#anne garner

Chill on Sunday

Anne Garner - Golden Arrow From Anne Garner - Dear Unknown (Slowcraft, 2022)

Can we just, for a few minutes, bask in the timbered warmth that is Thomas Borchert’s Phantom? (And Anne Garner’s Christine.) I could breakdown his performance all day, but will stick mostly with his MOTN. 

He’s got these impeccable hand gestures that make you believe that he’s implementing hypnosis on Christine throughout the theme and MOTN. Every one of these sweeping gestures is poignantly intentional and it’s like he’s building her fantasy world as they travel deeper down, pulling her in and closer to him. (Much of this works SO well because of Garner’s reactions.)

I mean, damn. Don’t those hands seem so much more gentle yet commanding than normal? 

And he downright revels in the magic he’s created in her mind. Look at that SWAGGER. Those little snickering smiles get me every time. 

And then there’s the “Turn your face away...”

When Christine first starts to turn, he’s startled, embarrassed - he pushes her away for the very real reason she will see his face, not just as a mechanism of the music. His return is a turn back to control. And you can even see him lean in with his whole upper body toward Christine. 

And look at how he lovingly caresses his music. He includes a longer pause that normal here, and the extra beat is so impactful. Again so soft, so gentle --  like it’s fragile and can’t even been touched. 

Did you see that throw of his body. The cock of the head? OMG. 

Here you can see his short shirt sleeves to full effect and the bravado of those shoulders. *fanself* I mean, just look at the sheer ego below -  

And then, just as we see him super into how Christine can fulfill his every wish, you see him pause - a realization of what he’s just done. A flicker of regret. A pause of reality. But then we’re back in the music of the night. 

And of course, the icing on the cake, the whip cream on the hot chocolate, the cherry on top -- are the cape tosses. This man knows his way around some dramatic fabric. 

I realize that Thomas Borchert is a German Phantom and maybe that’s why I love him and this MOTN so much. (I do LOVE me some German Phantoms.) I’m able to distance myself slightly from the words and just watch the actions. His physicality and thoughtful staging choices leave me breathless and longing for his gentle and shy yet ego-laden Phantom. There’s a presence in his acting that is just *chef’s kiss*. He’s cocky and vulnerable, shy and passionate all at the same time and my little heart is here for all of it. 

And his voice. Well his voice is like sin. 

Anne Garner

Stefano Guzzetti

w/ Anne Garner

Northern Sky