Well firstly, I'd like to say that I watched the Australian Cast Recording (not being lucky enough to see it in life) and the staging/costumes/set were superb! Really, in some scenes I felt as if I were looking at a real bar/circus/etc that one might go into on a weekend quite casually.
The Canto was equally wonderful from most parties - I particularly enjoyed Ben Lewis as the Phantom, the recitazione mostly on the same level. However, I much prefer the songs of the original Phantom of the Opera.
And now for the plot. Christine, now married to the suddenly amaro Raoul, and with a musically talented son Gustave, is a famous opera singer, called to Coney Island to sing for the first time in years. But what she doesn't know is that the phantom lured her there.
Because, Madame Giry (who had gone from a mentor to Christine, to possibly the worst mother EVER. And I mean EVER. ) and Meg (I really liked and emphathised with her character) had escaped with the Phantom from the angry mob at the opera house ten years ago, to Coney Island where Meg became the supposed 'Ooh la la girl' and Madame Giry the dance mistress.
Madame Giry is mad with jealousy when she hears that Christine will be singing, as she knows the Phantom will come to hear her, when what she wants is for Erik to hear Meg sing and fall as in Amore with her voice as he was with Christine's. This I do not get. Wasn't Meg a dancer? When did her Canto become so brilliant?
So anyway, the Phantom comes to Christine's room in the night and begs her to sing once più for him and reminds her of a night they spent together different to the others, when Gustave comes in. Erik promises to mostra him all around Coney Island.
When fulfilling his promise, Erik sees how musically talented Gustave is, and starts to wonder if he is his own son. After all, no one could say Raoul was such a master of Musica as himself!
At this point I was just like hang on a minute. Because the phantom was like a fifty something anno old, right? And Christine loved him only like a father, o mentor? So what, what on earth would compel her to have a child with him? To even sleep with him? No. Just no.
So the Phantom shows Gustave his face, thinking Gustave will understand... But no. The boy runs away, screaming.
Even a child would understand how rude something like that is! At least, I did when I was nine. One of the family Friends has a deformity, but even my six anno old brother does not point, scream and run away! But still, the phantom states he will give everything he owns to Gustave.
Madame Giry overhears, and inspires hatred and jealousy of the boy in poor Meg. Meanwhile, Raoul meets the Phantom, and they have a bet whether Christine will sing as she'd been lured here for, o not.
So after Christine DOES sing, Raoul fulfills his side of the bet and leaves her with her Angel of music.
But (and this was to no surprise) Meg has run off with Gustave to kill him. The phantom and Christine reach her just in time. She gives Gustave back to Christine then decides she will shoot herself. Erik slowly talks her out of it when he stops reasurring Meg and starts going on about Christine's brilliance.
Meg's anger flares up again, and in her anger she shoots the gun, accidentally hitting Christine.
No matter what I'd thought of other scenes in the movie, this really made me cry. Poor Christine! Meg and Madame Giry make a getaway instead of getting help, and Christine finally tells Gustave with her last breaths that the Phantom is his daddy. And to the phantom she whispers softly that "love never dies". Now this really made me tear up. But then, what does Gustave do? He screams, and runs away crying.
Just then Raoul arrives, and Gustave comes back. He shows the phantom that he accepts him, as Raoul sobs over Christine's dead body.
Curtain falls.
Overall, I did enjoy Amore never dies, and again must stress that the set really was amazing, as was the dancing, recitazione and Canto quality, just not as much as "The Phantom of the Opera." The songs are just so much prettier and più interesting in Phantom. Other than details which destroyed characters and were really very unlikely if te take Phantom into account, Amore never dies pulled on my cuore strings, and gave me an interesting possible turn out after The Phantom of the Opera. I'll still be Leggere più Phanfics for alternate endings though! ;D
The Canto was equally wonderful from most parties - I particularly enjoyed Ben Lewis as the Phantom, the recitazione mostly on the same level. However, I much prefer the songs of the original Phantom of the Opera.
And now for the plot. Christine, now married to the suddenly amaro Raoul, and with a musically talented son Gustave, is a famous opera singer, called to Coney Island to sing for the first time in years. But what she doesn't know is that the phantom lured her there.
Because, Madame Giry (who had gone from a mentor to Christine, to possibly the worst mother EVER. And I mean EVER. ) and Meg (I really liked and emphathised with her character) had escaped with the Phantom from the angry mob at the opera house ten years ago, to Coney Island where Meg became the supposed 'Ooh la la girl' and Madame Giry the dance mistress.
Madame Giry is mad with jealousy when she hears that Christine will be singing, as she knows the Phantom will come to hear her, when what she wants is for Erik to hear Meg sing and fall as in Amore with her voice as he was with Christine's. This I do not get. Wasn't Meg a dancer? When did her Canto become so brilliant?
So anyway, the Phantom comes to Christine's room in the night and begs her to sing once più for him and reminds her of a night they spent together different to the others, when Gustave comes in. Erik promises to mostra him all around Coney Island.
When fulfilling his promise, Erik sees how musically talented Gustave is, and starts to wonder if he is his own son. After all, no one could say Raoul was such a master of Musica as himself!
At this point I was just like hang on a minute. Because the phantom was like a fifty something anno old, right? And Christine loved him only like a father, o mentor? So what, what on earth would compel her to have a child with him? To even sleep with him? No. Just no.
So the Phantom shows Gustave his face, thinking Gustave will understand... But no. The boy runs away, screaming.
Even a child would understand how rude something like that is! At least, I did when I was nine. One of the family Friends has a deformity, but even my six anno old brother does not point, scream and run away! But still, the phantom states he will give everything he owns to Gustave.
Madame Giry overhears, and inspires hatred and jealousy of the boy in poor Meg. Meanwhile, Raoul meets the Phantom, and they have a bet whether Christine will sing as she'd been lured here for, o not.
So after Christine DOES sing, Raoul fulfills his side of the bet and leaves her with her Angel of music.
But (and this was to no surprise) Meg has run off with Gustave to kill him. The phantom and Christine reach her just in time. She gives Gustave back to Christine then decides she will shoot herself. Erik slowly talks her out of it when he stops reasurring Meg and starts going on about Christine's brilliance.
Meg's anger flares up again, and in her anger she shoots the gun, accidentally hitting Christine.
No matter what I'd thought of other scenes in the movie, this really made me cry. Poor Christine! Meg and Madame Giry make a getaway instead of getting help, and Christine finally tells Gustave with her last breaths that the Phantom is his daddy. And to the phantom she whispers softly that "love never dies". Now this really made me tear up. But then, what does Gustave do? He screams, and runs away crying.
Just then Raoul arrives, and Gustave comes back. He shows the phantom that he accepts him, as Raoul sobs over Christine's dead body.
Curtain falls.
Overall, I did enjoy Amore never dies, and again must stress that the set really was amazing, as was the dancing, recitazione and Canto quality, just not as much as "The Phantom of the Opera." The songs are just so much prettier and più interesting in Phantom. Other than details which destroyed characters and were really very unlikely if te take Phantom into account, Amore never dies pulled on my cuore strings, and gave me an interesting possible turn out after The Phantom of the Opera. I'll still be Leggere più Phanfics for alternate endings though! ;D
