Honestly, aside from youtube listening here and there, and the three times I've seen the show live (only one of which was within the last 15 years!), the only people I've heard enoguh in the role to have a really solid basis for comparison are Colm Wilkinson and Michael Crawford.
I grew up wholly devoted to Colm in the part, and didn't much care for Crawford at the time. (I actually actively loathed him the first time my 9-year-old self heard him, and remember asking my sister if that was supposed to be Carlotta singing, because I thought he sounded too girly. Oh, silly little me...) My tastes have certainly changed over the years though, and now I can appreciate Crawford's version a lot more now. Though I still love Colm in the part as well -- and he was absolutely brilliant when I saw him play it -- something doesn't feel quite right there either (though I still prefer him, out of the two). I like SB's version because it combines some of what I enjoy in both MC and CW's takes -- oozes pathos and character like CW, but also has, I feel, some more subtlety to it, as MC brought to the mix. Plus he seems to play it miles darker than either of them, and that's really saying something. I really do feel like I'm listening to Leroux's Erik in the ALW context, hearing Steve.
I'd love to hear him in Tanz, but have had no luck tracking it down. Torrents have been failing me there, and my wallet just releases an echoing sigh and a few moths and buttons when I open it, so purchasing any music is going to have to wait! XD
And, do you know, it was hearing Steve's part in the older trio version of Wandering Child that first got me really curious about him. It's so beautiful, and he sounds so brilliant in it... and it's nice to hear ALW's Raoul actually having a personal moment of emotional reaction to something, instead of just blustering all the time. Again, another moment that felt closer to Leroux. Sooo good!!
Your history with Phantom sounds so similar to mine. I've been a fan for 15 years now and I too have only seen it 3 times, the 3rd one having been over 10 years ago now. At first I was unsure of Michael's voice as well - I was always so partial (and still am) to deeper voices and Michael's was just so different (I was 15 when I first discovered Phantom) but the more I listened to the recording, the more he grew on me and I started to look into his solo albums and I just became hooked. I enjoy the sound of his voice but his voice isn't my favorite... there is just something about it that works more on an emotional level for me. It's very comforting. I really haven't listened to Colm enough to make a fair judgement. I listened to the Canadian recording and I just wasn't too fond of him and I've just never bothered to give it another shot (shame on me, I know!)
I completely agree with your comparison of Steve's Phantom to Leroux's. I never really put it together before, but now that I think about it I can definitely see it. Steve's Phantom is... well, absolutely nuts yet at the same time very sympathetic. And like you said, his portrayal of the Phantom is very dark. I've heard so many Phantoms over the past year or so and I've never heard any of them play the role the way Steve did.
It's funny you should say that about Steve in Wandering Child. While I never took any notice of him in all these years before I found Tanz, his part in Wandering Child was one of my favorite moments of the entire cast recording. Now that I am such a fan of his I really do regret all these years wasted that I could have been listening to him, especially knowing that while he wasn't on Broadway in the years after I discovered Phantom, he DID perform in areas not at all too far away from me and I know had I been such a fan of his my mom would have driven me out to see him. Oh well... such is life!
I can send you a download for Tanz if you'd like. I have the complete 2 disc Original Viennese Cast recording and I even have VOB files of the original cast pro shot of the show, which you can download and burn to DVD, that includes English subtitles if you enjoy the music and decide you are interested in seeing it. I actually found Tanz because of Dance of the Vampires. I wasn't really too interested in DOTV outside of just listening to Michael's songs but I heard so much about how Tanz was so much better. I've always been interested in pretty much anything German so I decided to check it out. It wasn't until I actually was looking over the cast info that I realized, hey... Steve Barton? Wasn't he Raoul? Like I said before I couldn't even believe it at first because he sounded so much different... so much BETTER than on the POTO recording. Of course now with all the recordings I have of Steve's I'm finding that as beautiful as he sounded singing in English, for some reason he sounds even better in German.
Anyway, at first I was only listening to the songs from Tanz that sounded similar to Michael's songs from DOTV until one day I finally sat down and listened to it straight through. I realized just how much better it was and I honestly haven't listened to DOTV since, except when I forced myself to watch a bootleg DVD of it. It's no surprise it was a flop. I'm amazed it lasted even beyond the previews. They completely destroyed Tanz, turning it into something completely unrecognizable and they completely raped the character of Krolock. DOTV is actually more of an insult to me as a Tanz fan than LND is to me as a POTO fan.
Tomorrow I'll get Tanz uploaded for you and I'll PM you the links along with the links for the VOB files. I'll even go the extra mile and send you a link to the German libretto and my English translation of it (there were a few things I was unsure of but for the most part it's relatively accurate) so you can get a feel for what is going on in the story until you get a chance to watch the VOB. When you get around to listening to the music you'll have to let me know what your thoughts are.
Honestly, aside from youtube listening here and there, and the three times I've seen the show live (only one of which was within the last 15 years!), the only people I've heard enoguh in the role to have a really solid basis for comparison are Colm Wilkinson and Michael Crawford.
I grew up wholly devoted to Colm in the part, and didn't much care for Crawford at the time. (I actually actively loathed him the first time my 9-year-old self heard him, and remember asking my sister if that was supposed to be Carlotta singing, because I thought he sounded too girly. Oh, silly little me...) My tastes have certainly changed over the years though, and now I can appreciate Crawford's version a lot more now. Though I still love Colm in the part as well -- and he was absolutely brilliant when I saw him play it -- something doesn't feel quite right there either (though I still prefer him, out of the two). I like SB's version because it combines some of what I enjoy in both MC and CW's takes -- oozes pathos and character like CW, but also has, I feel, some more subtlety to it, as MC brought to the mix. Plus he seems to play it miles darker than either of them, and that's really saying something. I really do feel like I'm listening to Leroux's Erik in the ALW context, hearing Steve.
I'd love to hear him in Tanz, but have had no luck tracking it down. Torrents have been failing me there, and my wallet just releases an echoing sigh and a few moths and buttons when I open it, so purchasing any music is going to have to wait! XD
And, do you know, it was hearing Steve's part in the older trio version of Wandering Child that first got me really curious about him. It's so beautiful, and he sounds so brilliant in it... and it's nice to hear ALW's Raoul actually having a personal moment of emotional reaction to something, instead of just blustering all the time. Again, another moment that felt closer to Leroux. Sooo good!!
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I completely agree with your comparison of Steve's Phantom to Leroux's. I never really put it together before, but now that I think about it I can definitely see it. Steve's Phantom is... well, absolutely nuts yet at the same time very sympathetic. And like you said, his portrayal of the Phantom is very dark. I've heard so many Phantoms over the past year or so and I've never heard any of them play the role the way Steve did.
It's funny you should say that about Steve in Wandering Child. While I never took any notice of him in all these years before I found Tanz, his part in Wandering Child was one of my favorite moments of the entire cast recording. Now that I am such a fan of his I really do regret all these years wasted that I could have been listening to him, especially knowing that while he wasn't on Broadway in the years after I discovered Phantom, he DID perform in areas not at all too far away from me and I know had I been such a fan of his my mom would have driven me out to see him. Oh well... such is life!
I can send you a download for Tanz if you'd like. I have the complete 2 disc Original Viennese Cast recording and I even have VOB files of the original cast pro shot of the show, which you can download and burn to DVD, that includes English subtitles if you enjoy the music and decide you are interested in seeing it. I actually found Tanz because of Dance of the Vampires. I wasn't really too interested in DOTV outside of just listening to Michael's songs but I heard so much about how Tanz was so much better. I've always been interested in pretty much anything German so I decided to check it out. It wasn't until I actually was looking over the cast info that I realized, hey... Steve Barton? Wasn't he Raoul? Like I said before I couldn't even believe it at first because he sounded so much different... so much BETTER than on the POTO recording. Of course now with all the recordings I have of Steve's I'm finding that as beautiful as he sounded singing in English, for some reason he sounds even better in German.
Anyway, at first I was only listening to the songs from Tanz that sounded similar to Michael's songs from DOTV until one day I finally sat down and listened to it straight through. I realized just how much better it was and I honestly haven't listened to DOTV since, except when I forced myself to watch a bootleg DVD of it. It's no surprise it was a flop. I'm amazed it lasted even beyond the previews. They completely destroyed Tanz, turning it into something completely unrecognizable and they completely raped the character of Krolock. DOTV is actually more of an insult to me as a Tanz fan than LND is to me as a POTO fan.
Tomorrow I'll get Tanz uploaded for you and I'll PM you the links along with the links for the VOB files. I'll even go the extra mile and send you a link to the German libretto and my English translation of it (there were a few things I was unsure of but for the most part it's relatively accurate) so you can get a feel for what is going on in the story until you get a chance to watch the VOB. When you get around to listening to the music you'll have to let me know what your thoughts are.
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