Thoughts on Albert Hall production

Well, 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)( Read more... )