Rare pictures 2

phantomgirl110 wrote:Those are from a Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS calendar that came out a couple of years ago. Every month had the ballerinas out in New York City - at a ball game, on a carousel, at a fire station, etc. I love that calendar so much, I have two of them. One day I'll get around to actually scanning or taking quality pictures of it...

By the by, if it's 25th anniversary screencaps you guys want, check out this link. Nearly 8000 high quality caps for download.

Oh okay, I hadn't heard of those particular calendars! Now I wish I would have known and grabbed them when I could....

But thanks for pointing that out for me. I will take a look at the link you posted for screen caps, thanks!

phantomgirl110 wrote:
By the by, if it's 25th anniversary screencaps you guys want, check out this link. Nearly 8000 high quality caps for download.

Whoa. That's a lot of really nice screencaps. Really fabulous high-resolution images, great for checking out details on costumes and makeup.

I suspect they were made using some kind of software b/c they seem to be done at very regular intervals (not to mention that as crazy as some of us are, I doubt anyone sat and made nearly 8000 screencaps on their own.... okay so maybe the secret plotter types would do it, still..).

Thanks for sharing the link!

~Madame~

Happy holidays! I hope it was filled with....

...tiny Christmas trees and sexy boxers....


....and jolly gifts....


...and Degas-snowmen....


...and scary santas...




Happy new year, everybody!

A mint green Rooftop dress had a brief appearance in West End. It was worn by Rachel Barrell, and also by Sofia Escobar when she was an understudy. I won't claim they wore the exact same dress, but they were made with the same materials at least. Thing is that I'm crazy about mint green in the Il Muto costumes. I've looked for good pictures of this exact dress for years, but I've only found two head shots showing parts of the bodice. I'm talking about this one:



Does anyone have better pictures of this dress? Like, one showing a bit of the skirt, or even the full dress? It would mean the world to me.

Here's one of Robyn North wearing one what looks like the same dress. I wanna say that the difference in color is because of the scan, but I totally remember when I saw the two pictures, I totally had a moment of OMG THEY HAVE THE SAME DRESS since they were different "generations" of Christines.

I thought they were the same too, at first, but seeing closeups and backstage pics of Robyn North in that dress shows her version was blue. Totally same style, but blue fabric and blue trim around the neck opening. The one Rachel Barrell/Sofia Escobar wore was green, more green than the picture I posted shows. This shows it better:


Compare to a closeup of that Robyn North one, which appears to be light blue, but highly sequined:


Not sure these pics shows it better, but alas the North one is blue. Which I like, don't misunderstand, but I'm just hooked on the green one. Once the Rooftop dresses starts getting pink and/or black, I zoom out... I just don't like it at all. Not too keen on the purple ones either. But that green one makes me drool. Which is why I'm desperate for a good/better pictures of it.

Ah, I see. The colors are a bit different. Never been a fan of black on the Countess dress myself (I think that happened in Canada?) Love pink though, and I especially adore the fabric that was used on Gina Beck's.

Speaking of costumes possibly popping up in other places -it's been a while since I've really been in touch with Phantom stuff so I forget if I've mentioned it already- but is the Aminta costume that Leila Benn Harris wore the same as the one that was in the Behind the Mask documentary that came with the 04!movie?

Wow, good eye! That MUST be the same dress. The four-leaved flower (?) on the top apron is the most obvious clue, but the stomacher is also identical. Seems like they've added an extra appliqué to the area under the fringes, though.

This might not be the rarest thing ever, but... Marilyn Caskey as Carlotta:

Operafantomet, I think I might have found a picture of the mint green countess rooftop dress, but it is a black and white picture so it is rather hard to tell for certain. Would you still like to see it?
OG

thephanfullerton wrote:Operafantomet, I think I might have found a picture of the mint green countess rooftop dress, but it is a black and white picture so it is rather hard to tell for certain. Would you still like to see it?
OG

If it is Rachel Barrell or Sofia Escobar in the dress, I would love to see it. If it's Robyn North or one of the others wearing the twin dresses, not so much.

I hadn't seen that pic of Marilyn before. The only things I've seen of her in that role were b & w and in the Notes dress, I believe.

operafantomet wrote:

thephanfullerton wrote:Operafantomet, I think I might have found a picture of the mint green countess rooftop dress, but it is a black and white picture so it is rather hard to tell for certain. Would you still like to see it?
OG

If it is Rachel Barrell or Sofia Escobar in the dress, I would love to see it. If it's Robyn North or one of the others wearing the twin dresses, not so much.

Well here is Sofia Escobar:


OG

Do any pics of Kris Koop as Christine exist?

Those pics of Barrell are blurry for a reason. They're from bootlegs and should probably not be posted on this board.

thephantomfullerton, thank you! I feel so stupid, I actually HAD that Sofia Escobar picture... But I completely forgot about it, so thank you for posting it!

Callie Daae, I haven't seen any pictures of Kris Koop as Christine. Not as Carlotta either. There are so blurry ones of her as Madame Giry, from the curtain call, and of course many ensemble pictures, but her performances as Christine goes sadly undocumented. Anyway:

I just finally got around to buying this German playbill/program from a seller on Ebay a few weeks ago. I have never seen this picture before but am sure it's a common one! Thought I would share anyway. :-) I LOVE any and all Wishing pics but this one I really adore because it's a full body shot and with the mist it has such a great aura about it!

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I do believe this is Colby Thomas.

Callie Daae wrote:Do any pics of Kris Koop as Christine exist?

I wish. I've been looking since I saw her in 2005.

I'd also love to find photos of her as Carlotta, since she's one of my favorites in both roles.

But all I've found (aside from the few pictures of her in small ensemble parts like Madame Firmin that appear on the Phantom Facebook) is one blurry curtain call photo as Madame Giry.

Devon, yes that is indeed Colby Thomas. It's one of the first pictures of her from the Hamburg production. I love how the ivy silhouette is framing her in that photo.

Now for a Raoul-and-the-Degas-ballet-dancers special....



Say more stuff like that, Monsieur le Vicomte!



We're your biggest fan, Monsieur le Vicomte!



You so sexy, Monsieur le Vicomte!

Am I crazy, or is that Colby Thomas in Degas costume all the way to the right in the photo? The picture is from Hamburg, and it looks a lot like her. And seeing there's 9 ballet girls in the bed, there seem to be one extra... If it really is her, it's the first time I've seen a Christine in the Degas costume, if only for a photo. If she hadn't filled in for Carlotta (...there wouldn't have been a musical, I know....) she would technically have worn that Degas costume, being a member of Corps de Ballet. I've often wanted to see a Christine wear it, just to visualize her as a ballet dancer.

Paula74 wrote:

Callie Daae wrote:Do any pics of Kris Koop as Christine exist?

I wish. I've been looking since I saw her in 2005.

I'd also love to find photos of her as Carlotta, since she's one of my favorites in both roles.

But all I've found (aside from the few pictures of her in small ensemble parts like Madame Firmin that appear on the Phantom Facebook) is one blurry curtain call photo as Madame Giry.

That's too bad, I know she has a facebook maybe someone could ask her.

SenorSwanky wrote:Those pics of Barrell are blurry for a reason. They're from bootlegs and should probably not be posted on this board.

Oh I see, that would explain it. I don't really remember how I found those. I probably screencaped them from the Matt Cammelle and RC video on youtube.
OG

Paul Stanley, Kimilee Bryant (oh yes, she was there too) and Laird Mackintosh.



Elizabeth de Grazia and Ciarán Sheehan.



More Peter Karrie epicness.



Byron Nease, Rebecca Caine and Colm Wilkinson.

I know they aren't any out there but I would kill for a pic of Toronto deformity, particularly on Colm, and a nice shot of the Toronto proscenium

The Belgian production of Phantom seems to be the least succesfull one and the least featured one. Why I don't know. They had a mighty good Phantom and an overall good cast, the production looked splendid, and they used the solid Dutch lyrics, with some alternations to make it more fit for a Flemish audience. And yet they played for what... less than a year? And the production seem to have left few traces, both in Belgium and in the world of phans. I just wonder why.

To give it some well deserved attention, here are a couple of pictures, most taken from the souvenir brochure which a fan was kind enough to scan some years ago. And which I want badly!!

The cast is Hans Peter Janssen (Phantom), Susanne Duwe (Christine), Ineke van Klinken (alt. Christine) and Michael Shawn Lewis (Raoul). Oh yes, MSL was there too...

AUCTION

A cool picture of the Auction scene. I hope it's from Belgium, it's ages since I saved these photos...


THE SOUVENIR BROCHURE





HANNIBAL

Final pose in Hannibal. The skirt Carlotta wears later ended up in Copenhagen. But with a better underskirt....


COOL UNDERSTUDIES

Two notable understudies - Janine Kitzen as Christine, Robert A. Pitcher as Raoul. The former became principal Christine in the Stuttgart production some years later. The latter is the brother of seasoned US Christine Rebecca Pitcher.


MICHAEL SHAWN LEWIS

Michael Shawn Lewis as Raoul. He's got the cutest face.


PRIMA DONNA

Piangi: William Lynn Dixon, Firmin: Ernst van Looy, Carlotta: An Lauwreins, Raoul: Michael Shawn Lewis, Madame Giry: Stephanie Tschöppe, André: Marc Meersman, Meg Giry: Sophie Kiddle.

I think the b/w Carlotta dress also ended up in Copenhagen. The one they used in Stockholm (where the Copenhagen production got most of their costumes from) was very different, made of a floral black/white fabric in the bodice, and with a white V in front. Both the Belgian and Danish ones has those looped frogs which was in use for a short time in European versions, and the fabrics seems the same.

My über favourite Carlotta: Eva Malmgren (Copenhagen)

Eva Malmgren started out as understudy Christine, but soon enough she became principal Carlotta. She played Carlotta in 2003, and again in 2009. What a voice, what a charm, what a brilliant portrayal! To me she had it all. She owned the stage with her charm, and she had a full, but light soprano. She could be rather bitchy and not afraid of claiming the spotlight, and she seemed to have enjoyed hitting the high notes just a hint earlier than the others, so she would shine the most. She added humour when needed, but at the same time her Carlotta was sympathetic, especially towards Christine in the end of "Twisted every way". So many nuances. Her too jolly laugh before her rant in Hannibal, plus her angry "correction" of her too big wig in Il Muto stands out as very memorable moments.

Oh and yes, she was tall - about my height - slim, and quite beautiful. Never did I doubt she was the first lady of the Parisian opera scene. But I never questioned the Phantom's dislike for her either... Haha!

Josefine and myself got to interview her Carlotta for our mockumentary. She told us her Carlotta had a crush on the slave master. She and Piangi might have had a fling in the past, and she still flirts with him, but now he's like a faithful puppy. She also revealed that her Masquerade costume was like a stiff cage and impossible to sit in, so she wouldn't recommend it as a party costume for others... The interview can be seen in bits and pieces here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hga8b5w5eJY

I have basically no pictures of her from the second act, but many-many from the first act. So here goes:


All pictures are from 2009. The third one is from the very last performance in CPH.



The two first pictures are from 2003, the latter is from 2009. Piangi is Fernando Concha.



The first picture is from 2003, the second from 2009.



The cast picture from 2009 shows Eva Malmgren as Carlotta and Teresia Bokor as Christine. But who the F... is that ginger/blonde Raoul in box 5?? Earl Carpenter, is that you? Picture number two is Eva M. with 2002/03 Christine Viktoria Krantz.



Masquerade! The first is Viktoria Krantz and Eva Malmgren, from 2003. The two others are from 2009.

Regarding the Belgium cast, not withstanding that ridiculous looking mask, Hans has some excellent vocals ( as can be seen online) I had the pleasure of seeing him in Les Mis in London also. Shame but understandable that they didnt do a recording.

justin-from-barbados wrote:Regarding the Belgium cast, not withstanding that ridiculous looking mask, Hans has some excellent vocals ( as can be seen online) I had the pleasure of seeing him in Les Mis in London also. Shame but understandable that they didnt do a recording.

I saw him twice in this production. The mask didin't look half bad live. It was the same one he wore in Scheveningen as an understudy. (Or made from the same headcast.)



From left to right: Ben Cramer, Henk Poort and Hans Peter Janssens

Other pics of Hans:







Hans as Raoul in Scheveningen:







Thanks for sharing the pics, operafantomet!

TheFinnishPhantom wrote:

justin-from-barbados wrote:Regarding the Belgium cast, not withstanding that ridiculous looking mask, Hans has some excellent vocals ( as can be seen online) I had the pleasure of seeing him in Les Mis in London also. Shame but understandable that they didnt do a recording.

I saw him twice in this production. The mask didin't look half bad live. It was the same one he wore in Scheveningen as an understudy. (Or made from the same headcast.)



From left to right: Ben Cramer, Henk Poort and Hans Peter Janssens

Ooo. Haven't seen this one before. Good one of Henk Poort (still my all-time favorite Phantom) Thanks for sharing :-D

Not a big fan of that mask either. I wonder why he never did the role in London, since he did Valjean in two languages and Javert also in English.

Another rarely mentioned production is the bilingual Swiss production. I love Florian Schneider, and they also had the excellent Kimilee Bryant, among other good leads. Wasn't MSL in that one too?

SenorSwanky wrote:Not a big fan of that mask either. I wonder why he never did the role in London, since he did Valjean in two languages and Javert also in English.

Another rarely mentioned production is the bilingual Swiss production. I love Florian Schneider, and they also had the excellent Kimilee Bryant, among other good leads. Wasn't MSL in that one too?

I dunno, it feels like the Swiss production has gotten a lot more attention than the Belgian one. Maybe because the former released a four-track single, while only promo stuff not for sale was made for the latter?

I don't think MSL was in the Swiss production, not as Raoul anyway. But they had Björn Olsson, who must held the record for being in most productions (in different countries, that is): Stockholm, Basel, Hamburg and Copenhagen. Kimilee Bryant, who was alternate Christine there, isn't far behind, with her run in the US (tour/Broadway), Toronto and Basel. Others from Basel who's starred in multiple productions are Hayley Franks (Basel, UK tour, Copenhagen), Hans Dornbusch (Stockholm, Basel, UK tour and I think Hamburg), Leigh Munro (L.A., Basel and I think Toronto?), David Gaschen (Basel, Hamburg, Broadway), Beverley Worboys (Basel, West End) and Kate Wray (Basel, US tour/Broadway). Maybe more too. The Swiss production is the only fully and solely produced by RUG. So these names probably stuck better than the productions RUG has been less involved in?

Speaking of which, here are some pictures from the Swiss production:


1. Leigh Munro, 2. Kimilee Bryant, 3. Kimilee Bryant and Ute Baum.



1. Ute Baum and Florian Schneider, 2. Schneider, 3. Schneider/Baum, 4. David Gaschen.



Ute Baum and Florian Schneider (managed to write Gaschen in the file name.... ignore!)



Leigh Munro



Last night prank, with the sylphides in... funky makeup.



1. Kate Wray as Triton/Trident in Masquerade, 2. Florian Schneider, 3. Björn Olsson and Ute Baum.



Kimilee Bryant and Björn Olsson. OMG, so young!

Thanks. I love the Basel mask, which is basically the UK design. And the deformity is very unique and detailed.