Phantom 25

So... The concert to celebrate the 25 years of  The Phantom of the Opera in the Royal Albert Hall was last weekend and it was absolutely amazing, as I've heard. Sadly, I'll have to wait for the DVD to come out because I couldn't go to London and it won't be screened in my country. Until my DVD arrives I don't want to be spoiled (that much) so I won't post anything else related to it. If you want to read more and explore a great photo gallery go to whatsonstage.com :)

First night failures

Hello everyone!


Today I'm going to write about the closure of the London production of Love Never Dies and an idea that came to my head while I was thinking about it. In first place, I was really sad because this is one of my favorite musicals and I can't believe a production I considered so beautiful didn't last. But then I started thinking of how many plays, musicals and scenic works in general are not commercially successful. How many of them close every day? The energy and creativity that people puts in these projects is not always enough to gain success.  This is a hard to accept reality. But this post is meant to be positive so I'm going to include some examples of first night failures that, later on, achieved the category of classics:

• The marriage of Figaro: This beautiful opera (sequel to The Barber of Seville) composed by Mozart was a failure when it was premiered in Italy, because of the satire of the aristocracy but achieved a great success in Prague turning Mozart into the idol of that city.
• La Traviata (Opera composed by Verdi): When it was premiered, it turned out to be a failure in a large scale, because of the soprano chosen for the main role. She was obese  while the character she played is a woman who is dying from tuberculosis. At the end, the public laughed out loud instead of appreciate the tragic end. A year later, it was staged again and achieved great success. Since then, its popularity has been constant.
• Carmen (Opera composed by Bizet): It was premiered in the Ópera-Comique in Paris. Apparently, the first fragments were received enthusiastically. But as the story advanced Carmen's attitude caused the rejection of the public. She wasn't the stereotype of sweet, romantic heroine that they wanted to see. The composer died thinking Carmen was a complete failure.
• Swan Lake (Ballet composed by Tchaikovsky):   The premiere was not well-received, with near unanimous criticism concerning the dancers, orchestra, and décor. Unfortunately Tchaikovsky's masterful score was lost in the debacle of the poor production, and though there were a few critics who recognized its virtues, most considered it to be far too complicated for ballet. Critics considered Tchaikovsky's music "too noisy, too 'Wagnerian' and too symphonic"^. The critics also found fault with Reisinger's choreography which they thought was "unimaginative and altogether unmemorable’’.
• The Nutcracker (Ballet composed by Tchaikovsky): The first performance of The Nutcracker was not deemed a success. The reaction to the dancers themselves was ambivalent. One audience member described the choreography of the battle scene as confusing: "One cannot understand anything. Disorderly pushing about from corner to corner and running backwards and forwards – quite amateurish.
• Follies (Broadway classic by Stephen Sondheim) Follies premiered on Broadway on April 4, 1971 and closed on July 1, 1972 after 522 performances and 12 previews. According to Variety Magazine, the production was a "total financial failure, with a cumulative loss of $792,000." It was planned to present the musical on the West Coast and then on a national tour. However, the show did not do well in its Los Angeles engagement and plans for a tour ended.

These are the exaples I've found this far, but as soon as I find more (I'm sure there a thousands) I'll post them, :).

The music of the night

Hello everyone!

It is really surprising that I'm not writing a post about the closing of the London production of 'Love Never Dies' last Saturday. Those who follow me on twitter (@phantomima) know that I have been talking about it all the time. But I won't say anything else about it until my next week post, which will be very special, just wait and see.

This time I will talk about a song which is probably my favorite. I mean, of course, 'The Music of the Night' by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart.

The song was originally written for Sarah Brightman and it was called 'Young Enough to Fall in Love Again'. It had different lyrics and, presumably, talked about the relationship between Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah.

Later, Andrew decided to use the song for his musical 'The Phantom of the Opera', adding the lyrics by Charles Hart. In the show, the Phantom sings it when he and Christine arrive to his lair and reveal his feelings for her and also the way he feels about music.

In my own interpretation, 'The Music of the Night' is about aesthetic values, more specifically, about the love for the music. It begins talking about the creative process of composing music (Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation, darkness stirs and wakes imagination), the way in which music in enjoyed (Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour, grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender) how a musician has to give his/her own life to the music (Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world, leave all thoughts of the life you knew before, let your soul take you where you long to be! Only then can you belong to me) how the musician transmits his/her music to others (Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in, to the power of the music that I write, the power of the music of the night) and how someone can inspire you to write music (You alone can make my song take flight, help me make the music of the night).

Another beautiful song written by Lord Andrew.

The Phantom's 25th anniversary

Hello,

At last we've got official information about the event presented by Cameron Mackintosh to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Phantom of the Opera.

This finally confirms all the rumors about it. It will be a performance of the Phantom of the Opera in the Royal Albert Hall designed specifically for the occasion by Matt Kinley based on the original designs by Maria Björnson with an orchestra of over 200. I am very happy to see Love Never Dies people involved. 'The Phantom' will be played by Ramin Karimloo and 'Christine Daaé' by Sierra Boggess. They will be joined by Barry James as ‘Monsieur Firmin’, Gareth Snook as ‘Monsieur André’, Liz Robertson as ‘Madame Giry’ and Wynne Evans as ‘Piangi’. The roles of 'Raoul', 'Meg Giry' and 'Carlotta' are still to be confirmed.

Dates: Saturday 1st October at 7.30pm and Sunday 2nd October at 1.30pm and

7.00pm
Tickets: On sale Monday 4th July at 10:00 am
More info: Phantom 25th

The summer flies!

Hello!

Today I want to write about a lot of things.
First let me tell what happened to me the other day. I was doing my everyday singing routine, which begins with some exercises following some songs of musical theatre. But something was wrong with my voice. It was pretty strange because I wasn't sick and I wasn't tired but I was singing really bad. I was feeling (and I can't believe I am going to say this) bored. I decided to change the song but it didn't work so I decided to look up in my playlist for something else. Somehow I ended up singing songs by Apocalyptica, Emilie Autumn and My Chemical Romance. It was weird because I usually hear this kind of music but it was long time ago since I sang non-theatrical songs. It was liberating and I learned a lesson of great value. I can't always sing musical theatre songs because they are  beautiful but when you do this kind of songs you are not being yourself, you are acting. And when you sing something you feel you get to know the real power of music. It can reveal your most deep feeling to yourself and to others it releases you from the heaviest burden, it makes you love it. It's an emotion I can't describe with words.

....

Last Wednesday I went for first time to Uni. It was an induction course but I pretty tiring. Good news are that there are a lot of artistic courses that I can take for free! And I'm writing an article about Andrew Lloyd Webber for the school's magazine.

...

I'm also involved with some projects. I will sing at my cousins wedding in August and I may attend to an audition in 9th July (I haven't decided yet). But the most exciting of all is that I'll be in my first dance recital in 16th July (which I consider a very special date because I first saw Phantom in 16th July).

The only bad thing that it is very rainy in here, I would like a little bit of sun but whatever, lets enjoy vacations!

The summer is here!

Hello everyone!


It is already summer and I'm entering in a new stage of mi life. I finished high school and I was accepted in the University to study a Sociology degree and also in Music School to study singing. I guess it is going to be very tricky to deal with both at the same time but until that, I'm enjoying my summer vacations a lot. In
 have more time to practice so I sing all day long (I feel bad for my neighbors).  I exercise more and I also spent time with my family. I decided this summer is going to be amazing!

~ The future has many names: For the weak, it means the unattainable. For the fearful, it means the unknown. For the courageous, it means opportunity. ~

-Victor Hugo

Phantom's birthday