Love Never Dies

Okay, so, I watched this reasonably soon after having watched the Phantom of the Opera 25th anniversary performance--so a) it was fresh and b) I might be a little harsh.

The camera work was a little...interesting. There was only one shot (before the curtain call) that showed any of the audience, so it was easy to forget you were watching a play in a theater--except that you kept seeing stage lights in shots. Not a bad thing, but not ideal. The music is good, but rather weak in comparison to Phantom. Phantom is soaring and operatic... LND had me asking if Webber composed it in collaboration with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The big thing for me, however, is the continuity disasters between LND and Phantom that fundamentally change the apparent story in Phantom. Full-disclosure, I think Love Never Dies would be perfectly fine in it's own right, but as a sequel to the awesomeness of Phantom of the Opera... I was a bit disappointed. I did appreciate the sporadic musical references to Phantom of the Opera in the score, however.

Saw it live in London in October 2010 and was mesmerized by it. The cast was very different sadly but the story is still the same. I was blessed to get pictures of the cast after the performance and it is one of my favorite musicals altogether. Am glad to see it on film, though the impact is a little weakened. Nevertheless, Christine and her Phantom live again at last, for all of us, we are blessed to have Sir Andrew's gifts carry on their lives. Was disappointed in the removal of it from London completely and if you want to see it live Melbourne is the only place that is showing it. I still have the score rolling through my mind and am touched at the way the new and the old meet paths. Worth a watch and a box of tissue.

Much of the problem that I had watching this was to do with Love Never Dies itself. I am one of those who has appreciated Andrew Lloyd Webber overtime, especially as Phantom of the Opera is so good, but Love Never Dies is my least favourite musical of his by quite some way. Two or three of the songs are nice, Til I Hear You Sing Once More, The Beauty Underneath and Look With Your Heart, but the rest are completely forgettable. The story is also a mess, it is nowhere near as cohesive as Phantom of the Opera, is very bad soap-opera-ish and didn't engage me emotionally. The characters seem off, especially Raoul, and one plot strand(the one revealing when Gustave was conceived) actually distorts them, while the ending is ridiculously anti-climatic. This production is a slight improvement by excising that one plot strand, but other than that it does nothing to change my perception of the musical. The production is certainly not bad, the costume and set designs are just exquisite with beautiful lighting. The orchestral playing, chorus and conducting are also first-rate. And I thought the two leads were fine. Ben Lewis has a magnificent voice, and does his best making Phantom charismatic, edgy and tortured, it's not his fault that Phantom in Love Never Dies is too much of an obsessive businessman with a dark past, a much watered-down version of his former self really. Anna O'Byrne struggles with the title number- hardly surprising seeing as the song itself isn't that good anyway- but her voice is very angelic and rich with an unbelievable range, she also does elegant and diva-ish very well. The rest of the cast aren't as effective, good voices but dull. Well Simon Gleeson does have flashes where he allows Raoul to be dashing, but there is strong emphasis on flashes. It doesn't help that the drama is so overly-melodramatic, dull and emotionally cold, or that the relationship between Phantom and Christine is as tawdry as it is. And if you're struggling to believe that they actually hooked up, I don't blame you. The choreography was well danced but lacked drive and sparkle for my tastes. The camera work was a big, perhaps even the biggest, issue. There are too many close-ups and medium shots that are moved so fast, this approach is the very opposite of intimate(which I believe was intended), further ruined the dramatic flow and actually cried for a more expansive use of the stage and live-performance spontaneity. Overall, lavish but also disappointing. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Very entertaining film of the musical. Camera work left a lot to be desired, however: too much movement around action shots. Lighting was very dark, and much of the set was constantly in the dark. Yes, of course, much of the set is supposed to be, I guess, in this vehicle, but the people were poorly light frequently, and the focus seemed to be blurry. I wondered if they were trying to shoot "Mame" with Lucille Ball. Really nice score. Clearly a Weber opera with leitmotifs from other shows and particularly "The Phantom". Nice touches throughout. Pretty duets and ballads. Singing was quite fine overall. Anne O'Byrne was quite good. The opening Phantom ballad however was a bit stagy. He was trying to sound too hard, I thought, like the original with the wobbly voice.

Beyond the spectacular singing, beautiful costumes, and amazing set design, Love Never Dies was a great disappointment. The story is simply not good: plot holes, out-of-character actions, and an absurd ending. I found it difficult to sympathize or identify with the characters. The plot also lacks narrative cohesion, almost as if the entire story is a weak collection of character vignettes. The conflicts of the plot are too dispersed to create a strong narrative. The lyrics also leave something to be desired. The whole thing came off as a musical version of a mediocre fan fiction. This was a very poor follow-up to the incomparable Phantom of the Opera.