KaraKreative: "The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall" Review

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

"The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall" Review

"The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall" movie poster.

"In 1986, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera arrived on the West End stage at Her Majesty's Theatre. Fast forward 25 years and Phantom has achieved global success, millions of viewers, a film adaptation in 2004 and a musical sequel. Now viewers have the chance to experience this phenomenal show right from their own screens. Filmed at the Royal Albert Hall, this stunning performance brings the show to a bigger stage and celebrates its role as one of the biggest shows in theatre history, with speeches, performances and appearances by the original cast and some of the show's most notable Phantoms, including Anthony Warlow, Peter Joback, John Owen-Jones, Colm Wilkinson, and Michael Crawford. Starring Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, Phantom tells the story of a deformed musical genius who lives in the catacombs of the Paris Opera House. Shunned by society, the Phantom seeks revenge in cruel and often violent acts. The Phantom is in love with chorus girl Christine Daaé and has been secretly training her to replace La Carlotta as the opera's reigning diva. However, when Christine is thrust into the spotlight, she is also reunited with childhood friend Raoul. Passion, obsession and chaos ensue as Christine finds herself torn between her love for Raoul and her strange pull towards the mysterious and dangerous Phantom." Written by LadyN1 (Link below.)

"The Phantom of the Opera
at the Royal Albert Hall" dvd cover.

Sierra Boggess as Christine.

That was a beautifully orchestrated version of the musical. I loved the clothes as well. It definitely reminded me of the first time I saw this on Broadway nearly seven years ago now. It was awesome. I loved the sets and everything. The Phantom I saw in real life, Howard McGillin (site here), is probably still my favorite, but this one, Ramin Karimloo, was great as well, though I thought a bit young for the role, but he had a beautiful voice.

Raoul, played by Hadley Fraser, was handsome as well and was very spirited onstage (he should update his IMDB profile - hint hint). Christine, played by Sierra Boggess, was also beautiful and I thought a better actress than Sarah Brightman.

Scene from "The Phantom of the
Opera at the Royal Albert Hall".

This should definitely appeal to those who didn't like the movie version of this popular musical. While I liked the movie version, many others didn't, most say because they thought the actors in it weren't good enough singers to have participated. There were little bits in it that made it more like the movie version rather than the original onstage musical, but they were practically unnoticeable unless you're obsessed like I once was.

I really appreciated how the makeup artists tried really hard not to make the makeup look overmuch as it usually is in a play. That would've been ghastly.

(L to R) Hadley Fraser, Ramin Kaminloo,
and Sierra Boggess.

The only thing I would say that I didn't like about the production was how technologically advanced they tried to make it. There were LED screens for the backdrops and it was interesting to look at from far away and surely easier for the stage crew as they didn't have to load heavy set pieces onstage. But when you got up real close it became pixelated and really freaking ugly, whereas a real set would probably have only looked cheap up close rather than nonexistent. So that's where I would say I preferred a real set to an LED screen if I was watching a musical or stage play on screen, but if I had been there I don't know if it would have bothered me as much. It probably looked cool.