty004 wrote:some things I made for "Stitches of Time"

Little Lotty, those items are great. I love the dress and your hair. Did you do your hair without assistance? Looks so difficult to do.
You are very talented for sure!! Like someone else said, the black dress looks like the white movie dress. I like the black better...just something about it. So elegant.

MasqPhan wrote:

littlelotty004 wrote:some things I made for "Stitches of Time"

Little Lotty, those items are great. I love the dress and your hair. Did you do your hair without assistance? Looks so difficult to do.
You are very talented for sure!! Like someone else said, the black dress looks like the white movie dress. I like the black better...just something about it. So elegant.

thanks! I cant wait to get my DVD so I can post my act.
this is the process to get my hair styled like that:
my hair was set in rollers, then hairsprayed. after they cooled the rollers were removed then the curls were pincurled to my hair.
(because this step was done at home and then I had to get to the theatre). after the cast call, the pincurls were let down and one of the hair/makeup people swept it back for me ( and sprayed it with more hairspray) then pinned it. so no I didn't do it myself. it was a combination of my sister and a make up/hair artist.

but incredibly after that one set on Tueday, the set remained till Saturday. my sister recurled some of the curls that went a little hay wire after sleep. (yes I slept with it too!)

my dress was partially inspired by the movie, and also by 'Queen of the Night' (hence the colour)
um I wanted to do something more stage POTO, but I was lucky enough to be allowed what I did.
as its basically its a blue version of the white think of me dress in the 2004 movie.

operafantomet wrote:As promised... My Christmas tree. Yes, the presents DO go under the skirt...

"Presents go under the skirt"? Mmm, I BET they do...

TAFKaR

Speaking of presents, did anyone get any phantomy gifts this year? I know I did!:




OG

thephanfullerton wrote:Speaking of presents, did anyone get any phantomy gifts this year? I know I did!:

OG

That looks AWESOME. So glad you got it.

MasqPhan wrote:

thephanfullerton wrote:Speaking of presents, did anyone get any phantomy gifts this year? I know I did!:

OG

That looks AWESOME. So glad you got it.

Thanks Masqphan! I'm so pleased that I finally have a mask, AND that its Peter Karrie's.

Thephantomfullerton, WOW!!!! Can you tell us more?

As for other costume stuff... Just run across an article at Playbill.com, from way back when the Toronto production closed. They had an auction one night, selling off props and Phantom items, of which the money went to charity. Of the items were:

*The Phantom's fedora
*Christine's Cape -- a full length pale green silk cape with an attached hood originally worn by Rebecca Caine as Christine in the rooftop scene
*An authentic Phantom mask autographed by Jeff Hyslop
*An authentic Phantom mask autographed by Paul Stanley
*The Phantom of the Opera Notes -- an assortment of Phantom notes used in the production
*The "Hannibal" Poster -- "Lot 663" in the production, this poster is one of the actual props used in the Toronto production
*A one-of-a-kind Paul Stanley Signature PS2000 Guitar emblazoned with The Phantom of the Opera logo and the Phantom mask with KISS star insignia and autographed by Paul Stanley
*The Monkey Music Box -- "Lot 665" in the production, this is the actual prop used in the Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera.
*Christine's Bodice -- an actual costume from the "Il Muto" scene, the bodice is made of silk with hand-beaded and sequined imported English lace overlay
*Christine's Veil -- this delicate hand-stitched wedding veil was worn by Christine in the final scene of The Phantom of the Opera
*Raoul's Vest -- an original vest worn by David Rogers in the role of Raoul in the Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera. This handsome men's double-breasted vest is made from imported English cream silk with braided trim on the lapels and pockets

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/48685-Toronto-Phantom-Disappears-Oct-31-After-10-Years-4226-Perfs-Auction-Follows

Pardon my French, but who the f.... won these items, where are they now, and why haven't I heard about this before?? The Phantom's fedora! The rooftop cloak! The wedding veil! Authentic Canadian masks! Raoul's vest! The monkey musical box! The Hannibal poster!

operafantomet wrote:Stephanie, I've gotten tons of new brochures since last time I looked for your dressing gown. Gimme the info about it anew: year + location, and was it from West End or the UK tour? And do you know if it was used by a Christine or a double?

ETA: just browsing through pictures, it seems the style of your dressing gown belongs to ca. 1993-1997. I have pictures of both Jill Washington (1993-95), Claire Moore (alt. 1994-95), Nikki Ankara (1995-96) and Megan Kelly (1995-96) in that style. By style, I mean leaf/floral bodice and kidney-dotty skirt, with quite wide sheer ruffle and cuffs, and with a thick lace layer over the sheer cuffs. It's also what Lisa Hull and Nicky Adams wore in the UK tour around the same time.

The only thing I can separate the dressing gowns from, is the scalloped edge of the lace cuffs, plus the lace trim on the sheer ruffle. The exact pattern of the bodice also seems to vary. It seems to match on the one Claire Moore wore, but I'm a bit in doubt of the length of the sheer lace cuffs. So more info would help a lot when narrowing it down to potential wearers!

I don't have a lot of information other than the Hannibal costume that went with it (that now belongs to another member of this board) was worn by Annalene Beechey. Perhaps this was hers as well...or another understudy/double from the same time period. And I agree, it does looks very similar to the one Claire Moore wore, except for the length of the sheer lace cuffs. The only thing that I think will ever allow us to identify the costume (if ever) is by matching the lace cuffs and the placement of the leafs on the bodice/sleeves.

I was bored tonight and needed an excuse to use my new camera so I decided to have a little photo shoot with the dressing gown (a few shots including myself even though the bodice doesn't fit...and some very silly ones). A few samples are below and the rest can be found here: http://photobucket.com/dressinggown

operafantomet wrote: As for other costume stuff... Just run across an article at Playbill.com, from way back when the Toronto production closed. They had an auction one night, selling off props and Phantom items, of which the money went to charity.

Pardon my French, but who the f.... won these items, where are they now, and why haven't I heard about this before?? The Phantom's fedora! The rooftop cloak! The wedding veil! Authentic Canadian masks! Raoul's vest! The monkey musical box! The Hannibal poster!

Wow. That is amazing that those items were auctioned (especially Christine's cloak and the monkey musical box!)! I would love to know where they are now too!

I've been without internet this Christmas. I've been.... well, not bored, but.... a bit desperate to chat about Phantom costumes? So I've made tons and tons of collages. Here's a couple I made on tiara design, both for Hannibal and Masquerade. It started with me wondering why I disliked the current West End ones so much. Comparing pictures is usually helpful. While I figured that out (why so large ORANGE gems, and why bent backwards? Baaah), I found so many pictures of cool tiaras and started comparing it to the design.


DESIGN 1:

The first design is from the sketch Maria Bjørnson made of Christine going from slavegirl to Elissa. This tiara has "rosettas" on the side, and a similar rosetta in front, curving over the head. The design also shows long triangles, something they tried out for a couple of the original US tiaras. The promo pictures of Sarah Brightman (left) shows the tiara with triangles. But it was probably distracting when dancing and moving about, so actual stage pictures of her shows the tiara without them. This design has been the preferred one for the US slavegirl. But it was also used elsewhere in the 90s, as seen by the UK slavegirl in upper right corner.


DESIGN 2:

The second design shows a tiara - or maybe rather a diadem - with a tall front piece. The front piece has a rondel with a point on top. The design also slows long, hanging "ear rings", but I don't think they ever included it. Again, probably bad to dance around in. This design seems to be the preferred style in the Canadian tiaras, as seen in the three pictures to the left. It has also been popular in the Aussie tiaras (right). But even the gothic-crown-styled ones used in South America and Spain seems to have emerged from this design. A variant with semi hanging ear pieces has also been seen in the US.


DESIGN 3:

Design number three is very ornamental in style. The design shows a tiara with a crescent moon surrounded by what appears to be wings. As the others it also shows hanging ear pieces. It was closely copied into the early US tiaras, as seen by the pictures next to the design. These also had moderate "ear pieces". Versions with less emphasis on the crescent moon was also the preferred style in Germany, as seen in lower left and upper next-to-last right picture. But variants of the design has also been much used in Sweden/Denmark (right) and UK in the 90s (lower central pictures).


VARIOUS:

There are of course also tiaras fitting neither categories. Some of the gothic-crown ones from South America/Spain seems to fit the design less than the one in "design 2", as much emphasis is also put on the points on the sides (left). A similar version, with oval points, has showed up in the US (lower left, next-to-last). There's also been variants with a central point piece with massive frame, popular in Germany and Switzerland (right). But the most bizarre ones are those from Austria. Both for Hannibal and Masquerade they had Christine wearing a flat metal "band" without any points or rondels.


CARLOTTA:

Aaaaah, Carlotta. In the design she wears a large, golden tiara studded with gems. The tiara is kinda put around her hairdo, framing it. The only place I've seen this done is in Denmark, and then only in 2002/03, as seen in upper left picture. That tiara can be seen worn differently in Sweden, in lower left picture. In Germany they've focused on the sharp points of the tiara, and it's studded with hundreds of small gems and pearls (the picture under and to the right of the design). A similar look, but with more solid gold, can be seen in the tiaras in the USA and in South America/Spain (upper right and central lower line). The newer UK ones concentrate on the front part, using large "brooches" with large gems (lower right, next to last).


STAR PRINCESS:

Another funky one: the Star Princess tiara. The design shows a giga-mega crescent moon, silver or light blue, with "shooting stars" coming out of the centre. Basically all productions has made the moon smaller for the actual stage costume. Not so in Sweden/Denmark and Canada.... They went all the way; the Swedish/Danish one made of silver with silver decorations, based on a silver tiara fundament. The Canadian ones made of a sky blue material with silver details, not lifted by a fundament. These can be seen in upper line, except the one on the right.

Smaller blue versions have appeared in many European productions, including Denmark (lower right), Germany (upper right) and England (lower right next to the Danish one). The English crescent moons are usually worn on a tiara fundament made of the same stars Christine wears on the bust and in the skirt. The US tiaras features even smaller moons, on a silver shooting star fundament. The smallest moons can be found in the Aussie/World Tour tiaras (lower left). Much emphasis has been put on the shooting stars, while the small moon is put on top of these. It's also mirrored compared to the design.

Stephanie wrote:I don't have a lot of information other than the Hannibal costume that went with it (that now belongs to another member of this board) was worn by Annalene Beechey. Perhaps this was hers as well...or another understudy/double from the same time period. And I agree, it does looks very similar to the one Claire Moore wore, except for the length of the sheer lace cuffs. The only thing that I think will ever allow us to identify the costume (if ever) is by matching the lace cuffs and the placement of the leafs on the bodice/sleeves.

I was bored tonight and needed an excuse to use my new camera so I decided to have a little photo shoot with the dressing gown (a few shots including myself even though the bodice doesn't fit...and some very silly ones). A few samples are below and the rest can be found here: http://photobucket.com/dressinggown

You look fantastic in it. Really fantastic. As of now I haven't been able to narrow it down more than being used in the UK in the mid 90s (I'm thinking 1993-96). The materials match the dressing gowns of the time, ditto for the construction. The sheer part of the cuffs is what makes it hard. All main Christines at the time - at least those I've found pictures of - have longer cuffs. It can of course be that the sheer cuffs was ripped or otherwise damaged, so they were replaced and hence shortened. But I kinda doubt it. I'll keep looking and see what I come up with...

Thank you for those photos!

More collages... I said I had made tons of them! This shows how the original London Christines seems to have borrowed eachother's Wishing gowns...



Sarah Brightman's dress had very specific decorations of the velvet parts of the bodice. I looked like bronze couching, with metallic sequins. This is the dress she wears for both promo pictures and stage ones. Interestingly enough, Maria Kesselman wore this exact dress for the photoshoot with Marcus Tylor on the roof of Her Majesty's Theatre (picture 2). But she wore another one when playing the role on stage (picture 3).

But to add to the confusion, the dress Maria Kesselman wore on stage is the one Claire Moore wore for a promo shoot (picture 4). But Claire Moore used another dress on stage (picture 5)!

Were they all the same size, and just grabbed the nearest dress? No, not quite. In an interview we're told how Claire Moore filled in for Sarah Brightman very early on, before her own costumes was finished. So she wore Brightman's wardrobe. But some of them, including the Wishing dress, were so tight that several dressers worked on trying to close it in front, and it was only by force they managed it in time for her to appear on stage...

The stage dress Claire Moore wore was later used by Irén Bartók (alternate in 1989). Another very early dress, the one wore by Rebecca Caine, was later used by Shona Lindsay (principal in 1991).

operafantomet wrote:
You look fantastic in it. Really fantastic. As of now I haven't been able to narrow it down more than being used in the UK in the mid 90s (I'm thinking 1993-96). The materials match the dressing gowns of the time, ditto for the construction. The sheer part of the cuffs is what makes it hard. All main Christines at the time - at least those I've found pictures of - have longer cuffs. It can of course be that the sheer cuffs was ripped or otherwise damaged, so they were replaced and hence shortened. But I kinda doubt it. I'll keep looking and see what I come up with...

Thanks! And thanks for keeping an eye out for it. If nothing else, I'm just happy to have an estimated time period for when it was used.

BTW - I just Googled that Toronto auction. I found this Playbill article that was written after the auction: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/48735-Auction-of-Toronto-Phantom-Props-Paraphernalia-Reaps-92500-for-Charity

The monkey musical box went for $28,000!

operafantomet wrote:Thephantomfullerton, WOW!!!! Can you tell us more?

As for other costume stuff... Just run across an article at Playbill.com, from way back when the Toronto production closed. They had an auction one night, selling off props and Phantom items, of which the money went to charity. Of the items were:

*The Phantom's fedora
*Christine's Cape -- a full length pale green silk cape with an attached hood originally worn by Rebecca Caine as Christine in the rooftop scene
*An authentic Phantom mask autographed by Jeff Hyslop
*An authentic Phantom mask autographed by Paul Stanley
*The Phantom of the Opera Notes -- an assortment of Phantom notes used in the production
*The "Hannibal" Poster -- "Lot 663" in the production, this poster is one of the actual props used in the Toronto production
*A one-of-a-kind Paul Stanley Signature PS2000 Guitar emblazoned with The Phantom of the Opera logo and the Phantom mask with KISS star insignia and autographed by Paul Stanley
*The Monkey Music Box -- "Lot 665" in the production, this is the actual prop used in the Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera.
*Christine's Bodice -- an actual costume from the "Il Muto" scene, the bodice is made of silk with hand-beaded and sequined imported English lace overlay
*Christine's Veil -- this delicate hand-stitched wedding veil was worn by Christine in the final scene of The Phantom of the Opera
*Raoul's Vest -- an original vest worn by David Rogers in the role of Raoul in the Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera. This handsome men's double-breasted vest is made from imported English cream silk with braided trim on the lapels and pockets

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/48685-Toronto-Phantom-Disappears-Oct-31-After-10-Years-4226-Perfs-Auction-Follows

Pardon my French, but who the f.... won these items, where are they now, and why haven't I heard about this before?? The Phantom's fedora! The rooftop cloak! The wedding veil! Authentic Canadian masks! Raoul's vest! The monkey musical box! The Hannibal poster!

Hi operafantomet,
Unfortunately, there isn't much else I can tell you! It was worn on stage by Peter Karrie at some point but we don't really know where. We originally suspected Vancouver and perhaps Toronto, but I now think (am practically sure) that it is UK Millenium Tour. It has piles of makeup on the inside and has definitely been very well used, yet there is only a bit of wear and tear on the outside. The amount of makeup on the inside suggests that it has been used for rather a lot of performances, as this picture shows:

There is also a lot of make up in the nose, but that can't be seen here. The amount of wear/makeup on the inside suggests that it could have been used in both Bradford and Manchester, but I don't know for sure. I'll take some more pics later...

I might know something about that Hyslop mask. I recall that someone posted a picture on facebook of their collection which included a mint condition signed Hyslop mask. I don't know if I should post the picture, but I have it saved if need be.
OG

thephanfullerton wrote:

MasqPhan wrote:

thephanfullerton wrote:Speaking of presents, did anyone get any phantomy gifts this year? I know I did!:

OG

That looks AWESOME. So glad you got it.

Thanks Masqphan! I'm so pleased that I finally have a mask, AND that its Peter Karrie's.

Hey there phanfullerton, I'm so happy that you finally got a Peter Karrie mask! Way to go!!! Thanks for sharing pics on the board... :-)

Devon wrote:

thephanfullerton wrote:

MasqPhan wrote:

thephanfullerton wrote:Speaking of presents, did anyone get any phantomy gifts this year? I know I did!:

OG

That looks AWESOME. So glad you got it.

Thanks Masqphan! I'm so pleased that I finally have a mask, AND that its Peter Karrie's.

Hey there phanfullerton, I'm so happy that you finally got a Peter Karrie mask! Way to go!!! Thanks for sharing pics on the board... :-)

THANKS DEVON!!! I'll try to take some better quality pictures later.
OG

Congrats, phanfullerton! It looks great! That must have made a very merry Christmas for you!

Loettchen wrote:Congrats, phanfullerton! It looks great! That must have made a very merry Christmas for you!

Thanks Loettchen! Twas a very merry Christmas indeed!
OG

Ages ago I promised pictures of the purple "Wishing fabric" used in the movie "The Piano" (1993). The dress is worn by a much featured Maori woman, but alas seldom shown more than from the bust and up. The shots are also quick. But from what I can tell, the colour is plum with either white and black print as the blue version, or a pale blue print. I cannot tell.



This dress is made in the style of the 1850s and 1860s, with a "bertha" (V shaped, often pleated) neckline over a short tight-fitting bodic, and with a wide skirt with ruffle on the lower half. I have found no direct link to Phantom, but I know that the blue Wishing fabric is a speciality of a studio run by a husband and wife team. Their studio is popular amongst those designing and making costumes for screen and stage because they collect antique fabrics, lace, trims, fringes etc. - which is how I assume Maria Bjørnson got in contact with them - but they also print fabrics and have been involved in a couple of movies.

As mentioned previously, the blue Wishing fabric is described as unique to Phantom, with Indian silk hand printed in England. Originally it might have been used only for Phantom, but the blue fabric also showed up in "The Forsyte Saga" (2002). A golden version could be seen in "Dangerous Liaisons" (1988), while another purple one showed up backstage at Phantom in London. To me it looks like the pattern is hardly viewable, and the lining is of identical colour, which makes me think it's been overdyed. Maybe a worn-our Wishing dress transformed into another costume? But on the other hand, the colour seems to match the one from "The Piano" well. So your guess is as good as mine. In the picture underneath it was used for Halloween.

operafantomet wrote:

thephanfullerton wrote:On your Elissa tree, some of those ornaments coincidentally look very much like hannibal elephants!
OG

I'm SO happy you noticed the elephants!

I've worked on some collages of Christines who's performed the roles on different continents and/or in different productions. The idea has been to find as similar as possible poses, to see how they look in the respective costumes.

There is of course Sarah Brightman, who originated the role in the UK and US. Because there's a million pictures available, it was easy to find the same poses repeated. She looked more vampish on Broadway, with more makeup and sharper dresses, while she looked more girlish and even a bit more pre-raphaelittish in West End.





Rebecca Caine, who was alternate in London before originating the role in Toronto. She's one of very few singers who got to wear both the silver and the pink Masquerade dress. Judging from how she has described the pink version, I almost get the impression she preferred the silver one. But I personally prefer how she looked in Toronto. The London ones made her look a bit drab.



Rebecca Pitcher has been in the US tour, on Broadway, and also in the World Tour. But she brought a US dressing gown with her when joining the World Tour. Which was a good thing, the Aussie ones are really unflattering to the wearer. Compared to how long Rebecca Pitcher played the role, there are surprisingly few pictures of her, and most are in the dressing gown. So half the collage is of that....



Ditto for Marni Raab, she's also done Broadway, the US tour and the World Tour. I think she look good in both styles.



And then there's Claudia Cota, who shared the role with Irasema Terrazas in Mexico before becoming principal in Argentina. But it was the same bunch of costumes and sets used, so she didn't look all that different. I had very few pictures of her from Mexico, though.



Sierra Boggess, who originated the role of Christine in Las Vegas together with Elizabeth Loyacano. She later did the Royal Albert Hall concert, where she was dressed in UK styled costumes. I like her in both styles; I think she look grander and (like Brigthman) more vampish in the US ones, while she's gotten a cuter and more girlish look in the UK costumes.



I also tried making some on Ana Marina (Aussie/West End), Renée Knapp (Hamburg/Aussie), Patti Cohenour (Bway/Canada), Elizabeth Southard (ditto), Tamami Sai (Korea/Japan) and a few others, but I don't have enough pictures really compare anything. Suggestion on others?

ETA: Oooooh.... Kimilee Bryant! If I'm able to dig up enough pictures of her Basel run.

How about Deborah Dutcher (London, Millenium UK Tour, Hamburg?)?
OG

thephanfullerton wrote:
How about Deborah Dutcher (London, Millenium UK Tour, Hamburg?)?

Well, the UK tour and the West End production are basically identical, costume wise. And from her Hamburg run there's only been published one picture, from Think of Me. So there isn't really much to work with there. I did make a collage, but it's mighty uninteresting...



However, if you DO have more pictures of her from Hamburg, I would love to see them!