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igenlodeWell, it's an interesting experience to watch two different productions of the same musical on successive evenings, though I wasn't entirely emotionally engaged in either of them. At least this one doesn't seem to have introduced a whole lot of questionably consistent extra backstory.
Although... Carlotta has been leading lady for nineteen seasons? That's definitely a change -- just how young did she start and how few alternative candidates are around? I assume the idea is to make her old enough to be Christine's mother, but it doesn't sound very realistic to me to suggest that the Opera Populaire has only had one leading lady in twenty years.
And there's what I think is an extra line where she says that "these things do 'appen" for the last three years, which is presumably supposed to be the period of time for which Christine has been at the Opera, or at least the Phantom has been actively interested in her. (Though I'm not sure that makes sense; if his aim was to get Christine better roles by making a pest of himself, he hasn't been very effective at it if she is still in the chorus line after three years ;-p)
Also, this Carlotta is apparently a man-eater; she is all over the slave-driver during the rehearsal (and who can blame her? Those are some impressive leaps and fouettés -- I just looked him up, and apparently the actor is a bona fide Royal Ballet star) and then all over the managers once they come within her orbit. (Not much interest in Piangi, though.)
Is Piangi supposed to be struggling to hit his top notes during the rehearsal, in addition to having trouble with the French pronounciation of "Rome"?
The word "Vicomte" has an audible "T" [passim] :-p
Also, "Meyerbeer" is a composer, not Mynheer Beer (or whatever title the auctioneer thought he was using...)
Meg gets a new verse in "Angel of Music" (in place of "Christine, you must have been dreaming" - not sure if the objection was to Meg disbelieving her friend, or the suggestion that this is "not like you" when the plot requires her to be credulous) where she talks about hearing Christine's voice "but the words aren't yours", which is a weird way to put it. Of course the words aren't hers -- she is singing existing music, not having a spontaneous bout of composition ;-p
Christine doesn't seem to faint from terror in the Phantom's lair in this production; she just falls asleep in mid-song for no obvious reason. Collapsing from exhaustion and general adrenalin crash, presumably (she has after all performed her first-ever leading lady role before any of this extra excitement started).
Why does Raoul not after all have his hat when he returns to Christine's dressing-room after going to fetch it? He does have one the next morning in the managers' office ;-D
(And why does Christine dutifully learn her part and attend the "Don Juan" rehearsal after telling everyone at great cost that she won't sing the role?)
[Edit: he does have his hat and outdoor coat when he returns. It's just black on a black stage, and the close-up is cropped so that you can't see that he is carrying it.]
According to the new lyrics, Carlotta has actually tendered her resignation before "Prima Donna" takes place (and Christine is deemed to have done "a moonlight flit" -- but she no longer "burns the midnight oil" -- too literary a reference for modern audiences?)
I didn't like Hadley Fraser's voice :-(
He sounded very harsh and gritty as Raoul -- especially immediately after listening to Patrick Wilson's performance, which was so outstanding on the quiet notes. None of the others made me conscious of their voice quality in particular, as opposed to their characters, but Hadley's Raoul really sounded out of place during "All I Ask of You" -- complete voice/face mismatch. (His voice is downright ugly at the start of the rooftop scene, presumably intentionally as characterisation; he comes across as actively annoyed with Christine at this point.)
I did notice that Christine took some breaths in odd places -- I think we got a "Don't put me through this. Ordeal by fire!" rather than "Don't put me through this ordeal by fire". I don't know if it was by deliberate direction, or simply running out of breath during live performance, but it came across as a mistake :-(
And I can see why people complain about the ending; I definitely got the impression that this Christine wanted to return to stay with the Phantom (though I couldn't see why, unless she just feels really, really sorry for him!) and would have gone back down the stairs to him after giving him the ring if he hadn't shaken his head to forbid it.
The Phantom's prosthetics coming detached are very obvious, as are the singers' intrusive microphone headsets -- one of the disadvantages of filming close-ups of a production designed to be seen from a distance :-(
I liked the detail that you can see the "Act I, Scene 2" and the music written on the "Don Juan" parts in the managers' office -- and that the folders and paper are the same that we see the Phantom working on just before the unmasking. You can also see the actual "Le Figaro" headline "MYSTERY AFTER GALA NIGHT" when Firmin is reading the newspaper coverage!
And now -- since my grasp of stage canon does seem to be reasonably coherent -- I have absolutely no remaining excuses for not attempting to write this story. I've got slightly under three weeks left, and only half the regular writing time I used to have...
I still think it's an idea with potential, but I'm not feeling that fabled thing called 'motivation' that people moan about losing; partly, I think, because this is going to be yet another retelling of the whole canon plot, and I've already done at least three of those (Christmas as it ought not to be, Blue Remembered Hills, and If I Were Vicomte), partly because I just feel so emotionally and physically drained all the time (and constantly riddled by self-hatred and fear), and maybe because I've simply been at this too long. I thought I'd got a clever new twist, but apparently I'm not as enthused about it as all that.
(And I know that someone else is working on the same idea, because she mentioned it to me a few months ago -- so if the simultaneous existence of a deadline and of competition doesn't put a kick up my backside, then what can? I know-- I know that you don't get anywhere if you don't try. But when I've got an idea I don't usually have difficulty even starting, only in keeping going.)
Maybe this one is too long; I can't face another long one with Arctic Raoul still hanging over me (and my failure to do any work on that is not improving my mental happiness or stability.) But I'm not planning to make it a long story, only to pick out 'highlights' in my usual fashion, as I did with "If I were Vicomte", which barely mentions all the parts unchanged from canon at all.
Maybe I'm burnt out. Maybe I'm simply lazy. This is meant to be a hobby for my own entertainment, not an obligation. Nobody will care if I don't write it -- except me. I had a whole load of ideas a few days ago; where have they gone? (Well, actually I think watching the movie knocked the stuffing out of most of the recent ones, which is probably one reason why I'm feeling down...)
Although... Carlotta has been leading lady for nineteen seasons? That's definitely a change -- just how young did she start and how few alternative candidates are around? I assume the idea is to make her old enough to be Christine's mother, but it doesn't sound very realistic to me to suggest that the Opera Populaire has only had one leading lady in twenty years.
And there's what I think is an extra line where she says that "these things do 'appen" for the last three years, which is presumably supposed to be the period of time for which Christine has been at the Opera, or at least the Phantom has been actively interested in her. (Though I'm not sure that makes sense; if his aim was to get Christine better roles by making a pest of himself, he hasn't been very effective at it if she is still in the chorus line after three years ;-p)
Also, this Carlotta is apparently a man-eater; she is all over the slave-driver during the rehearsal (and who can blame her? Those are some impressive leaps and fouettés -- I just looked him up, and apparently the actor is a bona fide Royal Ballet star) and then all over the managers once they come within her orbit. (Not much interest in Piangi, though.)
Is Piangi supposed to be struggling to hit his top notes during the rehearsal, in addition to having trouble with the French pronounciation of "Rome"?
The word "Vicomte" has an audible "T" [passim] :-p
Also, "Meyerbeer" is a composer, not Mynheer Beer (or whatever title the auctioneer thought he was using...)
Meg gets a new verse in "Angel of Music" (in place of "Christine, you must have been dreaming" - not sure if the objection was to Meg disbelieving her friend, or the suggestion that this is "not like you" when the plot requires her to be credulous) where she talks about hearing Christine's voice "but the words aren't yours", which is a weird way to put it. Of course the words aren't hers -- she is singing existing music, not having a spontaneous bout of composition ;-p
Christine doesn't seem to faint from terror in the Phantom's lair in this production; she just falls asleep in mid-song for no obvious reason. Collapsing from exhaustion and general adrenalin crash, presumably (she has after all performed her first-ever leading lady role before any of this extra excitement started).
Why does Raoul not after all have his hat when he returns to Christine's dressing-room after going to fetch it? He does have one the next morning in the managers' office ;-D
(And why does Christine dutifully learn her part and attend the "Don Juan" rehearsal after telling everyone at great cost that she won't sing the role?)
[Edit: he does have his hat and outdoor coat when he returns. It's just black on a black stage, and the close-up is cropped so that you can't see that he is carrying it.]
According to the new lyrics, Carlotta has actually tendered her resignation before "Prima Donna" takes place (and Christine is deemed to have done "a moonlight flit" -- but she no longer "burns the midnight oil" -- too literary a reference for modern audiences?)
I didn't like Hadley Fraser's voice :-(
He sounded very harsh and gritty as Raoul -- especially immediately after listening to Patrick Wilson's performance, which was so outstanding on the quiet notes. None of the others made me conscious of their voice quality in particular, as opposed to their characters, but Hadley's Raoul really sounded out of place during "All I Ask of You" -- complete voice/face mismatch. (His voice is downright ugly at the start of the rooftop scene, presumably intentionally as characterisation; he comes across as actively annoyed with Christine at this point.)
I did notice that Christine took some breaths in odd places -- I think we got a "Don't put me through this. Ordeal by fire!" rather than "Don't put me through this ordeal by fire". I don't know if it was by deliberate direction, or simply running out of breath during live performance, but it came across as a mistake :-(
And I can see why people complain about the ending; I definitely got the impression that this Christine wanted to return to stay with the Phantom (though I couldn't see why, unless she just feels really, really sorry for him!) and would have gone back down the stairs to him after giving him the ring if he hadn't shaken his head to forbid it.
The Phantom's prosthetics coming detached are very obvious, as are the singers' intrusive microphone headsets -- one of the disadvantages of filming close-ups of a production designed to be seen from a distance :-(
I liked the detail that you can see the "Act I, Scene 2" and the music written on the "Don Juan" parts in the managers' office -- and that the folders and paper are the same that we see the Phantom working on just before the unmasking. You can also see the actual "Le Figaro" headline "MYSTERY AFTER GALA NIGHT" when Firmin is reading the newspaper coverage!
And now -- since my grasp of stage canon does seem to be reasonably coherent -- I have absolutely no remaining excuses for not attempting to write this story. I've got slightly under three weeks left, and only half the regular writing time I used to have...
I still think it's an idea with potential, but I'm not feeling that fabled thing called 'motivation' that people moan about losing; partly, I think, because this is going to be yet another retelling of the whole canon plot, and I've already done at least three of those (Christmas as it ought not to be, Blue Remembered Hills, and If I Were Vicomte), partly because I just feel so emotionally and physically drained all the time (and constantly riddled by self-hatred and fear), and maybe because I've simply been at this too long. I thought I'd got a clever new twist, but apparently I'm not as enthused about it as all that.
(And I know that someone else is working on the same idea, because she mentioned it to me a few months ago -- so if the simultaneous existence of a deadline and of competition doesn't put a kick up my backside, then what can? I know-- I know that you don't get anywhere if you don't try. But when I've got an idea I don't usually have difficulty even starting, only in keeping going.)
Maybe this one is too long; I can't face another long one with Arctic Raoul still hanging over me (and my failure to do any work on that is not improving my mental happiness or stability.) But I'm not planning to make it a long story, only to pick out 'highlights' in my usual fashion, as I did with "If I were Vicomte", which barely mentions all the parts unchanged from canon at all.
Maybe I'm burnt out. Maybe I'm simply lazy. This is meant to be a hobby for my own entertainment, not an obligation. Nobody will care if I don't write it -- except me. I had a whole load of ideas a few days ago; where have they gone? (Well, actually I think watching the movie knocked the stuffing out of most of the recent ones, which is probably one reason why I'm feeling down...)
no subject
Date: 2020-10-10 11:21 pm (UTC)Eyeliner...?
Clearly I really am make-up blind (or I've seen too many silent films).
I didn't get a sense of E/C bias in the production other than in the final scene, as I mentioned; I did get a sense of 'where did that suddenly come from?' in the rooftop scene, which I don't remember having before. I was abruptly very conscious that this Christine has basically not exchanged a single word with Raoul since her dismissal of him in their first and only scene together (and in the stage production I saw, her "Raoul!" and "things have changed" after "I'll fetch my hat" was a desperate call for him not to leave her, not an angry dismissal).
I think they may have cut a couple of bits of business between the characters in preceding scenes; when I checked the lyrics booklet, they'd certainly cut some of the managers' stuff, in that case I suspect because of Albert Hall staging constraints.
But I do know that a lot of fans are very enthusiastic about Hadley Fraser's performance, on the lines of "he's so adorable", "I love the exuberance and puppy-dog energy he brings to the role", "what sets Hadley apart from other Raouls..." and "he really brought out the best in a character that usually struggles to shine over the allure of the Phantom" or "he really made a pretty thankless (and often forgettable/irritating) role stand out".
(I have to say I was more struck by the Broadway fan who referred to his performance as a "let your jaw hang and sound like a chainsaw" technique :-p
Patrick Wilson had an idiot wig, but he did *sound* good; I do remember now that I made an active choice to link someone to the 2004 movie version of "All I Ask of You" on YouTube, despite the visual drawbacks, because I liked the audio performances much better.)
The screening just didn't do anything for me emotionally (but to be fair, neither did the live stage performance I saw a couple of years ago, or the live stage performance of "Les Mis" -- the visuals are always better on
the radiorecord)Ironically, it ultimately did *less* for me than the 2004 version, but it was struggling under the handicap of being a repeat of material I'd seen only a day earlier, plus YouTube streaming limitations which meant I came in at "All I Ask of You", couldn't get it to start at the beginning by hook or by crook, and had to watch the production through to the end and then restart, which really is not the most ideal experience :-p
But then I was doing it in a spirit of research rather than one of fandom, so I just sat down and viewed it looking for differences...
Ah, the Herbert Lom one is the Hammer Horror version -- as far as I remember the defining feature in that one is that the Phantom is basically a victim rather than the villain; the actual villaining is split between two other characters, and the Phantom is just a scary recluse...
But one of the more striking features of the fandom to me has always been that every adaptation, so far as I know, has an R/C rather than E/C ending (at any rate, it's an inherent part of the story that the Phantom always dies and never gets the girl), and yet the fans almost universally fantasise about a loving E/C relationship which is never, ever, canon. Where does it come from?
(Even in the RAH production, I was left consciously thinking 'what has happened in the entire story so far to even suggest that Christine would want to stay with the Phantom in the final scene?')
no subject
Date: 2020-10-11 12:40 am (UTC)I believe the Robert Englund version (which I also haven't seen; my knowledge of the various adaptations comes almost entirely from the PhantomReviews YouTube channel) features Raoul dying and an immortal Erik. :P But if we're talking about fans who are only familiar with the book/musical/Gerard Butler version, I think it's nothing more than wish fulfilment.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-13 01:36 am (UTC)