After many months of anticipation, last Monday night we finally saw the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, which is titled Love Never Dies. The reviews have been mixed--some of the press were pretty harsh in its comparison with the original Phantom, but my friends who had seen it loved it. I tried to go in with reasonable expectations, knowing that the original Phantom was a classic and could never be duplicated in the same way. I have to tell you that I loved it. The two lead roles, Ramin Karimloo playing the Phantom, and Sierra Boggess, playing Christine, were excellent. Their voices were powerful and could easily handle the big songs that Andrew Lloyd Webber had written for them. The special effects and costumes were fabulous, although obviously missing this time was the chandelier!
The musical takes place ten years after the Phantom disappears from the Opera House in Paris. Christine is lured to come sing in New York at the popular Coney Island, and when she, her husband and son arrive, she discovers who has beckoned her, none other than her former teacher, the Phantom.
No more hints than that, because I don't want to spoil it for the rest of you, but I do encourage you to go to the Love Never Dies website to see the video of the Phantom singing Till I Hear You Sing with footage of the play. You can also look under Video Clips to find Sierra sing her amazing song, Love Never Dies. The last minute of that song is the best.
Clips from all the music can also be found at the website along with pictures and more details. Enjoy a little taste of Coney Island!
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Debi, thank you so very much for the personal review! The Phantom of the Opera is one of my absolute favorites.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to tell my daughter to read your post. She, too, is a huge fan.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
Bonjour Debi,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your review. I've seen Phantom more times than I can count in NYC and London, but was a little iffy about a sequel. I definitely trust your opinion though, and the next time we're in London we'll have to go.
Happy weekend,
Mimi
OOOH. Sounds good. I have to tell you that I had a complete love affair with PTO when I was in High School. And on my graduation day I could have sworn that my mom was going to send me, a lone 18 yo to NY to see it....well needless to say I got my first CD player instead (yes it was way back in 1991) and a "are you crazy" comment from my mom. So in college I saw the PHantom anytime it came to Texas but always longed for Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman's beautiful voices. Thanks for the review and I am easy to please, so I am sure I will like it too.
ReplyDeletePhantom is also one of my favorites. I will never forget a performance in Houston where I was directly underneath the chandelier. I was just listening to some of the music today. Can't wait to see the sequel.
ReplyDeleteBoy Debi, you have been a busy lady since you touched down on your home soil! Glad to hear that you have been enjoying yourself and the warmer weather-what a shame about the gas prices though!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes and have a beautiful weekend,
Natasha.