"Phantom" original cast recording

[igenlode]

A bit disgruntled to find that my newly-acquired 'original cast recording' of "The Phantom of the Opera" in a 2-CD set is in fact nothing like a full production -- made very obvious by the fact that the box does contain a full libretto with all the sizeable excised sections and scenes clearly indicated! In fact it's the same versions of the songs as those in my original 1980s Highlights tape (clearly simply a selection taken from this recording), where I was expecting a stage production that actually gives you the intervening plot and dialogue. It's not a question of material having been audibly cut: this is a reduced score that removed many of the minor lines before it ever reached the studio in order to concentrate on the hit numbers.

Overall it does contain about forty minutes of extra music, but the effect on plot comprehensibility is weird: for example, the scene where Raoul and Christine first meet includes only the few lines of the 'Little Lotte' song, without either the explanation of their earlier friendship or Raoul's subsequent attempt to take her out to dinner, then cuts directly to the Phantom's anger without showing what provoked it! This makes, if anything, less sense than the 'Highlights' version, where "Insolent boy" starts off this scene and apparently refers back to Raoul's excitement at "Think of Me" ("she may not remember me, but I remember her!")

Still, the full libretto is worth having, albeit rather frustrating, and it's interesting hearing somewhat expanded versions of some of the scenes, notably the 'Notes'.

Comments

[butterflydrming.livejournal.com]

Yes. I was always sad that it was not actually complete. It all made more sense when I saw the show. It's strange to think of how the show changed over time: book and music, and now even costumes, as I understand it.

I had the full original London cast recording on tape and on vinyl. ^_^ The libretto booklet couldn't be included with the cassette, so you could get the libretto free by mailing a request. I got extras for my POTO friends; it was great.

[igenlode.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was thinking that the libretto booklet must have worked much better with a full-size vinyl set...

I bought the Complete Symphonic recording of "Les Misérables" on cassette (cost about twenty pounds, as I recall!), and that comes in a record-sized box with a large format libretto. Also, it's the complete show -- I wonder why they didn't make a three-disc "Phantom" recording?

[butterflydrming.livejournal.com]

It was poorly merchandised. We bought the official t-shirts (I still have mine, too small to wear) and matchboxes, wondering why that's all there was. And this was after London and New York success. Eventually, there were some official music boxes from The Music Box Company, none with figures of monkeys in Persian robes, however. I guess it was the thinking at the time. And now? Maybe not to eclipse the 25th Anniversary recordings. Are those a complete show, I wonder?

Somewhere, the master complete recording exists. In a closet somewhere.

[igenlode.livejournal.com]

I've just been reading some web forum discussion of the 25th Anniversary recordings, and apparently they were complete.
http://desertedphans.forumotion.net/t221p600-25th-anniversary-celebrations

I don't believe (from what we hear on the original London cast recording) that a complete master of that production can ever have existed: it appears to have been arranged for studio recording in a continuous cut-down version. In Scene One, for example, it cuts straight from "He's here, the Phantom of the Opera!" to André's "Good Heavens! Will you show a little courtesy?", excising Buquet altogether, and then cuts off the end of Carlotta's ensuing "These things do happen" speech, jumping to Meg and "Christine Daaé could sing it" (removing Box Five and the first mentions of Raoul's existence) and then jumping again to "She has been well taught" (omitting Christine's unknown teacher) and skipping Reyer's single line before Christine starts to sing. That's a complete jigsaw bearing all the hallmarks of an 'abridged' scene rather than a cut one...