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lucygold95 · 9 months

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POTO Busan review (centered on actors).

(*I wrote longer reviews in Korean on another SNS before. **It's a long review with bad English grammar, so if you're busy, I recommend you to read only keywords.)

0. I saw POTO Busan performances for the first time on April 30(Both matinée and evening performances). I had saw POTO World tour and London (+ JOJ concert in Korea😄) before and (as you all know) the POTO Korea set was the original version, not the world tour version or the London reopening version. The costumes were similar to the recent London costumes, but have more beads except Star Princess costume. The directing and choreography(except Masquerade) were Broadway versions before COVID.

I finished brief introduction, so I'll talk about actors now. (I know that POTO Korea video bootlegs exist, but most of them were recorded in very early days including previews. And some actors(particularly 조승우 and 송은혜) were sick at the beginning of the Busan run. So later performances were much better than those videos.)

1. Raoul actors

송원근's Raoul is gentle, romantic and mentally mature(He looks younger than his age, but he is actually 40). His Raoul resembles Steve Barton's Raoul in many ways. I think he's one of the standard ALW Raouls. (If you like the original London cast, I recommend 손지수 Christine and 송원근 Raoul pair.) His gentle voice, good romance acting and nice dance skills are his strengths.(He is now a famous musical actor, but long ago he was an unfamous idol/dance singer. He has also been a drama actor since 2013.) + Personally, his stifling acting at The Final Lair was very impressive.

황건하 has a very unique voice for Raoul. He has a very heavy tone. His deep voice color reminds me of Bengt Nordfors's Raoul. However, his Raoul is not as mature as Nordfors's. His Raoul is young(황건하 is 25 years old, so I think that's the reason.) and and full of enthusiasm like the Leroux Raoul. But his Raoul isn't fragile like the Leroux Raoul. His Raoul is weaker than Ramin and Hadley's, but it has a similar sense of mettle.

Doesn't 황건하's impression resemble that of Hadley and Ramin? +I think 황건하's strength is his nice singing skills.

2. Christine actresses

To be honest, Korean audiences gave 송은혜 a better rating than 손지수 on the reservation site during Busan run. On the contrary, I've seen many non-Korean old phans tend to prefer 손지수. If you want to know why, go to 2-4). (* I love both of them similarly.)

2-1) Voice color: Both Christines have quite different voice colors. 💙송은혜 Christine has a clear and very light voice color. Her voice is transparent and light like a shiny glass bead. Her voice color resembles previous Korean ALW Christines (Especially 김소현 Christine) voice colors.(+ Emmy Rossum's voice color a little bit too.) 🤍손지수 Christine has a light(but less lighter than 송은혜's voice), warm and very soft(<-->clear) voice. I think her voice color is very unique! Her voice reminds me of soft and warm angel wings.

2-2) Singing style: 💙송은혜 sang POTO numbers more like musical singing style than opera " .(She majored in opera, but worked as a popera singer/an ensemble in the musical Elisabeth.) I think her singing style resembles previous Korean Christines (Especially, 최현주 Christine's POTO Korea 1st revival run. *최현주's stage name in Japan was 'Sai Tamami'.) and Sierra Boggess (Particularly WYSHA) a lot. 송은혜 has a girlish voice and face(I think both Christines look younger than their age. 송은혜 is 30 years old and 손지수 is 33 years old.), but she is an independent and modern Christine 'compared to the other Christine'. But her voice is light and less powerful than Sierra's, so sometimes I think her singing resembles Amy Manford too(But less operatic way).

🤍손지수 sang POTO numbers in an operatic way. (She is an opera singer.) And her calm and classical singing style is very reminiscent of Sarah Brightman's singing style. (+ Rebecca Caine's West End run.) But warmer and softer than them(I think Caine and Brightman has cooler voice and more vivid voice).

I prefer 🤍손지수's WYSHA🤍 more than 송은혜's and I prefer 💙송은혜's TOM and POTO(I like her cadenza & high notes)💙 more than 손지수's. Personally, 손지수's WYSHA is one of the top five WYSHWs I've heard.

2-3) Character interpretation: 💙As I said above, 송은혜 Christine was an independent and modern Christine 'compared to the other Christine'. Also, her interpretation influenced a lot by 최현주(최현주's Korea run. But I think 송은혜's voice color and face resemble 김소현's.) and Sierra's. But I think her Christine is less stronger than Sierra's. + 송은혜 Christine's love for Phantom is more Erosive 'compared to the other Christine'. ++ I like 송은혜's Serafimo.

🤍In every way, 손지수's Christine evoked the nostalgia of Christines in the 80s and 90s. (Her special voice color that distinguishes it from others, operatic singing style and Leroux-like Christine interpretation.) She was a very soft and warm Christine. She respected and relied on Phantom, her teacher and guardian. And her love for the Phantom was close to the Virgin Mary's agape love for humanity. I really love her classical Christine interpretation!

2-4) Points to be improved: I really love 손지수's classical Christine, but she need to develop her dialogue acting and body acting. She is a native Korean and speaks Korean naturally in her daily life, but on stage, she spoke lines as if she were reading a textbook. She spoke strictly and exaggerated at the same time. I know POTO is a sung-through musical but her Little Lotte dialogue acting was not good. But if you are not a native Korean speaker, it will be hard to notice. (+ Interestingly, her songs contained a variety of emotions and her pronunciation was not strange when she sings.) I think this is why she is preferred by non-Korean phans over Korean audiences. If you want to know her strengths, read the keywords from 1-1) to 1-3).

송은혜's lines and body acting were okay, but often 손지수's facial expressions were better than her. (The interesting thing is that 송은혜 said she has been a phan for more than a decade, but the other Christine – who wasn't a phan – is preferred to her by a global phandom👀(I think it's because 송은혜 is a fan of Sierra and old phans tend to prefer classic POTO over 25th anniversary.)) And neither of them can do ballet professionally.

3. Phantom actors (* I didn't see 조승우

Phantom's performance in a good seat, and his condition was not good at that day, so I'll exclude him from this Busan review.)

전동석's Phantom was a romantic and soft phantom like Kopit's Phantom(* He played Kopit Phantom. But still, his ALW Phantom was stronger than his kopit Phantom). His Phantom seemed to have loved Christine for a long time. Not every performance, but he would often greet Christine (as if he were worshiping her) during the POTO number like the picture below.

And he carefully stroked her face when she fell asleep during The Music of the Night. His phantom reminds me of Earl Carpenter's phantom, who was also a soft phantom and liked to stroke Christine's hair.

* 전동석 sang POTO numbers by mixing musical and opera singing styles.(Although he majored in opera, he has worked as a musical actor for a long time, not an opera singer.) And he sang high notes well.

On the contrary, 김주택's Phantom was a very strict teacher and musician who wants to strongly control his student – Christine who will show his music to the world – 'at first'. He looked domineering and sometimes very dangerous villain. During STYDI, 전동석's Phantom seemed so sad and he couldn't hurt Christine, but 김주택's Phantom was very angry and seemed to strangle(but not kill) Christine if she was caught. But he got shocked and recognized his love to Christine when Christine handed over his mask during STYDI. After that 김주택 Phantom changed a lot. Even his voice changed a lot.

* At first, 김주택 Phantom's voice sounded very heavy and Phantom is in his mid-40s to early 50s, but after STYDI, his voice changed softly and Phantom is in his mid or late-30s except some scenes. (* 전동석 Phantom's voice sounded like he is in his mid-30s. And his voice color was lighter than 김주택's.) Also, 김주택 sang the numbers very operaically(It's natural that he is an opera singer(Baritone). *POTO is his musical debut).

I expected he still had a very scary side during AIAOY reprise 1, but I was surprised that he cried really a lot during AIAOY reprise 1. He broke my predictions several times and gave me fresh shocks as if I had never seen the Phantom of the Opera.

From here, I'm going to compare the two phantom actors. During PONR, 전동석's phantom was very sexy and I am sure his 'Don Juan Triumphant' must be loved by the audience. I saw the performance from the perspective of the Paris Opera audience who enjoyed the show. On the contrary, 김주택 Phantom's 'Don Juan Triumphant' seemed very dangerous. I felt a dangerous criminal go crazy and snuck in. I saw the performance from the perspective of the Paris Opera staff who were nervously watching the performance. And I love 김주택's AIAOY reprise 2.

At the final lair, 전동석 Phantom tended to recite that Christine was the only light to him after she left. I think his experience of Kopit Phantom was melted here. I like the way he emphasized Phantom's love to Christine. From beginning to end, the most important thing to him was Christine. Even during the 'Why So Silent', he thought that 'you' were Christine, not André and Firmin. Anyway, he let Christine go and cried, but he also smiled (like Ethan Freeman's Phantom) because his soul was saved by her kiss. 김주택 Phantom's final lair was scary and nervous. But Christine, especially soft and angelic 손지수 Christine, melted that dramatically with a warm heart and kisses. I think 김주택 Phantom and 손지수 Christine are a really good match for each other. They have similar singing styles(They are both opera singers and studied at the Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi di Milano.) and the height difference between 김주택(178cm) and 손지수(early 160s) is also appropriate. (*송은혜 is taller than 170cm and she wears Christine's heels on stage, so she has better chemistry with tall phantoms. **The phantom in the image below is 전동석, who is 186cm tall.)

Let's get back to the point. I think 손지수's interpretation of Christine goes well with all Korean Phantoms. But I think 손지수's soft and warm Christine goes best with 김주택's strict and scary phantom. It reminds me of a fairy tale that the goddess of spring softly melts the god of cold winter. + 김주택's Phantom also smiled (like Ethan Freeman's Phantom) at the end.

4. Carlottas, Piangi, Meg and André.

Both Carlotta actresses are young and are not much older than Christine actresses. For example, 한보라 – one of the Carlotta actresses, was born in 1988, and 손지수 – one of the Christine actresses, was born in 1989. So that reminded me of the relationship between Patti sisters(Adelina Patti/Carlotta Patti) and Christine Nilsson(*Both Adelina and Christine were born in 1843). 한보라, in particular, has a light tone like Adelina. (The other Carlotta – 이지영 has a calm voice.)

박회림 Piangi was really good at both singing and acting. The long extension of Hannibal high note at the end of the Busan run was very surprising.

조하린, who played Meg, has a sweet and girlish voice :) I like her Meg, though she sometimes struggled with the high notes. Her dance was great too.

Finally, I admired 윤영석's André. His André really loves music and art. It was really impressive that his eyes were shining when he saw arts. His André was as good as his Phantom in both singing and acting.

#the phantom of the opera #poto korea #poto busan #review #오페라의 유령

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roadtophantom · 7 months

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Let your S(e)oul take you where you long to be (III) - Cho Seung-woo

(part three of my neverending travelogue, I thought I'll just write one but this already got long)

I think it didn't quite hit me that I was seeing Phantom even when I went in the theatre, likely because of travel adrenaline? I was still a bit dazed coming in and I didn't quite settle until the show started. But also it was so warm and tight that it's hard to get a semblance of personal space.

But it didn't take long because Charlotte Theatre is small and it kinda really wraps itself around the stage. At least that's how I felt.

Because when the overture started and the sparks came off, I was sucked right in.

But listen. Hearing the organ played in person and watching the chandelier make its steady ascent, coming from a lockdown of 3 or so years after fighting tooth and nail to be on that seat, were enough to reduce me to actual tears.

I was sobbing behind my face mask — a souvenir from the pandemic that is sadly here to stay— as reality finally hit me that I managed to live to see another Phantom show when such a possibility didn't exist then, and it's as real as the chandelier looming large before my very eyes.

Second was seeing the proscenium in its fullest glory. Unfortunately, 2delier and the stripped down World Tour revival stage cannot possibly hold a candle to the magnificence of a complete replica set. I haven't seen this setup since 10 years ago in Singapore (not counting HK coz that was an arena and it's a bit different).

I'm reviewing both performances at once because I saw them in 24 hours and it will help me make (healthy) comparisons.

But I think I want to write about the Korean production as a whole first. I've read that it took a while for the local production to mount another POTO KR because of the scale and the demands of the show and the producers want to get everything perfect.

And I think they really did, or at least one that approaches sheer excellence in acting, singing, dancing, all that.

The ballerinas are in step with each other, the cast harmonizes so beautifully even in Prima Donna which tends to go messy and overwhelming...As a full company they are undefeatable.

And I've seen some of the most heartrending performances and heard the most exquisite voices in these two shows.

During my week in Seoul, I managed to catch a movie on cable TV led by Cho Seung-woo called Inside Men and he played this prosecutor who is smart, ambitious, and hellbent for justice. He was all suits, yanked neckties, and cigarettes. A cool hero you wanna root for. And in the first movie I've seen of him (The Classic), he plays a young Romeo with such pure ideals on love and friendship, again a good guy you can't help but love and feel hurt for.

The Phantoms - Cho Seung-woo

Those are barely a scratch on the surface of the veteran actor's stellar filmography and theatre work. His versatility is undisputed, and he's played everything from Hedwig to Sweeney Todd until he finally took on the challenge as the Phantom, which is still so mindblowing to me.

There was no hint of swagger, coolness, or goodness in Cho Seung-woo's Phantom. He is basically the anti-cute Phantom. This is the sewer rat, the stone gargoyle on the roof, the cantankerous old neighbor you don't wanna deal with. He made that especially clear from the mirror scene, as he openly sneered at Raoul's attempts at Christine.

The Phantoms I've seen would try to play up being angel, ghost or even just try to present themselves as an educated gentleman forced under very unfortunate circumstances, but Cho Seung-woo's Phantom is well frankly, truly what you'd expect of a creature living in an underground lake. He isn't shy or afraid to be menacing because that's...what's on the script anyway, right?

With one caveat, he can't bear to be ugly in front of Christine who is his weakness from the very beginning.

His Music of the Night gives a sneak peek of the kind of desolation and yearning he feels for her. He also peppers his performances throughout with whispers of "Christine" (even after MOTN) which I realized is his desperate plea of help.

Cho Phantom loses his temper quite easily, he's delighted like Rumpelstiltskin dancing around the fire when he plays tricks at Carlotta, unafraid to play up his monster persona to get his way. But this evil facade falls in front of Christine. Of course he tries to put up that mean act, but eventually he is just this awkward teenage boy with a first-ever crush. He is so hyperaware of his appearance in front of her. He practically worships her.

So imagine in PONR, he groans at Christine's advances and in AIAOY reprise he is almost on his knees begging her to please take pity and accept him.

In Final Lair, he recoils after Christine kisses him in a 'Why would you do that to yourself? Why touch a cursed creature like me with your perfect being? Please don't corrupt yourself' way. And when she goes back to return the ring, he really tried to wipe his hands on his pants, fix himself because he had to at least try to be less horrible as he already is in front of his idol.

As a singer, CSW can carry the notes, but he is not the best singer, not in front of actual tenors in the cast.

Yet his nuanced acting, the level of sensitivity and hyper-awareness he has, the kind of vulnerability he exposes to Christine at Final Lair is one of a kind. You can see he dug into the psychology of the character, imagined how it was like living miserably like him and how it's like to lose everything when he lets Christine, his only source of light and happiness, go.

You feel a lot of things when he's on stage, I truly felt so sorry for him, because his Phantom was such that the world truly let him down. So many realizations you'll see of his character. I think his was the most humanistic rendition of the role I've seen so far. It's a solid performance, and I understand he likes to change the details up every show, no wonder his shows sell out so fast.

#cho seung woo #rtp goes to seoul #Phantom of the Opera #gonna do my best and write the rest and finish this whole thing 😭😭#but the words they are not quite wording

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glassprism · 1 year

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Mark Seibert is going to become to POTO what Thomas Borchert is to Tanz der Vampire. He's going to always come back for the check. He'll play the Phantom in Vienna. In Berlin. In Paris. In the West End. They'll reopen Broadway just for him. He'll go on the World Tour and star on the Moon. He'll have a one man show where he plays all the parts. ALW will say it's best production ever. There's no escape. He'll hate every minute of it, and we'll know, and yet some ask for me. There's no escape.

I am very here for Mark Seibert signing his soul over to Phantom. Mark Seibert playing the Phantom throughout Europe when it goes on tour. Mark Seibert having a special run in the Chinese production because he's popular there. Mark Seibert defying Equity to open the Broadway revival. Mark Seibert performing Phantom to the penguins in Antarctica. Mark Seibert taking a submarine to perform Phantom at the bottom of the ocean. Mark Seibert hitching a ride on a generation ship to Tau Ceti to bring Phantom to our newest colony.

I'd say he's signing a contract in blood, but we all know he's already given that to Elisabeth.

#GP gets asks #anonymous

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phantomtrader19 · 2 years

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God this hurts reading 😩😩😩

What could have been

#phantomoftheopera #poto #phantom of the opera #poto world tour revival #poto world tour #kelly mathieson #christine daae

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ballerinadellamusica · 3 years

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All upcoming/current production according to the New York Times!

Tokyo, Japan currently running until 10th January 2022

London, UK from 27th July 2021

Sydney, Australia from 3rd September - 29th October 2021

Helsinki, Finland from 22nd October to 31st December 2021

New York, USA from 22nd October 2021

Shanghai, China in 2021 (part of the World Tour)

BERLIN, Germany Autumn 2022!

Others not included:

Sofia, Bulgaria 4th - 6th June 2021

Budapest, Hungary 27th October - 8th November 2021

Osaka, Japan Spring 2022

Picture: phantomopera Instagram story

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fallenidolandfalsefriend · 4 years

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#matt leisy #raoul de chagny #poto #the phantom of the opera #poto world tour #poto world tour revival #hussar uniform #oh my god i want to keep him in my pocket #he’s just a ray of sunshine ☀️🤧#FIFF gifs #he looks stunning god indeed has his favorites smh #golden boy leisy #im gonna s w a l l o w him whole

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hermes-whistle · 2 years

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Photo dump

1. Tim Howar & Kelly mathieson west end live

2. Emilie Kouatchou

3. Meghan picerno

4. Peter jöback

5. Anna o'bryne

6. Meghan picerno & Jonathan roxmouth

7. Holly Anne hull & Christine dresser Sinèad Smith

8. Amy manford

9. Emilie Kouatchou & Jeremy stolle

10. Gina beck & tori Jones

#kelly mathieson #emilie kouatchou #meghan picerno #peter jöback #jonathan roxmouth #holly anne hull #amy manford #jeremy stolle #gina beck #phantom of the opera #west end #poto #poto west end revival #phantom broadway #phantom world tour

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ange-de-la-musique · 4 years

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Photoset dedicated to the more recent pink West End style rooftop dress.

1. Harriet Jones as an alternate, then principle, then alternate again in the West End (September 2013 - 2014, 2014 - September 2015, September 2016 - September 2017). Photo taken during her second run as alternate.

2. Amy Manford as an alternate in the West End (September 2017 - September 2019).

3. Holly-Anne Hull as the principle on the UK Tour revival (March 2020 - July 2020).

4. Anouk Van Laake as the alternate on the UK Tour Revival (March 2020 - July 2020).

5. Claire Lyon as a principle in the current World Tour (February 2019 - current).

6. Kelly Mathieson as a principle in the West End (September 2017 - July 2020).

We can also infer that understudies such as Lydia Gerrard and Corinne Cowling wore this dress, however there are no pics. The Copenhagen revival used the same base UK style dress with different decorations.

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operafantomet · 6 months

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IF THEY WOULD, THEY COULD!

To the left, recent UK made Star Princess bodices worn in the UK and in Asia. To the right, new UK made bodices, also worn in the UK and Asia.

ROW 1: Claire Lyon in the World Tour revival, and Lucy St Louis in the West End revival

ROW 2: Pan Hangwei in Beijing, and Lucy St Louis in the West End revival

ROW 3: Lucy St Louis in the filmed West End fitting, and Son Eun Hye in the Seoul revival

ROW 4: Holly-Anne Hull in the UK Tour revival and early West End revival, and Lily Kerhoas, West End revival

ROW 5: Claire Lyon in the World Tour revival, and Kown Ga Min in the Seoul revival

I am not shaming the individual wearers. They are beautiful and talented and put on the assigned costume. I am also not shaming the individual costume makers. They make what they are asked to make. Chances are some of these bodices were even made by the same costume makers. I am shaming the decision of going from what reflects on Maria Bjørnson's rich design, to stripped-down, half-assed bodices which sometimes doesn't even seem to be properly fitted to the actress.

OK, so the general audience may not notice. But for example in photos it is quite visible. You can do better. The column to the left is a proof you both CAN and HAVE done better. As it is now some fan replicas looks a lot better than the stage equivalent. I'm not sure that's what you want. Just... up the game goddamnit!

#star princess #last rant for a while i promise #i'm just so annoyed #phantom of the opera #poto west end revival #poto south korea #poto china #poto world tour revival #cotume nerding #maria bjørnson

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littleeliza-lotte · 1 year

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“I miss the world tour…” (x)

#missing Caitlin hours #phantom of the opera #christine daae #Caitlin Finnie #michael gillis #phantom #poto world tour revival #phantom of the opera world tour #POTO wt #angel of music #stranger than you dreamt it

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phantomchristinesuk · 3 years

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New World Tour Elissa skirts.

Pictures from Meghan Picerno, Clara Verdier, Megan Ort, Claire Lyon & Caitlin Finnie instagrams, stars.und.com article

#phantom of the opera #poto world tour revival #poto world tour #kaley ann voorhees #claire lyon #meghan picerno #caitlin finnie #megan ort #Clara Verdier #phantom of the opera world tour revival #phantomoftheopera

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raven-curls · 5 years

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#poto #Phantom of the opera #poto revival world tour #marina bay sands

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glassprism · 4 years

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Is there something about the role of Christine in LND that makes POTO Carlotta actresses more likely to play her? I've noticed a lot of overlap between actresses playing those two roles, perhaps more so than POTO Christine/Carlotta overlap. Is LND in a higher register and so more prone to needing more operatic actresses? Sorry if this is phrased weirdly, I dont quite know how else to ask, but it's something that has stuck out to me

Eh, is there more overlap? If we examine the actresses that have been in both Phantom and LND and played Christine in at least one of them, this is what we get:

Sierra Boggess - played Christine in Phantom in Las Vegas, played Christine in LND, and went on to play Christine again in the 25th anniversary concert and two Broadway runs of Phantom.

Celia Graham - Christine in the London production of Phantom and understudy and later principal Christine in London’s LND.

Mira Ormala - understudied Christine in the London production of LND and then Christine again in the Oslo production of Phantom.

Anna O’Byrne - played Christine in the World Tour of Phantom, then Christine in the Australian production of LND, and then Christine yet again in the London production of Phantom.

Claire Lyon - understudied Christine in the Australian LND and then played Christine in two World Tours.

Louise Fribo - played Christine in the Danish production of LND but played Carlotta in the Danish revival of Phantom.

Rachel Anne Moore - played Carlotta in the Hamburg revival of Phantom, then Christine in the Hamburg and national tour productions of LND, and is now on Broadway understudying as Carlotta.

Meghan Picerno - played Christine in the national tour of LND and then played as Christine in the World Tour and Broadway productions.

Mary Michael Patterson - played Christine in the Broadway production of Phantom and then Meg in the national tour of LND.

So of the nine Christines that have been in Phantom and LND, only two have been Carlotta, the rest have been Christine, with exception of MMP who is just hanging out there as an outlier. Meanwhile, in the world of Phantom, we have these actresses who have done both Christine and Carlotta: Jan Horvath, Glenda Balkan, Danielle Everett, Claire Louise Hammacott, Evelyn Werner, Eva Malmgren, Malin Landing, Kris Koop, Kimilee Bryant, Trista Moldovan, Monika Sommerova, Robin Botha, and if you count “what could have been”, Claire Moore and Manon Taris.

Now, a lot of this is because Phantom has been playing much longer than LND, but you can see the amount of actresses going from Christine to Carlotta in the original still outnumbers the amount of actresses going from Christine to Carlotta from LND to Phantom, which makes me think that something about the high profile of Louise Fribo and Rachel Anne Moore in the phandom is influencing perception of LND Christines being more likely to become Carlotta?

But with that said, I do agree that LND seems to be attracting more actresses with an operatic background as time goes on, and if they are coming from or head back to Phantom, there’s a greater tendency they’re a Carlotta, as that requires operatic training while Christine does not.

#Anonymous #GP gets asks

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