The Phantom of the Opera International Tour is a spectacularly entertaining show all musical fans should catch before it ends next week
IF the musical that’s currently playing at Istana Budaya is a dance performance, then it would be the tango — vibrant, colourful and passionate — a much more flamboyant version than any other staging of The Phantom Of The Opera that many would have seen.
Powerful and spellbinding, the renowned popular musical by famed English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is given a more energetic take by assistant director Rainer Fried without compromising on the key elements that have made this musical so endearing over three decades.
By the time The Phantom (Jonathan Roxmouth), in his deep, ensnaring voice, sings Point Of No Return towards the end of the musical with his muse Christine Daae (Meghan Picerno), the air is thick with attraction and sexual tension between the two main characters. The beat of the song is enchanting, setting the stage for a brief but hypnotic dance.
But even before the plot of the musical reaches its climax, the impressive visual display keeps viewers enthralled from the very beginning.
Even the opening auction scene is impressive and by the time the monkey-holding-a-cymbal music box is auctioned on stage, my memory is flooded by scenes and songs from this musical I have seen several times before.
After the first scene, the curtain raises to unveil a lavish set and accompanying costumes, complete with a mechanical elephant on stage that makes this musical as vibrant as the film version of Moulin Rouge.
COLOURFUL SHOWCASE
Typically, The Phantom Of The Opera is a dark and brooding show, a tale of The Phantom’s unrequited love and how a woman is torn between the man who taught her how to sing and her dashing suitor.
The Phantom lives across the lake underneath the opera which he haunts — that’s Opera Garnier in Paris according to the original novel — so the darkness of the story is anticipated.
I saw this musical for the first time in the West End back in 2006, and I remember the songs and the show being dark, where I had to strain my eyes just to see what was happening.
This production, however, gives even The Phantom’s lair more light and the whole story, even more colours.
I really liked the masquerade party scene because it’s so colourful and bright, showing the sheer efforts the costume design team took to present a colourful production. It really is a sight to behold.
Even the staging of Hannibal is colourful with Carlotta Giudicelli (Beverly Chiat) and Ubaldo Piangi (Thabiso Masemene) lavishly dressed in heavily sequinned outfits.
IDEAL STAGE
For the first time, I see the potential of Istana Budaya fully utilised and it is indeed impressive.
The changes in scenes are smooth and the background changes to reflect the scenes — from the Hannibal musical to Daae’s changing room and then to The Phantom’s home — are all carried out seamlessly.
I especially liked the surround sound effect whenever The Phantom talks to the opera owners. As a viewer, you feel he is everywhere in the building.
I sat at the ninth row from the front — I was given an excellent seat to pen this review — so I hope the excellent sound system that I enjoyed was as good for those seated at the back and upstairs.
The production at West End was done on a smaller scale, and on a smaller stage. The International Tour of this musical, however, demands a bigger stage with technical features, which Istana Budaya delivers.
It was really a proud moment for me as a Malaysian; a local theatre providing the ideal platform with the technical expertise needed to bring this beautiful musical to life.
THE PHANTOM’S PULL
I have always been on #teamPhantom, never #teamRaoul ever since I knew of this musical when I was a teenager, and what delighted me in this production concerning The Phantom is what I had always imagined — tall and with a very low and deep voice.
Roxmouth, whose stage credits include Billy Flynn in Chicago and Che in Evita, has a low, mesmerising voice which suits his songs very well, especially Music Of The Night and Point Of No Return.
In this production, Daae appears stronger in character than any other productions that I have seen. I have always found Daae to be an opportunistic woman. She owes her talent to one man but wants to spend her life with another who fits society’s standards.
She is still opportunistic in this version (because that’s just how the story goes) but I feel the tension and relationship between her and The Phantom and with Raoul is stronger in this production.
Matt Leisy plays Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny and the character, is well, typically Raoul — blonde, short in stature with a voice less commanding than The Phantom’s.
FANTASTIC VIEW
The stage and props are arranged in such a way that everyone in the audience could see the action on stage.
In the scene where Christine goes to her father’s grave, the tombstone and cross are elevated, giving even those at the back a bird’s-eye view.
The Phantom appears from behind the cross before a fight ensues between Raoul and him over Christine.
The masquerade party scene has the actors singing on stairs and The Phantom’s table at his home is also slightly elevated for the benefit of the audience.
The Phantom Of The Opera’s leg at Istana Budaya is heavily anticipated. My initial response on the show was “how can this production be different?”. I couldn’t have been more wrong about this.
Although the story is the same and the songs are familiar, the production proves to be a spectacular and entertaining one, and even though tickets are not cheap (my ticket cost RM550), it is well worth the price and the show will probably be one of, if not the most memorable staging of this immortal musical.