Tuesday, January 11, 2005

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA




Musical

BACKGROUND
The show opened in London in 1986 and in New York in 1988, which makes it the longest-running show currently on Broadway.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Minnie Driver: prima donna Carlotta
Emmy Rossum: Christine Daae, a young member of the chorus
Patrick Wilson: Raoul, her childhood sweetheart.
Miranda Richardson: ballet mistress Madame Giry
Gerard Butler: the Phantom who haunts Paris' Opera House

REVIEW
If you are not a big fan of Broadway musicals, I suggest you skip this one. If you do like this type of entertainment, I suggest you bring a cushion. Unlike the live stage performance, there is no intermission and sitting 2 hours and 23 minutes is a long time.

The sets are lavish, full of rich warm colours and the costumes first rate. Some of the performances lack real emotion but the songs are fabulous.

CLASSIFICATION
for brief violent images.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
When the Phantom gets out of the gondola in his musty dark crypt, Christine remains in it lying down with her stockings visible beneath her flowing dress. When he finishes the song and helps her out of the boat, she no longer has her stockings on.

On several occasions, there is a serious lip synchronisation problem when Christine is singing. This is particularly noticeable just after she passes beneath a curved arch in the graveyard. When we see a close-up of her face, her lips are not moving in time with the words being sung. Shortly thereafter, as she is singing in front of a stained glass window, this problem is also very much in evidence.

While singing a duet with Raoul from the opera Don Juan, Christine is wearing a dress with wide shoulder straps. The camera focuses on the performers in turn as they sing their portion of the song. The nit is only once during these back-and-forth shots are the straps up on her shoulders. In all the other shots, they are off her shoulders to give her the “vamp” look of the character she is portraying.

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