Search - Andrew Lloyd Webber :: The Phantom of the Opera (Original German Cast)

Das Phantom der Oper

06/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This Music is(as Always) Simply Enchanting,
The Singers are(of course) wonderful and
The Emotion is There...
Though the cast does not include
Michael Crawford(the phantom) Sarah Brightman(Christine) and Steve Barton(Raoul)From the original London and Broadway cast
It Does have...
Peter Hoffman as the phantom
Anna Maria Kaufmann as Christine and
Hartwig Rudolz as RaoulPeter Hoffman has a beautiful voice as The Phantom, And His Emotion and acting... Splendid! He lrts you know how he feels.
like when he yells "Go Now! Go Now And Leave Me!!" At the end of Das Unterirdische Labyrinth when he lets Christine go you can tell the phantom is heartbroken... also, I like how in the title song in his first solo part he raises the note a little higher.Anna Marie Kaufmann also has a beautiful voice, like in Denk An Mich she starts out a bit nervous and quiet so that you can tell the difrence between The Rehersal and The Gala.
And at the end of the title song, when Christine starts to vocalize she starts higher than Sarah Brightman did and Ends Higher than Sara Brightman Did!Hartwig Rudolz makes a dashing Raoul, he sound very similer(in my opinion) to Steve Barton(The Original Raoul in London)
He has very good acting skills and you can hear him use them well in MEHR WILL ICH NICHT VON DIR and DAS UNTERIRDISCHE LABYRINTH.Ah! The Music! Its Preformed Beautifuly! With Some Added Insterments It Sounds Better Than Ever!
Now, You Should Know... Because Its in German at first it will sound a bit weird, So You Should listen to the London cast a few times...I Highly recomendDAS PHANTOM DER OPER
DIE MUSIK DER NACHT
MEHR WILL ICH NICHT VON DIR
MASKENBALL and
DAS UNTERIRDISCHE LABYRINTHI recommend all this songs,
And I'm A Thirteen Year Old Boy!!
And Some Gratitude Towards Amazon.com is in order
For Having this CD available Thank You."

A must-have for Phans

OffToCollege | California, USA | 04/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Das Phantom der Oper is a great buy for any Phantom fan, moderate or extreme. Prospective buyers (you) are probably most concerned with its comparison to the London cast recording or that of the recent major motion picture. Fear not.

First it must be admitted that the German Phantom and Christine have more talent and depth to their voices than Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. This doesn't necessarily mean, however, that they are "better" at playing these roles. However, the differences in musical ability and voice are very refreshing for long time listeners to the London cast. In many instances, Hoffman (the Phantom) sings with much more power and emotion behind his words. His laugh at the end of Act 1 is chilling. Kaufmann (Christine) hits high notes with an ease not evident in Brightman, and her voice is really quite soothing. Despite these differences, diehard fans of Crawford and Brightman will not be turned off by either of the main performers. Their contrasts are sometimes very subtle-- the German casting was obviously done with the popular London cast in mind. The minor roles in Das Phantom are solid, though Raoul's voice is less of the warm he-man of Steve Barton and little more high pitched. Carlotta, Firmin, Andre, Madame Giry, Meg, etc. are not drastically different from their respective roles in the London cast.

Fans of the movie will not find Gerard Butler or Emmy Rossum in this soundtrack at all. Their is an obvious difference in timbre in the voice of the Phantom, and Christine's voice is more mature and refined. If you like the movie but not the London cast, I can't see any reason why you'd enjoy this version, as it is much more comparable to the London cast than any other I've heard.

If you like the London cast at all, this is a great buy. The quality of sound is perfect, and the performers are completely professional. Fans of the Crawford and Brightman will not be disappointed, but will hopefully find something new and refreshing to obsess over, just as they did with the London Cast.



Nun bist du dem Untergang geweiht, durch das Phantom der Dunkelheit!



***As a final note, i must ask you to please not be turned off by this being in a different language. German is a beautiful, fluid language, and for those of you who speak German, the translations are very accurate and never awkward or clumsy- sounding. Do try this album, all Phans!***



Du allein hast mich von mir gefreit-

Nun endet die Musik der Dunkelheit...





"

Phantom is equally as good in german

Big Fat Theatre Dork | Inbred Queensbury, NY | 05/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got this cd a while ago. With exception of Carlotta and Christine Daae, (they all sound the same) all the leads have different sounding voices than those on the 1986 London Cast. Peter Hoffman has a teriffic Opera voice, deep and acts the part well. Anne Marie Koffman (I think that is her name) has a great high soprano voice....so high that "Think of Me" (or "Denk an Mich") was raised a step higher, so at the end it is a high C she hits, rather than a B-flat on the London recording. Whatever the actor who played Raoul's name was, he is great too. A few minor differences in the music, like a couple parts where the tempos are different (Prima Donna, The Final Scene). In the title song, there is a piercing whistle not unlike the oven in Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd." I found this amusing. I find this record very well done, the only thing I don't like about it is that there are no lyrics included in the insert, so I have had to go through the music and phonetically write down all the words, syallable but syllable. Great record, enjoy it."