#poto 2nd tour

[lotusunset]

Far too many pics of the Palais Garnier (Part Three!)

In October of 2022, I had the extraordinary experience of getting to complete an 15+ year old dream of mine to visit the Palais Garnier. I took a metric fuckton of pictures and now I want to share them with you all, the PotO community!

Before I start dumping, a few things:

Please reblog this post. I usually don’t post a lot, therefore I don’t have a big following. I’d really appreciate people sharing these as much as they can. When I was a dumb kid in ye olden days of the internet, finding a post like this was the sort of thing I would have been hyped up on for weeks. Help spread that kind of joy!

Feel free to use these photos for any sorts of graphics, artistic reference or any other fandom related projects, as long as it’s not for profit. Please just credit me in some way. In fact, I'd love to be tagged to see whatever creations come from sharing all this!

This is part three, which is a continuation of pictures from the interior. I will continue to share information from the tour I took in this post as well. In fact, these are some of my personal favorites, as I never knew about some of these rooms as just some silly American girl on the internet. I hope you guys enjoy these even more than the last!

Part 1 (Exterior) | Part 2 (staircase) | Part 3 (HERE) | Part 4 (stage)

This is the grand foyer, an area that is pretty heavily photographed already. Standing in this room is almost as impressive as the massive staircase. The paintings on the walls and ceilings depict a lot of mythological scenes. In one of them, there is a hidden portrait of Garnier, along with the other artists that were involved in creating the paintings. The doors leading to the 2nd level balcony are located in the grand foyer.

Historically, only the gentlemen were allowed in the grand foyer, as it was seen as a place for them to converse and do business until one night, the Queen of Spain decided that she didn't care about such arbitrary rules. Ignoring it completely, she entered the room. The men all decided to leave, offended that even a queen would dare to encroach on their space. As word traveled around the Opera that night, all the other women soon joined the Queen in the foyer, wanting to see for themselves that she was there. Afterwards, men and women were begrudgingly allowed to mingle.

I found this to be a very interesting room. At the end of the grand foyer, this room was full of sunlight and comparatively simple decorations. The wealthy patrons themselves served as the real decorations of this room, as they would gather here for refreshments! The common folk, while not permitted to enter, would come to simply watch the rich people indulge in lots of expensive treats.

In fact, the menu still hangs on the wall in the form of all the portraits! All the women are holding items that symbolize various food items, tea, coffee, wine, game meat, fish, ice cream, citrus fruits and pastries.

I couldn't help but imagine Raoul taking various treats and sneaking them out to share with Christine.

We weren't allowed to go down this hallway but it just continued to make this place feel like a giant maze.

These two rooms were nearly identical, though on opposite ends of a hallway. A few mistakes were made during their construction. The top room is known as the Sun room, for its warmer ambiance. The bottom is the Moon room.

Firstly, the rooms were meant to be swapped locations. The Sun Room was supposed to lead into the gentlemen's smoking room, but the Moon room leads to it instead. On the ceiling of the Sun room, salamanders are painted. The little amphibians were believed to ward off the danger of fire and protect the building. By the time the mistake was caught, it was too late to change it.

The other mistake can be seen in the mirror illusion in the Sun room. Because of a fault in the construction of the mirrors, the glass is too curved and the error is magnified with the illusion. The light appears to bend around a corner, instead of repeating on into infinity.

I imagine Erik was quite cross with the workers when he realized these errors occurred. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be on the receiving end of his temper that day!

Looking at the star motifs painted on both ceilings, I wonder if they could have inspired Christine's Star Princess costume in the musical.

PART 1 (exteriors) | PART 2 (staircase) | PART 3 (here!) | Part 4 (stage)

[phantomtrader19]

Sooooo if anyone happens to have audio of Beatrice’s debut let me know 👀

[marleneoftheopera]

Congrats to Janelle Visagie on her Carlotta debut!

[ballerinadellamusica]

Christines who would have been playing the role on or around 23rd march 1998: This is no way a complete list: West end: Shona Lindsay (principal) Sarah Ryan (alternate) 2nd Uk tour: (millennium tour) Zoë Curlett (principal) Katrina Murphy (alternate) Broadway: Sandra Joseph (principal) Adrienne McEwan/McKeown (alternate) Rebecca Pitcher (understudy) 1st US tour: (Christine tour) Lisa Vroman (principal) Karen Culliver (alternate) Bonnie Rapp (understudy) 2nd US tour: (Raoul tour) Marie Danvers (principal) Rita Harvey (alternate) Susan Owen (alternate) 3rd US tour: (music box tour) Amy Jo Arrington (principal) Megan Starr-Levitt (alternate) Canada: Glenda Balkan (alternate) Elizabeth de Grazia (principal) Australian tour: Danielle Everett (principal) Ana Marina (understudy) Germany: Colby Thomas (principal) Carla Nicholson née Michalski-Thamm (alternate)

[jennyfair7]

POTO/LND Audio Gift

Songs from The Phantom of the Opera & Love Never Dies

A combination of the old POTO 2nd Studio Cast highlights (Ethan Freeman/Claire Moore/John Barrowman) and a new LND UK Studio Tour highlights (Ethan Freeman/Celia Graham/David Maatuk Zazo).

Enjoy!

(Available here and here for purchase)

[glassprism]

Hi Glassprism! First of all, I love your blog! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and opinions with us, it’s always a pleasure to see your posts pop in my feed. I wanted to ask you : do you happen to know if the Claire Moore cadenza is still in use in the West End (or any POTO production for that matter)? Love that cadenza, it would be a pity if it disappeared.

From what I’m hearing, no, neither Kelly Mathieson, Bridget Costello, nor Corinne Cowling, are using the Claire Moore / London cadenza; they’re all using the Sarah Brightman / Broadway cadenza. I expected Mathieson and Costello, both have used the Broadway cadenza from the beginning, but Corinne Cowling may change, who knows.

Having said that, I’m not quite willing to go “disappeared forever!”; just a year before, Amy Manford was using the London cadenza. If, after several successive cast changes, we’re still not hearing it being used, then I might say it’s being phased out. But for now, I’m just saying it’s a fluke of the cast.

And don’t forget, there has been at least one year when the cast did not use the London cadenza at all, or at least, did it inconsistently: the year of the 2003-2004 cast, when Katie Knight Adams, Nicky Adams, and Robyn North all used the Broadway cadenza. (Though both Nicky Adams and Robyn North attempted it at the beginning, as I have audios of them using it at least once. By the end however, they were using the Broadway cadenza fairly consistently.)

Also, before I forget - the restaged tour has always let their Christines choose their cadenza it seems, and Emma Grimsley and Kaitlyn Davis are both using the London cadenza as well (or at least, they were in the most recent audios I have of them). So at least until February 2nd, when the tour closes, there’s a place where it is being used.

[femrobespierre]

c'est quoi la vibe ce soir les potos? on le sent comment melenchon au 2nd tour ?

[crazymusicgeek]

Top 5 Phantoms

So, I decided to make my list of my top five actors who have played the Phantom because why not? But I did not realize that it was going to be this hard! There are so many good ones! Anyways, before I start my actual list, I do have two honorable mentions:

Max Niemeyer

Oberhausen: Principal Raoul/Phantom u/s (2016-?) Side Note: I really need a date.

There will be one understudy on my actual list, but I knew I would severely regret it if I didn’t give a shout-out to the amazing German understudy that is Max Niemeyer. First of all, HIS HIGH NOTES!!! Seriously, it’s like he’s a different person when he’s in his falsetto range because he just makes it seem so effortless. Also, his voice in general is just so beautiful. I definitely recommend checking out some audio boots of his Phantom. There are a ton floating around Tumblr. My personal recommendation is his ‘All I Ask Of You (Reprise)’. Gives me chills every time. 

Ben Crawford

Broadway: Principal Phantom (April 16, 2018-present)

Again, there have been no video boots of Crawford yet, so it wouldn’t be fair to judge him solely based on the one audio that I’ve heard. But from what I got to hear, his performance is very solid especially considering this is his first time in the role. And like Max, I LOVE his Final Lair. By the way, if anyone happens to find a somewhat decent video that is NOT NFT (I don’t want anyone to get in trouble), feel free to direct me towards the source.

So, on to the actual list!

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion. I highly respect all five of these actors. If it’s any consolation, this was a very tough decision to make.

#5: Earl Carpenter Principal West End Phantom (2005-2007, Dec. 2011-Mar. 2012) Principal 25th Anniversary Tour Phantom (Oct. 2012-May 2013) This may come as a shock to some people because Earl is one of the most well known Phantoms. It’s not that I absolutely hate his performance, because that’s definitely not the case. I am a huge fan of his ‘Stranger Than You Dreamt It’. Side Note: Yes, I did see the flub where Earl lost his coat. And in all honesty, I think he looks kind of hot without it. Anyways, the reason why Earl is so low on the list is because I honestly think he’s a little overrated. Not as much as Ramin Karimloo (I love you, Ramin, but your Phantom is not THAT good), but he’s among that group of actors. I mean, I love him, but there are plenty of other actors who have played the Phantom that should get a lot more love. But still, I LOVE his ‘Stranger Than You Dreamt It’. Plus, the guy’s got a great voice.

#4: Howard McGillin Broadway: Principal Phantom (1999-July 25, 2009) Longest running Phantom in Broadway history. It would be a crime not to include Howard on the list. If I had made this list about a year ago, he would’ve been #1. But as I’ve gotten exposed to more Phantoms, he’s slowly made his way to #4 because while I love his performance, his voice honestly doesn’t make me think of the Phantom. I mean, it’s not bad, it’s just not the kind of voice that I would expect for the Phantom. Fortunately, his performance often makes up for his voice because it is just so fun to watch! Howard’s Phantom can be really terrifying sometimes! Plus, he’s gay, and considering that I’ll take LGBTQ representation on Broadway any day, he gets a few bonus points from a bisexual Phan. To summarize, performance is great, voice is kind of out of place.

#3: David Arnsperger

Hamburg: Phantom alt. (Dec. 2013-Aug. 2015)

Oberhausen: Principal Phantom (2016-?)

Rule One: The German productions of PotO are almost always breathtaking. If you want to know why I said ‘almost always’, all you have to do is look up the Essen production (especially anything that has to do with Uwe Kröger). Anyways, David Arnsperger is one of the best Phantoms in Germany’s history of the show, if not THE best. If you want to know just how amazing he is, see the post that atruevaljean did two years ago. They do a much better job than I’d probably do. In summary, David has a nice operatic voice and he really brings a lot of great things to his portrayal of the Phantom.

#2: Laird Mackintosh Toronto: Raoul/Phantom u/s (If someone could give me the dates, that would help a lot.) Broadway: Monsieur André/Phantom u/s (Aug. 26, 2013-present) I told you there would be one understudy on this list! Anyways, I put Laird in 2nd place because he NEEDS to be principal (and no, transition periods do not count)! When I saw a bootleg of him and Kaley Ann Voorhees, I couldn’t believe that he was just an understudy because his performance is so unique. Plus, his voice just fits the Phantom so well. Side Note: Another reason why I put Laird in 2nd place is not only is he an amazing singer and actor, but he is also an amazing photographer. Seriously, check out his Instagram. He takes great photos. Plus, he’s also very nice to his fans. Feel free to check out my appreciation post for more details.

#1: John Cudia

Broadway: The Phantom (May 22, 2008-July 30, 2008), (July 27, 2009-Sep. 4, 2010)

For a while, John Cudia and Laird Mackintosh were tied for the #1 spot. It took me a little bit to decide between the two of them. But in the end, John Cudia came out on top. Here’s why:

1. One of the things that I look for in my favorite Phantom is their voice. For my ideal Phantom, they have to sound like a genuine opera singer. John Cudia is a classical singer, and it really shows in his performance. He is wonderful to listen to and his falsetto range is absolutely perfect.

2. Of course, the performance plays a huge part in my judging as well. The way that John moves perfectly captures the Phantom for me, especially in ‘Music of the Night’. And in the ‘Final Lair’, he perfectly balances his violent side with his vulnerable side. Plus, John’s ‘Point of No Return’ gives me chills every single time. I always love the Phantoms who at least try to sound like Piangi.

3. Finally, John is just an amazing human being. I’ve heard stories from my fellow Phans that he is incredibly nice at stage door. Plus, look up some of his Broadway vlogs on YouTube. He’s freaking adorable!

In conclusion, John Cudia takes #1 not because he captures the Phantom’s voice and personality, but also because he is an angel on and off stage. Plus, in my opinion, he is the Phantom.

So, that’s my top five. What are yours? Let me know in the comments and I’d be happy to discuss!

[bands-and-hobbits]

POTO TIME!!!!! I went on the Saturday night showing (3/3-2018) with the main cast on. This was my first time seeing poto live and aside from the 25th anniv. I've only seen scenes here and there with other Phantoms (mainly theme song, motn and final lair) so I'm not well versed in which blocking is standard etc. ANYWHO, let's start with the least impressive one of the trio; Jeremy Taylor as Raoul. He was "meh". And it really saddens me, because I wanted to love him, and did during his little scene in Think of Me, but in all his scenes after, I felt like he only stood around with a bland face. Granted, Raoul isn't the deepest character, but still! I did not buy him being in love with Christine, and definetly not in love enough to go into Erik's lair to get her back. At most, this Raoul would volonteer in a search party, because he's a good guy and a girl is missing. Jeremy had a great voice, but that's unfortunately it, for me. He did have a funny moment after Madame Giry leads him down in the tunnels. She has left and he looked down with an expression that said "right. time to go and save christine" *rips shirt open clark kent style* "perfect!" I chuckled. Kelly Mathieson as Christine; OH. MY. GOD!!!! WHAT A VOICE!!! WHAT AN ACTOR!!!! WHAT A DANCER!!!! SHE HAD IT ALL!!! I kept my eyes out for her during the Hannibal scene and she did pointe. Granted, the program says she grew up as a dancer, but I didn't get a chance to look at the program until afterwards. GOD, her voice!!! So clear, so wonderful!! And she held up all parts of Christine very well, the supershy girl growing confident in Think of Me, hypnotised during the first lair, so sad at Wishing, and her breakdown during Twisted, I wanted to rush on stage and give her a hug!!! And her Aminta could've gotten this ace ass in bed with ease. The only weird thing Kelly did was that she threw her clothes around a couple times?? She did it at least 3 times, and while I can't remember what she wore the first time, the second time was during Wishing, when she had her back towards the audience. When Kelly turned around to face us again, she grabbed the side of the cloak and threw it out. Since it's so billowy, it worked. The third time tho, was with the Aminta dress. Kelly grabbed the top layer (and got some petticoat with it) and flung it around in one of those can-can moves. The result was silly rather than seductive. Speaking of dresses, that Star Princess dress is FLOOF. I love it and I want it. MOVING ONTO THE BIG GUY, BEN LEWIS. OH!!! MY!!!! GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's gonna be in my top 3 forever. Partly because first Phantom-bias, mostly because HOLY SHIT MY EMOTIONS. IT WAS A SOBFEST Y'ALL. I sobbed, Christine sobbed, Erik sobbed 10 times. Ben has the deeper voice I prefer in Phantoms and although I was not impressed with him in LND (mostly because LND itself and awful camera angles) he is TENFOLDS better in poto. Ben cried twice in the first act, the first time was right after he finished Stranger than you dreamt it (and omg seeing him crawl on the floor towards Christine and Christine desperatly crawling away from him hnnnnnnng EMOTIONS!! (Ben actually grabbed Kelly's ankle and she pulled both legs up into fetal status to get away from him it was scary as heck)). The second time was on the angel and my emotions killed me. Again. Backtracking a bit to motn because there were two moments that caught my attention: the first was actually a LACK of moment, I not see the self-caress Erik's supposed to do. There were a couple of moments where Christine blocked Erik from my view, but I could still see his hands. Maybe Ben forgot? 🤷‍♀️ The second was a moment when Christine was gazing ahead/slightly to the left and Erik was creeping up on her from her right. Ben wasn't hunched per se, but he wasn't standing straight. Him creeping like that looked so predatory, but also like he was approaching with caution. I know that sounds like a paradox, but it was as if Erik treated Christine like she was something new, and extremely fragile. Like he wanted to explore her as he'd never been that /close/ to a woman before, but the simplest touch would scare her away. Back to creeping, the MOMENT Christine started turning her head towards Erik, Ben snapped his body straight and pushed out his chest and it was very intimidating especially with their height difference. Oh, and he absolutely nailed everything in motn. Such a powerhouse. Skipping forwards to Masquerade, the Red Death costume continues to creep me the fuck out. I can barely watch that part in the 25th because the skull mask gives me the hibbie jibbies. One cool thing was that Ben was exactly in tune with the beat, and for each beat he would take a step down. Small rythmic things like that gives me immence satisfaction. The managers didn't quite catch the opera sheets but that's a human mistake. And seeing Ben dead drop under the stage was cool but also terrifying and I wouldn't do it for all the money in the world. (I think it was here they used flames as a distraction and I felt that heat on row 6!!! Pity those front rowers, I know exactly how they must've felt *flashbacks to muse's the 2nd law stadium tour* Oh god, I've been writing this review for an hour 😳 soon done, i promise, as we go on to the Big Event aka Final Lair aka LET THE SOBFEST BEGIN I think the best way to describe final lair was semi-violent? Like, Erik pulled Christine around roughly when putting on the veil, and got close up in her face when he sang "an eternity with this" and when Christine was on the ground he grabbed and pulled her hair a few times. Oh, and when Erik said "you try my patience" he MEANT IT! One very interesting thing (and which I saw a youtube commentator mentioning it being unique for them) was that Ben doesn't sit up when opening and lowering the gate. He keeps his nonchalant sitting post, and as the commentator said, "it's surprisingly effective in showing that slight pettiness and sense of unwhorthiness." and I agree 100%. The blocking seemed normal, Kelly wasn't the most agressive in keeping Erik away from Raoul, but it was effective. After the big kiss things got really interesting and the sobbing began. Erik got the candle, and watching Christine the entire time, he lunged out at Raoul with the candle to see her reaction. My eyes were glued to Ben but her reaction must've shown that she was completely lost to Erik, because the next lunge cut the rope, and Ben cried doing it. And from there he doesn't stop crying and I swear to god, it sounded like Ben's voice would crack from the tears at any moment. RIGHT IN THE FEELS. AGAIN. My eyes were still glued on Ben, but when I looked over quickly to Raoul and Christine it was Raoul that did his best (and failing) to drag Christine away from the lair rather than the opposite. I read that scene and Kelly's acting as Christine not wanting to leave Erik for the mob to find, because even after all the shit he's pulled on her, he's still a living thing and doesn't deserve the fate the mob will provide. They do leave and has barely left the stage when Erik B R E A K S D O W N. COMPLETELY. Again, sounded like his voice would break any second, and again, right in them feels. AND CHRISTINE STILL HAS TO COME BACK AND LEAVE THE RING AND PLEASE LEAVE ME HERE TO DIE THANK YOU When Christine leaves again Erik went down on his knees, picked up the veil and just hugged it, still sobbing and I was digging my grave Here's a link to final lair audio with Ben and Amy Manford as Christine, skip to 8:15 and you'll also hear the first lunge Ben does towards Raoul. https://youtu.be/dPX4K6RjBu4 HAVE FUN WITH THE FEELINGS

[a-love-poet-at-heart]

Hi, thank for the costume pics. They are amazing. I really like sarah's red ballgrown (2nd one). Great work with the Erik, Krolock and zombie makeup. Your phantom dolls are also really cute. Like how you sewed Erik's deformity. So nice of you to give it to Derrick Davis and the rest of the cast. Do you collect dolls? I'm need sight correction too (otherwise pretty blind) - but I prefer to wear contacts over glasses. Who is your favorite POTO character?

Thanks! I’m planning on doing a photo set with all my Doll!Erik deformities. I’ve done Lon Chaney, US style since I didn’t know the restaged tour had a different one, restaged tour, and now I’m doing Leroux style. (also planning on doing a secret santa doll photo set including the Tanz ones)

Does having a lot of the ones you make count? I don’t REALLY collect dolls. I have a beautiful porcelain doll in vague historical clothing and a Japanese style doll in a kimono, but she’s more like a doll size statue as you literally cannot move anything on her. She’s gorgeous thou. Both of those were gifts, probably from my grandmother. I know my grandma used to have the Japanese one. I also have a some Monster High dolls, a few of the vampire ones and 2 Operetta, the daughter of the Phantom of the Opera. The only dolls I would kinda caught as a sort of ‘collector item” type thing are my Phantom of the Opera barbies I bought off ebay years back. Oh, and some really nice Halloween Barbies that are like actual collector items, “not playthings” as it was listed on the website. I’ve been thinking about getting a Ball jointed doll, thou. I really like the sort of customization aspect. I want to make pretty historical outfits for it and dress it up in them, basically. I have a historical costume itch and doll clothes are much smaller and easier. should probably dig out my old american girl dolls

I’m near sighted. So, when I’m wearing my contacts, I have perfect far sight, but my near sight is slightly impaired by them! That’s basically the reason I don’t like to wear them most of the time, also aesthetic, I really like my glasses.

Favourite Poto character is probably the trash sewer goblin himself. Side note: theres a lot of wiggle room in interpretations, isn’t there? To Book accurate skelly boi to half deformed but still kinda hot to Extremely hot with a little sunburn to extremely murderous freddie kruger to no deformity “It's in your soul. That the true distortion lies” aka Rat Fuck Phantom. I still feel embarrassed that that movie came out literally 6 days before I was born!

ALSO on rat fuck phantom, the dad of the Christine actress was the director! She has naked scenes. She fucks the phantom! The phantom rapes her! wtf man

ANYWAY, what’s your fav poto character?

Also, do you like opera? I’ve been on a Don Giovanni kick for the past few days. I’ve been listening to the same few songs some by the same few people on youtube. Peter Mattei’s Deh vieni alla finestra is sooooo pretty. And I love Rodney Gilfry’s Là ci darem la mano. And Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s Fin ch'han dal vino!! Pretty sad that Hvorostovsky died on the 22nd last month.

AND I am in love with Luca Pisaroni’s verison of the Catalogue Aria at the Glyndebourne last year. Best Leporello. Love how they updated the written list of Don Giovanni’s conquests to photos of them. And I love how he starts to throw them in the middle of the song. His acting is just amazing. 

[phantomtrader19]

Looks like Beatrice is on tonight!

[phantomtrader19]

Beatrice is back on tonight so jealous would love to hear how she’s improved!