Christine Daaé

In honor of the Phantom of the Opera Broadway production closing, here are a few gifts: audios and one video.

(As per usual, if you're the master of one of these and you want me to remove the link, please let me know.)

Audios

Michael Crawford, Patti Cohenour, Steve Barton, Judy Kaye, Nicholas Wyman, Cris Groenendaal, Leila Martin, Elisa Heinsohn, David Romano April 30, 1988 https://www.mediafire.com/file/aybwjye3k647bfy/POTO+Broadway+30-04-1988+-+Crawford,+Cohenour,+Barton.rar/file

Hugh Panaro, Lisa Vroman, John Cudia, Patricia Phillips, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews (u/s), Marilyn Caskey, Joelle Gates, Larry Wayne Morbitt May 10, 2003 https://www.mediafire.com/file/834a4sqxgjmsows/POTO+Broadway+10-05-2003+-+Panaro,+Vroman,+Cudia.rar/file

Gary Mauer, Jennifer Hope Wills, Michael Shawn Lewis, Janet Saia (u/s), George Lee Andrews, David Cryer, Marilyn Caskey, Jimmy Smagula (u/s) May 15, 2007 https://www.mediafire.com/file/70690zs3dpyb3dj/POTO+Broadway+15-05-2007+-+Mauer,+Wills,+Lewis.rar/file

Jeremy Stolle (u/s), Samantha Hill, Greg Mills (u/s), Michele McConnell, Richard Poole (u/s), Tim Jerome, Ellen Harvey, Kara Klein, Christian Sebek March 9, 2013 Matinee performance. https://www.mediafire.com/file/zfln9bh0thrg8dx/POTO+Broadway+09-03-2013+-+Stolle,+Hill,+Mills.rar/file

Norm Lewis, Mary Michael Patterson (alt.), Greg Mills (u/s) July 7, 2014 The real 11,000th performance (not the celebration, which was done the next day).  https://www.mediafire.com/file/jei306ekuy0usjj/POTO+Broadway+07-07-2014+-+Lewis,+Patterson,+Hays.rar/file

Laird Mackintosh (u/s), Mary Michael Patterson, Jeremy Hays, Michelle MConnell, Ellen Harvey, Christian Sebek December 13, 2014 Mary Michael Patterson and Ellen Harvey's last matinee performance.  https://www.mediafire.com/file/kt79nevlbc3yexn/POTO+Broadway+13-12-2014+-+Mackintosh,+Patterson,+Hays.rar/file

Ben Crawford, Meghan Picerno, John Riddle, Raquel Suarez Groen, Bradley Dean, Craig Bennett,  Maree Johnson, Sara Esty, Carlton Moe October 22, 2021 Re-opening performance on Broadway. https://www.mediafire.com/file/d4dcjwf9n40yseu/Phantom+of+The+Opera+Broadway+October+22nd+2021+Reopening.mp3/file

Jeremy Stolle (u/s), Kanisha Marie Feliciano (u/s), John Riddle September 17, 2022 https://www.mediafire.com/file/8elrbfv5bsgbfqq/POTO+Broadway+17-09-2022+-+Stolle,+Feliciano,+Riddle.rar/file

Video

Please note: I did try and record the shows on April 11 and April 12 but the fates were unkind to me on those days - the audio of April 11 features what sounds like the crinkling of a candy wrapper seemingly the ENTIRE audio so it’s unbelievably obnoxious to listen to - there were immense problems with the audience at the April 12 matinee so I don’t think I even recorded the second act, and I just gave up at the April 12 evening show as my luck with the crowds that day were abysmal and I’d just had enough of it. Thankfully, however, I was able to capture the final four (public 🙄) performances, including the true final performances for Jeremy Stolle and Ted Keegan. Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD HERE

Jeremy Stolle (u/s), Emilie Kouatchou, John Riddle, Nehal Joshi, Craig Bennett, Raquel Suarez Groen, Maree Johnson, Carlton Moe, Sara Etsy, Carrington Vilmont (u/s Passarino) April 13, 2023; Broadway

Laird Mackintosh, Emilie Kouatchou, John Riddle, Nehal Joshi, Craig Bennett, Raquel Suarez Groen, Maree Johnson, Carlton Moe, Sara Etsy April 14, 2023; Broadway Special Charity Performance. Includes full curtain call speeches. Fun fact, this performance was fully professionally recorded using multiple cameras around the theatre.

Ted Keegan, Julia Udine (alt.), John Riddle, Nehal Joshi, Craig Bennett, Raquel Suarez Groen, Maree Johnson, Carlton Moe, Sara Etsy April 15, 2023; Broadway (Matinee) Ted Keegan & Julia Udine’s final performances, recorded from the front orchestra

While I would love to have a recording of the same performers from his first show, his last would be amazing too, and I heard you might have video of Jeremy, Julia and John performing together. Unfortunately I am a very new phan and I have no videos or audio to offer in trade, but I would happily pay, and I also do silly cartoons if art would be to your liking. This would just be for me to put on a DVD for my son and wouldn't be shared elsewhere.

If the recording isn't one you want to share than no worries, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. My son adores Phantom and enjoyed seeing it in person so much, I'd love to give him the chance to somewhat relive the experience. 😊 Thanks!

I know how closing makes us feel, so here you go, phans.

A good show, especially PONR &Finale. From last week, when Jeremy took over for 7 performances. Normally they don’t schedule phantom u/s dates like this when the principal calls out, so I guess it’s Jeremy himself wanted to go on, while the others didn’t or had some issues. And man just cried at stage door several times recently. I feel sad, but at least he got to do this a few more times before closing.

Pls do not post the link on other public platforms. I am not really into trading, and I also don’t do this for financial purpose. Just something to remember, and I believe it’s not meaningless.

35th Broadway Anniversary Thursday, January 26, 2023 - Ben Crawford, Emilie Kouatchou, Paul A. Schaefer

Tracked and edited

Come for the best wishing you’ve ever heard, stay for my threatening ALW during the Entre Act

Please note that Paul Schaefer is Raoul at this performance, not John Riddle as listed in the program! 

🫢 iykyk

Emilie Kouatchou and Sara Esty

Photo: Greg Mills

March 10, 2023; Broadway

-Untracked source #1-

Cast: Ben Crawford, Emilie Kouatchou, Paul Adam Schaefer, Nehal Joshi, Craig Bennett, Janinah Burnett (u/s Carlotta), Carlton Moe, Maree Johnson, Sara Etsy, Jim Weitzer (u/s M. Reyer), Greg Mills (u/s Passarino)

Notes: One of two recordings I made last night. This source was taken using an iPhone. The phones camera app was used to record the audio - for whatever reason you get the best audio you can record on your phone when filming videos. So I had it record video and set it face down.

The sound is, indeed, excellent. The other source was made with an audio recorder made specifically for the use of recording high quality sound (Zoom H1). I haven’t been able to transfer that source yet. I’ll check it out soon and will see what I can do with it, may make a matrix mix of the two and release a tracked version.

Anyway! I’m sharing this so everyone can hear Janinah’s Carlotta. I have not ever heard a Carlotta with a voice like this, and can’t even begin to figure out how to describe it. And her acting portrayal was so interesting. Her Carlotta is a lot more soft spoken, and far less intense of a self centered diva. In fact, I found her Carlotta actually wasn’t easy to have a distaste for, it’s really hard for me to articulate. I want to say the vibe she gave me was that it felt her actions were almost more *reasonable* coming from her Carlotta because of how much more toned down her Carlotta was. She comes off as a lead soprano with a gorgeous voice who has been dealing with being targeted by the Phantom for ages and is genuinely fed up - and during Prima Donna it felt like she genuinely needed the praise to lift her back up rather than being an unreasonable diva they have to suck up to and bow to her every whim to get her to sing.

None of that made sense and I might be articulating this completely wrong or read her performance entirely wrong (from the second row). Anybody else seen her and might know what I mean?

Anyway! She had some hilarious facial expressions here and there and her reading of the “these things do happen” section was terrific. And again she has such a unique voice for the role. Please give her a listen! Enjoy!

I think in general, the pace of the performances has quickened noticeably, and this applies almost worldwide to the replica productions, though West End and Broadway are the biggest ones. I imagine this is just things changing over the years, a slight quickening as the world starts to get faster that built up over time, and for the most part, I don't mind it too much. But it can be really interesting to watch or listen to the original show and hear how sedate it is compared to now.

That being said, it also seems to depend on production and time period. I remember back in the mid-2000s to early 2010s, it was the West End production that was criticized for being way too fast, especially their 'Angel of Music' where, for whatever reason, Christine and Meg were directed to sing like they were trying to race each other to the end of the song. Now it seems a bit like the opposite - Broadway seems to have a faster tempo, almost a bit too fast for me at times, London is comparatively more relaxed, to the point where I found myself enjoying it a bit more because it just felt like the actors were given more time to react to everything. And then again, you have places like the Copenhagen revival, which even as recently as 2019, had what I considered the perfect tempo - slow enough for actors to really inhabit their roles and allow the audience to breathe and take in the scene, fast enough that nobody's bored.

Boat Malfunction at phantom 3/20/23

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Broadway; March 20, 2023

Starring: Jeremy Stolle (u/s), Julia Udine (alt.), Paul Adam Schaefer, Nehal Joshi, Craig Bennett, Raquel Suarez Groen, Maree Johnson, Ted Keegan (u/s), Sara Etsy

Excellent quality audio of Jeremy Stolle’s final performance as The Phantom

The Final Lair (well the last half of it at least) - Broadway, February 2022.