You know, I realize this may not be the ideal time to talk about musicals. Broadway is shut down for the foreseeable future, theatres all over North America will be as well. This is not a time anyone can or should go out to see a live performance. And so devoting my annual theme month to something no one can properly engage with right now might not seem like a smart idea. It's probably not. But I'm going to defend it anyway.
The idea to do a series of musical reviews came about out of two things. One is the Disney recording of Hamilton from back in May which I quite liked not only for its performances and production values, but because it reminded me of that spontaneity and intimacy I love about live theatre. The other is the podcast Musicalsplaining, hosted by Lindsay Ellis and Kaveh Taherian, which I've been listening (and re-listening) to quite a bit, and is a lot of fun. The conceit of the podcast is in Ellis, an unabashed musical lover, introducing Taherian, who hates musicals, to various shows from Beetlejuice to Cats, and the two subsequently discussing them with irreverent jokes and analysis. And through it I can vicariously live these first experiences with various high profile musicals as I am unable to see them myself. I do enjoy musicals quite a bit, though I've probably seen less than a dozen live (and some, honestly rather middling productions), the side effect of living near no major theatre centres. The most professional show I've ever seen was The Book of Mormon in the West End during the time I was living in the U.K. -and it's not exactly a show high on spectacle.
But there is a way I can access some equivalent of that experience. Hamilton may now be the most popular of its kind, but there have been other professionally shot recordings of Broadway and West End titans for decades that you can enjoy on home video -many of which for shows I haven't seen before. And since absence makes the heart grow fonder, now may not be that inopportune a time at all to engross oneself in various classics of musical theatre. So, for the month of September, every Tuesday I will be reviewing a musical, professionally shot and staged, to get the fullest experience of the show in question (no proscenium bootlegs here!). Most of these will be musicals I've never seen before, either live or in adaptation -with one exception at the end. So let's kick off Musical Month!
Of course it's fitting that a theme month in part inspired by the content of Lindsay Ellis would begin with what is famously her most beloved musical. For a long time, Andrew Lloyd Webbers' The Phantom of the Opera has been on my list of shows to see live if ever I got the chance. That has not come up though, so instead I have finally lost my Phantom virginity to the 2011 25th anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall -often considered to be the definitive modern version of the show.
Of course it's fitting that a theme month in part inspired by the content of Lindsay Ellis would begin with what is famously her most beloved musical. For a long time, Andrew Lloyd Webbers' The Phantom of the Opera has been on my list of shows to see live if ever I got the chance. That has not come up though, so instead I have finally lost my Phantom virginity to the 2011 25th anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall -often considered to be the definitive modern version of the show.
Now I may not have seen The Phantom of the Opera before, but I know the gist of the story; it's one of those that just has a way of seeping into public consciousness through cultural mitosis -also I've seen the Lon Chaney movie. It's a classical gothic romance turned beauty and the beast story about a wealthy but physically deformed and dejected immigrant with a refined taste for music haunting the Paris Opera House from a subterranean lair; and his obsession with the voice and beauty of the gifted young singer Christine, whom he abducts and instructs as the muse of his own art.
This is certainly related adequately enough in the Royal Albert Hall show, which is of course an enormous theatre designed for the kind of operas characterized in Phantom. However for whatever reason, it can't facilitate the chandelier drop, using pyrotechnics above the stage to convey it instead. It's also hard to get a sense of how it would play to the audience there, given the camera is always close on the stage and with the actors, borrowing cinematic techniques as needed. However the voices and emotion carry, so I imagine it is a thrilling experience. But getting to see the drama up close in this format has its' advantages.
Ramin Karimloo plays the Phantom in this production, with Sierra Boggess as Christine, both of whom were veterans of these roles and had originated them for the much maligned 2010 sequel show Love Never Dies. And they are both excellent here. Boggess is masterful as both the innocent ingenue and the powerhouse soprano, with a voice that effectively carries the weight of the whole show. And she lends real depth and conviction to the part, you can believe in her interest and affection for the Phantom in spite of the way he uses and behaves towards her. But of course, the Phantoms' sins going hand in hand with his sympathetic torment is a staple of the show, and Karimloo conveys that with real gravity and a blistering resonance. Obviously this doesn't necessarily translate in a live show, but the sheer pain of his existence is there in his every expression and action in select instrumental moments. Karimloo is a great singer as well of course and dominates his stage with passion and poise. And together, the pair have tremendous chemistry as well, both performatively and musically. Their duets are spectacular and they compliment each others' acting choices with remarkable grace.
Hadley Fraser (who’d co-starred with Karimloo the year before in the 25th anniversary O2 performance of Les Mis) is exceptional as Raoul, the storys’ Victor Laszlo, likewise in love with Christine, while Liz Robertson makes for a formidable Madame Giry, the stern choreographer who alone seems to know the Phantom. And of course the rest of the cast and background performers are no amateurs themselves. But this is such an important, professional rendering of the show it sets a high standard I realize most other stagings cannot match. There are universal qualities though that I feel must transcend any particular performance worth drawing attention to.
The classic Gaston Leroux novel that the show is based on, provides a strong template for the story, but Webber’s transformation of it is, however you feel about him personally, remarkably cogent. The tragedy of the Phantom, for as formula as it is, is perhaps the shows’ greatest hook. We love to sympathize with the outsider, especially the outsider who is tangibly othered by difference or disfigurement. Whether they are kindly, naive, and innocent like Victor Hugo’s Quasimodo, or angry, self-pitying, and forlorn like Mary Shelley’s monster, we’re drawn to empathize with them. This element of the story existed to some degree in Leroux’s novel, but Webber dialed it up to ten for his musical. He didn’t eliminate any of the Phantoms’ possessiveness, destructiveness, or bouts of megalomania, but he successfully turned the Phantom from the monster he had become in pop culture thanks to Lon Chaney and the Universal series, into a man again -emphasizing the beauty and the beast narrative of him and Christine, which itself is likewise a perennially winning formula. And it works great! The show is beautiful because of it. And if other productions can manage the tenderness half as well as Karimloo and Boggess when she kisses him with his mask off in the climax, I feel confident in saying the emotionality of Phantom of the Opera does remain intact through any staging.
Something else that probably translates (as long as the singers are good) are the songs and music itself, which by and large are great. The quality isn’t quite as consistent as some of the best musicals (most of the stuff concerning prima donna Carlotta and opera managers Firmin and Andre aren’t very memorable), but the big and most important songs are sufficiently big and important, and exciting to listen to. Obviously, the title track is killer, quite fittingly grandiose, but Christine’s first two songs adequately impress her skills (and hopefully those of her actress) on the audience. “Think of Me” is lovely and “Angel of Music” at times both sweet and foreboding. But the greatest song of the show, as anyone who’s a fan can probably attest, is the Phantom’s “Music of the Night”. It is the clearest expression of the Phantoms’ passion both for music and for Christine, the height of his empathetic emotionality, an ode to inspiration, and the romantic touchstone of the show. Its’ only real challenger is “All I Ask of You” at the end of the first act, a duet between Christine and Raoul –his moment to shine- on their love and commitment. Both of these songs wed the modern pop and classical opera aesthetics together better than any other number (some, like “Think of Me” feel purely operatic). As seems regularly the case with musicals, the songs of the second act generally aren’t as strong, with three exceptions: the delightfully catchy “Masquerade”, Christine’s final soulful solo “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” at the grave of her father, and the Phantom’s forceful “Point of No Return”. The plot and drama is interesting enough though to make up for a lack of bangers and the climax is terrific.
Especially as it is staged for the Royal Albert Hall. The Phantoms’ lair is notably more vacant than the other sets (and of course less populated) which gives it a better feeling of isolation –and it is perfect for the high emotional stakes of the ending from all three principal characters involved. This is the set that is most important for Phantom, and here it is nicely unobtrusive but dressed superbly and creatively. And of course the arrival there by boat and fog is lit and produced stunningly. Other standout moments from this production include the filming of the hanging stage-hand during the Il Muto sequence, and the fully spontaneous Masquerade ball. Generally, the cinematography and editing for this reproduction isn’t as elaborate as Hamilton, but it is functional, and does manage some compelling overlay photography and interesting shooting angles.
Because it was such a momentous occasion, this staging concluded with an extended sequence post-curtain call in which Lloyd-Webber gave a speech before bringing on stage special guests Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, the stars of the original production. There are a couple encore performances after this: Brightman singing the title song, followed by Karimloo and four previous Phantoms (though not Crawford) singing “Music of the Night”. Even as a newcomer to this show unfamiliar with most of these people (except Colm Wilkinson), it had the air something momentous and special. I understand the appeal.
The Phantom of the Opera is a really good musical, one I still would very much like to see performed live someday. It’s certainly not as fresh as it might have been in the 1980s, but there’s a timelessness to it nonetheless –obviously why it has remained so popular. I think this 2011 recorded performance likewise is a great exemplar of the shows’ best attributes, a good entry for newcomers and a better cinematic representation of Phantom than that legendarily bad 2004 movie adaptation. If you in any way like musicals, it is one you simply have to see!
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JordanBosch
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jordan_D_Bosch
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/jbosch/
Comments
Post a Comment