The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

I saw this production recently on PBS and was absolutely awestruck! I RAN to my computer and immediately ordered the Blu-ray on Amazon. Well, if I'm being honest, I actually turned slightly to my right and opened my laptop...THEN I ordered the Blu-ray! I can't say I've had a lot of experience with the Phantom of the Opera musical. I'm old enough to remember when the show first opened in the 80's. So, I also remember seeing Michael Crawford's performance of "Music of the Night" from highlights and award show appearances. Even as a teenager (showing my age yet?) I was intrigued and would like to have seen the show. However, I certainly didn't have the means to do so back then. Unfortunately, I must admit my first experience finally watching the production was from the Joel Schumacher movie. It's a handsome production. I thought Emma Rossum was good and most of the cast decent. But something was just "off" about the whole thing...besides Gerard Butler's key! Okay, I confess Butler wasn't as bad as I thought he would be. But that's the problem. Whoever plays the Phantom shouldn't be "better" than expected. He should be pretty darn awesome, right? Is it just me? So, back to a couple of weeks ago now, I realized at the last moment PBS was re-playing the 25th Anniversary performance of Phantom of the Opera. I had nothing better to do that night and I was ready to watch it. Frankly, some nights I might not be in the mood for a 3 hour plus musical. Thank goodness I was in the mood that Sunday night. This is impressively filmed at London's Royal Albert Hall. It's a eye popping spectacle and all the performances are fantastic. I would say "perfect" but I'm not some highfalutin expert on the subject of musicals. I do know what I like, however. And I love everything about this production. But I want to gush about the two leads, in particular. I immediately developed a crush on Sierra Boggess. She's beautiful, an incredible singer and a fine actress. The way she looks adoringly at our title character makes one understand why the Phantom falls hard for her. There's a moment where her Christine is starring in a role on stage, playing with an apple. I don't know quite how to put this but...she's seductive, yet innocent at the same time. It's kinda hot is what I'm saying. And, yes, her performance of "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" is a showstopper! To really make this work, you have to have the right actor as the Phantom. Ramin Karimloo is just awesome. The first thing you notice is the voice. Because we're not really introduced to him until after we hear him sing. I've heard him called a "limitless tenor" and I guess that's a fact. Man, can that guy sing! I supposed one could make a case that the Phantom's voice should be higher and creepier, but a case can also be made that he should be limitless. The Phantom is, after all, a musical genius who teaches Christine how to perfect her singing voice. Between Karimloo's vocal range and his inherent good looks, you can see his Phantom being a hugely successful entertainer if not for his facial deformities. This merely adds to his tragedy. The actor's halfway hidden handsomeness also allows us to buy into Christine's attraction to the Phantom. Sure, she's drawn to his hypnotic music, but it also helps us if we can actually imagine her being with the man behind the mask. But, like Boggess, Karimloo brings more to his role than charisma and an out-of-this-world voice. I was won over by him pretty early on. I thought he really nailed the famous "Music of the Night" scene in his lair. He also adds a vulnerability I didn't quite expect early on. While I was pleasantly impressed by him in those early scenes, it wasn't until his appearance in the "All I Ask of You" scene that I fully realized Karimloo's greatness in this role. The Phantom has just witnessed his beloved Christine with her childhood friend Raoul declaring their love for each other. Our Phantom is absolutely crushed by this. He's tearful, shaky, muttering to himself. He even tries in vain to cover his ears, still hearing the two lovers' voices singing...before exploding with vengeance. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's because there's something about the actor's take on the title character that I really identify and sympathize with. He totally breaks my heart at that moment. It's a special performance, along with Boggess, that makes the finale all the more devastating. The video and audio of the Blu-ray is incredible. The production was shot in HD so it's truly sharp and spectacular. Also the encores at the end in which we see former Phantoms singing together is a real treat. We also get a nice reunion with the original stars Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. But all that is icing on the cake. This is a truly wonderful experience thanks to the gorgeous production, Andrew Lloyd Webber's creative team, and especially the moving performances of Boggess and Karimloo.

I knew that I shouldn't have rented this....I should have bought it!!! And even though I just saw it last night, I will indeed purchase it today. If you have seen the live show, you may think before viewing this that a DVD could not possibly do justice to something that so captured your heart live on Broadway (or wherever you saw it live). I had the same thought too. I have seen the live show with several different companies on Broadway going all the way back to 1990, and every time I saw the show it affected me unlike any live performance that I have seen to date. From the spectacular stage design, to the talented performers, to the pure emotion emanated from every song, the show took me in, pulled on every heart string and left me dying for more. Now with this DVD I can attest that any preconceived notion that I had about it not living up to the live performance has evaporated. Clearly some of my enchantment with the DVD is because I have seen the show live. The bar is set very high for what I expected out of the performances of the actors/actresses, and what I expected from the sound quality and filming direction. And all of my expectations were exceeded! The performances are unforgettable in this DVD. Any actor/actress looking to play the respective roles of The Phantom and Christine Daaé has to fill the shoes of original cast members Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman (and the scores of talent that succeeded them). After all, you can have all of the elements in place to put on a Broadway show, but if you don't have the talent that makes you believe and puts everything that they have into their performance...it just won't work. The performances on this DVD have it all. Most importantly, Sierra Boggess in the role of Christine is outstanding...amazing...beautiful...and unforgettable. And lesser known Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom and Hadley Fraser as Raoul could have won the lead roles back in 1986. The performances are just phenomenal and the entire cast shines; everyone stands out in their own roles. When seeing a live show the booming sound of the live orchestra behind the performers contributes heavily to a memorable experience. The sound on this DVD is perfected and presented in DTS Surround where if you have a home theater that plays in 5.1 or better and crank up the volume...well, you will think that you are literally at the live show. And finally, as far as the film direction for this performance...the camera was right where you would want it to be at every moment. Long, perfect angles for each shot with no inappropriate jumping around. The camera moved as if it were your own eyes moving to where they would move if you were in one of the first few rows of the show. As somewhat of a bonus, at the end of the show after the cast takes their bows, Andrew Lloyd Webber comes out for a bow too, and thanks everyone involved in the production going back to the beginning. The highlight being when he brings out Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. Webber says that Brightman has agreed to sing, and she proceeds to perform Phantom of the Opera with several of the past Phantoms....except for Crawford! Word is that Crawford didn't sing because he had just finished performing in a matinee of The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium...Um...so?!? If there was a disappointment on this DVD, that was the only one. So do not make the same mistake that I did with viewing this DVD. I rented it. Don't rent it....Buy it! I am adding it to my Cart now.

Two words to describe this production: holy crap! I've been a Phantom fan (or is it phan?) ever since I saw the show in Los Angeles with Michael Crawford in 1990. Since that performance, I have seen it several more times, but I have yet to see one that was able to match it in quality and emotion. Well my friends, the search is over. In sports, there is an old saying that athletes should leave it all out on the field. This performance is the theatrical equivalent of leaving it all out on the field. Let me start off with the casting. To quote the Phantom, it is, in a word, ideal. Ramin Karimloo is clearly one of the stage stars of this decade and is an inspired choice to play the Phantom. His presence on stage might have been enough, but his booming, brooding voice really makes the character come alive. There is an apocryphal story that when Karimloo first saw a performance of Phantom as a teenager, he bet his friends that one day he would play the Phantom. Not only did that come true, but it's even all the more amazing considering he has never had any formal vocal training. Sierra Boggess is tremendous as Christine. You can seriously feel her anguish oozing off the screen. Beautiful voice, and every word comes through nicely. Raoul is always a troublesome character to cast. For some reason, the actors who typically play him come off as kind of wussy and stiff. But not here. The producers chose Hadley Fraser, a West End veteran, but one who has never played Raoul. His Raoul is the first one to actually have a spine and come off as forceful and the protector that Christine seeks. In the final scene, Fraser looks ready to throw down with the Phantom. And he also has a great voice to boot. I will say this, though: he did wear a bit too much eye make-up for my taste. =D Another thing that makes this production work so well is that all of the performers really give their all. You can feel and see the emotions of the characters so much more clearly than in any normal stage production thanks to the multiple camera angles used. By the end of the show, you feel just as breathless as the actors. You can really see them working on stage - you can see the sweat running down their faces from the hot stage lights and the makeup starting to run a bit. That's how you know it's live. Some of the camera work could have been better, but overall they did a good job capturing a live performance with a slightly modified set to accommodate the limitations at Royal Albert Hall. The lighting could also have been improved slightly, but I don't feel it really detracted from the overall show. A cool bonus at the end of the performance is the appearance of the original London cast, including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford. Brightman sang, but Crawford curiously did not. Then, four previous Phantoms appeared on stage - Anthony Warlow, John Owen Jones, Colm Wilkinson, and Peter Joback - and sang a duet with Brightman and then alternated on "Music of the Night." Really amazing stuff, although I think it was wrong to leave out Howard McGillin from that group, since he played the Phantom more than anyone in history. All in all, this video is ten times better than the horrendous movie version that came out all those years ago with Gerard Butler.

"The Phantom of the Opera" has always been one of my absolutely favorite stories. Its exploration of true beauty, love, sacrifice and isolation is timeless and proves why this story never grows old. Webber's musical adaptation of Gaston Lerroux's novel is sheer beauty. This show was my first introduction to musical theatre, so I am, of course, biased. Nevertheless, this 25th anniversary concert of this timeless show contains some of the best renditions of the music I have ever heard. The Paris Opera House is besieged by mysterious and often dangerous pranks. A shadowy figure haunts its labyrinthian halls and secret underground passageways. When this charismatic, dangerous and ultimately tormented "Phantom" falls in love with little-known chorus girl, Christine Daae, he begins molding her into a wondrous singer. However, because of a severe facial deformity that has alienated him even from birth, this musical genius remains hidden from his protegee. Although he instructs Christine, he cannot allow her to see him. Christine struggles with loneliness and grief herself. Orphaned at an early age, her mind is filled with the childhood stories of her deceased violinist father. Her father promises Christine that he will send the "Angel of Music" to her when he is in Heaven. Therefore, when an unseen voice begins teaching the young woman, she immediately falls under the Phantom's spell. What follows is a riveting story in which two different yet ultimately similar individuals embark upon heartbreaking journeys of obsession, shattered innocence, and sacrifice. The cast members of this concert are truly breathtaking. Ramin Karimloo does superb work as the Phantom. His voice is mesmerizing in its silken smoothness, yet it can also throb with terrifying anger. Sierra Boggess was beautiful as Christine; bringing vulnerability and hidden strength to her role as her innocence is lost. Her rendition of "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" is perhaps the most beautiful and emotionally charged version of this song I have ever heard. You really get a sense of Christine's longing for her father and for the kind, unseen "Angel of music" who gave her the gift of song. Hadley Fraiser is good as Raoul, although no one will ever surpass Steve Barton's gentleness and sincerity. I was equally impressed by the supporting cast. Most surprising of all, I was impressed with the singer portraying Carlotta. Usually this character is flamboyant, obnoxious, and extremely unlikable. However, the woman portraying the diva in this production brings an emotional depth to this role. I actually felt sorry for Carlotta; a feat not easily accomplished! As a blind individual, I cannot comment on scenery or the costumes. However, I can say that the renditions of the songs is the best part of this production. If you are looking for visual spectacle, then know that this production is a concert. Therefore, the famous "chandelier" scene, I have been told, is not present. However, if you want a story with true emotional depth, then consider watching this production. As an added treat, see the original Christine, Sarah Brightman, sing with four superb Phantoms. I was especially moved by the mesmerizing finale in which such notables as Colm Wilkinson, John Owen-Jones, and two other well-known Phantoms sang a beautiful harmonic rendition of "Music of the Night". Please give this excellent tour de force a chance. God bless you all.

The 25th anniversary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera is such an amazing musical on so many levels. Everything about this presentation captures how this classic story should look and feel--epic and grandiose, moving and emotional, majestic and enchanting. It is a perfect blend of orchestra, story, singing, mood and emotion; in short, it is a flawless musical. For one, the performers are exceptional, and quite flawless, especially given that this was a live performance with the world watching. Sierra Boggess, as Christina Daae, is simply amazing, stealing the show with her beautiful voice and singing. She also has the perfect range of emotion in the scenes with the Phantom. Wendy Ferguson also does a fantastic job as well as Christina's foil. Ramin Karimloo does an exceptional job as the Phantom, giving the appropriate blend of pathos to the tragic figure. Furthermore, the production is visually stunning. There are so many scenes that are handled eloquently with the right amount of power and emotion (the graveyard scene with Christine, the masquerade scene, the opening, the finale). The Phantom of the Opera should be seen but also felt, and this production accomplishes this. You literally feel like you are there in the audience watching this. Any film version of The Phantom really pales in comparison to this. One reviewer said it best: it is the difference between fast food and filet mignon. There is also a Grand Finale with the original cast from 1986 coming out and singing with this cast. Andrew Lloyd Webber also makes an appearance. Very cool! The extras include a behind the scenes feature, looking at the preparation for before the big event, with the cast and crew getting ready for the world to see their performance. This really puts into perspective how much work the crew and cast did to get ready, and how much detail goes into this. The sound and picture quality are also great as well. There are so many good things to say about this production. Highly recommended for any fan of the musical.

For the 25th anniversary of Phantom Andrew and Cameron did a fully staged concert version of pretty much the whole show at London's Royal Albert Hall complete with minor set piece and fully costumed with a cast and orchestra of over 200. (More complete then the movie just a like cut here or there NOTHING to really get excited over.) This version is nothing short of incredible. Now fans of Sarah and Michael DON'T KILL ME, please. I saw this in the theater for the live broadcast and was amazed by the performances in this. Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, who co-starred in the "Phantom" sequel "Love Never Dies" in London, reunited for the special production and with amazing chemistry. Having grown up on the OLC recording and owning about a half a dozen others I've never grown to really like the piece outside of the original cast. Maybe it's nostalgia for it or just the way others have sung it but this time I was blown away. Never in my life have I cried at this show until now. Ramin's Music of the Night was like hearing the song for the first time all over again and Sierra's high notes are flawless and clearer then ever Sarah did back in her early days. The odd standout performance for me was of all things Kiera Duffy as 'Carlotta'. She brought a fullness and venerability to the role I never ever thought about and her look go absolute terror during the rehearsals for The Phantom's opera still sticks out in my mind as genius. The performances in this alone make this for me THE version of phantom. Visually one should know off the bat that the chandler does not crash down... it is after all just a concert. The staging is mostly done with LED screens which, while not MY preferred thing, are alright. Small set piece are brought on and off and the costumes are all here in their glory. While I hope the LES screens don't make their way into the regular staging they did help to set the mood for the night, but it was hands down the cast and orchestra that makes this astounding. At the end there is the usual speeches and bringing out of the old cast and Michael and Sarah are there and while Michel doesn't sing Sarah does. She sounded eh.. ok... I wish she would get over her whole singing-with-my-arms-in-front-of-me thing but it was nice as she was backed by four past phantoms. That all is just sprinkles and dusting on what I hope will be looked back as one of the finest performances of this show ever done.

I had recently re-watched my DVD with Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum, which I love, and thought I'd update my copy with the BluRay version. Then I saw this!!! I was skeptical about an opera what was filmed at such a large hall, and could not imagine how they could do it justice by not being recorded in a studio. And then I looked at the reviews here, and saw 10,000 plus reviews all at five stars! So what could go wrong?? Absolutely NOTHING! I was totally blown away by this performance, and the photography and camera angles and closeups and the SOUND and the absolute BEAUTY of this stage and the hall and the costumes and the settings, and everything about this production!! If you are a fan of The Phantom of the Opera, even just a little bit of a fan, you are going to LOVE THIS! I popped in when I got it just to make sure it played properly and then sat there and watched the entire show. It was an emotional roller coaster and the singing and ACTING that goes with it is superb. Every scene is just incredible, especially when Christine sings to her father at the cemetery. Keep the tissue box nearby. AND make sure you watch ALL of it. Don't turn it off after the curtain calls, because there is MORE wonderful surprises to follow. I can't recommend this BluRay enough. Just buy it already!!

I just got back from watching this exact performance at my local theatre, and I must admit, I am most impressed. I was frightened that this might not be a staging at all, but more along the lines of a "concert in costume" much like the dissapointment I felt when I saw the Les Miserable's concert on Public TV. Fear not. This production is pretty dead on to the staging that appears in the shows that I have watched live, and considering this was filmed "live" and simulcast, it is truly a sight to behold. While this performance can't even compare to "being there" it is far removed than the sterile affair put on the screen by Joel Schumaker. Don't get me wrong. There is plenty of things I like about the movie, (like the spine tingling opening sequence, or the red hot sexuality of Point of No Return). But this by far is the most accurate "filming" I have seen of any ALW production. Unlike Joseph, JC Superstar and CATS, which were "staged" recordings specifically for video, with all the "cuts" that go with it, This is a live filming that was simulcast live around the world on Oct 2, 2011 and ran on limited encore performances in movie theatres for the next few days. There are no "best performances" or "second chances". We get what was actually presented to the audience on Oct 2, and that alone is worth the price of admission. Due to the height of the roof of the Royal Albert Hall and either logistics or safety concerns revolving around hurling a Chandalier from such a dizzying height, suffice it to say, the chandalier does not crash to the stage at the end of Act 1, nor does it "float" from the stage in it's glory during the overture. Instead, the tarp is removed during the overture, and fireworks accompany the chandeliers destruction at the end of Act 1. This is sure to be a bit of a disappointment to most Phantom fans, and if you need to experience a crashing chandalier, you will have to go to one of the live performances currently touring around the world. On the plus side there are quite a few shots of the show taken "throguh" the chandelier onto the stage below, which gives you the feeling that you are the phantom, spying at the action below from top of the chandelier. It's not as dramatic, but they did what they could and it's hard to fault them for something that was probably completely out of their control. The production also makes extensive use of LED screens as backdrops much like was done in Love Never Dies. This can is be both effective and a bit disconcerting. One example is the backdrop of Andre and Fermin's office, which is setup to look like a wall with opera posters posted on it. From a distance, these work fine. However, some of the cameras are really close to the stage and causes this effect to pixelate greatly which takes away some of the suspension of disbelief. The use of LED screens is also used to mimic Christines Mirror during her Angel of Music number in which Christine approaches the mirror with the Phantoms face singing in the upper right corner of the mirror. Towards the end, the screen simply slides away to review the Phantom walking towards her with the fog rolling at his feet. Another different use of the screens is during "Notes" when the phantom is reading how Christine is to star in 'Il Muto, we see handwriting appearing as well as the phantom singing his instructions on how Christine is to be granted the role of the dutchess while Carlotta plays the pageboy. One cool effect that the LED screens provided was during the end of Think of Me, Christine faces the rear of the stage, and the actual applause from the live audience is projected on the rear screens giving the audience the feeling that they are behind Christine and their own reaction is the reaction of the "audience" who just watched her aria from Hannibal. It's hard to describe but a cool efect. It's also fair to note that these "screens" were necessary given the sheer size of the arena, and in the vastness of the RAH, some consideration had to be made to those in the nosebleed seats, so we see some scenes where the Phantom is projected on the real wall so that the paying customer in the back can better see the action. It's just that they lose much of their effectiveness when filmed. Speaking of filming, the camera work is stunning. Thanks to HD and the extreme closeup we fully see the emotional range the Phantom shows at his love/hate relationship with Christine. Some might say we see too much as I was distracted by wrinkles in the Phantoms facial prostesis where it was peeling from his neckline. Proof positive that this was shot live. The performances from the cast were spot on, and it's amazing how I find different parts of the musical which resonate with me depending on the production. In the live stage productions I have seen, the "Phantom of The Opera/Music of the Night" sequence always sent shivers down my spine. The motion picture's rendition of "Past the Point of No Return" has a sexual tension and animal magnetism not experienced on any stage performance I have seen. The stand out number for me in this version clearly was "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again." This has never been a favorite number of mine until now. Sierra Boggess really sells that performance and my mouth was on the floor when it was over. The Phantom in this production is also more believable. Ramin Karimloo brings out an anquished performance of a "monster" with the heart of an "artist". His makeup is not over the top but grotesque enough to give someone pause. My biggest beef about the motion picture is that no woman in her right mind would have rejected Gerard Butler's Phantom. Even with his "hideous" makeup he was way too pretty. A slight rash, a droopy eye and a swollen lip? Really? I've seen uglier people at Wal-Mart. But Karimloo's Phantom is sufficiently hideous. You sense the bravery it took Christine to kiss him in the final scene and that courage is not lost on the Phantom, which leads to his change of heart. One suprising highlight was the role of Carlotta. In all the past performances, Carlotta was portrayed in Caricature. Nowehre is this more apparant than in Minnie Drivers over the top performance in the film. Here, Carlotta is almost a sympathetic character. She clearly fears not only the Phantom, but also the rise of this "precious little Ingenue". She clearly see's Christine as a threat to her dominance at the Opera and we see a true human side to her as portrayed by her fear when the piano starts playing by itself during the rehersal for Don Juan Triumphant. In the past Carlotta had always been a throwaway part, but in this performance it is done with an authenticity that I have never before seen. Overall, the show is brilliant and I am ecstatic that it will be coming to DVD/Blu-Ray. Unfortunately Phantom is no longer touring in North America, so my chances to see it live require a trip to New York, or Las Vegas to see the "truncated" version. And if my children never have the opportunity to see it live, at least they can appreciate this version. While it is nowhere close to experiencing Phantom for yourself, it is definitely more authentic than the movie, and slight staging differences aside, is as accurate a staging of the original show as could be done in the venue that it was pressented. One final bonus is the appearance on stage of the surviving Orignal London Cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford. Unfortunately Michael does no singing, but we do get two numbers with Sarah and four previous phantoms. The Phantoms are outstanding, but clearly Sarah's voice lacks the punch it had 25 years ago. This is not a criticism but just a fact of growing older. It was still nice to see the original production team on stage. While it seems I have levied quite a few criticisms in this review, it is simply there to let you know what you are getting before you buy. The performance was outstanding and much more accurate to the original show than the movie. If you are a fan of the original show, you will find plenty to like here. If you are a fan of the movie, you will see different nuances than was presented by the film. Anyway, however you look at it. At it's core, it is still Phantom, and a mighty fine one at that. A must buy for anyone who loves this show, and anyone who has yet to see it performed on stage.