Post by Mlle_Empsychora on Mar 6, 2012 2:17:26 GMT 1
Tak, wiem, ¿e to forum umiera (umar³o ju¿ mo¿e nawet), ale jestem tak zbulwersowana, ¿e muszê siê tym z kim¶ podzieliæ, a to miejsce wydaje mi siê najodpowiedniejsze.
S³owem wstêpu - najpierw by³ ten nieszczêsny film, potem non-replica w Romie, a na koñcu LND. W tym wszystkim widaæ by³o, jak bardzo Webberowi zale¿y, ¿eby skoñczyæ z oryginaln± wersj± musicalu, ¿eby zmieniæ interpretacjê, ¿eby to po prostu zniszczyæ. Wprowadzono nawet drobne zmiany re¿yserskie na West Endzie - np. wyrachowana manipulatorka Christine. W Royal Albert Hall te¿ zastosowano parê zmian, ¿eby bardziej uwiarygodniæ LND. Te zmiany w replice by³y jednak w jaki¶ sposób ciekawe, mo¿e niekoniecznie dobre, zale¿y, jak patrzeæ. W ka¿dym razie orygina³u nikt zbytnio nie rusza³, wszystko by³o takie, jakie by³o w 1986, ale wygl±da na to, ¿e do czasu.
Od d³u¿szego czasu kr±¿y³a informacja na temat trasy, jaka aktualnie ma miejsce, czyli UK Tour 2012. Mówiono sporo o zmianach, jakie tam wprowadzono, nie zdradzaj±c jednak szczegó³ów. Gdy tylko o tym us³ysza³am, to mn± lekko trzepnê³o, bo czu³am, ¿e to nie bêd± dobre zmiany. Dzisiaj postanowi³am siê dowiedzieæ, jak ten spektakl dok³adnie wygl±da, w czym pomog³o mi jedno anglojêzyczne forum (ten temat konkretnie). I siê przerazi³am, bo wygl±da to tak (UWAGA, SPOILERY):
I pozostaje tylko czekaæ, a¿ ta wersja zago¶ci w Her Majesty's Theatre, bo mam dziwne przeczucie, ¿e tak siê nied³ugo stanie. Chyba, ¿e (i tak± mam ogromn± nadziejê) ALW w porê zauwa¿y, ¿e wersja UK Tour do najlepszych nie nale¿y i zostawi orygina³ w spokoju. A je¶li jednak zdecyduje siê j± wprowadziæ, to co¶ czujê, ¿e nied³ugo w Her Majesty's Theatre nie bêdzie mo¿na zobaczyæ ju¿ ¿adnego POTO, bo po prostu nowa wersja oka¿e siê klap± tak jak LND. Pozostaje mieæ nadziejê, ¿e Webber zerknie na kilka recenzji i UK Tour potraktuje jako do¶wiadczenie na przysz³o¶æ, czego z musicalem robiæ nie nale¿y.
POTO jest naprawdê idealne, dopracowane w ka¿dym, nawet najdrobniejszym szczególe i nic nie trzeba dodawaæ ani odejmowaæ. Jednak prawda jest taka, ¿e jakakolwiek by to nie by³a wersja, to muzyka broni siê sama (nawet w romowej aran¿acji). Ale je¶li z tego wszystkiego ma zostaæ tylko ona, to lepiej zaoszczêdziæ na scenografii i kostiumach i robiæ wersje koncertowe.
S³owem wstêpu - najpierw by³ ten nieszczêsny film, potem non-replica w Romie, a na koñcu LND. W tym wszystkim widaæ by³o, jak bardzo Webberowi zale¿y, ¿eby skoñczyæ z oryginaln± wersj± musicalu, ¿eby zmieniæ interpretacjê, ¿eby to po prostu zniszczyæ. Wprowadzono nawet drobne zmiany re¿yserskie na West Endzie - np. wyrachowana manipulatorka Christine. W Royal Albert Hall te¿ zastosowano parê zmian, ¿eby bardziej uwiarygodniæ LND. Te zmiany w replice by³y jednak w jaki¶ sposób ciekawe, mo¿e niekoniecznie dobre, zale¿y, jak patrzeæ. W ka¿dym razie orygina³u nikt zbytnio nie rusza³, wszystko by³o takie, jakie by³o w 1986, ale wygl±da na to, ¿e do czasu.
Od d³u¿szego czasu kr±¿y³a informacja na temat trasy, jaka aktualnie ma miejsce, czyli UK Tour 2012. Mówiono sporo o zmianach, jakie tam wprowadzono, nie zdradzaj±c jednak szczegó³ów. Gdy tylko o tym us³ysza³am, to mn± lekko trzepnê³o, bo czu³am, ¿e to nie bêd± dobre zmiany. Dzisiaj postanowi³am siê dowiedzieæ, jak ten spektakl dok³adnie wygl±da, w czym pomog³o mi jedno anglojêzyczne forum (ten temat konkretnie). I siê przerazi³am, bo wygl±da to tak (UWAGA, SPOILERY):
The new auction set is pretty cool; there's an extra line where the auctioneer leads everyone on stage, and there's Stuff dotted around everywhere. And for some reason it's now Madame Giry, not Raoul, who's in a wheelchair. They seem to have de-aged Raoul a bit; I don't know if this is supposed to mean the prologue has been moved forward in time a bit. The new monkey is quite neat too; its enclosed in a box that opens up like a flower whenever it plays.
Unfortunately the chandelier isn't working yet, so the overture was a bit of a let-down, mostly consisting of the auction being moved off stage. The dancers from Hannibal come on stage while this is happening, so the scene shift is a bit more fluid, but it lacks the drama of the original. I need to see this again when it's all working.
Hannibal is much the same. Piangi enters on a chariot, and there's no elephant but there is a projection of an elephant's shadow, which is a nice reference. One thing I liked was that instead of the scenery just falling down during Think of Me, some sandbags actually fall onto the stage. I liked this; Carlotta's freakout makes a lot more sense if there's a hint that the Opera Ghost is physically dangerous rather than just an annoying prankster.
I have to say, Katie Hall kills Think of Me. It's stunning. And she's joined by a couple of dancers, which gives her something to do while Raoul is being the worst theatre patron in the world (it's always bugged me that he sings in the middle of her big number!).
Angel of Music has changed a lot. Instead of "Comr, we rehearse," Madame Giry says "Change out of those costumes," and we then go to the dancers' dressing room, and the conversation between Christine and Meg happens there while the others are changing, and then they gradually filter out leaving Christine alone when Raoul arrives. I loved this change, because the dressing room scene has always bugged me. I understand why Christine may have been given her own dressing room while covering the lead, but prior to that night she was just one of the corps de ballet, so wouldn't the Phantom have built his secret passage and creepy spying mirror in her regular dressing room?
I'm hoping the Mirror wasn't working properly, because that was quite meh. Shortly before the Phantom arrives, it stops showing Christine's reflection at all, so that when you see him it is just him in the mirror. I think this makes more physical sense, but it robs the show of one of its most iconic images, so I hope it was a technical glitch.
The title song is where it gets completely different. I've always thought Phantom's biggest flaw is that the title song is mostly sung from offstage. Now, we see the actual Phantom and Christine - not doubles - the whole time. The set is incredible; a big circular black wall with a passageway at the top for them to walk through, which hides the stage while the Lair is brought on. As they reach a door at the edge of the stage, steps begin to emerge from the wall, and the gondola waits for them in the lake at the bottom. It's visually stunning, and was the main talking point during the interval. What an awesome idea.
Anyway, they then take the gondola across the front of the stage while the wall retracts to reveal the Lair. It's a small detail, but the fact that they approach the Lair from the front of the stage makes it feel a lot more lair-like; there's an actual edge to the lake. Sadly, though, there are no candles rising from the lake; instead, they're suspended in midair, Hogwarts-style. I miss those candles; again, I fear they've trashed one of the show's most iconic moments.
The Lair itself is completely different. We have the Phantom's organ and a bed, and I think that's it (my memory's failing a bit now). I felt Music of the Night was a bit lacking. There isn't really any interaction between the characters - Christine spends most of the song sitting on the edge of the bed (uninvited, the hussy!), while the Phantom is over on the other side of his organ. There's no mannequin, but the Phantom randomly throws a wedding dress at her at some point. She doesn't seem terribly concerned about this; at the end of the song, she just curls up and falls asleep (on this strange man's bed!).
We still have the weird scene in which the Phantom plays loud, garish organ music while Christine sleeps peacefully before being awoken by the gentle tinkling of Monkey. But then there's one of the most significant plot-changes in the show. At the point where she wakes, the Phantom is already maskless. Instead of ripping it off him, she merely picks it up from where it's lying on his organ. As a result, I'm a bit confused about why he loses his temper.
Our big black wall then returns while the Lair is cleared away, and Magical Lasso - for reasons that I'm sure made sense to someone at some point - now contains a man wearing no trousers. Because why not, I guess?
Then something really cool - the black wall opens up to reveal the Managers' office hidden away inside. This means they get a much nicer set than they do usually; it's all garish and red. Carlotta's costume has changed in this scene, which I note only because I think (although my memory isn't that good!) that it's one of very few that has.
Prima Donna takes place in front of our black wall while the assembly of the Il Muto set is visible past one side (possibly a hitch, I don't know). Not much to say about it; the timing seemed a bit off in places but again that might have been a hitch.
Il Muto looks more like the Royal Albert Hall set than the West End, with a sofa rather than a bed. The Count randomly hides behind a dressing table peering through a glassless mirror, then transfers to the inside of a closet - in full view of the implausibly oblivious Countess. I don't know, this "opera" has always been weird.
Case in point: I've always wondered what the plot of Il Muto is, which seems to focus on a cheating Countess but then features a shepherd in the ballet. Well the shepherd's gone: now we have Mr Tumnus. Again, I'm sure this made sense to someone at some point.
The hanging now takes place backstage (the "stage" moves around so we can see it) which lessens the drama a bit, but at least we actually see it happen.
All I Ask Of You now takes place in front of a massive statue of a naked man (of course) - and just in case anyone was unspoiled about the Phantom hiding behind the statue, it wobbles a bit. Oh well. There's snow as well, which is nice. It's not my favourite song, but I do like the fact that Katie pronounces the "anywhere" in the high note.
The Phantom is then revealed as a dramatic hand is thrust out from behind the statue, which he climbs up to deliver his nice powerful Act 1 closer. John Owen-Jones' big notes are tremendous, so this makes for a thrilling climax even though, in this dress rehearsal, we were denied the crashing chandelier.
Wow, have I only done Act 1?? Need to speed up, I'm leaving for the evening performance soon!
Okay, Masquerade: brilliant. Completely redesigned in a room of mirrors (a nice touch if you know the novel). No stairs, and no mannequins!! And Raoul actually wears a mask, which fixes something else that's bugged me for a long time.
The Phantom appears in the middle of the dance sequence, right there among everyone - very cool, and I didn't see it happen (although I'm sure I will tonight when I'm looking for it). But then he ruins his Stealthy Entrance by opening up one of the mirrors to retrieve his Don Juan score. Didn't really get that. Oh! Also, no Red Death costume
I'll skip over Notes II - didn't seem too different apart from the set - and the rehearsal scene is directed a bit differently (Christine and Piangi are sort-of acting in the centre while the chorus is over on stage right).
The graveyard is a very simple set - a cross with 'Daae' in big letters (in case we didn't get that part) and an angel at the back of the stage. Wishing is much the same, but then instead of appearing from his Stealthy Spying position, the Phantom merely enters stage right. A bit disappointing. Love Wandering Child, though.
Don Juan has much the same set as on the West End, but the big change here is the direction. Point of No Return is played a lot more like the movie - the only thing I think the movie did better than the show - it's a lot more seductive, and Christine's very sexualised. I really got the sense she was drawn to the Phantom, as opposed to the West End production in which I feel like she is just going along with Raoul's plot.
Just time to do Final Lair before I go. I'll just mention the two big changes: firstly, Christine only kisses the Phantom once. Where she'd normally go in for the "lovers' kiss," he falls to his knees and she kneels down and hugs him. I haven't decided how I feel about this.
And then, the ending. There's no throne. The Phantom puts on a cloak, and he's still there when Meg arrives. They have a little stand-off moment (very foreshadowy for Love Never Dies!), and then the mob arrives. The Phantom has his back to us, and Meg holds his shoulders in a very "oh I can't guess how the Phantom's going to disappear" sort of way (maybe this will look less clunky with practice). Then the - gasp! - empty cloak falls to the ground. Meg kneels down to retrieve the mask, and we have our iconic closing image of her holding up the mask.
rhaegal.dreamwidth.org/33143.html
I pozostaje tylko czekaæ, a¿ ta wersja zago¶ci w Her Majesty's Theatre, bo mam dziwne przeczucie, ¿e tak siê nied³ugo stanie. Chyba, ¿e (i tak± mam ogromn± nadziejê) ALW w porê zauwa¿y, ¿e wersja UK Tour do najlepszych nie nale¿y i zostawi orygina³ w spokoju. A je¶li jednak zdecyduje siê j± wprowadziæ, to co¶ czujê, ¿e nied³ugo w Her Majesty's Theatre nie bêdzie mo¿na zobaczyæ ju¿ ¿adnego POTO, bo po prostu nowa wersja oka¿e siê klap± tak jak LND. Pozostaje mieæ nadziejê, ¿e Webber zerknie na kilka recenzji i UK Tour potraktuje jako do¶wiadczenie na przysz³o¶æ, czego z musicalem robiæ nie nale¿y.
POTO jest naprawdê idealne, dopracowane w ka¿dym, nawet najdrobniejszym szczególe i nic nie trzeba dodawaæ ani odejmowaæ. Jednak prawda jest taka, ¿e jakakolwiek by to nie by³a wersja, to muzyka broni siê sama (nawet w romowej aran¿acji). Ale je¶li z tego wszystkiego ma zostaæ tylko ona, to lepiej zaoszczêdziæ na scenografii i kostiumach i robiæ wersje koncertowe.
A tymczasem 
