Where to begin with this one? I'm counting it as a film and therefore reviewing it as I did see it in the cinema. And as I hadn't seen this particular production/cast before I figure it counts as a new film.
It must be around 7 years since I first saw Phantom. And it blew me away. I was not (technically still am not) a fan of musicals and had to have my arm twisted to be persuaded to give Phantom a go. I still remember my best friend of the south whispering to the box office girl to see if our 'cheap seats' would allow me to view the famous chandelier.
Since then I have seen the movie version several times, own the DVD and soundtrack and saw the sequel Love Never Dies for my Birthday last year. I am officially a Phantom fan and was so excited to see this 25th anniversary show, live from the Royal Albert Hall, which was being screened at my local cinema.
For the uninitiated, the story is thus. New owners, Monsieurs Firmin and André (Barry James and Gareth Snook), take over the Opera Populaire and are soon informed that it has a resident 'ghost'. The 'opera ghost' makes his presence felt and has some demands of the new owners. This most recent appearance by the 'opera ghost' sends the leading lady, Carlotta (Kiera Duffy), into a diva hissy fit and she walks out. This leaves the new owners with the choice of refunding a full house or putting faith in chorus girl Christine Daae (Sierra Boggess) to take over the lead in their current production, until they can win back Carlotta's affections. Meanwhile, the owners patron Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny (Hadley Fraser), reveals he knows Christine as they were childhood friends. Raoul's interest in the Opera Populaire's new protégée sparks jealously in the 'opera ghost' - The Phantom (Ramin Karimloo) - as he had been secretly teaching Christine to sing in the hopes she would become a star.
As I mentioned above, I managed to see the sequel to Phantom, Love Never Dies, for my birthday last year. The cast included Ramin Karimloo as The Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine. They were both so wonderful in that production and definitely made me fall in love with The Phantom/Christine story all over again. It therefore pleased me no end to discover that both Ramin and Sierra were playing these roles in the 25th Anniversary production of Phantom that I saw last night.
I must stress that the whole cast were marvelous, but Ramin and Sierra have such wonderful chemistry together and fill their roles with such emotion that they can't help but stand out. Sierra's voice just gets better and better for me and I can definitely say that I will be making a purchase of the new soundtrack when it is released.
The end of the show was when the true fans were treated however, as the curtain call featured the original london cast of Phantom, as well as an appearance by Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman - the original Christine and Phantom. The moment when Ramin bowed to Michael, one Phantom to another, was a teary one for me and I know I wasn't the only one in the room with a hankie on hand. We were also treated to a performance of Phantom Of The Opera by Sarah Brightman and several past Phantoms including Anthony Warlow, Colm Wilkinson, John Owen-Jones and Peter Joback. Though I must confess that I prefer Sierra's voice over Sarah's these days as it's not as strong as it once was.
Overall, a phantastic evening had by all and thoroughly recommended to Phantom phans! 9 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 2nd October 2011
UK Release Date - 2nd October 2011
Cast Overview:
The Phantom ~ Ramin Karimloo
Christine Daae ~ Sierra Boggess
Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny ~ Hadley Fraser
Carlotta Guidicelli ~ Kiera Duffy
Ubaldo Piangi ~ Wynne Evans
Monsieur Firmin ~ Barry James
Monsieur André ~ Gareth Snook
Madame Giry ~ Liz Robertson
Meg Giry ~ Daisy Maywood
Director ~ Cameron Mackintosh
Writer ~ Andrew Lloyd Webber
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