I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
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I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
Hello everyone.... I've seen LND four times now. Twice in London, the first time a month or so after the opening, the second time after the re-working. Have now also seen it twice in Copenhagen and that show is a completely different animal to the London one.
It's well-crafted, the costumes, set etc etc superb and the performers splendid. Same weak story, however, but there you go...
Am taking the liberty of re-posting a review originally posted at phantomoftheopera.com , for those interested here.
I can warmly recommend seeing the show, if you don't mind the story. I will be seeing it again, more than once probably. My husband too, who actually prefers it to Phantom. Yes, I know, how can anyone ever prefer ANYTHING to Phantom??? I am shocked and stunned, of course, but who said that the course of true love should run smoothly?
Anyway, here cometh my obnoxiosly long review with descriptions, starting off with my Rave about the Awesome Travelator... Nb, this is my review from the first time I saw it, there's a second one coming up. Unless someone stops me .....
Oh amazing Travelator, let me sing your praise!
I’m not familiar with the correct terminology for various bits of a stage set or the machinery, so please feel free to correct me if you know better! I don’t know if this bit of stage machinery should be called a travelator or a walkway, but I’ll try to describe it and hopefully give you a picture of it.
I will post a more complete review of LND as soon as I can, but minor annoyances such as “work” and “family life” are interfering with my leisure and the time I have at my disposal to obsess over all things Phantom at the moment... so.... to whet your appetites I will serve nibbles in the form of a rave over the LND Travelator.
This is a length of gangway, about 2/3 of the stage in length, with side railings. It rises vertically from the floor of the stage with the help of a piston, and not only can it be tilted from side to side, it also rotates around its own axis and moves backwards, forwards and sideways across the stage.
We first don’t see it when it is used to raise the Phantom from the floor of the stage as he sits at the organ and tries to compose and sings “Until I hear you sing again”. We don’t see it, as it is hidden behind drapes across the stage, that are used to project images of Christine and something else I couldn’t quite work out. It makes its next appearance (as far as I can remember) as the gangway used to disembark from the ship. Sloping from the left of the stage.
The next major appearance is during the Beauty Underneath, or rather “Den skonhed der er gemd” which would translate as “Hidden Beauty” or “The Beauty that is hidden”. The Phantom and Gustave walk up it on a slope, it slowly rises up, rotates about its axis very slowly and awesomely, moving towards the front of the stage as the various Coney Island freaks come out from the sides of the stage.
This created a strange feeling of stillness and movement at the same time, and had an almost hypnotic effect. On me, anyway. But I’m like that. The whole set was very black and bluish, perhaps subterranean or night-time during this scene, the freaks were out of their costumes, hair down, it was a sort of relaxed“backstage” atmosphere, everyone having a jolly good singalong in the repetitive chant. The whole feel was odd but friendly and Gustave was having the time of his life. Until the Phantom unmasked himself. More about that later.
In the final scene the travelator/walkway is quite high up, and acts as the pier, the left of it pointing slightly towards the back of the stage, the right towards the front. Meg drags Gustave along it, clangs open a “gate” in the railings and I’m almost screaming “don’t do that it’s bloody dangerous”. It’s so high up and she wants to chuck him off. Carried away? Who me? Yep, indeed. I’m a sucker for getting wound up when children are involved.
The story continues, Phantom and Christine turn up, Meg turns gun on Gustave, but thankfully goes away from the opened “gate”. After Christine has been shot, she and the Phantom are at the very end of the walkway on the right, that is angled towards the audience, Gustave and others having exited left. Death scene, Gustave returns with Raoul from left. Raoul goes to Christine’s body and holds her in his arms. As he cries over her body, the Phantom moves left along the walkway which slowly rotates so that Raoul, Gustave and Christine move towards the back of the stage and focus shifts to the other end where the Phantom stands alone. After a while Gustave moves out of the gloom at the back into the light where the Phantom stands.
All in all, I really like the way they used the movement of the walkway to create a smooth shift in focus on the characters, and also how it drew the eye to the centre of the stage, creating a kind of controlled stillness in the middle of movement.
I used to dream about being punted in the boat on the lake and serenaded by the Phantom, but now I’m not sure if I wouldn’t prefer being on the Travelator when the Phantom sings “Den skonhed der er gemt”.
Great work Travelator. I will have to get your autograph next time I see the show. If I see the show a hundred times like someone I know, do you think they’d let me go for a ride on it?
And now for the actual review of the show..... with lots of description, sorry about that....
Det Ny Teater is a lovely little 19th C theatre with about 900 seats. It has stalls, a balcony, an upper balcony, and I believe another top balcony right at the back of the auditorium. Also boxes right next to the stage, in two or three tiers. The stage isn’t very big, but the shows I’ve seen there (Phantom and Les Mis) used the space very cleverly. In the beginning of this video (a Mockumentary by Operafantomet) Tomas Ambt Kofoed talks about the theatre and the stage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIcRKrVbbJg
The Love Never Dies set extends well outside the actual stage itself, there is a black trellis work with coloured lamps covering the front of the balconies. There are also multicoloured lamps with prisms suspended from the balconies. One of my husband’s first comments when we sat down was “I don’t like that face”, pointing to a grotesque clown’s face at the top of the proscenium. Its tongue stuck out, and some kind of goblin-like thing was holding its eyelids open with its hands. The strings of coloured lights in the ceiling above the stage combined with the draperies give a kind of marquee circus show tent feeling. The stage is very very small, but they use the height to create volume, so it doesn’t feel cramped.
Studying the programme and pictures of the actors I decide I don’t like the look of Raoul at all, and that the Phantom’s mask looks very different from anything I’ve seen before. It has a “real skull” feel to it, looks gritty and glowering. Feel rather bad about judging people by their looks only and hope that Raoul will put my prejudice to shame.
House lights go down. Prologue. Enter the travelator raising up the Phantom at the organ, first crashing out the music, then feeling out a tune, crumpling up paper in frustration. The projection of Christine on the drapes beneath the Phantom are not a complete success, the folds in the cloth interfere with the images. Phantom has a dressing gown? Red brocade smoking gown? End of intro, rounds of applause. Tomas Ambt Kofoed performed the song very well, he made it sound easy and I know it can’t be, it covers such a large vocal range. Then again, perhaps he’s transposed some bits down, I can’t remember. But Tomas is never strained, squeaky or short of breath. Woot, Tomas rules! Youtube vid here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEmpy4qD3PM&feature=related. I like the Danish lyrics.
Et årti - brugt på et tomt facadeliv Et årti - ganske forspildt, gået op i røg. I mit sind lyder skønne og himmelske toner. Men jeg kan ikke give dem liv uden dig. Min Christine, min Christine: alt er tabt, alt er tabt. Når mørket det kommer sort og ondt er hver en nat søvnløs og lang. Du var så skøn og hør min tavse bøn: Syng for mig igen. Hver uge, hver måned, året rundt længes jeg efter din klang. I hvert et nu jeg håber på at du synger for mig nok en gang. I tusmørket sanser jeg du er ganske nær, men alt hvad jeg ser er månens kolde skær. Og tiden den venter år for år. Den føles tom, åndløs og tav. Min sjæl itu, den findes først når du synger for mig nok en gang. Din stemme, din stemme den vækker mit begær, men altting er tabt, for du er ikke her. Lad drømmen og håbet bare dø! Intet vil uden din sang. For livet her gi’r ingen mening mer’ Før du synger nok en gang. (Copied from the comments under the youtube video, I’m not that good at Danish!)
Coney Island Waltz, with the trio and ensemble. Gangle (patch quilt matador trousers) Fleck (doll-like) and Squelch, quite different in appearance to London and Oz, all three with white painted faces, almost clowns but not quite. Quirky costumes all their own, but I can’t really define the style. Leaning towards clowns, but perhaps that’s because of their hair and face paint. And Squelch’s clown pants ;-) And eeek! ZOMG what the HECK was that? A black shade swoops across the ceiling from the back of the auditorium to the top of the stage, unfurls, unfolds and drops halfway down the stage. I’m slow on the catch, but realize after a few moments it’s an aerialist wrapped in a length of black cloth that he unwraps from around his body. Cool. Going outside the box, just like when the chandelier in Phantom lifts from the stage. I can pick out some of the words about the delights on Coney, there’s a mention of “roboter der chokerer” I think. Robots that shock. Lively, lots of movement, too much to see and take it at the first look.
I can’t actually remember at what stage in the proceedings we see all the freaks of Coney in their full glory, but they’re strange in a non-squicky way. Traditional ones, like a bearded lady, Siamese twins, someone with a sack/bag over his head that reminds me of the Elephant man. Anyway, lots of sparkle and multicoloured lamps everywhere even outside the stage itself. Black trellis thingies rumbling across the stage with lamps on too. We sure are getting our money’s worth.
Only for you. Meg and ensemble. No sauciness here, we don’t recognize the Ooh la la girl at all, it’s all demure traditional music hall costume. Meg (Camille-Cathrine Rommedahl) is quite tall and has a rather mature voice, that makes a change from the more girly timbre I’ve heard in other Megs. She’s pretty, enthusiastic, starry eyed. Madame Giry splats her, mean old bat. Yep, it’s the same old Mme Giry Type 1 as per the London production. And yes, I do want to slap this one too.
Madame Giry’s office. Mme reveals Christine is coming to NY to perform at Hammerstein’s new opera house, Meg sings her delight at the thought that her old friend is being carried to her by the sea. That tune has rather got stuck in my head, pops up every now and then. Can’t remember anything particularly remarkable here.
Pier 69 in NY Harbour, arrival of the ship I can’t remember seeing the name of. Enter travelator left. Celebs disembark as per schedule, flutter of excitement, autograph books are signed, photographers flash (their light flashes!!). Pause and swoop of music as Christine walks slowly down the gangway, pausing halfway to wave cheerfully to the masses. Poised and collected, not shrinking or shy as she is assaulted by the crowd. Raoul witters around ineffectually, Christine is unperturbed and obliges with autographs, Gustave is wide-eyed and un-intimidated. The “Christine” moment passed by a bit too quickly for my liking, they could have held it for a few moments longer. London Christine had a rich dark red dress, Copenhagen Christine is in pale cool blue, white feathery boa feels a bit out of place. I’d have expected furs.
Ominous lowering of stage lights, thunder rumbles, and a black horseless hearse-like carriage carrying the three freaks rolls onto the stage. Gangle dressed more or less like an undertaker. They don’t mess around much but aided by Gustave’s enthusiastic leap into the carriage get the de Chagny family on their way to... Hammerstein? So they say. This is where the plot glitches a bit, I don’t remember any explanation of the hi-jacking, and diversion from central Manhattan to Coney. Never mind, there are bigger plotholes..
At the hotel Raoul yammers. Meh. Don’t like him much. Drat, I did so want to. Gustave trots around chirpily with his new toy, a musical box with a nelephant on it, that raises its trunk as the music plays. Interaction Raoul, Christine, no real chemistry, I get the feeling the actors aren’t really “warm in their clothes” yet. Christine is quite confident and assertive though. There is a distinct difference between the London Christines (both Phantom and LND) and the Scandinavian ones. The latter have more backbone. IMO. Gustave plays tune on piano, Raoul snaps, Gustave fiddles with musical box, it plays “You have come here” straight away. In the London production, it played the cheerful quayside orchestra tune. Christine recognizes it, but not Raoul, who leaves after the call from Hammerstein.
Mother – son duet. “Se med din sjael” translates as look with your soul. Very sweet. Christine in very sparkly white silvery gown twirls around with Gustave. She’s wearing evening dress I think, has a an aigret (feather that sticks up) in her hair. Jennie sniffles a bit. Hubby snores as has dropped off. Jennie pokes husband. Gustave off to bed.
I think the elephant tinkles again, er... musical box plays a bit of a tune again, lights lower slightly, Christine goes out through french windows onto the balcony, the set rotates showing her on the balcony as thunder rolls, and in a flash of lightning and ba boom of doom from the orchestra the Phantom unmysteriously appears on the balcony too, emerging from the same French windows. It didn’t make me jump exactly, but Christine staggered away in terror and clung to the balustrade as if she was going to throw up from the shock.
The Copenhagen LND Phantom is not particularly likeable at all. He’s a total bastard, to put it bluntly. I don’t like him, but I like the way they portray him, without excuses or trying to prettify him. It feels honest somehow. Don’t worry if this doesn’t make sense, I don’t get it myself. Christine’s (and later Raoul’s) reaction to the Phantom make him truly frightening. We can gauge his intimidation factor by the reaction shown by others.
BAMS, or “I Nattens Dunkle Skød” as they say in Danish, which translates as “In the dark lap of the night”. Poetic and with erotic undertones. The Phantom is self assured and so is Christine in this song, it was a joy to see and hear. Would love to have a recording of this.
The set for Christine’s hotel room and the balcony is a bit of a puzzle, it has figures on the top of it that look like statues with lances or poles that are trying to climb over a wall. Can’t work out what they’re supposed to be.
Once upon another time, Christine tells the Phantom to get stuffed (but more poetically), he pleads at her to sing to sing to sing to sing. And to sing. She stands up quite well for herself and the Phantom isn’t getting the better of her. Until Gustave, the weak spot in her armour, turns up. The Phantom turns on the thumbscrews again after Gustave pops off again. When Raoul comes back disappointed from his failed appointment, the Phantom drops through a trapdoor in the floor on the right.
More another day.....
Christine is disjointed and disconcerted when Raoul comes back, but the scene is wrapped up quite quickly so there isn’t much plot or character development here. As I remember it.
Since I don’t always understand every detail in the danish dialogue I can’t say for sure how it went, but the impression I got after Once Upon another time was that the Phantom wanted Christine to sing for him one more time and be well paid for it. She stood up for herself pretty well, showed more backbone than other Christines I’ve seen, he seemed ready to back down, until Gustave turned up and the Phantom, quick to take advantage of the situation threatened to make him disappear in Coney if Christine didn’t do as he said. This absolutely shattered her and her terrified/despairing reaction again reinforced the Evilness and Total Iniquity of the Phantom. If you see what I mean. Bastard. I really really felt he was such a total shit. Don’t remember feeling as strongly about this in London. I will just have to go see it again to try to work out the mechanism ;-)
Dear Old Friends – went smoothly, Mme Giry almost seeming to enjoy telling Raoul that Mr Y was “Him” and beating him over the head with innuendos that Christine Knew More Than She Wanted to Tell. The blocking and interaction was OK, but not as clear cut as it could have been. Christine and Meg genuinely happy without reservations to see each other again.
Gustave trots off with a mysteriously beckoning figure, climbs along the Travelator, meets Mr Y in his Li (Danish for Lair, not an Eyrie in sight). He’s got a Tardis-like red phone box, an big big wheel and a giant doll’s head. He starts to fiddle with something next to the Tardis, but Mr Young Musical Genius and Hence Son of Phantom starts fiddling with the piano/keyboard showing his musical talent, flash of lightning (I think but will have to check this) and enlightenment, Phantom realized it is His Son, and the Beauty that is Hidden reveals itself. Phantom in the red brocade total awesomeness long robe that I would die for. But would hubby wear it? Must remember to ask. Phantom is truly the Master That Commands Over All That He Beholds. Including the Amazing Travelator as per the description in post #1 of this thread. I won’t repeat myself but I was gobsmacked.
We meet the freaks of Coney again, this time not in the red and warm glamour of the super trouper show lights, but the cool blue déshabille (undressed) relaxation of a Backstage atmosphere. We see them in their underwear, hair untidy, white dark eyed faces, but showing friendly curiousity, it’s a strange comradeship and companionship that he Phantom seems very much at home in and that Gustave just revels in. Travelator.... well.... just.... wow.... See post #1. Even the Elephant man now shows his face, hidden up until now in a bag over the head, reminding me of the 2004 movie young Phantom. Since Gustave is so totally at home and accepting of the weirdness around him, I don’t understand his shriek of horror/reaction to the Phantom unmasking. Christine arrives, sends Gustave off with Meg, scolds Phantom. Phantom does the “zomg I’m so ugly” thing in front of a big mirror, having taken off mask and wig to stare at himself, back to the audience. OK, so am feeling a bit sorry for him here.
End of Act I
Dash to the upstairs Ladies loo where the queue is much shorter than to the downstairs loo, then a drink in the foyer with husband. A “Phantom on Manhattan”. Can’t remember what was in it but it was very nice. Frantic note-scribbling, while husband sips glass of bubbly, wisely refraining from trying to talk to me.
Act II
Entr’Acte
Curtain that has previously been looped up is now completely down and we see a lady in a white dress on the left, a general background of roses, and a magician-like figure in black wearing a mask holding a cloak as if pulling it away from the figure in white. Very traditional stage magician kind of gesture and situation. Overall black and red colour scheme. Am liking all this so very much more than London. When I saw it in London I didn’t really mind the ascetic staging, but Copenhagen is so much more and I loff it. On the right of the curtain is a masked face with jagged teeth,a bit reminiscent of a horror film poster.
Bar scene. Rotating set to present the bar. Raoul is very very very drunk. Am surprized he can carry the tune. Does it really well, am almost beginning to feel sorry for him, but am handicapped by my dislike for drunken gibbering. And the way he keeps telling the barman to fill it again. Enter Meg, does her “going for a swim washes the dirt away” routine, but I don’t really warm to it. Liked London Meg better.
“Fanden Ta’r den Sidste” has a different feel to it than ”Devil takes the hindmost”. Word-wise they both mean exactly the same thing, but in Danish it feels more real and less like a .... proverb or saying. The Devil really will go get whoever is last in this game.
Here again I see evidence of the Phantom’s intimidation and how his mindgames affect people. Raoul staggers back in absolute terror when the Phantom barman turns up. The reactions of others say so much about him as a character. Phantom is disdainful, sneering, domineering, playing with Raoul like a cat with a mouse. London DTTH was at times physical, the Phantom getting hands-on and strangling Raoul when he lunged at him. The Copenhagen Phantom is ice cool in control, taunting Raoul with deliberate cruelty. Does something that flashes fire in his hand. The pair stalk each other around a table, the Phantom holds out a deck of cards, pick a card, any card and as Raoul stretches out his hand, the Phantom drops them to the floor with a sneer. At this point I would happily smack the Phantom, no regrets. Bastard. In London, the Phantom did seem to lose control every now and then, which made me more sympathetic to him, I cannot recall anything like that from Copenhagen, but I may have missed things. I couldn’t always perfectly follow the Danish, then again, the words transmit one level of meaning, actions and gestures another, to reinforce the text.
Bathing Beauty, or Bathing Nymph in Danish. Meg starts out rosy fresh prim and proper in coat and hat, parasol in one hand, carpet bag in the other, passes through the stripes dots and checks ending up baring it all in a body stocking and covering the essentials with two straw hats. Well performed etc etc nothing in particular to comment on. Meg gushes and twitters, Madame Giry splats her etc etc, but the whole thing passes rather briskly so they’re not really leaving much room for reflection/feeling.
Well, I know that Det Ny Teater is smaller than many other theatres, but did they have to downgrade Christine’s dressing room to a wardrobe? Just kidding. The programme says “Christines garderobe”. Garderobe is Danish for dressing room, but in Swedish it means wardrobe. Christine in lovely dark red velvet dressing gown.
Overall I like the costumes in Copenhagen. They’ve chosen to follow a rather formal costume code, there’s no poofy shirted Phantom or Christine in underwear or exaggerated cleavages. No attempt to sex things up in an obvious fashion. No long leather coats either, but the Phantom’s red brocade smoking gown/dressing gown is... fabulous. It’s exotic, gorgeous, magical....
Gustave thinks mum looks “vidunderlig, som en fé in en bog”. Vidunderlig is more than just beautiful, it’s awesomely heartstoppingly beautiful. Danish Christine isn´t like a queen in a book, but a fairy, “fé”. These changes are necessary to make the words fit the tunes of course.
Enter cleaned-up and sober Raoul who asks Gustave nicely to leave him and mum alone for a while. Christine quite taken with him, he asks her not to sing, they have a quick smooch, or actually quite a passionate hug and kiss, he leaves, Christine starts to take off her ear-rings, she’s made up her mind to not sing. Enter the Phantom (probably with some thunder, but I can’t remember for sure) who does his blackmailing pressurizing bit again. Self-assured, relentless, puts necklace around her throat and leaves Christine Twisted Every Way, end of scene.
DTTH reprise, Phantom and Raoul standing in the theatre’s real boxes either side of the stage. First or second tier? Can’t remember. Nice touch. The set is dominated by huge pink striped fans with flowers on them, that open and close slowly a couple of times during LND. Very pretty and impressively smooth. Christine’s dress is kimono-like, pinky creamy peach, beautiful delicate colour, gauzy embroidered material. Matches the Japanese fan style. It’s just lovely.
Louise Fribo is a delight to see and behold, sings flawlessly. I like the Danish lyrics, and Louise puts her heart into them, but I can’t quite make them out at the end in the really high parts. Raoul leaves as she sings, which does affect her somewhat, but not as much as I’ve seen in the London performance.
Backstage the Phantom exults in his triumph through her, she’s still in a daze over how alive she felt etc etc they go into a passionate clinch and kiss. The next series is events is pretty much according to the standard script, nothing outstanding that I noted.
The final scene “På molen” on the pier is well staged and superbly executed. I’ve mentioned the set up in the first post on this thread in my rave about the travelator, am reposting it here.
In the final scene the travelator/walkway is quite high up, and acts as the pier, the left of it pointing slightly towards the back of the stage, the right towards the front. Meg drags Gustave along it, clangs open a “gate” in the railings and I’m almost screaming “don’t do that it’s bloody dangerous”. It’s so high up and she wants to chuck him off. Carried away? Who me? Yep, indeed. I’m a sucker for getting wound up when children are involved.
The story continues, Phantom and Christine turn up, Meg turns gun on Gustave, but thankfully goes away from the opened “gate”. Meg Reveals The Horrors She Has Suffered in order to promote the Phantom’s interests, Mme Giry gasps in shock (yeah right, you evil old.... ) Phantom does a nice job of talking to Meg, Gustave gets away to Christine.
As the Phantom puts his foot in his mouth with the classic comment about Christine, Meg puts the gun to her own head to shoot herself. The Phantom grabs her wrist, they wrestle for the gun. It goes off, the bullet hitting Christine. It’s a horrible accident, the Phantom is actually physically partly responsible for it, since he was hands-on holding the gun or the hand that held the gun. Soo.... more guilty than in London where only Meg held the gun, even if the shooting was accidental.
Anyone else think that Mme Giry should have been a better candidate for the part of shooting Christine?
After Christine has been shot, she and the Phantom are at the very end of the walkway on the right, that is angled towards the audience, Gustave and others having exited left. Christine tells Gustave the Phantom is his father, G screams and runs off. Death scene (which feels a bit short, did they cut something?) Gustave returns with Raoul from left. Raoul obviously didn’t expect the Phantom to be there as he staggers back in horror to see him. Raoul goes to Christine’s body and holds her in his arms. As he cries over her body, the Phantom moves left along the walkway which slowly rotates so that Raoul, Gustave and Christine move towards the back of the stage and focus shifts to the other end where the Phantom stands alone. After a while Gustave moves out of the gloom at the back into the light where the Phantom stands. R & C are only dark shadows and all focus is on Gustave and the Phantom. The gist of the final scene between them is that Gustave of his own initiative goes to the Phantom who kneels in front of him. I think G takes off the mask, or perhaps he gestured to the P to take it off, not sure. But I do remember that G stretches out his hand to touch the scarred/damaged side of the Phantom’s face, that is in the shadow and can’t really be seen by the audience. Stage fades into darkness.
The performance received a standing ovation from the audience and did one extra curtain call, but then the orchestra broke up the applause by starting to play.
It's well-crafted, the costumes, set etc etc superb and the performers splendid. Same weak story, however, but there you go...
Am taking the liberty of re-posting a review originally posted at phantomoftheopera.com , for those interested here.
I can warmly recommend seeing the show, if you don't mind the story. I will be seeing it again, more than once probably. My husband too, who actually prefers it to Phantom. Yes, I know, how can anyone ever prefer ANYTHING to Phantom??? I am shocked and stunned, of course, but who said that the course of true love should run smoothly?
Anyway, here cometh my obnoxiosly long review with descriptions, starting off with my Rave about the Awesome Travelator... Nb, this is my review from the first time I saw it, there's a second one coming up. Unless someone stops me .....
Oh amazing Travelator, let me sing your praise!
I’m not familiar with the correct terminology for various bits of a stage set or the machinery, so please feel free to correct me if you know better! I don’t know if this bit of stage machinery should be called a travelator or a walkway, but I’ll try to describe it and hopefully give you a picture of it.
I will post a more complete review of LND as soon as I can, but minor annoyances such as “work” and “family life” are interfering with my leisure and the time I have at my disposal to obsess over all things Phantom at the moment... so.... to whet your appetites I will serve nibbles in the form of a rave over the LND Travelator.
This is a length of gangway, about 2/3 of the stage in length, with side railings. It rises vertically from the floor of the stage with the help of a piston, and not only can it be tilted from side to side, it also rotates around its own axis and moves backwards, forwards and sideways across the stage.
We first don’t see it when it is used to raise the Phantom from the floor of the stage as he sits at the organ and tries to compose and sings “Until I hear you sing again”. We don’t see it, as it is hidden behind drapes across the stage, that are used to project images of Christine and something else I couldn’t quite work out. It makes its next appearance (as far as I can remember) as the gangway used to disembark from the ship. Sloping from the left of the stage.
The next major appearance is during the Beauty Underneath, or rather “Den skonhed der er gemd” which would translate as “Hidden Beauty” or “The Beauty that is hidden”. The Phantom and Gustave walk up it on a slope, it slowly rises up, rotates about its axis very slowly and awesomely, moving towards the front of the stage as the various Coney Island freaks come out from the sides of the stage.
This created a strange feeling of stillness and movement at the same time, and had an almost hypnotic effect. On me, anyway. But I’m like that. The whole set was very black and bluish, perhaps subterranean or night-time during this scene, the freaks were out of their costumes, hair down, it was a sort of relaxed“backstage” atmosphere, everyone having a jolly good singalong in the repetitive chant. The whole feel was odd but friendly and Gustave was having the time of his life. Until the Phantom unmasked himself. More about that later.
In the final scene the travelator/walkway is quite high up, and acts as the pier, the left of it pointing slightly towards the back of the stage, the right towards the front. Meg drags Gustave along it, clangs open a “gate” in the railings and I’m almost screaming “don’t do that it’s bloody dangerous”. It’s so high up and she wants to chuck him off. Carried away? Who me? Yep, indeed. I’m a sucker for getting wound up when children are involved.
The story continues, Phantom and Christine turn up, Meg turns gun on Gustave, but thankfully goes away from the opened “gate”. After Christine has been shot, she and the Phantom are at the very end of the walkway on the right, that is angled towards the audience, Gustave and others having exited left. Death scene, Gustave returns with Raoul from left. Raoul goes to Christine’s body and holds her in his arms. As he cries over her body, the Phantom moves left along the walkway which slowly rotates so that Raoul, Gustave and Christine move towards the back of the stage and focus shifts to the other end where the Phantom stands alone. After a while Gustave moves out of the gloom at the back into the light where the Phantom stands.
All in all, I really like the way they used the movement of the walkway to create a smooth shift in focus on the characters, and also how it drew the eye to the centre of the stage, creating a kind of controlled stillness in the middle of movement.
I used to dream about being punted in the boat on the lake and serenaded by the Phantom, but now I’m not sure if I wouldn’t prefer being on the Travelator when the Phantom sings “Den skonhed der er gemt”.
Great work Travelator. I will have to get your autograph next time I see the show. If I see the show a hundred times like someone I know, do you think they’d let me go for a ride on it?
And now for the actual review of the show..... with lots of description, sorry about that....
Det Ny Teater is a lovely little 19th C theatre with about 900 seats. It has stalls, a balcony, an upper balcony, and I believe another top balcony right at the back of the auditorium. Also boxes right next to the stage, in two or three tiers. The stage isn’t very big, but the shows I’ve seen there (Phantom and Les Mis) used the space very cleverly. In the beginning of this video (a Mockumentary by Operafantomet) Tomas Ambt Kofoed talks about the theatre and the stage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIcRKrVbbJg
The Love Never Dies set extends well outside the actual stage itself, there is a black trellis work with coloured lamps covering the front of the balconies. There are also multicoloured lamps with prisms suspended from the balconies. One of my husband’s first comments when we sat down was “I don’t like that face”, pointing to a grotesque clown’s face at the top of the proscenium. Its tongue stuck out, and some kind of goblin-like thing was holding its eyelids open with its hands. The strings of coloured lights in the ceiling above the stage combined with the draperies give a kind of marquee circus show tent feeling. The stage is very very small, but they use the height to create volume, so it doesn’t feel cramped.
Studying the programme and pictures of the actors I decide I don’t like the look of Raoul at all, and that the Phantom’s mask looks very different from anything I’ve seen before. It has a “real skull” feel to it, looks gritty and glowering. Feel rather bad about judging people by their looks only and hope that Raoul will put my prejudice to shame.
House lights go down. Prologue. Enter the travelator raising up the Phantom at the organ, first crashing out the music, then feeling out a tune, crumpling up paper in frustration. The projection of Christine on the drapes beneath the Phantom are not a complete success, the folds in the cloth interfere with the images. Phantom has a dressing gown? Red brocade smoking gown? End of intro, rounds of applause. Tomas Ambt Kofoed performed the song very well, he made it sound easy and I know it can’t be, it covers such a large vocal range. Then again, perhaps he’s transposed some bits down, I can’t remember. But Tomas is never strained, squeaky or short of breath. Woot, Tomas rules! Youtube vid here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEmpy4qD3PM&feature=related. I like the Danish lyrics.
Et årti - brugt på et tomt facadeliv Et årti - ganske forspildt, gået op i røg. I mit sind lyder skønne og himmelske toner. Men jeg kan ikke give dem liv uden dig. Min Christine, min Christine: alt er tabt, alt er tabt. Når mørket det kommer sort og ondt er hver en nat søvnløs og lang. Du var så skøn og hør min tavse bøn: Syng for mig igen. Hver uge, hver måned, året rundt længes jeg efter din klang. I hvert et nu jeg håber på at du synger for mig nok en gang. I tusmørket sanser jeg du er ganske nær, men alt hvad jeg ser er månens kolde skær. Og tiden den venter år for år. Den føles tom, åndløs og tav. Min sjæl itu, den findes først når du synger for mig nok en gang. Din stemme, din stemme den vækker mit begær, men altting er tabt, for du er ikke her. Lad drømmen og håbet bare dø! Intet vil uden din sang. For livet her gi’r ingen mening mer’ Før du synger nok en gang. (Copied from the comments under the youtube video, I’m not that good at Danish!)
Coney Island Waltz, with the trio and ensemble. Gangle (patch quilt matador trousers) Fleck (doll-like) and Squelch, quite different in appearance to London and Oz, all three with white painted faces, almost clowns but not quite. Quirky costumes all their own, but I can’t really define the style. Leaning towards clowns, but perhaps that’s because of their hair and face paint. And Squelch’s clown pants ;-) And eeek! ZOMG what the HECK was that? A black shade swoops across the ceiling from the back of the auditorium to the top of the stage, unfurls, unfolds and drops halfway down the stage. I’m slow on the catch, but realize after a few moments it’s an aerialist wrapped in a length of black cloth that he unwraps from around his body. Cool. Going outside the box, just like when the chandelier in Phantom lifts from the stage. I can pick out some of the words about the delights on Coney, there’s a mention of “roboter der chokerer” I think. Robots that shock. Lively, lots of movement, too much to see and take it at the first look.
I can’t actually remember at what stage in the proceedings we see all the freaks of Coney in their full glory, but they’re strange in a non-squicky way. Traditional ones, like a bearded lady, Siamese twins, someone with a sack/bag over his head that reminds me of the Elephant man. Anyway, lots of sparkle and multicoloured lamps everywhere even outside the stage itself. Black trellis thingies rumbling across the stage with lamps on too. We sure are getting our money’s worth.
Only for you. Meg and ensemble. No sauciness here, we don’t recognize the Ooh la la girl at all, it’s all demure traditional music hall costume. Meg (Camille-Cathrine Rommedahl) is quite tall and has a rather mature voice, that makes a change from the more girly timbre I’ve heard in other Megs. She’s pretty, enthusiastic, starry eyed. Madame Giry splats her, mean old bat. Yep, it’s the same old Mme Giry Type 1 as per the London production. And yes, I do want to slap this one too.
Madame Giry’s office. Mme reveals Christine is coming to NY to perform at Hammerstein’s new opera house, Meg sings her delight at the thought that her old friend is being carried to her by the sea. That tune has rather got stuck in my head, pops up every now and then. Can’t remember anything particularly remarkable here.
Pier 69 in NY Harbour, arrival of the ship I can’t remember seeing the name of. Enter travelator left. Celebs disembark as per schedule, flutter of excitement, autograph books are signed, photographers flash (their light flashes!!). Pause and swoop of music as Christine walks slowly down the gangway, pausing halfway to wave cheerfully to the masses. Poised and collected, not shrinking or shy as she is assaulted by the crowd. Raoul witters around ineffectually, Christine is unperturbed and obliges with autographs, Gustave is wide-eyed and un-intimidated. The “Christine” moment passed by a bit too quickly for my liking, they could have held it for a few moments longer. London Christine had a rich dark red dress, Copenhagen Christine is in pale cool blue, white feathery boa feels a bit out of place. I’d have expected furs.
Ominous lowering of stage lights, thunder rumbles, and a black horseless hearse-like carriage carrying the three freaks rolls onto the stage. Gangle dressed more or less like an undertaker. They don’t mess around much but aided by Gustave’s enthusiastic leap into the carriage get the de Chagny family on their way to... Hammerstein? So they say. This is where the plot glitches a bit, I don’t remember any explanation of the hi-jacking, and diversion from central Manhattan to Coney. Never mind, there are bigger plotholes..
At the hotel Raoul yammers. Meh. Don’t like him much. Drat, I did so want to. Gustave trots around chirpily with his new toy, a musical box with a nelephant on it, that raises its trunk as the music plays. Interaction Raoul, Christine, no real chemistry, I get the feeling the actors aren’t really “warm in their clothes” yet. Christine is quite confident and assertive though. There is a distinct difference between the London Christines (both Phantom and LND) and the Scandinavian ones. The latter have more backbone. IMO. Gustave plays tune on piano, Raoul snaps, Gustave fiddles with musical box, it plays “You have come here” straight away. In the London production, it played the cheerful quayside orchestra tune. Christine recognizes it, but not Raoul, who leaves after the call from Hammerstein.
Mother – son duet. “Se med din sjael” translates as look with your soul. Very sweet. Christine in very sparkly white silvery gown twirls around with Gustave. She’s wearing evening dress I think, has a an aigret (feather that sticks up) in her hair. Jennie sniffles a bit. Hubby snores as has dropped off. Jennie pokes husband. Gustave off to bed.
I think the elephant tinkles again, er... musical box plays a bit of a tune again, lights lower slightly, Christine goes out through french windows onto the balcony, the set rotates showing her on the balcony as thunder rolls, and in a flash of lightning and ba boom of doom from the orchestra the Phantom unmysteriously appears on the balcony too, emerging from the same French windows. It didn’t make me jump exactly, but Christine staggered away in terror and clung to the balustrade as if she was going to throw up from the shock.
The Copenhagen LND Phantom is not particularly likeable at all. He’s a total bastard, to put it bluntly. I don’t like him, but I like the way they portray him, without excuses or trying to prettify him. It feels honest somehow. Don’t worry if this doesn’t make sense, I don’t get it myself. Christine’s (and later Raoul’s) reaction to the Phantom make him truly frightening. We can gauge his intimidation factor by the reaction shown by others.
BAMS, or “I Nattens Dunkle Skød” as they say in Danish, which translates as “In the dark lap of the night”. Poetic and with erotic undertones. The Phantom is self assured and so is Christine in this song, it was a joy to see and hear. Would love to have a recording of this.
The set for Christine’s hotel room and the balcony is a bit of a puzzle, it has figures on the top of it that look like statues with lances or poles that are trying to climb over a wall. Can’t work out what they’re supposed to be.
Once upon another time, Christine tells the Phantom to get stuffed (but more poetically), he pleads at her to sing to sing to sing to sing. And to sing. She stands up quite well for herself and the Phantom isn’t getting the better of her. Until Gustave, the weak spot in her armour, turns up. The Phantom turns on the thumbscrews again after Gustave pops off again. When Raoul comes back disappointed from his failed appointment, the Phantom drops through a trapdoor in the floor on the right.
More another day.....
Christine is disjointed and disconcerted when Raoul comes back, but the scene is wrapped up quite quickly so there isn’t much plot or character development here. As I remember it.
Since I don’t always understand every detail in the danish dialogue I can’t say for sure how it went, but the impression I got after Once Upon another time was that the Phantom wanted Christine to sing for him one more time and be well paid for it. She stood up for herself pretty well, showed more backbone than other Christines I’ve seen, he seemed ready to back down, until Gustave turned up and the Phantom, quick to take advantage of the situation threatened to make him disappear in Coney if Christine didn’t do as he said. This absolutely shattered her and her terrified/despairing reaction again reinforced the Evilness and Total Iniquity of the Phantom. If you see what I mean. Bastard. I really really felt he was such a total shit. Don’t remember feeling as strongly about this in London. I will just have to go see it again to try to work out the mechanism ;-)
Dear Old Friends – went smoothly, Mme Giry almost seeming to enjoy telling Raoul that Mr Y was “Him” and beating him over the head with innuendos that Christine Knew More Than She Wanted to Tell. The blocking and interaction was OK, but not as clear cut as it could have been. Christine and Meg genuinely happy without reservations to see each other again.
Gustave trots off with a mysteriously beckoning figure, climbs along the Travelator, meets Mr Y in his Li (Danish for Lair, not an Eyrie in sight). He’s got a Tardis-like red phone box, an big big wheel and a giant doll’s head. He starts to fiddle with something next to the Tardis, but Mr Young Musical Genius and Hence Son of Phantom starts fiddling with the piano/keyboard showing his musical talent, flash of lightning (I think but will have to check this) and enlightenment, Phantom realized it is His Son, and the Beauty that is Hidden reveals itself. Phantom in the red brocade total awesomeness long robe that I would die for. But would hubby wear it? Must remember to ask. Phantom is truly the Master That Commands Over All That He Beholds. Including the Amazing Travelator as per the description in post #1 of this thread. I won’t repeat myself but I was gobsmacked.
We meet the freaks of Coney again, this time not in the red and warm glamour of the super trouper show lights, but the cool blue déshabille (undressed) relaxation of a Backstage atmosphere. We see them in their underwear, hair untidy, white dark eyed faces, but showing friendly curiousity, it’s a strange comradeship and companionship that he Phantom seems very much at home in and that Gustave just revels in. Travelator.... well.... just.... wow.... See post #1. Even the Elephant man now shows his face, hidden up until now in a bag over the head, reminding me of the 2004 movie young Phantom. Since Gustave is so totally at home and accepting of the weirdness around him, I don’t understand his shriek of horror/reaction to the Phantom unmasking. Christine arrives, sends Gustave off with Meg, scolds Phantom. Phantom does the “zomg I’m so ugly” thing in front of a big mirror, having taken off mask and wig to stare at himself, back to the audience. OK, so am feeling a bit sorry for him here.
End of Act I
Dash to the upstairs Ladies loo where the queue is much shorter than to the downstairs loo, then a drink in the foyer with husband. A “Phantom on Manhattan”. Can’t remember what was in it but it was very nice. Frantic note-scribbling, while husband sips glass of bubbly, wisely refraining from trying to talk to me.
Act II
Entr’Acte
Curtain that has previously been looped up is now completely down and we see a lady in a white dress on the left, a general background of roses, and a magician-like figure in black wearing a mask holding a cloak as if pulling it away from the figure in white. Very traditional stage magician kind of gesture and situation. Overall black and red colour scheme. Am liking all this so very much more than London. When I saw it in London I didn’t really mind the ascetic staging, but Copenhagen is so much more and I loff it. On the right of the curtain is a masked face with jagged teeth,a bit reminiscent of a horror film poster.
Bar scene. Rotating set to present the bar. Raoul is very very very drunk. Am surprized he can carry the tune. Does it really well, am almost beginning to feel sorry for him, but am handicapped by my dislike for drunken gibbering. And the way he keeps telling the barman to fill it again. Enter Meg, does her “going for a swim washes the dirt away” routine, but I don’t really warm to it. Liked London Meg better.
“Fanden Ta’r den Sidste” has a different feel to it than ”Devil takes the hindmost”. Word-wise they both mean exactly the same thing, but in Danish it feels more real and less like a .... proverb or saying. The Devil really will go get whoever is last in this game.
Here again I see evidence of the Phantom’s intimidation and how his mindgames affect people. Raoul staggers back in absolute terror when the Phantom barman turns up. The reactions of others say so much about him as a character. Phantom is disdainful, sneering, domineering, playing with Raoul like a cat with a mouse. London DTTH was at times physical, the Phantom getting hands-on and strangling Raoul when he lunged at him. The Copenhagen Phantom is ice cool in control, taunting Raoul with deliberate cruelty. Does something that flashes fire in his hand. The pair stalk each other around a table, the Phantom holds out a deck of cards, pick a card, any card and as Raoul stretches out his hand, the Phantom drops them to the floor with a sneer. At this point I would happily smack the Phantom, no regrets. Bastard. In London, the Phantom did seem to lose control every now and then, which made me more sympathetic to him, I cannot recall anything like that from Copenhagen, but I may have missed things. I couldn’t always perfectly follow the Danish, then again, the words transmit one level of meaning, actions and gestures another, to reinforce the text.
Bathing Beauty, or Bathing Nymph in Danish. Meg starts out rosy fresh prim and proper in coat and hat, parasol in one hand, carpet bag in the other, passes through the stripes dots and checks ending up baring it all in a body stocking and covering the essentials with two straw hats. Well performed etc etc nothing in particular to comment on. Meg gushes and twitters, Madame Giry splats her etc etc, but the whole thing passes rather briskly so they’re not really leaving much room for reflection/feeling.
Well, I know that Det Ny Teater is smaller than many other theatres, but did they have to downgrade Christine’s dressing room to a wardrobe? Just kidding. The programme says “Christines garderobe”. Garderobe is Danish for dressing room, but in Swedish it means wardrobe. Christine in lovely dark red velvet dressing gown.
Overall I like the costumes in Copenhagen. They’ve chosen to follow a rather formal costume code, there’s no poofy shirted Phantom or Christine in underwear or exaggerated cleavages. No attempt to sex things up in an obvious fashion. No long leather coats either, but the Phantom’s red brocade smoking gown/dressing gown is... fabulous. It’s exotic, gorgeous, magical....
Gustave thinks mum looks “vidunderlig, som en fé in en bog”. Vidunderlig is more than just beautiful, it’s awesomely heartstoppingly beautiful. Danish Christine isn´t like a queen in a book, but a fairy, “fé”. These changes are necessary to make the words fit the tunes of course.
Enter cleaned-up and sober Raoul who asks Gustave nicely to leave him and mum alone for a while. Christine quite taken with him, he asks her not to sing, they have a quick smooch, or actually quite a passionate hug and kiss, he leaves, Christine starts to take off her ear-rings, she’s made up her mind to not sing. Enter the Phantom (probably with some thunder, but I can’t remember for sure) who does his blackmailing pressurizing bit again. Self-assured, relentless, puts necklace around her throat and leaves Christine Twisted Every Way, end of scene.
DTTH reprise, Phantom and Raoul standing in the theatre’s real boxes either side of the stage. First or second tier? Can’t remember. Nice touch. The set is dominated by huge pink striped fans with flowers on them, that open and close slowly a couple of times during LND. Very pretty and impressively smooth. Christine’s dress is kimono-like, pinky creamy peach, beautiful delicate colour, gauzy embroidered material. Matches the Japanese fan style. It’s just lovely.
Louise Fribo is a delight to see and behold, sings flawlessly. I like the Danish lyrics, and Louise puts her heart into them, but I can’t quite make them out at the end in the really high parts. Raoul leaves as she sings, which does affect her somewhat, but not as much as I’ve seen in the London performance.
Backstage the Phantom exults in his triumph through her, she’s still in a daze over how alive she felt etc etc they go into a passionate clinch and kiss. The next series is events is pretty much according to the standard script, nothing outstanding that I noted.
The final scene “På molen” on the pier is well staged and superbly executed. I’ve mentioned the set up in the first post on this thread in my rave about the travelator, am reposting it here.
In the final scene the travelator/walkway is quite high up, and acts as the pier, the left of it pointing slightly towards the back of the stage, the right towards the front. Meg drags Gustave along it, clangs open a “gate” in the railings and I’m almost screaming “don’t do that it’s bloody dangerous”. It’s so high up and she wants to chuck him off. Carried away? Who me? Yep, indeed. I’m a sucker for getting wound up when children are involved.
The story continues, Phantom and Christine turn up, Meg turns gun on Gustave, but thankfully goes away from the opened “gate”. Meg Reveals The Horrors She Has Suffered in order to promote the Phantom’s interests, Mme Giry gasps in shock (yeah right, you evil old.... ) Phantom does a nice job of talking to Meg, Gustave gets away to Christine.
As the Phantom puts his foot in his mouth with the classic comment about Christine, Meg puts the gun to her own head to shoot herself. The Phantom grabs her wrist, they wrestle for the gun. It goes off, the bullet hitting Christine. It’s a horrible accident, the Phantom is actually physically partly responsible for it, since he was hands-on holding the gun or the hand that held the gun. Soo.... more guilty than in London where only Meg held the gun, even if the shooting was accidental.
Anyone else think that Mme Giry should have been a better candidate for the part of shooting Christine?
After Christine has been shot, she and the Phantom are at the very end of the walkway on the right, that is angled towards the audience, Gustave and others having exited left. Christine tells Gustave the Phantom is his father, G screams and runs off. Death scene (which feels a bit short, did they cut something?) Gustave returns with Raoul from left. Raoul obviously didn’t expect the Phantom to be there as he staggers back in horror to see him. Raoul goes to Christine’s body and holds her in his arms. As he cries over her body, the Phantom moves left along the walkway which slowly rotates so that Raoul, Gustave and Christine move towards the back of the stage and focus shifts to the other end where the Phantom stands alone. After a while Gustave moves out of the gloom at the back into the light where the Phantom stands. R & C are only dark shadows and all focus is on Gustave and the Phantom. The gist of the final scene between them is that Gustave of his own initiative goes to the Phantom who kneels in front of him. I think G takes off the mask, or perhaps he gestured to the P to take it off, not sure. But I do remember that G stretches out his hand to touch the scarred/damaged side of the Phantom’s face, that is in the shadow and can’t really be seen by the audience. Stage fades into darkness.
The performance received a standing ovation from the audience and did one extra curtain call, but then the orchestra broke up the applause by starting to play.
Jennie- Posts : 151
Join date : 2009-09-25
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
Thank you for the review! I will see the show in January! Can´t wait!!
AlwaysChristine- Posts : 382
Join date : 2011-05-01
Age : 45
Location : Austria
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
Moving this to the Reviews section
R.
R.
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
Thank you very much for the review!
I am also hoping to see the show in January – I hope they give me a visa
I am also hoping to see the show in January – I hope they give me a visa
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
Ooops, sorry, my apologies for posting in the wrong forum and thank you for moving the thread!
Some song clips and pics from the show....
I nattens dunkle sköd ie BAMS with Bo Kristian Jensen and Louise Fribo, Ett årti (ten long years) and Kaerlighed Lever (LND) here:
http://www.detnyteater.dk/love-never-dies/lyd-og-billede/
Bo Kristian sounds a bit pale in the Danish BAMS.... it was more balanced between BK and Louise Fribo when I heard it live.
Tomas Ambt Kofoed in Ten long years and Til I hear you sing...
Some song clips and pics from the show....
I nattens dunkle sköd ie BAMS with Bo Kristian Jensen and Louise Fribo, Ett årti (ten long years) and Kaerlighed Lever (LND) here:
http://www.detnyteater.dk/love-never-dies/lyd-og-billede/
Bo Kristian sounds a bit pale in the Danish BAMS.... it was more balanced between BK and Louise Fribo when I heard it live.
Tomas Ambt Kofoed in Ten long years and Til I hear you sing...
Jennie- Posts : 151
Join date : 2009-09-25
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
Saw it again. Again. This time with Tomas Ambt Kofoed as the Phantom. Tomas is such a great actor, the chemistry between him and Louise Fribo/Christine was marvellous... Bo Kristian Jensen, the other Phantom was wonderful too, but different. I think I prefer Bo Kristian's voice in the duets with Raoul, because Bo's voice is darker and deeper, more of a baritone, and stands out more clearly from Raoul's voice which is lighter. The Tomas Phantom and Raoul are harder to distinguish from each other. The second time I saw LND I was disappointed that it wasn't Tomas, but a few bars into "Ett årti", Ten Long Years and I was a puddle in the floor, surrendered completely to the warm darkness of Bo Kristian Jensen's voice.
I saw Preben Kristensen and Peter Jorde as the Phantom in 2009, they were two very different Phantoms vocally and physically. I couldn't make up my mind which one I preferred, and in the end I decided that I love all my Phantoms and want all of them.
I couldn't choose between Tomas and Bo either. I feel so lucky to have seen such wonderful Phantoms in Copenhagen.
*******
The final scene was a bit fuzzy when I wrote my first reviews, but I remember it better now.... At the very end, Raoul is with the dead Christine on the end of the travelator furthest away from the audience. After Raoul and Gustave have arrived, the Phantom staggers to the other end of the travelator facing the front of the stage, and falls to his knees. After a while Gustave leaves Raoul and Christine, and walks towards the Phantom, who sings "Kaerlighed ser, kaerlighed giver" when the boy stands in front of him. Bo Kristian put his hand on Gustave's heart as he sang, Tomas put his hand on Gustave's shoulder. The Phantom's voice breaks, he can't continue, just stands in front of Gustave, who suddenly hugs him, Phantom hugs him back. Gustave raises hand to the mask, Phantom recoils, Gustave insists, removes it carefully with left hand, transfers it to his right, then touches the disfigured side with his left hand. Lights go down, stage fades into darkness.
I saw Preben Kristensen and Peter Jorde as the Phantom in 2009, they were two very different Phantoms vocally and physically. I couldn't make up my mind which one I preferred, and in the end I decided that I love all my Phantoms and want all of them.
I couldn't choose between Tomas and Bo either. I feel so lucky to have seen such wonderful Phantoms in Copenhagen.
*******
The final scene was a bit fuzzy when I wrote my first reviews, but I remember it better now.... At the very end, Raoul is with the dead Christine on the end of the travelator furthest away from the audience. After Raoul and Gustave have arrived, the Phantom staggers to the other end of the travelator facing the front of the stage, and falls to his knees. After a while Gustave leaves Raoul and Christine, and walks towards the Phantom, who sings "Kaerlighed ser, kaerlighed giver" when the boy stands in front of him. Bo Kristian put his hand on Gustave's heart as he sang, Tomas put his hand on Gustave's shoulder. The Phantom's voice breaks, he can't continue, just stands in front of Gustave, who suddenly hugs him, Phantom hugs him back. Gustave raises hand to the mask, Phantom recoils, Gustave insists, removes it carefully with left hand, transfers it to his right, then touches the disfigured side with his left hand. Lights go down, stage fades into darkness.
Jennie- Posts : 151
Join date : 2009-09-25
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
I think the end is here much more tragic. I was lucky too see both - Bo and Tomas.
Louise is a phantasic Christine and yes her chemistry with Tomas is amazing.
In 2 weeks I´ll see the show again, the last time .
I hope so much to see Louise and Tomas again.
I am so grateful that I had the chance to see the wonderful production with an amazing cast.
Louise is a phantasic Christine and yes her chemistry with Tomas is amazing.
In 2 weeks I´ll see the show again, the last time .
I hope so much to see Louise and Tomas again.
I am so grateful that I had the chance to see the wonderful production with an amazing cast.
AlwaysChristine- Posts : 382
Join date : 2011-05-01
Age : 45
Location : Austria
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
I agree that the ending in this version feels more tragic, and am interested in why you say this. Could you explain a little?
So you've seen both Phantoms.... me too, aren't we lucky! I haven't booked a ticket, but I think I will probably try to see the show again before it closes. The music and staging are addictive.
I was so enthralled by the travelator that I made a gingerbread model of it for Christmas.... in Sweden we make gingerbread houses for Christmas, but I made a travelator...
So you've seen both Phantoms.... me too, aren't we lucky! I haven't booked a ticket, but I think I will probably try to see the show again before it closes. The music and staging are addictive.
I was so enthralled by the travelator that I made a gingerbread model of it for Christmas.... in Sweden we make gingerbread houses for Christmas, but I made a travelator...
Jennie- Posts : 151
Join date : 2009-09-25
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
I have yet to see Bo Kristian Jensen, but I've heard him and I agree that he has the larger voice of the two. More operatic, more depth. And smoother. I think I still prefer Tomas Ambt Kofod, though. He has the hulky, sorrowful quality which makes his voice stand out. Might change my mind if seeing Jensen live, you never know.Jennie wrote:Saw it again. Again. This time with Tomas Ambt Kofoed as the Phantom. Tomas is such a great actor, the chemistry between him and Louise Fribo/Christine was marvellous... Bo Kristian Jensen, the other Phantom was wonderful too, but different. I think I prefer Bo Kristian's voice in the duets with Raoul, because Bo's voice is darker and deeper, more of a baritone, and stands out more clearly from Raoul's voice which is lighter. The Tomas Phantom and Raoul are harder to distinguish from each other. The second time I saw LND I was disappointed that it wasn't Tomas, but a few bars into "Ett årti", Ten Long Years and I was a puddle in the floor, surrendered completely to the warm darkness of Bo Kristian Jensen's voice.
I agree about the chemistry between Tomas Kofod and Louise Fribo. Electric, and very intense.
I posted my review from Sunday here, if you wanna read it. It's long as a bad winter, though.
https://desertedphans.forumotion.net/t177p840-love-never-dies-all-views-allowed
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
Jennie wrote:I agree that the ending in this version feels more tragic, and am interested in why you say this. Could you explain a little?
So you've seen both Phantoms.... me too, aren't we lucky! I haven't booked a ticket, but I think I will probably try to see the show again before it closes. The music and staging are addictive.
I was so enthralled by the travelator that I made a gingerbread model of it for Christmas.... in Sweden we make gingerbread houses for Christmas, but I made a travelator...
Yes I can! I feel a stronger connection and truly love between Erik and Christine.
More than in the Australian version. The connection between all is stronger and the end is heartbreaking.
Christine´s cry when Gustave ran away, Tomas cried when Christine died.
I´ll see it on 5th +6th april, my last 3 shows! I´m glad that I´ve seen it then 6 times.
AlwaysChristine- Posts : 382
Join date : 2011-05-01
Age : 45
Location : Austria
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
I've already read you review, Operafantomet, you hit so many nails on the head, and I ROFLd at your calling the travelator "the beast"! I used to dream about being serenaded by the POTO Phantom in his gondola, but now I'm not sure I wouldn't exchange that experience for a ride on the LND Travelator ;-)
Oh my goodness are you doing a "double dip" then, seeing the show twice in one day??? I did that with POTO in Copenhagen, but felt quite drained afterwards!
On the subject of connection between the Phantom and Christine in LND: there are several "redeeming" moments for the Phantom and moments when you feel there is something special between them still... it was much clearer in Copenhagen than in London... BAMS was a lovely piece of interaction, but afterwards Christine stood very firm against the Phantom. Scandinavian Christines seem to have more backbone, be less willowy and yielding than others. It's just a feeling I have. Then the Phantom deteriorates into whining and blackmailing. After TBU he raves against Christine, who again stands up to him, and he sort of "folds". She promises that she will see to it that Gustave will hear/know the Phantom's music, there is a moment when he is sort of "broken" puts his hand on her shoulder and says "forgive me". I think she kisses his hand at this point, if I remember correctly. That was one of those "moments" when I thought "if only......" The blackmailing in the dressing room before the performance was pure manipulation, nothing positive there..... I really felt for the Phantom during LND "Kaerlighed ser", watching Christine sing, in a kind of rapture. In the dressingroom after the performance, they were both carried away by the magic of it all, and locked in a good oldfashioned clinch that was interrupted by a knock on the door..... dunno if I felt that was a magical moment, others were more poignant IMO.
SweetChristine wrote:Jennie wrote:I agree that the ending in this version feels more tragic, and am interested in why you say this. Could you explain a little?
So you've seen both Phantoms.... me too, aren't we lucky! I haven't booked a ticket, but I think I will probably try to see the show again before it closes. The music and staging are addictive.
I was so enthralled by the travelator that I made a gingerbread model of it for Christmas.... in Sweden we make gingerbread houses for Christmas, but I made a travelator...
Yes I can! I feel a stronger connection and truly love between Erik and Christine.
More than in the Australian version. The connection between all is stronger and the end is heartbreaking.
Christine´s cry when Gustave ran away, Tomas cried when Christine died.
I´ll see it on 5th +6th april, my last 3 shows! I´m glad that I´ve seen it then 6 times.
Oh my goodness are you doing a "double dip" then, seeing the show twice in one day??? I did that with POTO in Copenhagen, but felt quite drained afterwards!
On the subject of connection between the Phantom and Christine in LND: there are several "redeeming" moments for the Phantom and moments when you feel there is something special between them still... it was much clearer in Copenhagen than in London... BAMS was a lovely piece of interaction, but afterwards Christine stood very firm against the Phantom. Scandinavian Christines seem to have more backbone, be less willowy and yielding than others. It's just a feeling I have. Then the Phantom deteriorates into whining and blackmailing. After TBU he raves against Christine, who again stands up to him, and he sort of "folds". She promises that she will see to it that Gustave will hear/know the Phantom's music, there is a moment when he is sort of "broken" puts his hand on her shoulder and says "forgive me". I think she kisses his hand at this point, if I remember correctly. That was one of those "moments" when I thought "if only......" The blackmailing in the dressing room before the performance was pure manipulation, nothing positive there..... I really felt for the Phantom during LND "Kaerlighed ser", watching Christine sing, in a kind of rapture. In the dressingroom after the performance, they were both carried away by the magic of it all, and locked in a good oldfashioned clinch that was interrupted by a knock on the door..... dunno if I felt that was a magical moment, others were more poignant IMO.
Jennie- Posts : 151
Join date : 2009-09-25
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
Jennie wrote:I've already read you review, Operafantomet, you hit so many nails on the head, and I ROFLd at your calling the travelator "the beast"! I used to dream about being serenaded by the POTO Phantom in his gondola, but now I'm not sure I wouldn't exchange that experience for a ride on the LND Travelator ;-)SweetChristine wrote:Jennie wrote:I agree that the ending in this version feels more tragic, and am interested in why you say this. Could you explain a little?
So you've seen both Phantoms.... me too, aren't we lucky! I haven't booked a ticket, but I think I will probably try to see the show again before it closes. The music and staging are addictive.
I was so enthralled by the travelator that I made a gingerbread model of it for Christmas.... in Sweden we make gingerbread houses for Christmas, but I made a travelator...
Yes I can! I feel a stronger connection and truly love between Erik and Christine.
More than in the Australian version. The connection between all is stronger and the end is heartbreaking.
Christine´s cry when Gustave ran away, Tomas cried when Christine died.
I´ll see it on 5th +6th april, my last 3 shows! I´m glad that I´ve seen it then 6 times.
Oh my goodness are you doing a "double dip" then, seeing the show twice in one day??? I did that with POTO in Copenhagen, but felt quite drained afterwards!
On the subject of connection between the Phantom and Christine in LND: there are several "redeeming" moments for the Phantom and moments when you feel there is something special between them still... it was much clearer in Copenhagen than in London... BAMS was a lovely piece of interaction, but afterwards Christine stood very firm against the Phantom. Scandinavian Christines seem to have more backbone, be less willowy and yielding than others. It's just a feeling I have. Then the Phantom deteriorates into whining and blackmailing. After TBU he raves against Christine, who again stands up to him, and he sort of "folds". She promises that she will see to it that Gustave will hear/know the Phantom's music, there is a moment when he is sort of "broken" puts his hand on her shoulder and says "forgive me". I think she kisses his hand at this point, if I remember correctly. That was one of those "moments" when I thought "if only......" The blackmailing in the dressing room before the performance was pure manipulation, nothing positive there..... I really felt for the Phantom during LND "Kaerlighed ser", watching Christine sing, in a kind of rapture. In the dressingroom after the performance, they were both carried away by the magic of it all, and locked in a good oldfashioned clinch that was interrupted by a knock on the door..... dunno if I felt that was a magical moment, others were more poignant IMO.
I´ll see the show on Friday and Saturday both like the first time in Copenhagen.
I think Louise has much backbone and I like how she acts. Strong but full of feelings for him.
He has his dark side and anger, I understand that. For so many years no Christine, no sign, no possibilty.
I love the moment of the kiss and the strong moment during the title song when both singing the lines from Love Never Dies.
We hear only Christine but he sings with her. She looks to him into the box.
It´s my fave version! Copenhagen is my fave LND version!
AlwaysChristine- Posts : 382
Join date : 2011-05-01
Age : 45
Location : Austria
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
I envy you seeing it twice next weekend, enjoy yourself! Am thinking about getting a ticket again. Again... The show is just marvellous, Det Ny have done such a great job. I know that there are many flaws in LND, and many are critical towards it, but I've turned my brain off from all that, and don't think much about it. Operafantomet mentioned that she separates the show from its execution. The execution at Det Ny is so dazzling that I'm happy with that. Of course the ultimate experience would be to see Phantom again at Det Ny. Keeping my fingers crossed for that!
Jennie- Posts : 151
Join date : 2009-09-25
Re: I've seen Love Never Dies in Copenhagen. Reviews and discussion here
Saw it again last Friday, Bo Kristian Jensen as the Phantom. The indefatigable Christian Berg as Raoul has never missed a performance, I think he said that Friday's show was his 140th..... I take off my hat to you Christian!
Spoke with Christian Berg, Bo Kristian Jensen and Louise Fribo. Camille/Meg was busy with the other fans at the door. The actors were all very nice and generous with their time, I just wish I'd thought of some more sensible questions to ask! Will be better prepared another time, should I get the chance.
Unfortunately my camera was sulking so I didn't get any really good photos. Sigh. Must get a new one I guess....
Anyway, I took the plunge of bringing Plush Erik to Copenhagen to see LND. He was curious to see the travelator and when I voiced concern that he might be distressed by the story, he shrugged his shoulders (in a very French way) and said he's seen so many fan fics and spin-offs that he isn't really bothered by another one.
Sooo.... Outside Det Ny Teater...
Well inside he quickly made himself at home....
Had a drink ...
which he was very polite about, despite it being called a "Phantom on Manhattan" merely remarking that he preferred white wine...
He twitched a bit when Raoul appeared, but listened carefully to Christine/Louise, sitting quite still and enraptured. He muttered something about giving the Phantom (Bo Kristian) some advice and had a chat with him afterwards at the stage door.
He gave his full approval of the travelator, and started making plans for constructing an even bigger one at home.
Hmmmm.... but I wonder what he said to Bo Kristian.... I wonder if we'll be seeing a different ending in future.... should I be worried?
Spoke with Christian Berg, Bo Kristian Jensen and Louise Fribo. Camille/Meg was busy with the other fans at the door. The actors were all very nice and generous with their time, I just wish I'd thought of some more sensible questions to ask! Will be better prepared another time, should I get the chance.
Unfortunately my camera was sulking so I didn't get any really good photos. Sigh. Must get a new one I guess....
Anyway, I took the plunge of bringing Plush Erik to Copenhagen to see LND. He was curious to see the travelator and when I voiced concern that he might be distressed by the story, he shrugged his shoulders (in a very French way) and said he's seen so many fan fics and spin-offs that he isn't really bothered by another one.
Sooo.... Outside Det Ny Teater...
Well inside he quickly made himself at home....
Had a drink ...
which he was very polite about, despite it being called a "Phantom on Manhattan" merely remarking that he preferred white wine...
He twitched a bit when Raoul appeared, but listened carefully to Christine/Louise, sitting quite still and enraptured. He muttered something about giving the Phantom (Bo Kristian) some advice and had a chat with him afterwards at the stage door.
He gave his full approval of the travelator, and started making plans for constructing an even bigger one at home.
Hmmmm.... but I wonder what he said to Bo Kristian.... I wonder if we'll be seeing a different ending in future.... should I be worried?
Jennie- Posts : 151
Join date : 2009-09-25
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