The Three Phantoms in concert

THE THREE PHANTOMS
Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen
May 11, 2013


So I saw John Owen-Jones, Rebecca Caine, Earl Carpenter and Matthew Cammelle in concert, one called “The Three Phantoms”. There's been various versions of the concert in the UK tour, with different combos of singers, and with slightly varying repertoire. But the basic is the same. The setting was larger than expected - a 21 piece orchestra, four singers and a very energetic conductor and musical arrangor (Anthony Gabriele). But the scene overall was bare, black with only light effects. I must admit I had hoped for *something* more, but I guess this made it easier to focus on their performances.

Their repertoire for “The Three Phantoms” was a bit surprising. They dared mix fairly unknown stuff with musical evergreens. The first set had the title song from the ill-fated Martin Guerre, for example, next to a nice block from “Les Miserables”. They also picked less familiar Phantom pieces from Ken Hill and Yeston/Kopit, and also Love Never Dies, as well as the familiar Phantom tunes. Rebecca Caine furthermore did a very well received “I Could Have Danced All night” as well as “Diva’s Lament” (the latter is already a musical classic, but yet not very well known in Scandinavia). I was also amused to see that even though it’s some 20 years since Rebecca Caine last played Christine, she still had many of the “Think of Me scarf” movements when singing the song. That muscle memory!

As for the individual singers, they complemented eachother well. John Owen-Jones with his powerpack of a voice, yet with the angelic touch the other men may lack, Earl Carpenter with lots of substance and subtle nuances to his rich voice, and Matthew Cammelle with a booming, deep baritone. And Rebecca Caine. Mama Caine with that perfectly tuned instrument of hers, soaring, playing with the notes. Wonderful.

In between they told various anecdotes from Phantom - especially things going wrong: Matt Cammelle falling flat on his arse when carrying Christine over to the boat, John Owen-Jones being told by Hal Prince he possessed the biggest voice in Phantom history, only to discover the man had TWO hearing aids… John Owen-Jones was also charmingly distracted by everything popping through his head, possibly after taking a round too many in the Demon rollercoaster, which resulted in a lot of good banting between him and Carpenter. Their goofy clown nose version of “I’m all alone” from Spamalot was also perfectly Britishly amusing (I know that ain’t a word!).

All in all this was a wonderful concert experience as they dared delivered something outside the safety zone of musical evergreens. It was a well balanced mix, and four rather outstanding voices backed by a nice orchestra. And I loved the mix of pure talent and boyish goofing. And of course the Phantom numbers - Prima Donna, Think of Me, Music of the Night - was everything the audience had hoped for, and more. Just surprised they didn’t throw “All I Ask Of You” or “Wandering Child” into the mix. The only disappointing thing, in my book, was the encore which consisted of a bleak version of a bleak song - “For Good” from Wicked.

If you’re in Scandinavia in the coming week, beware that they might be headed your way. And if so, I highly recommend this concert. Tour schedule is as follows, according to Earl Carpenter’s site:

May 11: Tivoli, Copenhagen
May 12: Musikteatret, Albertslund
May 13: Aalborg Kongres & Kultur Center
May 15: Musikhuset Aarhus
May 16: Værket, Randers
May 18: Malmö Koncerthus (though Malmö knows nothing of it...?)
May 19: Göteborg Konserthus
May 20: Circus, Stockholm

http://www.gingerboy.me/threephantoms/dates.html

The original review here:
http://operafantomet.tumblr.com/post/50349917937/so-i-saw-these-four-in-concert-john-owen-jones

Great review, Anéa! Thanks for posting it

I don't think a "Three Phantoms" concerts has every played in my area, but I hope to see it eventually!

R.