Phantom of the Opera at Parramatta

An excellent production here's what I said for Sydney Arts Guide http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/the-phantom-of-the-opera-at-the-parramatta-riverside/THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA , Lloyd-Webber’s musical based on the French novel by Gaston Leroux , opened in 1986 in London. By 2011 it had been seen by over 130 million people in 145 cities in 27 countries, and it is now one of the world’s most popular musicals. Most of the performances of this season at Parramatta are extremely heavily booked, if not already sold out. The main plot is set in the iconic building of the Paris Opera – from its dizzying heights to its mysterious subterranean lake- and concern a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius, Erik, AKA the sinister Opera Ghost (the Phantom of the Opera) who is feared by all. Packemin’s current production of is tremendous. Lush, lavish, opulent and romantic this is a splendid version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s now classic musical. Directed by Neil Gooding it pulls out all the stops and is bold and colourful in parts ( eg ‘Masquerade ‘, ‘The Point Of No Return ‘), powerful and passionate in others. This is a faithful rendition of the visually sumptuous musical we know and love, from the standard ‘Really Useful‘ production with the boat, masses of dry ice, pyrotechnics, the mysterious mirror, the plant like designs for the organ etc all magnificently done and musically and vocally terrific. The show has a HUGE cast, spectacular costumes and some tremendous special effects. Everyone only just fits onstage for the powerful Act Two opening ‘Masquerade’ and the superb costumes for which are dazzling . Gooding has a terrific cast and tech crew and uses them to great advantage. There is fine ensemble work , the supporting roles are more than handled capably and the leads are splendid. The major special effect of the sparking chandelier is terrifically handled. Under the dynamic, energetic baton of maestro Peter Hayward the orchestra gave a rich, luscious rendition of the sweeping, romantic yet sometimes difficult and spiky score. In this version the Phantom is perhaps slightly younger than usual, played far more as a romantic lead. Ben Mingay (‘Wonderland‘, ‘Packed to the Rafters‘) is strong and dynamic, channeling his inner Bryn Terfel – he has perhaps a slightly darker, caramel voice than usual. He is tremendous, vigorous, commanding, elegant and sinister. His ’Music of the Night’ is captivating and gloriously seductive. Our heroine, dark haired , dynamic Erin Clare was absolutely terrific as Christine Daae with her sparkling coloratura soprano voice. She was charming in Act 1 (‘Think of Me’), tremulous when falling unexpectedly in love with Raoul ( ‘That’s All I Ask of You‘ ) and brings the house down with her anguished, soaring rendition of ‘Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again’ mourning her father and torn between Raoul and the Phantom. Her ‘The Point of No Return’ was slinky and hypnotic. (Like almost all of us she succumbs to the Phantom’s mesmerizing ‘Music of the Night’). Raoul, Comte de Chagny, our earnest lovestruck young hero was terrifically played by Joshua Keane who has a totally charming baritone and boyish good looks. He was strong, supportive and comforting of Christine, dashing, gallant and defiant when facing the Phantom. His duets with Christine were marvellous. Theirs was a most uneasy eternal triangle. Johanna Allen has much fun wickedly hogging the limelight as Carlotta Giudicelli, the reigning temperamental, scheming diva of the Opera, Christine’s rival who is just possibly past it and overblown, but with a splendid voice and stunning costumes. Claudio Scaramella has a great time supporting her as the egotistical Pavarotti like archetypical demanding leading tenor Ubaldo Piangi. Rather Intimidating Madame Giry, in stern black was excellently performed by Michelle Lansdown, and her up and coming dancer daughter Meg was delightfully played by Kelsi Boyden. It is interesting to note that in this production both Christine and Meg are dark haired . Mention must also be made of the two new managers of the Theatre Christopher Hamilton as the ultra elegant Giles Andre and Gavin Brightwell as Richard Firman, who driven to distraction by the mysterious , demanding Opera Ghost. This was an epic, sweeping love story, a dazzling, slick, sumptuous performance. Running time 2 hours 30 minutes (approx) including interval. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA runs at Riverside Theatre Parramatta 6-21 February 2015. Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Charles Hart additional lyrics Richard Stilgoe Book: Richard Stilgoe & Andrew Lloyd Webber Producer/Director: Neil Gooding Musical Director: Peter Hayward Choreographer: Camilla Jakimowicz Lighting designer: Sean Clarke CAST The Phantom Ben Mingay Christine Daae Erin Clare Carlotta Giudicelli Johanna Allen Raoul Vicomte de Changny Joshua Keane Ubaldo Piangi Claudio Sgaramella Monsieur Andre Christopher Hamilton Monsiueur Firmin Gavin Brightgwell Madame Giry Michelle Lansdown Meg Giry Kelsi Boyden For more information about The Phantom of the Opera, visit http://riversideparramatta.com.au/show/the-phantom-of-the-opera/