Review: Guest Reviewer Kym Vaitiekus Shares His Thoughts On HANDA OPERA ON SYDNEY HARBOUR, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Friday 25th March 2022, 7.30. Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquarie's Chair.

What a joy to see an enormous production of The Phantom of the Opera on Sydney harbour against the city skyline. And enormous is the word. The stage is 2.5 times larger than any indoor Australian stage.

Andrew Lloyd's famous work comes to the open-air venue with a fresh approach by director Simon Phillips.

The night begins when the Paris Opera House is auctioning off its memorabilia. Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny (Callum Francis), bids for a strange musical box. As the chandelier is auctioned next, we are swept back to the time of Raoul's youth, where that chandelier was hung in splendour from the dome of the Opera House.

Hannibal the opera is in rehearsal and a set piece mysteriously drops, almost killing the star Carlotta (Naomi Giudicelli). As this is not the first accident in the theatre, she storms off resigning from her role.

Madame Giry (Maree Johnson) hands the new managers a letter from the 'opera ghost' with his demands of a salary and box seating.

Christine Daae ( Georgina Hopson) auditions for the lead role and then on opening night, the young Raoul becomes enthusiastic about this new star.

Christine, whose voice training comes from her angel of music, realises that she and Raoul were childhood friends.

The angel of music reveals himself to Christine as the Phantom (Joshua Robson) who lives in the catacombs beneath the opera house. He takes her to his lair and reveals that she is his inspiration as an operatic composer.

She takes off his mask revealing the disfigured face and the source of his rage, anger and insanity, but phantom sees her gentle soul and decides to release her.

He demands that Christine replaces Carlotta as the leading lady in the forthcoming opera,

II Muto. The managers ignore these demands and the phantom follows through on his threats of disaster, as the body of Bupuet drops from above in a hangman's noose.

Roaul and Christine agree to escape, the phantom vows vengeance and the chandelier crashes over the cast while they take their bows, creating fireworks.

A Masquerade Ball celebrates the New Year. To the Opera company's surprise, the Phantom returns demanding that his new score is the Opera's next production.

Raoul uses Christine, in the lead role, to trap the Phantom.

Torn between her love for Raoul and her awe of the Phantom, Christine visits her father's grave, longing for his guidance. The Phantom appears atop the mausoleum. Christine begins to succumb to the Phantom's influence, but Raoul arrives to rescue her.

The Phantom taunts Raoul, hurling fire balls at him until Christine begs Raoul to leave with her. Furious, the Phantom declares war upon them both.

Christine performs in the opera, 'Don Juan Triumphant' to discover the Phantom is performing the lead role opposite her. Christine removes his mask to reveal his disfigurement to the audience.

In the lair, the Phantom forces Christine to don a wedding dress. She explains that she does not fear his physical appearance, but rather his inner nature. Raoul comes to the rescue and is ensnared by the Phantom. He offers Christine an ultimatum: if she will stay with him, he will spare Raoul, but if she refuses, Raoul will die. Christine tells the Phantom that he's not alone and kisses him.

Having experienced both kindness and compassion for the first time, the Phantom frees Raoul. He also tells Christine that he loves her, and she tearfully exits the lair with Raoul.

As the angry mob closes in, the Phantom huddles on his throne beneath his cloak. Meg is the first to enter the lair. She curiously approaches the Phantom's throne and pulls away the cloak, finding only his mask.

The Phantom of the Opera is known as a musical or is it an "opera for everyone"?

In the opening scene, we are taken to the past, where the opera company is performing the first scene from Hannibal.

Here we have an Opera within a musical. This scene is phenomenal. It takes us into the world of opera, allowing us to observe that world while thoroughly enjoying its brilliance.

Simon Phillips has brought his talented team and their expertise together with aplomb. But it's more than just a spectacle of enormous talent. Philips has created that exceptional element that magically manifests when the ingredients are expertly combined. That elusive ingredient, that only theatre can produce, is in abundance with this production.

The voices sublime, the performances engaging, the set design magnificent, and the orchestra outstanding.

Joshua Robson plays a youthful and energetic Phantom with a commanding voice that is perfect. Georgina Hopson gives Christine astonishing vocals that are wonderfully enriched by the emotion she portrays. Callum Francis voice is a joy to hear as he matches Raoul against the Phantom and presents his passion for Christine.

Not only were the voices of all the cast sublime, but the sound system was phenomenal. With the solo voices, the clarity and quality were staggering.

Francis's mic seemed to be set at a lower level to Robson, maybe this is a creative choice. There were moments when some of the lyrics were not clear, as characters sang in counterpoint, or when the scene was dramatic. Some microphone cues were missed, and we didn't hear some of the lines in various scenes.

Gabriella Tylesova set design is stupendous. The style and form beautifully support the drama of the story and a the tableau is a visual feast. The stage is massive and the set fills the space wonderfully. The moving elements that portray the various scenes and locations are cleverly and seamlessly conceived.

The size of the stage does dimmish the effectiveness of characters who are upstage, they get lost on the grand staircase. On this vast platform, it's hard to see the emotion in the performers faces and the fine intricacies of Tylesova's beautiful costumes.

For those who know this work, they are aware of the significance of the chandelier. This production has one that does not have the elegance of delicate crystal. It has an unusual look of large baubles adorning a brown metallic framework that resembles a retro space ship, which did move clumsily about.

The stage is set against the backdrop of the city skyline which is mesmerizing but also allowed us to see the backstage hands moving about. This felt part of the outdoor experience but was somewhat distracting in the more still and quiet scenes.

I do have some reservations about losing some of the details of this fine production at this massive venue. The seating stretches wide rather than back from the stage, the audience on the edge would miss some of this magnificent work.

Simone Sault's choreography is perfect. She uses traditional style movements, but they are performed in a way that is fresh and electrifying, such a joy to watch. Nick Schlieper has superbly lit this gigantic stage. His works wonderfully enriches the energy of the opera scenes and the intensity of the dramatic moments. Shelly Lee's sound designer is inventive and clever.

I was lucky to enjoy the night in glorious weather. As the production runs rain or moonshine, kudos must go to the cast, that will perform this wonderous production through Sydney's possible torrential rains.

The talent and expertise of this work is as big as the harbour it's presented on. But it's the magnificent voices that Simon Phillips has so beautifully crafted into these magical moments that make this production a joy to experience.

https://opera.org.au/productions/the-phantom-of-the-opera-on-sydney-harbour/

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