The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

We all know that the "Phantom of the Opera" is by far one of the best known and best loved musicals of the past years. It is quite amazing to learn that this year is already the 25th year of this acclaimed piece of musical theater based on the novel by Gaston Leroux. The beautiful music was by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with most of the lyrics by Charles Hart, and produced by Cameron Macintosh. It debuted in the West End in London in 1986. Phantom is recognized as the highest-grossing entertainment event of all time and the most financially successful theatrical show in history.

Last week, it was suddenly announced that the special 25th Anniversary performance held at the Royal Albert Hall last October 2-3, 2011 was actually going to be shown in local theaters! I knew that my wife and I had to see it again. This morning, I was surprised to learn that this will be a 3 hour and 41 minute movie. This caused problems in our schedule but we still decided to push through and watch. An opportunity to watch a theater event such as this on the big screen was indeed rare.

As we entered, we found out the reason for the very long running time. Before the show proper, there was first a short documentary about Phantom by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. Here we got to hear how the idea of doing Phantom came about, and meet the original London production crew. This lasted about 15 minutes. After which there were ads announcing the sale of DVDs of this event come March next year. I guess we still have to wait that long to get an original copy of this special. Then there was about another 5 minute pause (as if waiting for the audience to fill up) before the show itself actually began. I see that this film was going to approximate a real theater presentation. Unfortunately, this also included a real 20 minute Intermission after Act 1. The theater (we watched in SM Megamall) actually paused the movie for the whole 20 minutes! So be warned.

The Phantom was played by Ramin Karimloo, while his ingénue Christine Daae was played by Sierra Boggess. I knew these were the same actors who played these same characters in the short-lived sequel of Phantom called "Love Never Dies." Ms. Boggess was beautiful as Christine channeling both innocence and sensuousness. Her soprano was flawless even in the most challenging and punishing notes in "Think of Me," "Phantom of the Opera," and "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again." As the Phantom, Mr. Karimloo has got that X-factor that makes the role dangerous yet riveting and sympathetic. His voice can navigate the highs and lows that makes Mr. Lloyd Webber a musical sadist. It can be strong, yet tender and also menacing. His "Music of the Night" and "Point of No Return" were fantastic!

The supporting performances were also very strong. Hadley Fraser cuts a dashing figure as Raoul. His featured duet with Christine, "All I Ask of You," was very well sung. Kiera Duffy makes a hilarious Madame Carlotta even as she also hit those unbelievable high notes, in songs like "Primadonna." Liz Robertson makes a very imposing Madame Giry with her severe black gown always in sharp contrast with the very bright colors of the costumes around her. Everything was so expertly staged: the dancing, the costumes, the set pieces, the make-up, the video backgrounds, were all so rich, elaborate and detailed. The camera work and direction was also very effective in conveying the drama, danger and romance of the story.

After the last scene where Meg Giry holds up the Phantom's mask after he vanishes, there was a very long curtain call. The whole stage was filled with actors and dancers. It was a very emotional moment. However, after the three main characters made their bows, it was not yet over. Sir Andrew himself took center stage and thanked the audience and his crew, present and past. Then he introduced the man who played the first Phantom, Michael Crawford! Finally he brought out his "Angel of Music", Ms. Sarah Brightman (who was looking very hefty indeed nowadays).

The surprise did not end there, Ms. Brightman obliged to sing! Of course, she sang "Phantom of the Opera." I would not say it was her best because her breathing was audible, but she could still hit those killer notes at the end. Another surprise was when it was the Phantom's turn to sing, four actors who played the Phantom before came out on stage to sing with Ms. Brightman. Of the four, I recognized two: Colm Wilkinson (Jean Valjean from Les Miz) and the fantastic Anthony Warlow! The other guy was John Owen Jones (the current Phantom in London). The youngest guy of the four Phantoms, Peter Joback (upcoming Phantom in the 2012 run in London), had a rather thin and nasal pop voice, in sharp contrast with the booming tenors of the other three. Too bad, Michael Crawford did not sing a note. After this, the four ex-Phantoms all took turns to sing "Music of the Night." This was another beautiful rendition of the song. At the end, the present Phantom, Ramin Kaminloo also joined the group. Another curtain call followed, and the event comes to an end.

This is definitely a must-watch for fans of Phantom, as well as fans of Musical Theater in general. When time comes for the DVD to come out, that should also be a must-own in his DVD collection.

The Phantom of the Opera is one of my personal favourites, and for me easily Andrew Lloyd Webber's best musical(though I do have a soft spot for Joseph). Anybody who loves The Phantom of the Opera will fall in love with this Royal Albert Hall performance, and while I didn't hate the 2004 film as much as others did this performance is a huge improvement. The costumes and sets are sumptuous and exquisite to look at. The camera work allows you to admire the production design and does so unobtrusively, often it has a very cinematic look which I loved without feeling overblown. The sound is resonant and clear, giving the feeling that you are actually there at the ROH watching it live. The orchestra give the score the powerful sweep it should have, a great thing in itself as it is one of those musicals where every song works. The chorus enunciate clearly and have a vibrant and carefully-blended sound. The stage direction is hugely compelling all the way, you are thrilled, terrified and moved to tears throughout and you do empathise with the characters and are fully engaged in Phantom and Christine's love-hate relationship. Nothing feels overdone or stillborn, you do miss the falling chandelier set-piece but at the same time you can understand considering the venue why it wasn't done. The singing is fantastic, embracing the somewhat exposed- from my experience having performed at ROH with various choruses at 3 Christmas concerts, one concert as a guest choir and 2 prom performances- acoustic.

Ramin Karimloo is an incredibly powerful Phantom, imposing in stature, somewhat scary, somewhat seductive and very affecting, and he has a gorgeous voice, one of the most beautiful of anybody in the role in my opinion. His make-up is genuinely hideous, and Music of the Night is really heartfelt. Sierra Boggess' Christine is alluring, charming and her stage presence is as moving as Karimloo's. Her soprano voice is bright and lyrical with no breathy sound(despite some of her breathing having a gasping quality), and I personally prefer her high notes to Sarah Brightman's finding them much clearer. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again had me weeping buckets. Raoul is I agree more abrasive than usual, but Hadley Fraser still sings beautifully- especially in All I Ask of You- and doesn't forget to act. All the supporting roles are filled solidly, but I want to really credit Kiera Duffy, she is every bit the Prima-Donna diva Carlotta ought to be but displays also a sympathetic and vulnerable side that I have rarely if ever seen from past Carlottas, most of which are basically caricatures. We are also given the bonus of having the likes of Sarah Brightman, John Owen Jones, Anthony Warlow and Colm Wilkinson performing, Michael Crawford doesn't sing but it was still a pleasure to see him. I was less taken by Peter Joback, it is a rather a lightweight sound and sounds rather nasal, a sound that is not very easy to warm to. But he isn't enough to bring down the performance in any way because everything else is so good. The appearance also of Andrew Lloyd Webber himself was also very touching. In conclusion, amazing, if you love The Phantom of the Opera this is everything you could possibly want and more.

10/10 Bethany Cox

I have loved "The Phantom of the Opera" for many years and listen to the soundtrack album with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman almost religiously. I began watching this with great worry, remembering how underwhelmed and disappointed I felt with the 2004 film adaptation. Imagine my delight when I discovered this even better than the original cast!

Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Bogges are both incredible actors and singers and are absolute magic together, as well as individually. Ramin has the passion and soul the Phantom needs and Sierra has the voice of an angel and makes feel every note she sings.

For years, I have had to put up with people telling me that Joel Schumacher's utterly redundant 2004 adaptation was actually brilliant; or that they cannot afford to see the real show. Well, the 25th anniversary concert exposes the 2004 adaptation for the diabolical mess that it is, with it's far superior singing, acting and set. And the fact that it is available on DVD means the 2004 film can shoved into the deep hole it belongs in.

Simply perfect, there is no excuse to miss this. Watch it and let it's music caress your soul.

A fantastic show very much diminished by the amateurish and highly distracting video direction. This video production suffers from the impulse of "we paid to have all these cameras and operators on site so we better damn well use them, even if it means ruining the home viewing experience".

Director Nick Morris' shot selection was weak, the frenetic tempo of his camera-to-camera takes overshadows the stage direction. He manages to miss key actor entrances because he has a close-up on another actor. Other times he goes immediately to a close-up for what should be a subtle entrance. This is most obvious with the Phantom's entrance after Wishing You Were Here Again. Morris commits other unforgivable shot selections like fast cutting close-ups of the destruction of the chandelier rather than giving us the more awe-inspiring audience perspective.

And don't get me started on his coverage of "Masquerade". One of my favorite scenes on the show is completely ruined by Morris' quick cutting between medium and close-ups of actors, rarely showing us the stage-wide view of the choreography, which is so essential to the power of the scene.

The action on Angel of Music is almost impossible to follow, and so on. As I said, abysmal. I've seen better directing of local cable channel dramatic productions.

This is a stage play that is meant to be seen from farther away than the 6" from the Phantom's face this director felt we needed. Most certainly someone should have realized that close-ups of actors that included the LED scenic backdrop was just a bad idea. It looks terrible.

I've seen this show live 3 times but never from the most expensive seats. This video production could have given us the best seats in the house but instead chose to cut quickly between various odd angles that the audience would and should never see.

10 stars for the stage production and 3 for the video production.

Finally a full staging of my favourite musical and the second longest running one in the U.K is here for the first time on DVD. This live production filmed straight from the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London, which was broadcasted to cinemas and theatres around the world and celebrates 25 years of the Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical, is nothing short of a lavish treat for the eyes and ears, with amazing performances and acting from the cast, including all the songs that fans of the show will know and remember.

The 25th Anniversary production stars the amazingly talented Iranian born Canadian Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom and American Broadway star Sierra Boggess as Christine Daae, with a great supporting performance from Hadley Fraser as Christine's love interest Raoul. Karimloo and Boggess incidentally are no strangers to the characters, having played them previously in the London production of the sequel to this show 'Love Never Dies'. Their chemistry on stage is perfect as are their performances.

Ramin is terrific as the Phantom and injects emotion and passion into the show playing the phantom as essentially a victim, with a voice that at times can be vengeful and deadly, yet soft and vulnerable at others. His delivery of the 'insolent boy' line near the beginning strikes fear right around the Albert Hall. I would even go as far to say that he is the best Phantom that I've watched so far, having previously experienced others on stage live and unfortunately the terrible 2004 movie version starring Gerard Butler. His acting is great without being over the top, and you really feel for the character. Sierra Bogges is also amazing displaying sensitivity, vulnerability and sexuality all throughout the show. Her performance of 'past of the point no return' being a particular highlight. The two leads work very well together and make the show believable.

There are also good supporting performances too. Hadley Fraser's Raoul is dynamic and energetic without becoming too irritating and makes quite a good match against the Phantom in the battle for Christine's heart. Wendy Ferguson and Wynne (Go Compare) Evans are very funny as the diva Carlotta and Piangi, the two Italian opera supremos who are the subjects of Phantom's rage and eventually driven to obedience. Equally as funny and memorable are the opera house managers Firmin and Andre, played brilliantly by Barry James and Gareth Snook, who camp it up and provide some additional comedy.

The staging and scenery is spectacular, with the doomed chandelier hanging above the audience and the on stage sets, especially the bridge leading to the Phantom's lair, featuring prominently. Due to the venue they had to make a very slight change to the chandelier scene at the end of the first part of the show, but it isn't a big deal and still has a great impact in my opinion.

The show is pretty much identical to that of the theatre version that one may see in London's West End or anywhere else it may be on. Some lines were changed ever so slightly but nothing noticeable or significant. The performances throughout will leave you astounded and definitely not disappointed. In fact there are simply no scenes or performances that can be criticised. If you are a fan of the show you will love this and not be disappointed.

As in usual 'anniversary style', like the Les Miserables 25th concert, they bring back all the old Phantom's and stars who have performed over the years in various productions. Including Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. Andrew Lloyd-Webber also makes a speech about the show and it's legacy.

So now finally you can watch the show like you were in the theatre itself whenever you want. One advantage this production has over seeing it live is that you get to see all the facial expressions and emotions up close, thereby really getting a feel for the show almost like a movie in some parts (but definitely much better than the actual movie).