1980's
Sydmonton Workshop, July 1985
Colm Wilkinson, Sarah Brightman, Clive Carter, Myra Sand (Carlotta), David Burt (Firmin), Jeff Shankley (Andre), Jacqui Harman (Meg), Christopher Beck (Bouquet/Porter), Paul Leanord (José Caniussi/Jailer/Don Nero), Ken Caswell (Auctioneer/Prisoner)
Act one only, PotO in early draft form, and quite different from the show we know today. My guess is that somewhere along the way it was ripped from the video. There are many moments where the audio is clear, but there are also moments where there is distortion. Given the age of this audio and the video it was ripped from, knowing how often it was traded over the years, it's to be expected. But, I'm giving it a split grade for this.
However, for all the good and bad, it is a good indicator of how far the show has come from this workshop to the show we know and love today, and is definitely a must-have for the serious Phantom collector, no matter the imperfections in the quality.
A/C
London, September 26, 1986 (First Preview – OLC)
Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, Steve Barton, John Savident (Firman), David Firth (Andre), Rosemary Ashe (Carlotta), Mary Millar (Mme Giry), John Aron (Piangi), Janet Devenish (Meg)
Crawford flubs the opening lyrics to "Down Once More" twice
B
London, October 16, 1986
Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, Steve Barton
Sadly, untracked (one track per act). Some distortion in random places. Where there is no distortion, it's nice and clear, so I'm giving it a split grade. I have *NOT* listened to the entire audio, so not sure if anything is missing, but judging by timing there can't be anything major missing.
If the date is accurate, and I've no reason to suspect it's not, this is likely the earliest POTO audio after the end of Previews.
A/C
London, 1987 (01)
Michael Crawford, Claire Moore (alt? u/s?), Steve Barton
Missing the Prologue, Little Lotte, The Mirror, and the Title Song. Act 1 is far and away better quality than Act 2 - the latter being barely listenable with tons of hiss and significant generation loss. So I'm splitting the grade, the higher being Act 1. Crawford is excellent here - his MOTN runs over six minutes. This has also often been traded as London, March 27, 1987.
(The number in parenthesis after the date is simply a part of my filing system.)
B-/D
London, 1987 (02)
Michael Crawford, Rebecca Caine (alt), Steve Barton, Rosemary Ashe, Janet Devenish, Mary Millar, John Savident, David Firth, John Aron
SOUNDBOARD. BEAUTIFUL quality audio. Very mild hiss when the volume is jacked up. Still, much better quality than I thought I was getting so no complaints!
(The number in parenthesis after the date is simply a part of my filing system.)
A
London, 1987 (03)
Michael Crawford, Maria Kesselman (u/s), Steve Barton
SOUNDBOARD, HIGHLIGHTS, runs 32 minutes. Only eight tracks (Overture, part of Think Of Me, The Mirror/Phantom Of The Opera, Music Of The Night, All I Ask Of You/I Gave You My Music, part of Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, Point Of No Return, and part of Final Lair.) Final Lair was SERIOUSLY edited. I wonder if this was planned for use as some sort of promo, or as sound clips? The quality on this one however is absolutely FANTASTIC. Very very VERY mild hiss that's only heard at the quietest of moments (example, as Michael cries before, during and after "Christine I love you" during the Final Lair.)
OMG, Michael GROWLS just before he says, "You try my patience!"
On the rare side, I haven't seen this one floating about.
(The number in parenthesis after the date is simply a part of my filing system.)
A+
London, June 15, 1987
Michael Crawford, Rebecca Caine, Steve Barton
HIGHLIGHTS. Act 1 runs about 46 minutes, Act 2 about 35 minutes. Some very strange tracking choices - MOTN is broken two tracks. Quite a bit of analog hiss - it sometimes overpowers the audio. But there are some decent quality moments in there as well. On the rare side as far as audios go.
B-
London, June 23, 1987
Michael Crawford, Rebecca Caine, Steve Barton
SOUNDBOARD.Fully tracked. BEAUTIFUL quality. Very very minor amount of hiss - only heard when I've got the volume up past the halfway mark.
Have I said it lately how happy I am all these early London soundboards have popped up?
On the rare side.
A
London, June 26, 1987
Michael Crawford, Rebecca Caine, Steve Barton
SOUNDBOARD.Missing most of the AIAOY Reprise. Absolutely AMAZING quality - almost offical recording quality. This must be a recent leak to the trading community ... because it certainly wasn't available back when I was active years ago, and it'd be a darn shame if it completely disappears from the scene again.
A+
London, October 10, 1987
Michael Crawford, Rebecca Caine (Alt), Steve Barton
Supposedly Michael Crawford and Steve Barton's last. UPGRADED TO A COMPLETE COPY! Extraordinary quality for it's age, possibly a soundboard.I'm guessing that most of the ensemble is OLC?
A
London, January 20, 1988
Dave Willets, Rebecca Caine (alt), Michael Ball, Rosemary Ashe
SOUNDBOARD.
Gorgeous sound quality, very minor amount of analog hiss from what is likely an early generation transfer.
A
London, February 10, 1988 (matinee)
Dave Willets, Rebecca Caine (alt), Michael Ball
SOUNDBOARD.HIGHLIGHTS only, focused on Christine. (Also not the same as the other Dave/Rebecca Soundboards.) Very mild hiss - noticeable only when I jack the volume up. Of course, when I do that it also becomes clear how CLEAR this is - I can hear the swish of Rebecca's dress in AIAOY for example.
A
London - February 18, 1988
Dave Willets, Rebecca Caine (alt), Michael Ball, Yvette Davis (u/s Carlotta)
SOUNDBOARD.Starts at Christine's Think of Me. (Also not the same as the other Dave/Rebecca Soundboards.) Dave sounds so much like MC (IE in the opening of Wandering Child) at times that for a moment I wondered if this was mislabeled. But no, upon listening closer it's definitely Willets.
Clear enough that you can hear Dave enunciate every word that ends with "T" (fight, it, night, etc.)
A
London, February 27, 1988
Dave Willetts, Rebecca Caine, Michael Ball
SOUNDBOARD.Rebecca Caine's last London show.
VERY clear sound, a very minimal analog hiss, and I do mean VERY MINIMAL.
A
Broadway, February 28, 1988?
Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, Steve Barton, Judy Kaye, David Romano, Nicholas Wyman, Chris Groenendaal, Leila Martin
Good clear recording for its age, much better than I was actually expecting. A rare recording of Brightman on Broadway (I think it may be the only one?). Interesting audience reaction (such as clapping during the overture and following the Mirror scene, and when they would be appearing in the boat during the title track.) that you just don't hear any more. It almost sounds like a soundboard or a digital but I know the secondary thought isn't possible for the time period, so whoever transferred it from analog must have had a very low generation copy. Between some tracks is a slight skip – not a pause, because it's not between all tracks, and it's only a fraction of a second, but it's there. Crawford, Brightman, and Barton are still the embodiment of the three leads, hands down! Although I almost thought to hear the trio in Wandering Child *Sniffs*. Probably the second most electrically charged "Bravo Monsieur" that I've ever heard.
Not sure on the date. Have only recently seen this date crop up for this audio, but since it's still the only one of Brightman on Broadway I've seen and it's DEFINITELY the same one I've got ...
2 CD
B
Broadway, April 30, 1988
Michael Crawford, Patti Cohenour, Steve Barton, Judy Kaye, Nicholas Wyman, Cris Groenendaal, Leila Martin, Elisa Heinsohn, David Romano
Audio is clear for its age, though there is some distortion during the louder parts, and Patti Cohenour's voice sounds wobbly throughout. There is a bit of audience interruption, including a burst of applause before the title song (this was when POTO fever was at its highest), but nothing too distracting.
A
London, July 15(?), 1988
Dave Willets, Jan Hartley-Morris (alt), Michael Ball, Royce Mills, David Firth, Rosemary Ashe, Mary Millar, Janet Devenish, John Aron
SOUNDBOARD.Very clear audio for its age, bass heaviness when it gets loud. Not sure on the exact date, I've also seen it listed as July 15, 1988 and June 1, 1988, but I'm fairly sure these are all the same recording.
B
Broadway, October 8, 1988
Michael Crawford (Final on Broadway), Dale Kristien/Rebecca Luker/Patti Cohenour, Steve Barton, Judy Kaye , Nick Wyman, Cris Groenendaal, David Romano, Leila Martin, Elisa Heinsohn
TRACKED. Includes Steve Barton's farewell to Michael Crawford speech, and a speech from Crawford.
Definite victim of HSD, analog hiss, and this buzzing over all act 1. Act 2 sounds like someone boosted the sound - it's at a different volume level than act 1 is. VERY different. There's times it's almost unlistenable due to the overpowering noise on top of the performance. It's audios like these that make me wish I knew enough about audio editing software and could fix at least some of the issues because under them Crawford is BRILLIANT - his "Insolent Boy" sent some serious shivers down my spine, which hasn't happened in quite some time in an audio for me. The audience applauds in places they just never do any more ... I wonder how many knew this was Crawford's final Broadway performance? Quite a bit of talking either from the taper and companion or from very close by.
Audience recording, not a video rip. On the rarer side.
Some questions about Christine. I got it from the previous trader with the distinction on the Christine you see above ... I'm pretty sure it's NOT Dale, her voice is just too distinctive. But I just don't know Rebecca or Patti's well enough to be sure on either of them.
B-
Broadway October 12, 1988
Timothy Nolen, Patti Cohenour, Steve Barton, Nick Wyman, Cris Groenendaal, Judy Kaye, Leila Martin, David Romano
HIGHLIGHTS. One of Nolan's first shows as the Phantom after Michael Crawford left Broadway . . . he flubs a few lyrics. Sound is low and there's analog hiss, not a surprise but not as bad as I had feared. Some annoying talking *grrrr* in the audience.
B-
Broadway, February 11, 1989
Timothy Nolen, Patti Cohenour, Steve Barton, Nick Wyman, Cris Groenendaal, Judy Kaye(?), Lelia Martin, David Romano, Elisa Heinsoh
TONS of analog hiss, almost drowns out the entire recording. VERY quiet audio even on the 'loud bits'. A definite candidate for hiss reduction - IF I knew how to do such a thing *Sigh*. It's a shame because I can hear some good performances under the static in a few places. Only known full audio of Nolen.
C-
Los Angeles, March 30, 1989?
Norman Large (u/s), Dale Kristien, Steve Barton
HIGHLIGHTS. Audio is somewhat muffled, and there's a fair deal of analog hiss. I also suspect that somewhere along the way this audio may have been high speed dubbed, but I can't be sure.
Includes a (for the time) rare, non-London performance of the "Wandering Child" trio.
Not sure of the exact date, for many years now there has been some differentiating opinion on exactly when Barton's limited run as Raoul in LA actually took place – he was subbing for Reese Holland as I recall. I've also seen this audio listed over the years as March 91, and March 30, 1989. The file you'll recieve will reflect the date above.
B-
Broadway, April 5, 1989
Cris Groenendaal, Rebecca Luker, Keith Buterbaugh, Leila Martin (Mme Giry)
Possibly the only audio of Cris from Broadway. Analog hiss, and possible HSD. It's listenable, though, unlike some older audios.
B
Vienna, April 11, 1989
Alexander Goebel, Luzia Nistler, Alfred Pfeifer
Suffers from possible effects of HSD - mechanical distortion and hiss mostly. The vocals are nicely loud under the distortion ... and I'm not sure if it's the distortion that makes me wonder whether this really IS Goebel (something sounds ... off. I can't put my finger on it though.)
I'd love to know where this surfaced from, because it wasn't making the rounds back when I was trading years ago.
B-
Los Angeles, October 22, 1989
Michael Crawford, Dale Kristien, Reece Holland
TRACKED. Some analog hiss, given the age that's to be expected. Even with the hiss, this audio is still in excellent shape, and possibly one of the best quality audience recordings of Crawford. Dale and Reece's voices are so high pitched if you didn't know better you might suspect HSD - if not for the fact that Crawford sounds normal pitched. Phantom fever was still running strong - the audience reacts in places they rarely ever do today.
Small bit of the opening instrumental of Magical Lasso missing, as well as a small bit of dialogue at the beginning of the Before Don Juan Triumphant scene, probably a flip point for both. The timing on them makes me think this taper knew the show rather well though, enough to make the small loss as minimal as possible.
A-
Broadway, November 1, 1989
Keith Buterbaugh (u/s), Rebecca Luker, Kevin Gray
A little over 50 minutes of Phantom-heavy HIGHLIGHTS. Includes the Phantom's voiceover right after the Gala, Little Lotte through the end of STYDI, the Phantom's voiceovers in Notes 1 and Prima Donna, most of the rooftop scene (missing a bit in the middle of AIAOY), the very end of Masquerade, Why So Silent, Wandering Child, most of Seal My Fate, most of PONR, Down Once More, and the Final Lair. Overload, distortion, and hiss all present, but not as quiet as I was expecting given the previous trader's description. (If I can hear just fine with the volume only at the halfway mark, it's not bad a'tall. But it's almost unlistenable if I jack it up much further - to the point I can't understand the words.) Only known audio of Buterbaugh's Phantom.
C
1990's
Australia, 1990 (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Marina Prior, Dale Burridge
Slight hiss overlays the audio. Sounds like it might have encountered HSD at some point in it's life as an analog. (Somehow I missed this during my first review of this audio years ago ... ah well though IIRC this was amongst my earliest audios and I didn't know what I was listening for then I guess lol.) Underneath is a surprisingly clear audio for it's age, however. Definitely worth it for Warlow alone.
The exact date on this has been debated over and over during the years, as has Christine's identity. I do know that back in my old trading days that there were TWO different Warlow audios from this production. At any rate, I'm leaving it with the 1990 date I had for it back then.
B
Hamburg, Germany 1990
Peter Hofmann, Anna Maria Kaufmann, Hartwig Rudolz, Ruth Hale, Dunja Siehl
Audio is VERY low ... as in I jacked my computer's volume up as far as it could go and still could barely hear. Static over the whole thing. Slightly disappointing because this may be the only audio of this cast.
C
Los Angeles, February (??) 1990
Michael Crawford, Dale Kristien, Reece Holland
SOUNDBOARD.
You have NO idea how thrilled I am that all these soundboards started floating into the trading scene.
Has an echo-y quality to it. That doesn't detract from the enjoyment of listening to Michael Crawford near what was the end of his run, and hearing the subtle changes he's made to his performance over time.
On the rare side.
A+
London, February 14, 1990
James Paterson (u/s), Jill Washington, Robert Meadmore
Sounds like it encountered HSD during it's life as an analog. Very slight pauses between some tracks. Noticeable analog hiss in the second act during the quiet sections, but none noticeable in the first act. The sound is a bit thin but in good shape considering its age. A flip point cuts out the first thirty seconds of Magical Lasso. Repeats "I must go" to the beginning of the Phantom's part during AIAOY Reprise for some reason, also a bit of weirdness right before "Seal My Fate." The taper whistles way out of tune with part of the entr'acte, which is amusing.
B
Broadway, March 19, 1990
Steve Barton (First Performance), Katharine Buffaloe (u/s), Davis Gaines (First Performance), Leila Martin (Giry)
If my old review is to be believed, I used to have a better quality copy than this ...
Some sporadic overload and rumbling base. Audio is skewed to the right hand side - there IS audio on the left, but it's VERY quiet. This *might* have once been mono and someone along the way attempted to make it stereo? We'll probably never know. It's certainly not the worst old audio I've ever heard ... at least I can make out the words. Also, and I could be wrong, but I would bet it encountered high speed dubbing at some point during it's life on cassette. Most of the show, missing everything after the first lair scene until Il Muto, and the beginning of the "Before the Premiere" scene.
B-
Broadway, March (?) 1990
Jeff Keller (u/s), Rebecca Luker, Davis Gaines, George Lee Andrews, Lelia Martin
Some analog hiss, not too bad though. A solid B. Whoever ripped it neglected to use track numbers so it's all in alphabetical order instead of chronological. If the cast is correct, then it's got to be after March 19 ... (See above audio.)
B
Vienna, March 31, 1990
Ethan Freeman (alt), Colleen Besett (u/s), Timothy Breese (alt), Dennis Kozeluh (u/s), Jack Poppell, Jane Cormier (u/s), Diana Bennett, Vittorio Giammarrusco (u/s), Karin Seyfried (u/s)
FINALLY! A decently clear audio of Freeman in Vienna! I KNEW this existed! Finally got it off of a trader who got it from one of my old contacts back in the day.
On the rare side. This audio has, more or less, disappered from the trading scene. By that, I mean that most traders who have an audio with this date listed really have a lower quality copy of the August 12, 1990 audio with Freeman and Claudia Dallinger. This is DEFINITELY not that audio. The tell between the two is in the beginning of Christine's Think Of Me - in this audio there's a cough, in the same place in the August audio there's a chair squeeking and some audience chatter.
This turned out to be much better quality than I remembered. There IS mechanical noise - likely from the transfer from the cassettes. However, it doesn't seem to be an HSD victim. While the instrumentals are a bit heavy, they're no where NEAR as overpowering as they were in the August audio - I could make out most of Ethan's Bravo Monsier. Basically, it's not QUITE good enough for me to give it a straight A, but not quite low enough for a solid B either.
RARE.
A-/B+
Vienna, April 1, 1990
Alexander Goebel, Claudia Dallinger, Andrew Hambly-Smith
HIGHLIGHTS - runs just about 35 minutes. Act 1 from the Prologue through part of MOTN. Other than a good bit of hiss and a minor bit of distortion, very good quality for the age. This, however, is a second audio where I'm not sure about Goebel ... he had a way of singing the first line of the Title song, and this is now the second (very early) audio of him where he's not sang it the way I'm accustomed. It's also another audio that seems to have surfaced fairly recently (that is, during my long trading hiatus ... if it was around then it must have been incredibly rare.) One of only two audios I know of with Dallinger's Christine.
B+
Los Angeles, April 29, 1990
Michael Crawford, Dale Kristien, Reece Holland, Leigh Munro, Gualtero Negrini, Norman Large, Barbara Lang, Elizabeth Stringer
Last performance of Michael Crawford as the Phantom includes speeches by Crawford and Kristien, has some minor hiss, overall good recording, clear music and lyrics. Features an ad-lib by Crawford, after Christine gives him the ring, he sings, "Christine, I loved you." The end of his "Final Lair" is also heartbreaking to listen to.
A
Los Angeles, 1990 (Late)
Robert Guillaume, Dale Kristien, Reece Holland
Cassette transfer. A rare audio of Guillaume, and unfortunately not in very good shape. Mic contact noise at different intervals in the show. The parts that don't have either mic contact or recorder noise are okay, but they're few and far between, sadly. This one was a pain to put back together. Missing the very end of Magical Lasso and very beginning of Notes I. Also missing Don Juan Triumphant, and almost all of the first verse of Point Of No Return.
I'm putting this here instead of at the beginning of 1990 like I typically would with an unknown date because we know it could not have been prior to April 29. One of only two known audios of Guillaume. It's a shame neither of them are good quality. This audio is typically traded as Los Angeles, Late 1990.
D
Los Angeles, May 31, 1990
Robert Guillaume, Jani Neuman (u/s), Reece Holland, Calvin Remsberg, Norman Large, Leigh Munro, Barbara Lang, Gualtiero Negrini, Elizabeth Stringer
HIGHLIGHTS- runs 76 minutes. The quality, much like Guillaume's performance, is all over the place. Even the best parts are scratchy at louder points. Starts a tiny bit into TOM and runs through the end of the title song. This portion is muffled, but has been improved somewhat. Then picks up with 'kingdom where all must pay homage...' which through the end of 'Stranger' is decent quality, the best of the audio. Audio then cuts to Il muto up until the end of the Phantom's appearance, and the cuts to AIAOY through the end of the Act. At this point (il Muto), a steady consistent metronome-esque thumping begins, which will drive you insane. This runs through the end of the show. Act 2 starts with 'Why So Silent', cuts to the voice-over in Notes 2 through the end of the show, all with the thumping. Yikes. I would say this is for very dedicated collectors only. This used to be rare- one of only two recordings of Guillaume and the only one with Neuman.
Ripped in WMA format
C-
Vienna, August 12, 1990
Ethan Freeman (alt), Claudia Dallinger (u/s), Andrew Hambly-Smith, Horst Reeh (u/s), Wolfgang Pampel, Robin Lee, Claudia Rose Golde (u/s), Sergio Lombana, Eva-Marie Weber (u/s)
(Previously listed as March 31, 1990)
Some parts the instrumental track overpowers the vocal performers. Mic contact noise in random places, very prevalent in Act 1 especially. I sampled Wandering Child first, and heard the overpowering instrumentals (darn shame because I WANTED to hear how Ethan did Bravo Monsieur, but you can't hear him) then sampled MOTN, and caught the mic noise ... and went on from there. When I say prevalent ... I mean in a LOT of places.
Also contains the expected analog hiss most audios from this time seem to be plagued by Thankfully, this one doesn't seem to have been attacked by HSD like so many early 90's audios have been. Very enthusiastic audience.
For a long time, this was on the rare side. It is, however, one of only two currently known audios of Ethan in Vienna (The other one has more or less disappeared from the trading scene ... I hope to change that!)
(I originally had this review listed for the March 31 audio of Ethan. Upon comparison, I discovered I'd been given the Dallinger one. The tell is ... this is DEFINITELY Hambly-Smith as Raoul. There's enough audios out there of him to compare to. Also in the March audio, there's a cough just before Christine's Think of Me. In the August audio, there's a chair squeak and no cough.)
I now have a newer copy of this that's better quality, so I'm changing the grade (along with the date information lol!)
B
Broadway, September (20? 26?), 1990.
Steve Barton, Rebecca Lurker, Gary Lindemann.
Soundboard recording. Nice and crisp and clear and just the right volume.
This ... this is Steve as he was meant to be heard! Michael Crawford gave Erik a soul, Steve Barton turned him into a dark seducer.
OMG. After many years I finally got the clearer copy I've been wanting. Either someone released out an earlier generation copy to the one I had in my earliest trading days, or someone went to a lot of trouble to clean this up. My only (very very very minor and petty annoyance) in this is that it is very oddly tracked, and I don't remember if my original copy was or not. But for the better sound quality, I shouldn't complain. Just throwing the info out there for anyone wanting to trade for this.
Same old confusion about the date, I've seen this listed as both dates over the last decade of trading.
A
Broadway, November 14?, 1990
Jeff Keller (u/s), Rebecca Luker, Kevin Gray, George Lee Andrews, Marilyn Caskey, Leila Martin, Nicholas F. Saverine, Catherine Ulissey
TRACKED. Analog hiss over the entire recording (not surprising), sound is a little on the low side. Mostly complete - A break in Notes 1, another in All I Ask of You (possibly flip points? Although the second comes so close after the first ...). Also a break in Wandering Child. Prologue starts with "Attached, a figure of a monkey in Persian robes ..."
Question on the date. This audio is also being traded as November 24 (I picked up a copy of that audio and after much comparison I'm convinced they're identical.) I'm leaving my date as is though in my file, just keep the question in mind during trading. There is also a third date that was thrown out on an inactive trader's list around this time frame that might ALSO be the same audio as well, but I'll probably never know for sure, just throwing it out there.
Rare-ish, recording of Gray's Raoul. And WHY was Keller never a principal? He's amazeballs!
B-
Hamburg, Germany, 1991
Nicholas Saverine, Lori Broderick, Simon Tunkin
Often labeled as 'Vienna, Austria', but it's in Hamburg. Nick Saverine filled in for a few weeks. A little confusing because he sings Hamburg lyrics during the Title Song, but Vienna lyrics to MOTN. Audio is by no means perfect, but a listenable, solid B.
Highlights, 70 minutes.
Toronto, 1991?
Colm Wilkinson, Rebecca Caine, Byron Neese
Possibly this is a true copy of the "February 1992" audio that's long been confused with the "March 17, 1991" audio, at any rate, this is *Definitely* a different audio from the one currently being traded as "March 17". I verified by finding audience sounds in one that were not in another (differences in clapping, for example, and audience murmers.)
My "Rebecca Caine Expert" has assured me it is INDEED Rebecca Caine, making this the only confirmed recording of Caine in Toronto. Tons of hiss and some mechanical distortion, possible HSD victim. Given that it's one of only two audios of Colm's run in Toronto, it's such a shame.
C
Broadway, January 2 (?) 1991
Kevin Gray, Karen Culliver, Hugh Panaro
Cassette Transfer.
Problems with the audio. Sounds like it has encountered HSD along the way somewhere, perhaps even in the last copy. There is a break in Note's one between Carlotta's rant and Madame Giry's entrance (flip point on tape one that I received). You don't miss much, but I'd rather warn any traders before hand. There's also a break in the rooftop scene Raoul's line "This phantom is a fable" is gone and then comes back on "Believe me there is no Phantom" etc. Other minor breaks throughout, I think I edited most of them down as much as I could but there's always the possibility I missed a few. Some places are close to inaudible. There's a definite difference in sound quality between the first two thirds of the audio and everything from about halfway through Wishing to the end (where tape two started). The final third of the show is quieter.
Rare recording of Gray on Broadway, rarer with Panaro as Raoul (Think there's only two of those floating around.)
I've seen this with two dates - January 2 and February 1 (Which I think happened due to a confusion between US and UK dating). When I initially transferred it over a decade ago it was merely labeled Broadway, 1991. IDK who gave it the date ... but I'll leave it there with the question mark and explanation.
C
Los Angeles, January 31, 1991
Joseph Dellger (u/s), Dale Kristien, (? Raoul)
VERY short highlights - runs about 45 minutes. Act one is The Mirror through the end of the first Lair, and then the Rooftop Scene. Act 2 is from PONR to the end of the Final Lair.
SEVERE mechanical distortion, but no hiss. If the distortion could be gotten rid of, there's a friggen A quality audio here, the vocals are nearly crystal clear. It makes me pretty mad that someone did this to this audio at some point. Dellger's laugh at the end of Act 1 has to be heard to be believed.
Would love to know who the Raoul is, if only just to *know*.
........ There would normally be a grade here, but I honestly don't know WHAT grade to give this one?
Toronto, March 17, 1991 (?)
Colm Wilkinson, Glenda Balkan(?)
The date and supporting cast of this audio have been debated off and on for over a decade now. I am well aware there will always be questions, however to expedite things I'm leaving the file labeled with the date above. It has also been traded off and on with a date in February 1992. We'll just never know for sure at this point.
Most people label this as Rebecca Caine. I sent it to someone who has a MUCH better ear than I do, and who is a complete nut over anything by Rebecca Caine. She assures me that it is *NOT* Caine. (To put it this way, before sending her this one I must have sent her about ten other tracks that were supposed to be Rebecca Caine and she identified all of them for me WITHOUT me telling her who she was hearing.) I'm pretty sure about it being Glenda Balkan, but since I can not 100 percent verify it not being Teresa DeZarn, I'm leaving the question mark. Besides, I'm sure there are plenty of traders who'd disagree with my labeling on this one given how many discrepancies have already surrounded this audio just in the ten years or so since I first had it.
Still, for the age, very good sound. Someone near the taper talked at some very inopportune moments though, very annoying.
B+
Hamburg, May 19, 1991
Hartwig Rudolz (alt.), Renee Knapp (alt.), Scott Gregory (u/s), Horst Gross, Wolfgang Beigel, Joan-Marie Zimmermann (alt.), Ruth Hale,
Clarence Carter (u/s), Lucy Potter
Highlights, many things missing early in act one (No prologue, Hannibal, Angel of Music, most of Little Lotte gone just to note a few). Analogue hiss and mic rubbing noises, also a little heavy on the bass during heavy percussive parts. A little quiet in parts. The vocals at the beginning of "Magical Lasso" are almost inaudible.
Rudolz is another in a line of impressive Hamburg Phantom Understudies. His voice reminds me a bit of Tim Tobin.
On the rarer side
C+
Hamburg July 27, 1991
Tim Tobin (u/s), Silvia Krüger (u/s), Thomas Schulze (u/s). Scott Gregory (u/s), Wolfgang Beigel, Tina Thompson (u/s), Ruth Hale, Eduardo Brousard, Lucy Potter
Missing Prologue, Hannibal + Carlotta´s Think Of Me, and Little Lotte, One of only two audios of Tobin's Phantom, and probably the better of the two, as well as being the more complete. Only audio of Schulze as Raoul.
B
Stockholm, Sweeden, September 22, 1991
Mikael Samuelson, Inger Olsson Moberg, Bengt Nordfors (?)
Soundboard. Remastered by MaskedLion. Originally analog and it shows, some remanents of hiss when I jack up the volume (which I have to, it's mildly quiet), in the quiet parts it's more noticible. Also has the attempted removal of the hiss (noticed mostly in MOTN.) Otherwise though, the noise removal worked, because it's only remanants. There's a nice clear audio underneath.
Possibly rare, I haven't seen this floating around, and after checking some old sites, it wasn't floating around during my first trading run either unless it was unlisted. (Just figured out why I haven't seen it before. It's a soundboard audio ripped from a monitor video. Hmm. Now I want this monitor video!)
A-
Vienna, October 6, 1991
Nicholas Saverine, Luzia Nistler, Thorsten Tinney
Highlights. Clear audio, volume could be a little higher on it but at least there's no overload. Very minor hiss in places, sounds like it could have been mono at some point in it's life.
OMG. Saverine is one of my Phantom Gods.
B
Broadway, October 28, 1991
Mark Jacoby, Karen Culliver, Hugh Panaro, David Hunerjäger, Rick Hilsabeck, Patricia Hurd, Marilyn Caskey, Donn Cook, Patricia Ward
Act I is soundboard and Act II is good quality audience. The soundboard isn’t hooked up to all microphones equally; and for this reason you can hear many things you don’t normally hear live: Christine’s nervous breathing before ToM, Meg’s comments after the gala.
Sounds like it might have encountered HSD somewhere along the way - either that or everyone has very high voices and the tempo was running faster than what I'd think of as normal. The audio runs 1 hr 54 minutes so either more's missing than I remember or it's the attack of the HSD. Many tracks have a 'pause' in the first few seconds (could this be what happens when you rip an audio with 3 second pauses??? My original review of this mentioned "some minor skips between tracks.)
A faint mechanical undertone "humming" in act 1. Act 2 missing most of the Entr'acte (which does not account for a full 10 minutes ...)
B
Vienna, November 17, 1991
Andrew Hambley-Smith (U/S?), Janet Chvatal, Thorsten Tinney, Jack Poppell, Dennis Kozeluln, Linda Healy, Diana Bennett.
Cassette Transfer. VERY short highlights, mostly Phantom's parts only – Starts at the Mirror. Act two is pretty much only from Point of No Return through the Lair. The lair is broken into 5 tracks (Did I *really* do that?? What was I thinking 10 years ago when I transferred this??)
For it's age, this audio is GORGEOUSLY clear (if it were not for a few whispers here and there, I'd wonder if it were soundboard.) Probably one of the best quality audience recordings to come out of the original Vienna run.
Runs just under 44 minutes.
Back in the day, this was rediculously rare ... need to change that!
The only known recording of Hambley-Smith as the Phantom.
A
Australia, December (16 or 29?) 1991? (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Maree Johnson, Dale Burridge
One of only two recordings of Anthony Warlow in the role of The Phantom from the original Aussie production. Voices are often faint in the speech-only sections of the performance and also background hiss all the way through, not surprising though considering this and the other early Warlow audio were likely both done on an analog recorder. Over the years there have been questions about whether this was 1990 or 1991 - both dates were in wide use for the same audio back in my early trade days. Doubt we'll ever have the answer in a definite form so I'll leave the question mark. Also this has been traded at some point as December 16 or December 29, but they're ALL the same audio. Back in my early trade days they were typically labeled as only December, but I'm throwing the full range of dates out there.
B-
Vienna, Austria, December 13(?) 1991
Alexander Goebel, Colleen Besett, Andrew Hambly-Smith
Soundboard. Starts with the warning that recording devices are not allowed. A very good and clear recording. Slight analog hiss if you turn the volume up high. Some electronic fuzz approximately 5:35 into the 11th track of Act One (during the ballet) and three times into track 13 of Act One (during All I Ask of You) - lasts less than 2 seconds each time.
About the date. Back in the day, this was labeled Vienna, 1991. Many of the old Vienna audios didn't have an exact date. So I honestly don't know if someone assigned a date, someone got a hold of an early trader and got dates out of them, or what. The metadata on this says Vienna, 1991 ... I'll leave it with the extra info on my list, and the file you download will reflect that date ... but just know I'm not 100% sure about it.
A
Vienna, Austria, December 15, 1991
Alexander Goebel, Janet Chvatal (u/s), Andrew Hambley-Smith, Robin Lee, Dennis Kozeluh, Horst Reek, Felicitas Morawitz, Sergio Lombano, Alexandra Young
Highlights, Phantom-oriented, about 45 minutes long.
For the age, awesome quality. Almost no analog hiss, no signs of HSD, no signs of generation loss ... just wow.
For anyone who's ever listened to the OVC recording - Goebel's beginning of the title song - I'd always wondered if he did it the same way live, because he's one of a few that comes on very quiet for the first verse he sings ... and yes, in these early Vienna audios he did :-)
Please see notes about the date on the Vienna, December 13, 1991 audio
A
London, December 21, 1991
Peter Polycarpou, Shona Lindsey, John Barrowman, Michael Bauer, Julie Goss, Sally Smith
Originally analog, there's still some hiss present. Possibly a victim of HSD ...
B
US Tour, December 29, 1991 (Denver, CO)
Randal Keith (u/s), Sarah Pfisterer, Nat Chandler
A bit heavy on the bass. Pfisterer sounds like a chipmunk at points, making me think this met with some HSD along the way. Missing a small bit of Magical Lasso - the first line and a half, likely a flip point.
B-
Australia, 1992? (Melbourne)
Rob Guest, Maree Johnson, Dale Burridge
ACT II ONLY.
This audio came to me with a question on the date. I know I've seen this traded around with the 1992? date for years so I know there's no way to know for sure.
At any rate ... a bit of analog hiss, but I'm not detecting signs of HSD so that's a plus.
B
London, 1992 (01)
Peter Karrie, Shona Lindsay, John Barrowman
Some analog hiss, but a nice clear audio lies under it.
B
London, 1992 (02)
Peter Karrie, Shona Lindsay, Simon Burke, Michael Bauer, Mark Wynter, Sandra Dugdale, Sally Smith, ?, Ramon Remedios
Soundboard. Strange mechanical distortion - reminds me of a very bad de-hissing job. Which is a shame because I can hear that there's an A quality underneath it ... but I can't give it an A with that distortion.
B
Vienna, 1992
Nicholas Saverine, Janet Chvatal (alt), Thorsten Tinney (alt), Dietrich Hergt, Horst Reeh (u/s), Linda Healy (alt), Diana Bennett, Sergio Lombana, Alexandra Young-Schmidt
The only complete recording of Janet Chvatal's Christine. Has the analog hiss throughout, and some mechanical noise. Also a bit of overload on the higher notes. Some volume issues. However, these issues don't affect me being able to understand what is being said/sung as it does in the August Ethan Freeman audio out of Vienna.
B
Vienna, January 22, 1992
Nicholas Saverine, Luzia Nistler, Thorsten Tinney (alt), Dennis Kozeluh (u/s), Jack Poppell, Robin Lee, Diana Bennett, Vittorio Giammarrusco (u/s), Alexandra Young-Schmidt
Analog hiss, and some mild mechanical noise (barely there on the latter). If this were a much later audio, the grade would be lower.
B-
Vienna, February 29, 1992
Alexander Goebel, Colleen Besett, Andrew Hambly-Smith
Analog hiss, some overload on the loud parts. Still, given the age, it's in solid shape.
B+
London, March 18, 1992
James Graeme (u/s), Lisa Hull, John Barrowman
Cassette Transfer. Very little analog hiss. You can hear Barrowman's "Christine, NO!" during the kiss. Missing bits and pieces throughout.
Rare – The only known audio of Graeme as the Phantom
A-
Hamburg, April 1992
Tim Tobin (U/S), Renée Knapp, Scott Gregory
Nice and clear though I know it had to be originally analog. A little heavy on the bass at times though. Includes the exit music.
Highlights 70mins
B+
US Tour, June 26, 1992 (Philadelphia, PA)
Kevin Gray, Dodie Petit (alt), Keith Buterbaugh
If fate had been kind, this would have been the first time I saw Phantom ...
Standard older audio ... quite a bit of hiss, some bass overload. Not the best sound quality - although if Phantom played at the Forrest Theatre in the 90's like it did in the early 2000's, the accoustics there are horrible to begin with (I have first hand knowledge.)
However, a recording of a (soon to be?) married Phantom/Christine pairing is hard to turn away.
Wonder if this was made by whoever made the video on the same date?
C
Broadway, August 1992
Marc Jacoby, LuAnn Aronson, Hugh Panaro, Paul Laureano, Jeff Keller, Patrice Pickering, Marilyn Caskey, Gary Rideout, Catherine Ulyssies
(On the quiet side and slightly muffled. - Did I really write this years ago when I first heard this audio? Maybe someone along the way played with the volume because I know there's no way my hearing has improved.-) Some minor bits of the first “Notes” missing at flip points. Entr’acte also missing
One of only two known recordings of Jacoby and only three of Panaro as Raoul.
B
Hamburg, November 28, 1992
(Thomas Schulze? Raymond Sepe?), Renée Knapp, Scott Gregory
Soundboard. A little heavy on the bass (notable during the title sequence) but otherwise a nice audio, very clear
There is some question in my mind about the identity of the Phantom. Many years back I traded for this labeled with Thomas Schulze as the Phantom. I'd since lost my original copy and re-traded for it to discover this discrepancy. Since so much time has passed and I have no clue who I originally got this audio from, I have no clue who to believe is the Phantom. Both are definite possibilities for the time period.
The track info, however, does list it as Sepe. Not knowing who tracked and tagged it though ...
A-
Hamburg, 1993
Jeffery Reynolds (u/s), Deborah Dutcher (u/s)
Highlights, runs about 70 minutes (Seems to be a theme for Hamburg highlights audios?) Nice clear sound near to soundboard quality.
A
Scheveningen, Netherlands, 1993
Ben Cramer (u/s), Els Bongers, Hans Peter Janssens
Typical analog hiss. Slightly on the quiet side - it's audible if I jack the volume all the way up and am listening somewhere quiet. At least there's no distortion.
B
US Tour, 1993 (Pittsburgh, PA)
Franc D'Ambrosio, Tracy Shayne, Ciaran Sheehan
Highlights, runs just under 50 minutes. Pretty much the Phantom's parts only. I really REALLY wish someone had noted a better date, but if the location is right I'd put it between July-September (as there IS an audio from August with the understudy). But we'll never know for sure *Sigh*. Only known audio of D'Ambrosio from the tour. Analog hiss, possible HSD, but it's still listenable.
The last two tracks (Final Lair) are a different quality than the rest of the audio ... I highly suspect that they were edited in from another recording.
B
Vienna, April 11, 1993
Ernst D. Suttheimer, Joke de Kruifj, Thorsten Tinney, Jack Poppell, Peter Vorweg, Helene Tintes, Valda Aviks, Vittorio Giammarrusco, Linda Healy, Alexandra Young-Schmidt
Soundboard. One of the best Phantom recordings quality wise from this time that I've heard. A small amount of analog hiss from the transfer. In some tracks, the audio is skewed to the left channel - there IS audio in the right channel, but it's VERY low. This does not happen in all tracks, which is odd ... example is that the title song, MOTN, have proper audio in both, but the AIAOY reprise, Wandering Child, do not.
A-
Vienna, May 18, 1993
Alfred Pfeifer (u/s), Joke de Kruijf, Thorsten Tinney, Peter Vorwerg, Jack Poppell, Valda Aviks, Felicitas Morawitz, Vittorio Giammarrusco, Alexandra Young-Schmidt
A fair amount of analog hiss. Which is a shame because there is a perfect quality audio under that hiss - I can *HEAR* it.
OMG. In the title song, Pfeifer comes in nice and soft instead of overbearing during his first line, just like Goebel does ... LOVELY!!!
B+
Vienna, June 26, 1993
Ernst D. Suttheimer, Luzia Nistler, Thorsten Tinney
Has that 'recorded in a tin can' sound to it. Some hiss, but otherwise clear. Some overpowering bass on loud bits.
Suttheimer sounds very different from the other audio I have of him ... but that could be due to the fact I suspect the other encountered HSD (there's something funny about the tempo on that one.)
A-
Vienna, June 27, 1993
Alfred Pfeifer, Colleen Besett, Thorsten Tinney, Jack Poppell, Peter Vorwerg, Valda Aviks, Felicitas Morawitz,Vittorio Giammarrusco (u/s), Alexandra Young-Schmidt
Soundboard. Awesome quality, almost cast-recording quality. Very small amount of hiss - barely noticible unless you jack the volume up the way I tend to. Pfeifer's interpretation in places reminds me of Alexander Goebel.
A
Los Angeles, August 16, 1993
Davis Gaines, Karen Culliver, Michael Piontek
Analog hiss, that high sound that makes me think HSD.
B
Broadway, August 23, 1993
Marcus Lovett, LuAnn Aronson, Keith Butterbaugh
Definitely one of the better early Broadway recordings as far as audio quality. Very clear for it's age. There is an odd echo-y quality about it, and a small amount of hiss.
A
Los Angeles, August 28, 1993
Davis Gaines, Dale Kristen, Michael Piontek, Leigh Munro, Norman Large, Calvin Remsberg, Barbara Lang, Gualtiero Negrini, Elizabeth Stringer
SOUNDBOARD. Next to last day of the LA production (after over 1700 performances), includes speeches at the end noting that. ALW makes an appearance. Possibly ripped from the monitor video of the same date (that may have been mislabeled multiple times over the years.)
Full show video also available of this performance.
A
US Tour, August 31, 1993 (Pittsburgh, PA 3NT)
William R. Park (u/s), Tracy Shayne, Ciarán Sheehan
Missing the end of "Stranger Than You Dreamt It" and almost all of "Magical Lasso." In Act 2, missing most of the insanity after the unmasking. Fair amount of analog hiss, but given the age of this recording, not unexpected. I'd honestly rather have the hiss issue than the HSD issues which thankfully this audio does NOT seem to have!
B
UK Tour, November 16, 1993 (Manchester)
Dave Willets, Lisa Hull, Mike Sterling, Alan Rice, Simon Green, Valda Aviks, Veronica Page, Lucy Potter, Geoffry Pogson
Gorgeous audio with amazing leads. Willets here reminded me a bit of Franc D'Ambrosio – in Wandering Child, he sings "Far from my fathering gaze" in stead of "Far-reaching gaze" . . . I like. Very smooth voice overall. Very rare audio of Willets on tour – possibly the only one. Why aren't there more audios of this man? Sterling's “Idiot, you'll kill someone!” right after telling him to "shoot, only if you have to, but shoot to kill," was hilarious in my book.
A-
London, February 7, 1994
Ethan Freeman, Claire Moore (alt?), Clive Carter, Mark Wynter, Gareth Jones, Paula Bott, Patricia Cope, Ramon Remedios
Good solid sounding audio for the time period (Is this a soundboard?)
I have two audios taken two days apart with much the same cast - except the Christine. I'm not sure which of the two was the alternate or understudy or whatever, so I'm leaving both with the description and question mark.
A
London, February 9, 1994
Ethan Freeman, Jill Washington (alt?), Clive Carter, Mark Wynter, Gareth Jones, Paula Bott, Patricia Cope, Ramon Remedios
Another beautifully clear early audio of Ethan Freeman (oh how I WISH the Vienna ones of him were this good!) There is a slight mechanical noise, which is most likely the remanent of a hiss cleaning.
I have two audios taken two days apart with much the same cast - except the Christine. I'm not sure which of the two was the alternate or understudy or whatever, so I'm leaving both with the description and question mark.
A
Broadway, March 1994(?)
Marcus Lovett, Tracy Shayne, Ciaran Sheehan, George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller, Elena Jeanne Batman, Kristina Marie Guiguet, Frederic Heringes, Tener Brown
Either this is a generation loss victim, a HSD victim, or the original taper had the recorder in their pocket with the mic covered for parts of the show. Given the lack of contact noise associated with the later, my money is on one of the former.
Muffled sound in parts, some mechanical noise. Some overload in the loud parts. Also someone near the taper who talks at times (actually says "What the heck?" very clearly during the first stanza of the title song.
Back during my early trading days, I had this audio but with March 1995 listed as the date.
B
San Francisco, March 27, 1994
Davis Gaines, Lisa Vroman, Raymond Saar
Extended Highlights - runs 1 hr 25 minutes.
I take back what I said about the Chris Carl audio being the clearest out of San Francisco ... this one beats it for clarity. Where was this taper later in the run after D'Ambrosio took over the role??
VERY minor amount of hiss, almost not even there. However, the audio IS on the quiet side - I've got it jacked all the way up to make things out. Still, that's not enough to make me down the grade.
A
Scheveningen, Netherlands, March 27(?), 1994
Henk Poort, Joke De Kruijf, Peter De Smet, Wiebke Göetjes, Peter Bording, Nico Schaap, Margaret Roest, Adriaan van Limpt, Natasha Knight
I've seen this listed as both March 27 and March 21, with people listing "this is the correct date" for both. So I'll leave the question mark.
A
Hamburg, May 10, 1994
Thomas Schulze, Carla Nicholson, Raymond Sepe, Reinhard Schulze, Venn Derby, Rebecca Sherbourn, Lesley Windsor, Marcello Ronchietto, Gabriella Nicholson
HIGHLIGHTS - runs between 85-90 minutes. Minimal amount of hiss, but there's this sound that keeps creeping up ... that makes me think a previous trader had scratched CD's. It's in both acts, so it's not just a matter of one disk, and that might not be what I'm hearing ... just what it makes me think of sound wise. Underneath those 'scratches' is a solid A quality audio, but with them I can't give it an A.
B
US Tour, May 21, 1994 (Nashville, TN)
Grant Norman, Sylvia Rhyne, Fred Jones (u/s)
Muffled sound. Sounds like someone tried to clean this one up at some point ... but definitely not the best clean up job. The audience was obviously very receptive to the show - an example is applause at the beginning of the title song.
B
London, June 16, 1994
Ethan Freeman, Claire Moore, Clive Carter
Mechanical hiss and track skipping (for lack of a better description.) There are much better quality audios of this trio ...
Although if anyone has a better quality I'd be interested. I can hear that there's a solid audio there, but the issues make it difficult to listen for long.
C
US Tour, August 20, 1994 (Costa Mesa, CA)
Grant Norman, Adrienne McEwan, John Schroeder
Ohh, sounds like someone got hold of an early generation on this one. Some very MINOR analog hiss. There is some slight skipping in the beginning of Wandering Child.
A
London, September 30, 1994
Ethan Freeman, Jill Washington, Simon Bowman, Mark Wynter, Gareth Jones, Paula Bott, Patricia Cope, Huw Priday
Another solid London audio (why did I think they were all lower quality than this?)
A
London, October 27, 1994
Mark Wynter (u/s), Claire Moore (alt.), Simon Bowman, David Pendlebury (u/s), Gareth Jones, Paula Bott, Patricia Cope, Jeffrey Cresswell (u/s), Marina Stevenson
Very difficult audio to grade, originally came with a C+ from the previous trader, but I think I'm going to have to give it a split grade. Reason follows: There are parts of this audio that are very, VERY clear. Then in other portions the audio quality drops. Intermittent coughing throughout. Muffled mic movement noise in places. Probably bits missing around the flip points. Missing the end of the final lair, cuts off just before Raoul and Christine's "Say you'll share with me . . ." as they're leaving in the boat.
Quite possibly the only audio of Wynter as the Phantom.
If anyone has a COMPLETE copy of Act II, I'm interested.
B+ / C+
Broadway, December 14, 1994
Davis Gaines, Tracy Shayne, Ciarán Sheehan, Richard Warren Pugh (u/s), George Lee Andrews (u/s), Melody Johnson (u/s)
Some analog hiss (to be expected) and slight overload on louder parts. Given it's age though it's in great shape.
B+
Hamburg, December 17, 1994
Jeffrey Reynolds (u/s), Colby Thomas, Jörg Westerkamp, Reinhard Schulze, Venn Derby, Kay Montgomery, Lesley Windor, Marshall Cooper, Sophia Roube, Nicholas Dunbar
One of two currently known audios of Reynolds as Phantom.
Some minor issues - a scratching sound (possibly from the source disk), some minor overload, minimal hiss.
Given it's age though ...
A
UK Tour, 1995 (Manchester)
Mark McKerracher, Nikki Ankara, Mike Sterling, Sandra Dugdale, Alan Rice, Paul Bently, Janet Cowley, Lorraine Chappell, Adrian Martin
Soundboard. Originally analog at one point, but you can barely tell . . . there's almost no hiss at all, but the audio is a tad quiet . . . not too quiet, but not with the overpowering bass. Almost close to a cast recording in quality.
A-
World Tour 1995 (Singapore)
Peter Karrie, Sylvia Rhyne, John Ruess, Thomas Grocez, Alex Fallis, Leigh Munro, Gloria Parker, Peter Cormican, Diana (Kaarina) Wong
Billed as the Far East Tour. This is definitely not complete - Wandering Child is missing.
Some analog hiss (no surprise), but a decent audio underneath.
If the location is indeed correct, this was recorded sometime prior to June of 1995, as the tour moved to Hong Kong in June.
B
World Tour, 1995 (Hong Kong)
Peter Karrie, LuAnn Aronson, John Ruess,Thomas Grocez, Alex Fallis, Leigh Munro, Gloria Parker, Peter Cormican, Diana Wong
If this is Hong Kong, the date is definitely June or later of 1995. Runs just under 1 hour. Sound is pretty decent, I expected worse from my vague recollections of old reviews of this audio.
Highlights.
US Tour, 1995 (Hartford, CT)
Thomas James O'Leary, Susan Facer (u/s), John Schroeder
Some analog hiss. Earliest known audio of O'Leary.
A
US Tour, February 26, 1995 (San Antonio, 3NT)
Thomas Schumacher (u/s), Diane Fratantoni (maybe Susan Facer), John Schroeder, Marilyn Caskey (Carlotta), Ray Friedeck (Piangi)
I've seen this listed as both Thomas James O'Leary and Thomas Cunningham, but it's not either one. (Between Cunningham's trademark "Mother's fear and loathing" and O'Leary's accent on that line, I've been able to discern this.) Schumacher has been on the tour numerous times, including two stints in the 1990's. There will be links to articles showing this in the audio's info file for further information.
Now the audio ... yep. Analog hiss, some distortion from possible HSD. Still listenable, however, and and rare in the fact it's the only known audio of Schumacher from his 1994-1996 run as Phantom understudy. Would love a definite answer on Christine's identity though.
B-
London, March 20, 1995
Ethan Freeman, Megan Kelly, Simon Bowman
Act 1 only. Darn shame because it's a beautiful audio with very little analog hiss.
A
Broadway, May 18, 1995
Davis Gaines, Laurie Gayle Stephenson (alt), Brad Little, George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller, Lelia Martin (Giry)
Great quality for an audio that was originally analog (I can barely tell, almost no hiss, no mechanical noise, absolutely beautiful sound!), but HORRIBLE indexing – all of act one after Prima Donna is on CD 2 instead of where it belongs, on CD 1. CD two is nearly 50 tracks! *Rolls eyes*. Someone didn't know how to do track marks, I think. There aren't many recordings out there of Brad Little's Raoul - and likely none near the quality of this one. So if you can get past the weird indexing, it's worth having just for the chance to hear him.
A-
UK Tour, June 21, 1995 (Manchester)
Paul Monaghan (u/s), Nikki Ankarra, Richard Burman, Alan Rice (u/s), Paul Bentley, Sandra Dugdale
B
UK Tour, July 3(?), 1995 (Manchester?)
Mark McKerracher, Sarah Ryan, Richard Burman (u/s)
Definitely a different performance from the other two McKerracher recordings I own, but it's definitely McKerracher here. Note 100% sure on the date being exact - the file only stated a 1995 date, but previous trader's site had this date, so I'll leave it with a question mark. Also not sure on the Manchester label - it's only a best guess. One thing to note - this is before they brought the "London Trio" to the UK tour (which happened around 1996). Quality wise, no where near as good as the 1995 soundboard. Analog hiss and mild generation loss, but I don't think it's an HSD victim.
B
London July 15, 1995
Ethan Freeman, Jill Washington, Simon Bowman, Kevin Wainwright, Mark Wynter, Paula Blott
Freeman’s Last London Show Originally analog, so some hiss, and occasionally a little quiet. Scratchiness over multiple tracks - not all though. Act 1's quality seems different from Act 2, so I'm giving it a split grade. Missing "I Remember" in Act One at least. I'm guessing here, but this might have had 3 second pauses during it's life on CD. Small bits missing between some tracks.
B/C
Toronto August 25, 1995
Ciarán Sheehan, Glenda Balkan, Laird Mackintosh
Some analog hiss (not unexpected for the time frame) but not as bad as I thought it'd be.
B
US Tour, September 3, 1995 (Dallas, TX)
Randal Keith (u/s), Rita Harvey, Lawrence Anderson
Opening night in Dallas. Cuts from "Make your choice" to Christine and Raoul in the boat during the Final Lair scene. This has gone through hiss reduction, but there's still a fair amount of hiss at the quieter parts.
B-
US Tour, October 29, 1995 (San Diego, CA)
Rick Hilsabeck, Sarah Pfisterer, Nat Chandler (?), David Cryer
Quite a bit of analog hiss, otherwise decent sound quality for the time period.
B
Hamburg, November 25, 1995
Michael Nicholson, Carla Nicholson, Paul Matsumoto
Cassette Transfer - Highlights. Very good sound for the fact it's an analog transfer. Minimal analog hiss and very little generation loss.
Each act runs between 40-45 minutes. Michael Nicholson's Phantom is rather good, and matched against his wife Carla's Christine . . . wow. That amazing chemistry you expect from a husband-wife duo. Rare audio of the Nicholson's together.
B+
Basel, Switzerland, 1996
In English. (This production alternated between English and German for performances.)
Florian Schneider, Kimilee Bryant, Chris Lynn (u/s), Sally Williams (Giry). Frederic Heringues (Piangi)
Some interference noise here and there in the first act...but nothing major. The music box that is 'still in working order' doesn't play during the prologue because someone was asleep at the keyboard, and Lynn muddles the opening lyrics to 'All I Ask of You'. Anyone know the date or the rest of the cast? I know that this production ran from 10/12/95 to 7/27/97. Need to re-listen to this as I have since obtained a CD copy to replace my cassette, so review may not be completely accurate.
A-
Basel, Switzerland, 1996?
In German. (This production alternated between English and German)
Florian Schneider, Ute Baum, Bjorn Olsson
Has also been traded under the date July 2, 1997 (possibly February 7, 1997) in a "two tracks per act" version, but they're the same audio - same *exact* track damage in Wandering Child. (Basically Wandering Child cuts in and out with silence.) This one is the better quality, however. But, there's a chance that the 1997 date is actually the correct date for this. I know years ago the 1996 date was in heavy use, however.
I now have another date to add: October 20, 1996. I recently traded for this, only to find it's the exact same audio all over again. Same damage in Wandering Child.
A little heavy on the bass in louder parts. There is track damage during Wandering Child - it keeps ... skipping is the only word I can come up to describe this. Being a digitized track it should not do this, but it does. VERY disappointing because I love that track. *Sigh*. Rarer of the two known bootlegs of Schneider as Phantom.
B
Hamburg, January 21, 1996 (matinee)
Dale Tracy (u/s), Carla Nicholson, Jorg Westerkaup, Reinhard Schulze, Lyle Garrett,
Laurie Ann McGowen, Ellen Bullinger, Clarence Carter, Gabrielle Nicholson, Bernard Julius (M. Reyer), Johathan Guss (Don Attilio), Florian Giertzuch (Auctioneer), Eberhard Neitzel (Lefevre), Peter Graham (Buquet)
Highlights - runs about 83 minutes. VERY quiet - I had to jack the volume up as loud as I could get it to go to be able to hear this. A lot of intermittent mic contact noise. Sounds like it might have fallen victim to high speed dubbing along the way somewhere.
Seriously though, if you want to hear Dale Tracy as Phantom, go for the March 1996 (?) audio. Much bettery quality. I'd call this one for the serious trader only.
C
UK Tour, February 17, 1996 (Edinburgh)
Mark McKerracher, Carmen Cusack (u/s), Andrew Halliday, Anthony Raffell, Paul Monaghan, Dante Holst, Samantha Young (u/s), Adrian Martin, Amanda Light
HORRIBLE sound quality. Audio is low to begin with, tons of hiss and analog noises. Sounds like it might have encountered HSD along the way. Don't think there's too many audios of Carmen Cusack's Christine out there. But if you're looking for an audio of Mark McKerracher, go for the 1995 soundboard.
D
London, March 21, 1996
Grant Norman, Nikki Ankara, Simon Bowman, Kevin Wainwright (Firman), Mark Wynter (Andre), Valda Aviks (Carlotta), Evette Davis (Mme Giry), Huw Priday (Piangi), Katherine Fletcher (Meg)
Cassette Transfer – Highlights. Runs about an hour and 25 minutes.
Analog hiss, but there's a solid audio under here. This had to have been recorded close to the stage, you hear things I'm not used to hearing.
B
Hamburg, March 31, 1996(?)
Dale Tracy (alt.), Susan Derry (u/s), Scott Gregory (alt.), Michael Starrs, Reinhard Schulze (u/s), Vera Borisova (u/s), Pamela Laurent, Colenton Freeman, Gabriela Nicholson
Nice clear audio out of Hamburg, very little overload and nearly no hiss.
Some confusion on the date. I've seen this traded with the same cast info and same date/month but with the year 1997.
A
London, April 13, 1996
Grant Norman, Nikki Ankara, Philip Rowe (u/s)
Somewhat quiet with loads of hiss. Still listenable though, which just barely saves it from a C grade.
B-
Scheveningen, Netherlands, August 2, 1996
Henk Poort, Els Bongers, Peter De Smet, Nico Schaap (Firmin), Wiebke Goetjes (Carlotta)
*Last* performance in Holland for the public. (The very last performance was by invitation only.) Typical analog issues, namely hiss, but no signs of HSD. Overall for the age this is in good shape.
B+
Hamburg, August 9, 1996
Thomas Schulze, Colby Thomas, Jörg Westerkamp
Bass overload at the loud bits. Analog hiss. But underneath there's a good solid audio.
B
Broadway September 25, 1996
Davis Gaines, Tracy Shayne, Matthew R. Jones, Elena Jane Batman, George Lee Andrews,
Jeff Keller, Leila Martin, Tener Brown, Frederic Hughes
Assuming the date is correct, very close to the end of Gaine's run as the Phantom on Broadway. And if the cast list is correct (and I have no reason to think otherwise) this JUST solved the mystery of who was Raoul in Gaines's final performance on Broadway for me!
As for the audio itself, decent quality, some analog hiss but not much. Tracked VERY oddly.
A-
Sydney, Australia September 27, 1996
Rob Guest, Danielle Everett, John Bowles
Final show in Sydney before the production moved to Perth. Includes speeches. Decent sound for the time, some analog hiss but not overpowering.
B
Broadway, October 5, 1996
Davis Gaines, Tracy Shayne, Matthew R. Jones, George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller, Lelia Martin (Giry?)
Audio is a little low and there's a mechanical noise throughout. Gaines' last performance as the Phantom; includes speeches at the end. My old copy had 3 second pauses - not sure if that transfers from CD to mp3 or not.
This audio has been traded around for years with either Brad Little or Gary Mauer alternately listed as Raoul. It is NOT either one of them.
Audio will include three bonus tracks from other audios - an All I Ask Of You comparison if you will, as to how I determined it was Matthew R. Jones. Further comments available in an info file included with the audio.
B-
Broadway, October 14, 1996
Jeff Keller (u/s.), Teri Bibb (Alt), Gary Mauer, George Lee Andrews, Lelia Martin
I can tell this was an analog at some point in it's life, there's a minor amount of hiss but not too much. Obviously someone took great care in transferring it.
Probably the earliest recording of Gary Mauer as Raoul.
I'm beginning to wonder if the date is correct – Davis Gaines left the Broadway production on or around October 5, and O'Leary took over on October 11 . . . I'm positive though that if the date is incorrect, it's in between that time period. It just seems strange to me to have an understudy Phantom on stage only three days into the run of a new Phantom? However, not knowing circumstances, etc ...
B
Hamburg 1997
Shuler Hensley, Colby Thomas, Ray Gabbard, Kenneth Posey, Anders Sohlman, Jeanne Bruggeman, Ellen Bullinger, Thomas Bayer, Carrie Stewart, Bernhard Julius, Florian Giertzuch, Peter Graham, Werner Kaus, Jonathan Guss
Lovely quality for its age. Hensley is a very impressive Phantom, though his pronunciation of German leaves something to be desired, lovely lovely voice and psychopathic at all the right moments. Bruggeman for some reason, thinks that toads should quack instead of croak.
A
Toronto, February 1, 1997
Laird Mackintosh (u/s), (Christine ?), Brian C. Duyn (u/s)
Some discrepancy amongst traders as to whether it's Glenda Balkan or Teresa DeZarn as Christine - the meta data lists Glenda though.
Some mic contact noise here and there. Some parts of this are almost insanely clear, others are muffled. Perusing my old reviews of audios out of Toronto, this shouldn't surprise me though.
B
US Tour, February 15, 1997 (Denver, CO)
Craig Schulman, Susan Owen (alt), Lawrence Anderson, Patricia Hurd (?),
TJ Meyers (?), Ian Jon Bourg, Olga Talyn, Donn Cook (?), Jennifer Dawn Stillings
Some analog hiss, But there's a decent quality audio underneath that.
B+
London, February 24, 1997
Simon Bowman, Megan Kelly, Alasdair Harvey, Kevin Wainwright (Firmin), Mark Wynter (Andre), Jasna Ivir (Carlotta), Evette Davis (Giry), Richard Poraebrook (Piangi), Janos Kurucz (Buquet), Amanda Light (Meg)
Cassette Transfer. Audio is a little muffled, some analog hiss, but otherwise in good condition. There is a bit of mechanical noise in the quiet parts.
B
US Tour, April 6, 1997 (Atlanta)
Ian Jon Bourg (u/s), Sandra Joseph, Lawrence Anderson, T.J. Meyers, Roger Befeler (u/s André)
Good sound with a very minor amount of analog hiss. Some small bits missing around the flip points.
A-
US Tour, April 19, 1997 (Kansas City, MO)
Brad Little, Tamra Hayden (alt), Jason Pebworth
HIGHLIGHTS, runs just over 31 minutes long. Basically it's Act one from "Your number sir, thank you. Lot 663 then, gentlemen" in the Prologue, to the first line of the second verse of the title song (just as Brad starts singing). So basically if you're looking at this for Brad Little's Phantom, you'll get very little of that out of it (the Mirror and some Bravi's). However, it might be the only recording of Hayden's Christine.
A bit of hiss present, but there's a decent quality audio underneath it.
B
US Tour, May 12, 1997 (Cleveland? Atlanta?)
Craig Schulman, Sandra Joseph, Lawrence Anderson, TJ Meyers, Ian Jon Bourg, Patricia Hurd, Olga Talyn, Donn Cook, Jennifer Dawn Stillings
Nice clear audio, almost sounds digital. No hiss. There's an odd echo quality to it, but that's probably the theatre's acoustics.
I originally received this as being from Cleveland. I've seen it listed as Atlanta. I've got it from a reputable trader who lives near Cleveland that the tour was there with this approximate cast between April 17 and June 7, 1997 and that she saw it in that time period, so I'm relabeling it as Cleveland.
A
Toronto, Canada, June 5, 1997
Ethan Freeman, Margaret Ann Gates (u/s), Laird Mackintosh
Very strange tracking - act 1 is three tracks, though it's nearly all - missing a portion of the Prologue - there. Act 2 is again, nearly all there, but is only 5 tracks. In fact the first track is nearly half the act.
The quality, like the tracking, is all over the place. There are a very few moments where things are clear, but time has taken it's toll on this audio. Even with cleaning, I doubt it'd ever be better than a low B.
C
US Tour, June 22, 1997 (Sacramento)
Brad Little, Jessica Henson (u/s), Jason Pebworth (?)
My first thought ... THIS is from the 90's? It's so ... CLEAR! Almost sounds like a digital recording (I *know* it's possible it's just so darn few traders seemed to USE anything digital back then, everyone wanted cassettes ... This might be one of the earliest full recordings of Brad's Phantom? Also, doesn't sound like Pebworth, anyone confirm?
The only drawback of this audio ... someone went CRAZY on track cuts - over 50 tracks, with 7 of those being the Final Lair.
A
US Tour, June 27, 1997, (Sacramento)
Brad Little, Kimilee Bryant, Jason Pebworth
Missing 'Notes II'. Not as clear of a recording as the one from the 22nd, but it's still pretty good. Some hiss.
B
Basel, Switzerland, July 13, 1997
David Gaschen, Lynette Knapp, Bjorn Olsson, Charles Huddleston, Robin Buck, Leigh Munro, Linda Bruske, Hans Dornbusch
In German. One of only three known audios to come out of Basel, and the only one with Gaschen in the lead role.
Huge chunk of Act II is missing, starts at the very last lines of Notes II.
I have now tracked this audio properly from the version I originally had, which only had three tracks. Sound quality is excellent for the age on this one.
On the rarer side - that needs to change before it disappears altogether like so many other wonderful audios have ...
A
US Tour, August 2, 1997 (Portland, OR)
Thomas Cunningham (us), Marie Danvers (alt), Jason Pebworth
MOST OF THE SHOW - about 55 minutes for the first act and 40 for the second act. VERY odd indexing - especially the Final Lair, which is cut into seven tracks. Tons of analog hiss, and mechanical noise, but I don't think it's been HSD.
I'd forgotten until I was going through the Lair tracks to determine the number - Cunningham has a VERY distinctive "This face which earns a mother's fear and loathing ...". I'd also forgotten just how psychopathic his final lair was. Which makes it even more of a shame that this isn't a clearer audio, because now darn it I want a really GOOD audio of this man!
B-
London, August 27, 1997
Peter Cousens, Myrra Malmberg, Mike Sterling, Richard Halton, Ian Platt (u/s), Jasna Ivir, Heather Jackson (u/s), Patrick Togher, Natasha Knight
A
US Tour, August 30, 1997 (Washington, DC, 2NT)
Lawrence Anderson (u/s), Susan Owen, Robert Vernon (u/s), Liz McCartney, Don Cook, Ian Jon Bourg, Olga Talyn, Mark Calkins, Jennifer Dawn Stillings
The typical analog hiss, on the quiet side.
B
US Tour, September /December 1997
(September 20, 1997, Cleveland OH?)
(December 13, 1997 Los Angeles?)
Ron Bohmer, Sandra Joseph, Lawrence Anderson
This audio has been traded as two different dates over the years, and I doubt we'll ever figure out WHICH date and location is correct. I now have three different copies of it with varying qualities - and two dates. And here's another thing. If the September date is the correct one ... then the location on that one may not be correct (there are two other tour audios stating location in Washington, DC with dates days before and days after this one. And yes, it's the same tour - those other audios both feature Lawrence Anderson.)
Originally analog . . . mostly clear but with some hiss. Magical Lasso and the beginning of Notes I sound kinda like Alvin And the Chipmunks – someone was messing around with the speed of the tape when they were putting it to CD (A very sloppy transfer in my opinion.) Static during AIAOY Reprise. Some skips in “Entr’acte” and the very beginning of “Masquerade”. Cuts off “Seal my Fate” until “Let the audience in…” (One of these does NOT have a missing "Seal My Fate" but I don't remember which one now.)
Upon review of StYDI on all three audios - they all not only have the same flip point missing line (strange because there's ALSO a similar skip in Magical Lasso) but there is audience mumbling at the beginning of I Remember that is identical across all three copies. Also, in I Remember / STYDI there is also noise from the taper moving in his/her seat that is identical across all three copies.
B+/B/B-
US Tour, September 29, 1997 (Washington, DC)
Ian Jon Bourg (u/s), Susan Owen (alt), Lawrence Anderson, Donn Cook,
Glenn White (u/s), Liz McCarney, Olga Talyn, Mark Calkins, Susan Zaguire (u/s)
HIGHLIGHTS. Runs about 73 minutes. I'm trying to come up with a proper discriptor to the sound quality. There is something in the left channel, a mild kind of interference. It's not as noticible in the right side audio. There's clear vocals underneath that though.
B
Toronto, December 6, 1997
Peter Karrie, Elizabeth DeGrazia, Kip Wilborn
Originally analog but transferred and digitally cleaned-up. VERY minor hiss when I have the volume jacked all the way up, which sadly with my current headphone setup was the only way I could hear it properly (and my headphones are currently buds, so take that at face value.) There is a rather deep, echo-y sound to this one, as if recorded in a sports stadium instead of a theatre. But that's likely theatre accoustics. No overload on the loud notes, but it's on the quiet side. Even with clean up though, it'll never quite make an A grade. Still, it's more than listenable if you're a fan of Karrie's Phantom.
*Note: I'm not sure, but it sounds like Karrie says "Following gaze" in Wandering Child, but it's probably Fathering.*
B
London, December 8, 1997
Peter Cousens, Jill Washington, Simon Bowman (u/s), Jasna Ivir
Very quiet audio, tons of hiss, and mechanical noise.
C-
San Francisco, December 20, 1997
Christopher Carl (u/s), Karen Culliver, Martin Lewis (u/s), Lee Strawn, Norman Large, Liz McCartney, Rebecca Judd, Gualtiero Negrini, Irene Cho
Very minor amount of hiss, but otherwise nice and clear. To be honest, probably the clearest to come out of the original San Fran run.
A
London, December 27, 1997
Peter Cousens, Shona Lindsay, Mike Sterling, Jasna Ivir, Leo Andrew, Anthony Raffell, Ellen Jackson, Natasha Knight, David Hillman
Analog hiss, some coughing fits near the taper. But there's a clear audio under the hiss.
B
Broadway, January 2, 1998
Ted Keegan (u/s), Adrienne McEwan (alt), Gary Mauer, Wren Marie Harrington (u/s),
George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller, Leila Martin, Frederic Heringes, Geralyn Del Corso
Highlights, runs 1 hour 16 minutes. Analog hiss all over the recording, but no signs of HSD.
B-
Broadway, February 2, 1998
Thomas James O'Leary, Sandra Joseph, Gary Mauer
Analog hiss, and sound is skewed to the left. Other than that it's solid, but I have NO clue why I didn't mention the skewing when I originally reviewed it?
B
San Francisco, February 17, 1998
Franc D'Ambrosio, Bonnie Rapp (u/s), Christopher Carl
Audio volume is skewed to the left side - there is audio in the right channel, but it's VERY quiet. Almost inaudible unless you are only listening with the one ear. Makes me think it was once a mono recording that someone tried to adjust along the way. Very OBVIOUSLY originally analog - that odd, tinney sound (for lack of a better description.) I also wouldn't be surprised to find it went through HSD during it's life on cassette.
C
Toronto, Canada, March 12, 1998
Kip Wilborne (u/s), Glenda Balkan, Brian C. Duyn (u/s), Kim Stengel, Terry Hodges, Kevin McGuire, Catherine Duff (u/s), Catriona Ferguson, Brent Weber
Heavy on the hiss, but still audible.
C
US Tour, March/June 1998 (Chicago)
(March 21, 1998, Chicago)
(June 27, 1998 Chicago)
Ron Bohmer, Susan Owen?/Susan Facer?, Jason Pebworth.
Not sure on the date. Once again after comparison of these two audios I have determined them to be one in the same, but with mildly varied qualities. The one I had listed as June 27 being the better copy of the two.
This has also been listed as both Susan Owen and Susan Facer. Would love confirmation on which one it really is.
I had suspected when I first got these audios that they were the same by the seeming sameness of Bravo Monsieur between Ron and Jason - the exact same inflections on both, no variations, etc. Then I learned of a similar discrepancy on two other Bohmer audios. In the other two, the tell was in STYDI, so I used that as my test track on this.
Both of these audios have coughs in STYDI - one before the title line, and a second about 30 seconds later. That the coughs are identical in both audios proves to me beyond a doubt that these are the exact same audio.
The one that's been going around with the March date is slightly skewed to the left. The June one is NOT.
Bohmer has this AWESOMELY maniacal laugh after Pebworth's "Free her, you have no claim on her ..." that is absolutely priceless and needs to be heard to be believed.
A/B
Perth, Australia, June 6, 1998
Rob Guest, Danielle Everett, John Bowles, Helen Noonan, John Ewing, Martin Croft, Jackie Rees, Christina Tan, David Rogers Smith
Nice sounding audio out of Oz (possibly beginning of digital recording era making this not an analogue?)
A
San Francisco July 1, 1998
Franc D'Ambrosio, Lisa Vroman, Christopher Carl
Full show. If this date is correct ... D'Ambrosio's 2000th performance as the Phantom. No speeches are included to confirm this. Was originally analog, so there is hiss in the recording, background talking in some places, but not many (between scenes mostly) and every once in a while you can hear the tapers adjusting the mic. Also some recorder noise. Something I noticed about D'Ambrosio, in Wandering Child he says "Far from my fathering gaze" instead of "far reaching" . . . it's different, and I like it. Need to pull out my other D'Ambrosio audios to see if he does it every time.
(My original copy of this was a highlights, so either someone coughed up the full show ... or there is a discrepancy where the date is concerned. We'll probably never know.)
B
US Tour, August 4, 1998 (Minneapolis, MN, 2NT)
Ian Jon Bourg (u/s), Marie Danvers, Lawrence Anderson, Doreen Falcetta, Chip Huddleston, Robert Hildreth (u/s), Leila Martin, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Jennifer Dawn Stillings, Glenn White (Reyer), Robert Hovencamp (u/s auctioneer), Robert Reid Lafranc (u/s Lefevre)
Quite a bit of analog hiss, and on the quiet side. Under that there's a good audio here. The hiss is the only sign on gen loss on this one.
B
US Tour, August 22, 1998 (Minneapolis, MN, 2NT)
Davis Gaines, Marie Danvers, Lawrence Anderson
Good sound for an analog recording.
B+
Toronto, September 14, 1998
Ethan Freeman, Elizabeth DeGrazia (alt), Doug LaBrecque, Kim Stengel, Terry Hodges,
Kevin McGuire, Catherine Duff (u/s), Roland Rusinek, Catriona Ferguson
Very unbalanced - the orchestra overpowers the vocals in the 'loud bits' (you can barely hear the Angel Of Music motif in Wandering Child, for example. Tons of overload on the loud bits as well. I don't know if this distortion I'm hearing is an overload issue or not - it reminds me of a speaker being blown out but still trying to listen to bassy music through it?
I could be wrong given the issues, but it sounds like Ethan flubs a line in the Title Song - it sounds like he sings, "Sing once again with me YOUR strange duet" instead of "our" ... because how does one person sing a duet? Would love to have someone else confirm my ears!
It's a damn shame all this overload or whatever ... because if the orchestra could be balanced down and the overload eliminated this could be an A quality.
C+/B-
Toronto, September 20, 1998
Christopher Groendaal, Ciaran Sheehan, Jeff Hyslop, Ethan Freeman, Peter Karrie, <---- (yes, FIVE Phantoms)
Elizabeth DeGrazia, David Rogers, Kevin McGuire (Firmin), Terry Hodges (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Brent Weber (Piangi), Kristina Marie Guiguet (Giry?), Catriona Derguson (Meg?)
9th Anniversary of Phantom in Torronto.
Beautifully clear audio of one of the most amazing nights of Phantom ever! I wish there had been a video of this night, it was absolutely amazing.
Five different Phantoms each perform different parts of the show, all of them taking a line during "Seal My Fate" and then at the end, the entire comes together to sing "Music Of The Night." Absolutely stunning. Missing minor bits around the flip points (I noticed listening to the final lair missing part of Christine's line "Pitiful creature of darkness" but not missing Peter Karrie's trademark "You try my patience . . ." as I've seen listed by others. A little bit of over-enthusiastic fan screaming during some of the applause, but they're good enough to quiet down again when the music starts back up.
B
US Tour, September 27, 1998 (Los Angeles, CA. 2NT)
Davis Gaines, Melinda Prince (u/s), Lawrence Anderson
Someone went through and did a fair bit of cleanup work on what I know was, long ago, an audio that was in horrid shape. Some recorder noise remains, and a fair bit of analog hiss (but no where near what used to be there.) On the quiet side. There's this noise that sounds like it might be someone talking on the right side during Wandering Child. But it's so muted down I
can't make out exactly what it is, it could be an echo. One of the last audios made of Davis Gaines's Phantom.
B+
San Francisco, November 5, 1998
Franc D'Ambrosio, Lisa Vroman, Martin Lewis (u/s)
Muffled, and heavy bass overpowers vocals at times. Includes exit music. Quirks: a couple of skips (missing lines) most likely from the flip points. It's a darn shame about the overload issues because if it were not for the overload muffling the works, there's an A quality audio underneath, and an A audio from the original San Fran production is SOOOO hard to find! But the overload is like a steady bass drum that just doesn't stop and is not ignorable. *Sigh*.
B-
San Francisco, November 21, 1998
Michael Lackey (u/s), Karen Culliver (u/s?), Martin Lewis (u/s), Lee Strawn, Norman Large, Liz McCartney, Rebecca Judd, Gualtiero Negrini, Irene Cho
Steady hiss overlaying this one. But if you can get past the hiss it's an A quality - a rare enough bird for being from San Francisco! I've said it before, Michael Lackey and Brad Little must have been separated at birth - their voices are VERY similar!
Since I know Lisa Vroman was the principal Christine ... was Karen Culliver an understudy or an alternate?
A-
London, November 24, 1998
Glyn Kerslake, Jill Washington, Mike Sterling, Jasna Ivir, Anthony Rattell, Leo Andrew, David Hillman, Amanda Light, Ian Belsey (Passarino)
An extremely clear recording with the faintest amount of analog hiss. I was almost ready to believe it a soundboard until I heard some coughing in the AIAOY reprise (two in separate places - nothing distracting.) But seriously one of the best balanced pre-2000 recordings I've heard that were audience recordings. A bit of overload on the loudest bits, but nothing outside of the norm, in fact better than most.
Glyn's pronunciation might be a bit odd, but dang that man pours his heart out in some of the most heartbreaking moments here.
A
Toronto, December 31, 1998
David Rogers (u/s), Elizabeth DeGrazia, Brian Duyn (u/s), Kim Stengel
Gorgeous sound quality. Far and away the clearest out of the Toronto production that I've come across.
A
London, 1999
Mike Sterling, Meredith Braun (alt), Gardar Thor Cortez
Somewhat muffled, with the typical "London Echo" (that hollow sound. Yeah, I swear it's the theatre.) Tiny skip before “Christine, I love you.” This may be the earliest recording of the changed cadenza at the end of Think of Me. Orchestra sometimes drowns out the voices, especially the winds and brass.
Usually I don't notice Raoul's all that much, but there's something about Gardar in the Wandering Child scene ... he sounds like if Christine did go to the Phantom he'd break apart emotionally. The way he says "Angel of Darkness, cease this torment" needs to be heard to be believed. It was a nice change to the scene and gave me something to think about.
A-
UK Tour, 1999 (Bristol)
Scott Davis, Zoe Curtlett, (u/s)?
The famous "Mirror breaks down and stops the show" audio. (Original description I got from previous trader was the show stopped for a few seconds, upon listening to the track, I'm pretty sure it was much longer, but the taper edited out a bit of 'silence'.) There's actually an announcement about technical difficulties at the end of "The Mirror" as things stalled.
Nice clear audio.
A
Mexico City, Mexico, 1999
Saulo Vasconcelos, Irasema Terrazas, Jose Joel, Luis Rene Aguirre, Jose Antonio Lopez, Tatiana Marouchtchak, Tere Cabera, Laura Morelos
Soundboard. Recorded as an unofficial cast recording and presumably given to the cast as such (Gotta love when those leak out!!!) Beautiful beautiful sound, this shouldn't even count as a "bootleg" because the sound quality is just that good.
A+
San Francisco, January 3, 1999.
Franc D'Ambrosio, Lisa Vroman, Christopher Carl, Patricia Hurd (Carlotta), Michael Lackey (Andre), Richard Gould (Firmin), Rebecca Judd (Giry), Jennifer Gould (Meg)
Closing Night of the San Francisco Company.
UPGRADED! From the last night of the San Francisco company. Includes closing speeches from the principals. This copy has been re-mastered to remove hiss. My old copy had copious skipping in the Prima Donna track. This copy seems to have a 'plug' in the track - the audio breifly becomes "A" quality, for part of Prima Donna. Most of the audio is a solid B, however. The speeches were missing from the new copy however ... so I plugged in the old copy's speeches track. I have done enough comparison though to guarantee they are the same audio with different qualities - there are many places with identical audience noises.
B
London, March 6, 1999
Glyn Kerslake, Jill Washington, Chris Harley, Anthony Raffell, Leo Andrews, Jasna Ivir, Heather Jackson, David Hillman, Amanda Light
... This is clear enough to make me think soundboard, except for the fact that the applause is quite louder than we typically hear in a soundboard.
A
Hamburg, March 20, 1999
The identity of the cast is in question. It's either:
David Gaschen/Michael Nicholson, Carla Nicholson, David Gaschen/Keil Klamphake
I have two copies of this audio, slightly different qualities. Both are:
Very good sound quality. Some very small bits missing (flip points? Wandering Child has a small chunk missing for sure, possibly others.)
- One has slightly more hiss than the other. Also, one may have been a victim of HSD - there is a slight tempo difference making one of them run a few minutes shorter than the other. However, upon comparisons of both audios, I've determined they are the same. Most of the track cuts are completely identical in their starting positions. One of them, the beginning of act 1 has more tracks than the other, but if you look at the numbering on the other audio, you can see the odd numbering even though there aren't as many tracks. (I noted the odd numbering in my old review, before receiving this new copy.)
Also, the shorter one has bonus tracks included at the end of both acts - I suspect someone felt the need to fill the disks. One bonus track on Act 1, and five on act 2.
For sanity's sake, I'm going to add an "A" or "B" designation to my file, since I'm not deleting one or the other. The shorter version with the bonus tracks will be "B"
A
US Tour, April 17, 1999 (Norfolk, VA, 3NT)
Ted Keegan, Rebecca Pitcher, Richard Todd Adams
Clear audio for the time period, with a mild amount of hiss when I have the sound turned all the way up (which given my current headphone setup with earbuds, is necessity with older audios. Take that description at face value.)
Something happens to the sound during the rooftop scene (which I normally don't give much thought to, but my very old description from years ago mentioned skipping so I wanted to check it out.) It sounds like there's a plug from another audio. Right in the middle of the line "In that night there was music in my mind" there's a very NOTICIBLE switch in quality - the plug is much better quality, more than likely digital. It goes back to the original at "Yet in his eyes all the sadness of the world."
B
Toronto, May 23, 1999
René Simard (final), Elizabeth DeGrazia (final), Laird Mackintosh
Possible HSD. Audio is fuzzy, obviously originally analog with the hiss that goes with it. There's a crackling and popping sound that appears – not constant but every few minutes there's the scratching sound. The quality is actually all over the place - the scratching and the popping lessen as you get into act 2, but the hiss and saturation gets worse. Also tracked very strangely – Act One is only seven tracks and Act Two is eight tracks. Final performance for Simard and DeGrazia, includes curtain speech by Simard.
Years ago I had Simard listed as a possible understudy, can anyone confirm or deny?
A rare audio of Simard, possibly the only one.
B- / B
Broadway, June 11, 1999
Hugh Panaro, Adrienne McEwan, Gary Mauer
If the hiss weren't so heavy, this would be an A quality audio. This would be a very good candidate for hiss reduction, if I were actually talented at that kind of audio editing. Honestly if someone out there can do that sort of thing without destroying the audio I'd be willing to gift this one to have it done, because it's a damn shame as good as the performance sounds.
B-
US Tour, July 18, 1999 (Salt Lake City)
Ian Jon Bourg (u/s), Megan Starr-Levitt (alt), Richard Todd Adams
Slightly muffled, dull sound - as though the mic wasn't in the open air. Four seconds of Magical Lasso missing, as well as a small chunk of the Don Juan Rehearsal and a bit of screaming after Don Juan Triumphant - probably flip points. Rarish recording of Bourg behind the mask on Tour (in that there's only a handful of known audios of him from this time period.)
B
London, July 31, 1999
Mike Sterling, Charlotte Page, Gartor Thor Cortez
A little overloaded on the bass, but otherwise nice and clear.
A
Hamburg, July 31, 1999
David Gaschen (last), Colby Thomas, Kiel Klamphake, James Rio, David Hunerjager, Vera Borisova, Marcelo Ronchietto, Ruth Hale, Sabrina Harper
David Gaschen's final performance with the Hamburg production. Slightly on the quiet side, with a fair bit of analog hiss, more so really than most of the other Hamburg audios I have. I don't see this one on a lot of lists, and it wasn't one I had my hands on during my early 2000's trading period. But it's definitely not one of the other Hamburg audios I have (I compared, just to be sure.) This one is hissier than most of them, but there's just enough clarity under the hiss to keep me from dropping it another grade.
B-
Toronto, August 18? 1999
Jeff Hyslop, Melissa Dye, unknown Raoul
Originally analog and it shows - a good bit of hiss, a mechanical hum in the quiet bits, and you can hear the tapeheads rotating in the quieter parts. Overload on the loud bits. I can't be sure, but possible HSD. There are a few seconds missing towards the beginning of each track so it sounds like there's a skip, which results in the lower grade. Also used to have annoying bleeps between some tracks, but have been edited out. Missing all of Magical Lasso, a bit of the pre-DJT proceedings, and cuts off just before the last note of the Final Lair. Regardless of the issues though the vocals are quite clear, they just sound very high pitched.
Question on the date. I originally recieved this as simply 1999. In a recent trade I recieved it again with the August 18 date on it. Comparison proves they're the same audio, traded with two different dates and some slightly different track cuts, so I'm throwing it out there. Both copies are about the same quality, however.
B-
Hamburg, Germany, August 21, 1999?
Jerzy Jeszke, Lori Zeglarski (us?), Kyle Gonyea
Sometimes listed as August 12, 1999, but they're the same audio - I actually had both in my archive folder and didn't realize it until looking at another trader's list. I compared Wandering Child on both. They both have this click-type sound in the same place, during Lori's first lines in the song.
Buzzing noise overlays this audio - sound reminds me of a bad CD transfer. This sucks because if you could cut out the buzz there is a beautiful quality audio underneath.
In one of the audios info text file I have a (us?) designation next to Lori ... was she an understudy? Any info appreciated!
B
Toronto, Canada, October 31, 1999
Paul Stanley, Melissa Dye, David Rogers, Kim Stengel, Terry Hodges, Paul Mulloy, Kristina Marie Guiget, Brent Weber, Catriona Ferguson
Final performance in Toronto. Includes speeches and cast singing Music Of The Night together after the performance. Sound quality solid.
A
London, November 1999
Richard Halton (SB), Charlotte Page, Gartor Thor Cortes
HIGHLIGHTS. Runs about an hour and 15 minutes. Fair bit of analog hiss, and the odd London Echo of course. Bits of it are pretty muffled - almost as though it was recorded underwater? - others are clearer. Almost sounds like it might have encountered HSD somewhere along the way, but I'm not 100 percent sure on that.
B/C
San Diego, CA 3NT, November 17, 1999
Michael Lackey (u/s), Rebecca Pitcher, Richard Todd Adams. David Cryer, Richard Reardon (?), Julie Schmidt(?)
Rare recording of Lackey probably doing some emergency covering for Ted Keegan on tour. Has that slow-motion sound quality I normally associate with a recording that's encountered high-speed dubbing in it's lifetime before it's transfer to digital from cassette. I swear Lackey and Brad Little were separated at birth - their voices are very, very similar.
A-
UK Tour, Edinburgh, November 21, 1999
Carl Sanderson (u/s), Deborah Dutcher, Tom Sellwood (u/s), Michael Bauer, Dermot McLaughlin (u/s), Carrie Ellis, Julie Steinke, Hans Dornbusch, Hayley Driscoll
Some overload on the loud bits. Overall a good audio though.
B
UK Tour, Edinburgh December 1, 1999
Mike Sterling, Deborah Dutcher, Richard Lake, Michael Bauer, Dermont McLaughlin, Carrie Ellis, Julie Steinke, Hans Dornbusch, Hayley Driscoll
Very nice audio, sounds like it may be digital (Not sure how widespread digital recorders were in 99?) Either way, gorgeous clear sound with some very nice percussive elements that I'm not sure I've heard before.
A
Hamburg, December 31, 1999
Michael Nicholson (alt), Lori Zeglarski (u/s), Kyle Gonyea, David Hunerjaeger, Anders Sohlman, Vera Borisova, Linda Bruske, Marcello Ronchietto, Sabrina Harper, Stephan Drakulich (M. Reyer), Eberhard Neitzel (M. Lefèvre), Jonathan Guss (Auctioneer), Ronn Ealy (Don Attilio), Suzanne Gari (Confidante)
Some hiss, but not overpowering. Can be quiet at times. Still, a good solid audio underneath.
A
Australia, 1990 (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Marina Prior, Dale Burridge
Slight hiss overlays the audio. Sounds like it might have encountered HSD at some point in it's life as an analog. (Somehow I missed this during my first review of this audio years ago ... ah well though IIRC this was amongst my earliest audios and I didn't know what I was listening for then I guess lol.) Underneath is a surprisingly clear audio for it's age, however. Definitely worth it for Warlow alone.
The exact date on this has been debated over and over during the years, as has Christine's identity. I do know that back in my old trading days that there were TWO different Warlow audios from this production. At any rate, I'm leaving it with the 1990 date I had for it back then.
B
Hamburg, Germany 1990
Peter Hofmann, Anna Maria Kaufmann, Hartwig Rudolz, Ruth Hale, Dunja Siehl
Audio is VERY low ... as in I jacked my computer's volume up as far as it could go and still could barely hear. Static over the whole thing. Slightly disappointing because this may be the only audio of this cast.
C
Los Angeles, February (??) 1990
Michael Crawford, Dale Kristien, Reece Holland
SOUNDBOARD.
You have NO idea how thrilled I am that all these soundboards started floating into the trading scene.
Has an echo-y quality to it. That doesn't detract from the enjoyment of listening to Michael Crawford near what was the end of his run, and hearing the subtle changes he's made to his performance over time.
On the rare side.
A+
London, February 14, 1990
James Paterson (u/s), Jill Washington, Robert Meadmore
Sounds like it encountered HSD during it's life as an analog. Very slight pauses between some tracks. Noticeable analog hiss in the second act during the quiet sections, but none noticeable in the first act. The sound is a bit thin but in good shape considering its age. A flip point cuts out the first thirty seconds of Magical Lasso. Repeats "I must go" to the beginning of the Phantom's part during AIAOY Reprise for some reason, also a bit of weirdness right before "Seal My Fate." The taper whistles way out of tune with part of the entr'acte, which is amusing.
B
Broadway, March 19, 1990
Steve Barton (First Performance), Katharine Buffaloe (u/s), Davis Gaines (First Performance), Leila Martin (Giry)
If my old review is to be believed, I used to have a better quality copy than this ...
Some sporadic overload and rumbling base. Audio is skewed to the right hand side - there IS audio on the left, but it's VERY quiet. This *might* have once been mono and someone along the way attempted to make it stereo? We'll probably never know. It's certainly not the worst old audio I've ever heard ... at least I can make out the words. Also, and I could be wrong, but I would bet it encountered high speed dubbing at some point during it's life on cassette. Most of the show, missing everything after the first lair scene until Il Muto, and the beginning of the "Before the Premiere" scene.
B-
Broadway, March (?) 1990
Jeff Keller (u/s), Rebecca Luker, Davis Gaines, George Lee Andrews, Lelia Martin
Some analog hiss, not too bad though. A solid B. Whoever ripped it neglected to use track numbers so it's all in alphabetical order instead of chronological. If the cast is correct, then it's got to be after March 19 ... (See above audio.)
B
Vienna, March 31, 1990
Ethan Freeman (alt), Colleen Besett (u/s), Timothy Breese (alt), Dennis Kozeluh (u/s), Jack Poppell, Jane Cormier (u/s), Diana Bennett, Vittorio Giammarrusco (u/s), Karin Seyfried (u/s)
FINALLY! A decently clear audio of Freeman in Vienna! I KNEW this existed! Finally got it off of a trader who got it from one of my old contacts back in the day.
On the rare side. This audio has, more or less, disappered from the trading scene. By that, I mean that most traders who have an audio with this date listed really have a lower quality copy of the August 12, 1990 audio with Freeman and Claudia Dallinger. This is DEFINITELY not that audio. The tell between the two is in the beginning of Christine's Think Of Me - in this audio there's a cough, in the same place in the August audio there's a chair squeeking and some audience chatter.
This turned out to be much better quality than I remembered. There IS mechanical noise - likely from the transfer from the cassettes. However, it doesn't seem to be an HSD victim. While the instrumentals are a bit heavy, they're no where NEAR as overpowering as they were in the August audio - I could make out most of Ethan's Bravo Monsier. Basically, it's not QUITE good enough for me to give it a straight A, but not quite low enough for a solid B either.
RARE.
A-/B+
Vienna, April 1, 1990
Alexander Goebel, Claudia Dallinger, Andrew Hambly-Smith
HIGHLIGHTS - runs just about 35 minutes. Act 1 from the Prologue through part of MOTN. Other than a good bit of hiss and a minor bit of distortion, very good quality for the age. This, however, is a second audio where I'm not sure about Goebel ... he had a way of singing the first line of the Title song, and this is now the second (very early) audio of him where he's not sang it the way I'm accustomed. It's also another audio that seems to have surfaced fairly recently (that is, during my long trading hiatus ... if it was around then it must have been incredibly rare.) One of only two audios I know of with Dallinger's Christine.
B+
Los Angeles, April 29, 1990
Michael Crawford, Dale Kristien, Reece Holland, Leigh Munro, Gualtero Negrini, Norman Large, Barbara Lang, Elizabeth Stringer
Last performance of Michael Crawford as the Phantom includes speeches by Crawford and Kristien, has some minor hiss, overall good recording, clear music and lyrics. Features an ad-lib by Crawford, after Christine gives him the ring, he sings, "Christine, I loved you." The end of his "Final Lair" is also heartbreaking to listen to.
A
Los Angeles, 1990 (Late)
Robert Guillaume, Dale Kristien, Reece Holland
Cassette transfer. A rare audio of Guillaume, and unfortunately not in very good shape. Mic contact noise at different intervals in the show. The parts that don't have either mic contact or recorder noise are okay, but they're few and far between, sadly. This one was a pain to put back together. Missing the very end of Magical Lasso and very beginning of Notes I. Also missing Don Juan Triumphant, and almost all of the first verse of Point Of No Return.
I'm putting this here instead of at the beginning of 1990 like I typically would with an unknown date because we know it could not have been prior to April 29. One of only two known audios of Guillaume. It's a shame neither of them are good quality. This audio is typically traded as Los Angeles, Late 1990.
D
Los Angeles, May 31, 1990
Robert Guillaume, Jani Neuman (u/s), Reece Holland, Calvin Remsberg, Norman Large, Leigh Munro, Barbara Lang, Gualtiero Negrini, Elizabeth Stringer
HIGHLIGHTS- runs 76 minutes. The quality, much like Guillaume's performance, is all over the place. Even the best parts are scratchy at louder points. Starts a tiny bit into TOM and runs through the end of the title song. This portion is muffled, but has been improved somewhat. Then picks up with 'kingdom where all must pay homage...' which through the end of 'Stranger' is decent quality, the best of the audio. Audio then cuts to Il muto up until the end of the Phantom's appearance, and the cuts to AIAOY through the end of the Act. At this point (il Muto), a steady consistent metronome-esque thumping begins, which will drive you insane. This runs through the end of the show. Act 2 starts with 'Why So Silent', cuts to the voice-over in Notes 2 through the end of the show, all with the thumping. Yikes. I would say this is for very dedicated collectors only. This used to be rare- one of only two recordings of Guillaume and the only one with Neuman.
Ripped in WMA format
C-
Vienna, August 12, 1990
Ethan Freeman (alt), Claudia Dallinger (u/s), Andrew Hambly-Smith, Horst Reeh (u/s), Wolfgang Pampel, Robin Lee, Claudia Rose Golde (u/s), Sergio Lombana, Eva-Marie Weber (u/s)
(Previously listed as March 31, 1990)
Some parts the instrumental track overpowers the vocal performers. Mic contact noise in random places, very prevalent in Act 1 especially. I sampled Wandering Child first, and heard the overpowering instrumentals (darn shame because I WANTED to hear how Ethan did Bravo Monsieur, but you can't hear him) then sampled MOTN, and caught the mic noise ... and went on from there. When I say prevalent ... I mean in a LOT of places.
Also contains the expected analog hiss most audios from this time seem to be plagued by Thankfully, this one doesn't seem to have been attacked by HSD like so many early 90's audios have been. Very enthusiastic audience.
For a long time, this was on the rare side. It is, however, one of only two currently known audios of Ethan in Vienna (The other one has more or less disappeared from the trading scene ... I hope to change that!)
(I originally had this review listed for the March 31 audio of Ethan. Upon comparison, I discovered I'd been given the Dallinger one. The tell is ... this is DEFINITELY Hambly-Smith as Raoul. There's enough audios out there of him to compare to. Also in the March audio, there's a cough just before Christine's Think of Me. In the August audio, there's a chair squeak and no cough.)
I now have a newer copy of this that's better quality, so I'm changing the grade (along with the date information lol!)
B
Broadway, September (20? 26?), 1990.
Steve Barton, Rebecca Lurker, Gary Lindemann.
Soundboard recording. Nice and crisp and clear and just the right volume.
This ... this is Steve as he was meant to be heard! Michael Crawford gave Erik a soul, Steve Barton turned him into a dark seducer.
OMG. After many years I finally got the clearer copy I've been wanting. Either someone released out an earlier generation copy to the one I had in my earliest trading days, or someone went to a lot of trouble to clean this up. My only (very very very minor and petty annoyance) in this is that it is very oddly tracked, and I don't remember if my original copy was or not. But for the better sound quality, I shouldn't complain. Just throwing the info out there for anyone wanting to trade for this.
Same old confusion about the date, I've seen this listed as both dates over the last decade of trading.
A
Broadway, November 14?, 1990
Jeff Keller (u/s), Rebecca Luker, Kevin Gray, George Lee Andrews, Marilyn Caskey, Leila Martin, Nicholas F. Saverine, Catherine Ulissey
TRACKED. Analog hiss over the entire recording (not surprising), sound is a little on the low side. Mostly complete - A break in Notes 1, another in All I Ask of You (possibly flip points? Although the second comes so close after the first ...). Also a break in Wandering Child. Prologue starts with "Attached, a figure of a monkey in Persian robes ..."
Question on the date. This audio is also being traded as November 24 (I picked up a copy of that audio and after much comparison I'm convinced they're identical.) I'm leaving my date as is though in my file, just keep the question in mind during trading. There is also a third date that was thrown out on an inactive trader's list around this time frame that might ALSO be the same audio as well, but I'll probably never know for sure, just throwing it out there.
Rare-ish, recording of Gray's Raoul. And WHY was Keller never a principal? He's amazeballs!
B-
Hamburg, Germany, 1991
Nicholas Saverine, Lori Broderick, Simon Tunkin
Often labeled as 'Vienna, Austria', but it's in Hamburg. Nick Saverine filled in for a few weeks. A little confusing because he sings Hamburg lyrics during the Title Song, but Vienna lyrics to MOTN. Audio is by no means perfect, but a listenable, solid B.
Highlights, 70 minutes.
Toronto, 1991?
Colm Wilkinson, Rebecca Caine, Byron Neese
Possibly this is a true copy of the "February 1992" audio that's long been confused with the "March 17, 1991" audio, at any rate, this is *Definitely* a different audio from the one currently being traded as "March 17". I verified by finding audience sounds in one that were not in another (differences in clapping, for example, and audience murmers.)
My "Rebecca Caine Expert" has assured me it is INDEED Rebecca Caine, making this the only confirmed recording of Caine in Toronto. Tons of hiss and some mechanical distortion, possible HSD victim. Given that it's one of only two audios of Colm's run in Toronto, it's such a shame.
C
Broadway, January 2 (?) 1991
Kevin Gray, Karen Culliver, Hugh Panaro
Cassette Transfer.
Problems with the audio. Sounds like it has encountered HSD along the way somewhere, perhaps even in the last copy. There is a break in Note's one between Carlotta's rant and Madame Giry's entrance (flip point on tape one that I received). You don't miss much, but I'd rather warn any traders before hand. There's also a break in the rooftop scene Raoul's line "This phantom is a fable" is gone and then comes back on "Believe me there is no Phantom" etc. Other minor breaks throughout, I think I edited most of them down as much as I could but there's always the possibility I missed a few. Some places are close to inaudible. There's a definite difference in sound quality between the first two thirds of the audio and everything from about halfway through Wishing to the end (where tape two started). The final third of the show is quieter.
Rare recording of Gray on Broadway, rarer with Panaro as Raoul (Think there's only two of those floating around.)
I've seen this with two dates - January 2 and February 1 (Which I think happened due to a confusion between US and UK dating). When I initially transferred it over a decade ago it was merely labeled Broadway, 1991. IDK who gave it the date ... but I'll leave it there with the question mark and explanation.
C
Los Angeles, January 31, 1991
Joseph Dellger (u/s), Dale Kristien, (? Raoul)
VERY short highlights - runs about 45 minutes. Act one is The Mirror through the end of the first Lair, and then the Rooftop Scene. Act 2 is from PONR to the end of the Final Lair.
SEVERE mechanical distortion, but no hiss. If the distortion could be gotten rid of, there's a friggen A quality audio here, the vocals are nearly crystal clear. It makes me pretty mad that someone did this to this audio at some point. Dellger's laugh at the end of Act 1 has to be heard to be believed.
Would love to know who the Raoul is, if only just to *know*.
........ There would normally be a grade here, but I honestly don't know WHAT grade to give this one?
Toronto, March 17, 1991 (?)
Colm Wilkinson, Glenda Balkan(?)
The date and supporting cast of this audio have been debated off and on for over a decade now. I am well aware there will always be questions, however to expedite things I'm leaving the file labeled with the date above. It has also been traded off and on with a date in February 1992. We'll just never know for sure at this point.
Most people label this as Rebecca Caine. I sent it to someone who has a MUCH better ear than I do, and who is a complete nut over anything by Rebecca Caine. She assures me that it is *NOT* Caine. (To put it this way, before sending her this one I must have sent her about ten other tracks that were supposed to be Rebecca Caine and she identified all of them for me WITHOUT me telling her who she was hearing.) I'm pretty sure about it being Glenda Balkan, but since I can not 100 percent verify it not being Teresa DeZarn, I'm leaving the question mark. Besides, I'm sure there are plenty of traders who'd disagree with my labeling on this one given how many discrepancies have already surrounded this audio just in the ten years or so since I first had it.
Still, for the age, very good sound. Someone near the taper talked at some very inopportune moments though, very annoying.
B+
Hamburg, May 19, 1991
Hartwig Rudolz (alt.), Renee Knapp (alt.), Scott Gregory (u/s), Horst Gross, Wolfgang Beigel, Joan-Marie Zimmermann (alt.), Ruth Hale,
Clarence Carter (u/s), Lucy Potter
Highlights, many things missing early in act one (No prologue, Hannibal, Angel of Music, most of Little Lotte gone just to note a few). Analogue hiss and mic rubbing noises, also a little heavy on the bass during heavy percussive parts. A little quiet in parts. The vocals at the beginning of "Magical Lasso" are almost inaudible.
Rudolz is another in a line of impressive Hamburg Phantom Understudies. His voice reminds me a bit of Tim Tobin.
On the rarer side
C+
Hamburg July 27, 1991
Tim Tobin (u/s), Silvia Krüger (u/s), Thomas Schulze (u/s). Scott Gregory (u/s), Wolfgang Beigel, Tina Thompson (u/s), Ruth Hale, Eduardo Brousard, Lucy Potter
Missing Prologue, Hannibal + Carlotta´s Think Of Me, and Little Lotte, One of only two audios of Tobin's Phantom, and probably the better of the two, as well as being the more complete. Only audio of Schulze as Raoul.
B
Stockholm, Sweeden, September 22, 1991
Mikael Samuelson, Inger Olsson Moberg, Bengt Nordfors (?)
Soundboard. Remastered by MaskedLion. Originally analog and it shows, some remanents of hiss when I jack up the volume (which I have to, it's mildly quiet), in the quiet parts it's more noticible. Also has the attempted removal of the hiss (noticed mostly in MOTN.) Otherwise though, the noise removal worked, because it's only remanants. There's a nice clear audio underneath.
Possibly rare, I haven't seen this floating around, and after checking some old sites, it wasn't floating around during my first trading run either unless it was unlisted. (Just figured out why I haven't seen it before. It's a soundboard audio ripped from a monitor video. Hmm. Now I want this monitor video!)
A-
Vienna, October 6, 1991
Nicholas Saverine, Luzia Nistler, Thorsten Tinney
Highlights. Clear audio, volume could be a little higher on it but at least there's no overload. Very minor hiss in places, sounds like it could have been mono at some point in it's life.
OMG. Saverine is one of my Phantom Gods.
B
Broadway, October 28, 1991
Mark Jacoby, Karen Culliver, Hugh Panaro, David Hunerjäger, Rick Hilsabeck, Patricia Hurd, Marilyn Caskey, Donn Cook, Patricia Ward
Act I is soundboard and Act II is good quality audience. The soundboard isn’t hooked up to all microphones equally; and for this reason you can hear many things you don’t normally hear live: Christine’s nervous breathing before ToM, Meg’s comments after the gala.
Sounds like it might have encountered HSD somewhere along the way - either that or everyone has very high voices and the tempo was running faster than what I'd think of as normal. The audio runs 1 hr 54 minutes so either more's missing than I remember or it's the attack of the HSD. Many tracks have a 'pause' in the first few seconds (could this be what happens when you rip an audio with 3 second pauses??? My original review of this mentioned "some minor skips between tracks.)
A faint mechanical undertone "humming" in act 1. Act 2 missing most of the Entr'acte (which does not account for a full 10 minutes ...)
B
Vienna, November 17, 1991
Andrew Hambley-Smith (U/S?), Janet Chvatal, Thorsten Tinney, Jack Poppell, Dennis Kozeluln, Linda Healy, Diana Bennett.
Cassette Transfer. VERY short highlights, mostly Phantom's parts only – Starts at the Mirror. Act two is pretty much only from Point of No Return through the Lair. The lair is broken into 5 tracks (Did I *really* do that?? What was I thinking 10 years ago when I transferred this??)
For it's age, this audio is GORGEOUSLY clear (if it were not for a few whispers here and there, I'd wonder if it were soundboard.) Probably one of the best quality audience recordings to come out of the original Vienna run.
Runs just under 44 minutes.
Back in the day, this was rediculously rare ... need to change that!
The only known recording of Hambley-Smith as the Phantom.
A
Australia, December (16 or 29?) 1991? (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Maree Johnson, Dale Burridge
One of only two recordings of Anthony Warlow in the role of The Phantom from the original Aussie production. Voices are often faint in the speech-only sections of the performance and also background hiss all the way through, not surprising though considering this and the other early Warlow audio were likely both done on an analog recorder. Over the years there have been questions about whether this was 1990 or 1991 - both dates were in wide use for the same audio back in my early trade days. Doubt we'll ever have the answer in a definite form so I'll leave the question mark. Also this has been traded at some point as December 16 or December 29, but they're ALL the same audio. Back in my early trade days they were typically labeled as only December, but I'm throwing the full range of dates out there.
B-
Vienna, Austria, December 13(?) 1991
Alexander Goebel, Colleen Besett, Andrew Hambly-Smith
Soundboard. Starts with the warning that recording devices are not allowed. A very good and clear recording. Slight analog hiss if you turn the volume up high. Some electronic fuzz approximately 5:35 into the 11th track of Act One (during the ballet) and three times into track 13 of Act One (during All I Ask of You) - lasts less than 2 seconds each time.
About the date. Back in the day, this was labeled Vienna, 1991. Many of the old Vienna audios didn't have an exact date. So I honestly don't know if someone assigned a date, someone got a hold of an early trader and got dates out of them, or what. The metadata on this says Vienna, 1991 ... I'll leave it with the extra info on my list, and the file you download will reflect that date ... but just know I'm not 100% sure about it.
A
Vienna, Austria, December 15, 1991
Alexander Goebel, Janet Chvatal (u/s), Andrew Hambley-Smith, Robin Lee, Dennis Kozeluh, Horst Reek, Felicitas Morawitz, Sergio Lombano, Alexandra Young
Highlights, Phantom-oriented, about 45 minutes long.
For the age, awesome quality. Almost no analog hiss, no signs of HSD, no signs of generation loss ... just wow.
For anyone who's ever listened to the OVC recording - Goebel's beginning of the title song - I'd always wondered if he did it the same way live, because he's one of a few that comes on very quiet for the first verse he sings ... and yes, in these early Vienna audios he did :-)
Please see notes about the date on the Vienna, December 13, 1991 audio
A
London, December 21, 1991
Peter Polycarpou, Shona Lindsey, John Barrowman, Michael Bauer, Julie Goss, Sally Smith
Originally analog, there's still some hiss present. Possibly a victim of HSD ...
B
US Tour, December 29, 1991 (Denver, CO)
Randal Keith (u/s), Sarah Pfisterer, Nat Chandler
A bit heavy on the bass. Pfisterer sounds like a chipmunk at points, making me think this met with some HSD along the way. Missing a small bit of Magical Lasso - the first line and a half, likely a flip point.
B-
Australia, 1992? (Melbourne)
Rob Guest, Maree Johnson, Dale Burridge
ACT II ONLY.
This audio came to me with a question on the date. I know I've seen this traded around with the 1992? date for years so I know there's no way to know for sure.
At any rate ... a bit of analog hiss, but I'm not detecting signs of HSD so that's a plus.
B
London, 1992 (01)
Peter Karrie, Shona Lindsay, John Barrowman
Some analog hiss, but a nice clear audio lies under it.
B
London, 1992 (02)
Peter Karrie, Shona Lindsay, Simon Burke, Michael Bauer, Mark Wynter, Sandra Dugdale, Sally Smith, ?, Ramon Remedios
Soundboard. Strange mechanical distortion - reminds me of a very bad de-hissing job. Which is a shame because I can hear that there's an A quality underneath it ... but I can't give it an A with that distortion.
B
Vienna, 1992
Nicholas Saverine, Janet Chvatal (alt), Thorsten Tinney (alt), Dietrich Hergt, Horst Reeh (u/s), Linda Healy (alt), Diana Bennett, Sergio Lombana, Alexandra Young-Schmidt
The only complete recording of Janet Chvatal's Christine. Has the analog hiss throughout, and some mechanical noise. Also a bit of overload on the higher notes. Some volume issues. However, these issues don't affect me being able to understand what is being said/sung as it does in the August Ethan Freeman audio out of Vienna.
B
Vienna, January 22, 1992
Nicholas Saverine, Luzia Nistler, Thorsten Tinney (alt), Dennis Kozeluh (u/s), Jack Poppell, Robin Lee, Diana Bennett, Vittorio Giammarrusco (u/s), Alexandra Young-Schmidt
Analog hiss, and some mild mechanical noise (barely there on the latter). If this were a much later audio, the grade would be lower.
B-
Vienna, February 29, 1992
Alexander Goebel, Colleen Besett, Andrew Hambly-Smith
Analog hiss, some overload on the loud parts. Still, given the age, it's in solid shape.
B+
London, March 18, 1992
James Graeme (u/s), Lisa Hull, John Barrowman
Cassette Transfer. Very little analog hiss. You can hear Barrowman's "Christine, NO!" during the kiss. Missing bits and pieces throughout.
Rare – The only known audio of Graeme as the Phantom
A-
Hamburg, April 1992
Tim Tobin (U/S), Renée Knapp, Scott Gregory
Nice and clear though I know it had to be originally analog. A little heavy on the bass at times though. Includes the exit music.
Highlights 70mins
B+
US Tour, June 26, 1992 (Philadelphia, PA)
Kevin Gray, Dodie Petit (alt), Keith Buterbaugh
If fate had been kind, this would have been the first time I saw Phantom ...
Standard older audio ... quite a bit of hiss, some bass overload. Not the best sound quality - although if Phantom played at the Forrest Theatre in the 90's like it did in the early 2000's, the accoustics there are horrible to begin with (I have first hand knowledge.)
However, a recording of a (soon to be?) married Phantom/Christine pairing is hard to turn away.
Wonder if this was made by whoever made the video on the same date?
C
Broadway, August 1992
Marc Jacoby, LuAnn Aronson, Hugh Panaro, Paul Laureano, Jeff Keller, Patrice Pickering, Marilyn Caskey, Gary Rideout, Catherine Ulyssies
(On the quiet side and slightly muffled. - Did I really write this years ago when I first heard this audio? Maybe someone along the way played with the volume because I know there's no way my hearing has improved.-) Some minor bits of the first “Notes” missing at flip points. Entr’acte also missing
One of only two known recordings of Jacoby and only three of Panaro as Raoul.
B
Hamburg, November 28, 1992
(Thomas Schulze? Raymond Sepe?), Renée Knapp, Scott Gregory
Soundboard. A little heavy on the bass (notable during the title sequence) but otherwise a nice audio, very clear
There is some question in my mind about the identity of the Phantom. Many years back I traded for this labeled with Thomas Schulze as the Phantom. I'd since lost my original copy and re-traded for it to discover this discrepancy. Since so much time has passed and I have no clue who I originally got this audio from, I have no clue who to believe is the Phantom. Both are definite possibilities for the time period.
The track info, however, does list it as Sepe. Not knowing who tracked and tagged it though ...
A-
Hamburg, 1993
Jeffery Reynolds (u/s), Deborah Dutcher (u/s)
Highlights, runs about 70 minutes (Seems to be a theme for Hamburg highlights audios?) Nice clear sound near to soundboard quality.
A
Scheveningen, Netherlands, 1993
Ben Cramer (u/s), Els Bongers, Hans Peter Janssens
Typical analog hiss. Slightly on the quiet side - it's audible if I jack the volume all the way up and am listening somewhere quiet. At least there's no distortion.
B
US Tour, 1993 (Pittsburgh, PA)
Franc D'Ambrosio, Tracy Shayne, Ciaran Sheehan
Highlights, runs just under 50 minutes. Pretty much the Phantom's parts only. I really REALLY wish someone had noted a better date, but if the location is right I'd put it between July-September (as there IS an audio from August with the understudy). But we'll never know for sure *Sigh*. Only known audio of D'Ambrosio from the tour. Analog hiss, possible HSD, but it's still listenable.
The last two tracks (Final Lair) are a different quality than the rest of the audio ... I highly suspect that they were edited in from another recording.
B
Vienna, April 11, 1993
Ernst D. Suttheimer, Joke de Kruifj, Thorsten Tinney, Jack Poppell, Peter Vorweg, Helene Tintes, Valda Aviks, Vittorio Giammarrusco, Linda Healy, Alexandra Young-Schmidt
Soundboard. One of the best Phantom recordings quality wise from this time that I've heard. A small amount of analog hiss from the transfer. In some tracks, the audio is skewed to the left channel - there IS audio in the right channel, but it's VERY low. This does not happen in all tracks, which is odd ... example is that the title song, MOTN, have proper audio in both, but the AIAOY reprise, Wandering Child, do not.
A-
Vienna, May 18, 1993
Alfred Pfeifer (u/s), Joke de Kruijf, Thorsten Tinney, Peter Vorwerg, Jack Poppell, Valda Aviks, Felicitas Morawitz, Vittorio Giammarrusco, Alexandra Young-Schmidt
A fair amount of analog hiss. Which is a shame because there is a perfect quality audio under that hiss - I can *HEAR* it.
OMG. In the title song, Pfeifer comes in nice and soft instead of overbearing during his first line, just like Goebel does ... LOVELY!!!
B+
Vienna, June 26, 1993
Ernst D. Suttheimer, Luzia Nistler, Thorsten Tinney
Has that 'recorded in a tin can' sound to it. Some hiss, but otherwise clear. Some overpowering bass on loud bits.
Suttheimer sounds very different from the other audio I have of him ... but that could be due to the fact I suspect the other encountered HSD (there's something funny about the tempo on that one.)
A-
Vienna, June 27, 1993
Alfred Pfeifer, Colleen Besett, Thorsten Tinney, Jack Poppell, Peter Vorwerg, Valda Aviks, Felicitas Morawitz,Vittorio Giammarrusco (u/s), Alexandra Young-Schmidt
Soundboard. Awesome quality, almost cast-recording quality. Very small amount of hiss - barely noticible unless you jack the volume up the way I tend to. Pfeifer's interpretation in places reminds me of Alexander Goebel.
A
Los Angeles, August 16, 1993
Davis Gaines, Karen Culliver, Michael Piontek
Analog hiss, that high sound that makes me think HSD.
B
Broadway, August 23, 1993
Marcus Lovett, LuAnn Aronson, Keith Butterbaugh
Definitely one of the better early Broadway recordings as far as audio quality. Very clear for it's age. There is an odd echo-y quality about it, and a small amount of hiss.
A
Los Angeles, August 28, 1993
Davis Gaines, Dale Kristen, Michael Piontek, Leigh Munro, Norman Large, Calvin Remsberg, Barbara Lang, Gualtiero Negrini, Elizabeth Stringer
SOUNDBOARD. Next to last day of the LA production (after over 1700 performances), includes speeches at the end noting that. ALW makes an appearance. Possibly ripped from the monitor video of the same date (that may have been mislabeled multiple times over the years.)
Full show video also available of this performance.
A
US Tour, August 31, 1993 (Pittsburgh, PA 3NT)
William R. Park (u/s), Tracy Shayne, Ciarán Sheehan
Missing the end of "Stranger Than You Dreamt It" and almost all of "Magical Lasso." In Act 2, missing most of the insanity after the unmasking. Fair amount of analog hiss, but given the age of this recording, not unexpected. I'd honestly rather have the hiss issue than the HSD issues which thankfully this audio does NOT seem to have!
B
UK Tour, November 16, 1993 (Manchester)
Dave Willets, Lisa Hull, Mike Sterling, Alan Rice, Simon Green, Valda Aviks, Veronica Page, Lucy Potter, Geoffry Pogson
Gorgeous audio with amazing leads. Willets here reminded me a bit of Franc D'Ambrosio – in Wandering Child, he sings "Far from my fathering gaze" in stead of "Far-reaching gaze" . . . I like. Very smooth voice overall. Very rare audio of Willets on tour – possibly the only one. Why aren't there more audios of this man? Sterling's “Idiot, you'll kill someone!” right after telling him to "shoot, only if you have to, but shoot to kill," was hilarious in my book.
A-
London, February 7, 1994
Ethan Freeman, Claire Moore (alt?), Clive Carter, Mark Wynter, Gareth Jones, Paula Bott, Patricia Cope, Ramon Remedios
Good solid sounding audio for the time period (Is this a soundboard?)
I have two audios taken two days apart with much the same cast - except the Christine. I'm not sure which of the two was the alternate or understudy or whatever, so I'm leaving both with the description and question mark.
A
London, February 9, 1994
Ethan Freeman, Jill Washington (alt?), Clive Carter, Mark Wynter, Gareth Jones, Paula Bott, Patricia Cope, Ramon Remedios
Another beautifully clear early audio of Ethan Freeman (oh how I WISH the Vienna ones of him were this good!) There is a slight mechanical noise, which is most likely the remanent of a hiss cleaning.
I have two audios taken two days apart with much the same cast - except the Christine. I'm not sure which of the two was the alternate or understudy or whatever, so I'm leaving both with the description and question mark.
A
Broadway, March 1994(?)
Marcus Lovett, Tracy Shayne, Ciaran Sheehan, George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller, Elena Jeanne Batman, Kristina Marie Guiguet, Frederic Heringes, Tener Brown
Either this is a generation loss victim, a HSD victim, or the original taper had the recorder in their pocket with the mic covered for parts of the show. Given the lack of contact noise associated with the later, my money is on one of the former.
Muffled sound in parts, some mechanical noise. Some overload in the loud parts. Also someone near the taper who talks at times (actually says "What the heck?" very clearly during the first stanza of the title song.
Back during my early trading days, I had this audio but with March 1995 listed as the date.
B
San Francisco, March 27, 1994
Davis Gaines, Lisa Vroman, Raymond Saar
Extended Highlights - runs 1 hr 25 minutes.
I take back what I said about the Chris Carl audio being the clearest out of San Francisco ... this one beats it for clarity. Where was this taper later in the run after D'Ambrosio took over the role??
VERY minor amount of hiss, almost not even there. However, the audio IS on the quiet side - I've got it jacked all the way up to make things out. Still, that's not enough to make me down the grade.
A
Scheveningen, Netherlands, March 27(?), 1994
Henk Poort, Joke De Kruijf, Peter De Smet, Wiebke Göetjes, Peter Bording, Nico Schaap, Margaret Roest, Adriaan van Limpt, Natasha Knight
I've seen this listed as both March 27 and March 21, with people listing "this is the correct date" for both. So I'll leave the question mark.
A
Hamburg, May 10, 1994
Thomas Schulze, Carla Nicholson, Raymond Sepe, Reinhard Schulze, Venn Derby, Rebecca Sherbourn, Lesley Windsor, Marcello Ronchietto, Gabriella Nicholson
HIGHLIGHTS - runs between 85-90 minutes. Minimal amount of hiss, but there's this sound that keeps creeping up ... that makes me think a previous trader had scratched CD's. It's in both acts, so it's not just a matter of one disk, and that might not be what I'm hearing ... just what it makes me think of sound wise. Underneath those 'scratches' is a solid A quality audio, but with them I can't give it an A.
B
US Tour, May 21, 1994 (Nashville, TN)
Grant Norman, Sylvia Rhyne, Fred Jones (u/s)
Muffled sound. Sounds like someone tried to clean this one up at some point ... but definitely not the best clean up job. The audience was obviously very receptive to the show - an example is applause at the beginning of the title song.
B
London, June 16, 1994
Ethan Freeman, Claire Moore, Clive Carter
Mechanical hiss and track skipping (for lack of a better description.) There are much better quality audios of this trio ...
Although if anyone has a better quality I'd be interested. I can hear that there's a solid audio there, but the issues make it difficult to listen for long.
C
US Tour, August 20, 1994 (Costa Mesa, CA)
Grant Norman, Adrienne McEwan, John Schroeder
Ohh, sounds like someone got hold of an early generation on this one. Some very MINOR analog hiss. There is some slight skipping in the beginning of Wandering Child.
A
London, September 30, 1994
Ethan Freeman, Jill Washington, Simon Bowman, Mark Wynter, Gareth Jones, Paula Bott, Patricia Cope, Huw Priday
Another solid London audio (why did I think they were all lower quality than this?)
A
London, October 27, 1994
Mark Wynter (u/s), Claire Moore (alt.), Simon Bowman, David Pendlebury (u/s), Gareth Jones, Paula Bott, Patricia Cope, Jeffrey Cresswell (u/s), Marina Stevenson
Very difficult audio to grade, originally came with a C+ from the previous trader, but I think I'm going to have to give it a split grade. Reason follows: There are parts of this audio that are very, VERY clear. Then in other portions the audio quality drops. Intermittent coughing throughout. Muffled mic movement noise in places. Probably bits missing around the flip points. Missing the end of the final lair, cuts off just before Raoul and Christine's "Say you'll share with me . . ." as they're leaving in the boat.
Quite possibly the only audio of Wynter as the Phantom.
If anyone has a COMPLETE copy of Act II, I'm interested.
B+ / C+
Broadway, December 14, 1994
Davis Gaines, Tracy Shayne, Ciarán Sheehan, Richard Warren Pugh (u/s), George Lee Andrews (u/s), Melody Johnson (u/s)
Some analog hiss (to be expected) and slight overload on louder parts. Given it's age though it's in great shape.
B+
Hamburg, December 17, 1994
Jeffrey Reynolds (u/s), Colby Thomas, Jörg Westerkamp, Reinhard Schulze, Venn Derby, Kay Montgomery, Lesley Windor, Marshall Cooper, Sophia Roube, Nicholas Dunbar
One of two currently known audios of Reynolds as Phantom.
Some minor issues - a scratching sound (possibly from the source disk), some minor overload, minimal hiss.
Given it's age though ...
A
UK Tour, 1995 (Manchester)
Mark McKerracher, Nikki Ankara, Mike Sterling, Sandra Dugdale, Alan Rice, Paul Bently, Janet Cowley, Lorraine Chappell, Adrian Martin
Soundboard. Originally analog at one point, but you can barely tell . . . there's almost no hiss at all, but the audio is a tad quiet . . . not too quiet, but not with the overpowering bass. Almost close to a cast recording in quality.
A-
World Tour 1995 (Singapore)
Peter Karrie, Sylvia Rhyne, John Ruess, Thomas Grocez, Alex Fallis, Leigh Munro, Gloria Parker, Peter Cormican, Diana (Kaarina) Wong
Billed as the Far East Tour. This is definitely not complete - Wandering Child is missing.
Some analog hiss (no surprise), but a decent audio underneath.
If the location is indeed correct, this was recorded sometime prior to June of 1995, as the tour moved to Hong Kong in June.
B
World Tour, 1995 (Hong Kong)
Peter Karrie, LuAnn Aronson, John Ruess,Thomas Grocez, Alex Fallis, Leigh Munro, Gloria Parker, Peter Cormican, Diana Wong
If this is Hong Kong, the date is definitely June or later of 1995. Runs just under 1 hour. Sound is pretty decent, I expected worse from my vague recollections of old reviews of this audio.
Highlights.
US Tour, 1995 (Hartford, CT)
Thomas James O'Leary, Susan Facer (u/s), John Schroeder
Some analog hiss. Earliest known audio of O'Leary.
A
US Tour, February 26, 1995 (San Antonio, 3NT)
Thomas Schumacher (u/s), Diane Fratantoni (maybe Susan Facer), John Schroeder, Marilyn Caskey (Carlotta), Ray Friedeck (Piangi)
I've seen this listed as both Thomas James O'Leary and Thomas Cunningham, but it's not either one. (Between Cunningham's trademark "Mother's fear and loathing" and O'Leary's accent on that line, I've been able to discern this.) Schumacher has been on the tour numerous times, including two stints in the 1990's. There will be links to articles showing this in the audio's info file for further information.
Now the audio ... yep. Analog hiss, some distortion from possible HSD. Still listenable, however, and and rare in the fact it's the only known audio of Schumacher from his 1994-1996 run as Phantom understudy. Would love a definite answer on Christine's identity though.
B-
London, March 20, 1995
Ethan Freeman, Megan Kelly, Simon Bowman
Act 1 only. Darn shame because it's a beautiful audio with very little analog hiss.
A
Broadway, May 18, 1995
Davis Gaines, Laurie Gayle Stephenson (alt), Brad Little, George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller, Lelia Martin (Giry)
Great quality for an audio that was originally analog (I can barely tell, almost no hiss, no mechanical noise, absolutely beautiful sound!), but HORRIBLE indexing – all of act one after Prima Donna is on CD 2 instead of where it belongs, on CD 1. CD two is nearly 50 tracks! *Rolls eyes*. Someone didn't know how to do track marks, I think. There aren't many recordings out there of Brad Little's Raoul - and likely none near the quality of this one. So if you can get past the weird indexing, it's worth having just for the chance to hear him.
A-
UK Tour, June 21, 1995 (Manchester)
Paul Monaghan (u/s), Nikki Ankarra, Richard Burman, Alan Rice (u/s), Paul Bentley, Sandra Dugdale
B
UK Tour, July 3(?), 1995 (Manchester?)
Mark McKerracher, Sarah Ryan, Richard Burman (u/s)
Definitely a different performance from the other two McKerracher recordings I own, but it's definitely McKerracher here. Note 100% sure on the date being exact - the file only stated a 1995 date, but previous trader's site had this date, so I'll leave it with a question mark. Also not sure on the Manchester label - it's only a best guess. One thing to note - this is before they brought the "London Trio" to the UK tour (which happened around 1996). Quality wise, no where near as good as the 1995 soundboard. Analog hiss and mild generation loss, but I don't think it's an HSD victim.
B
London July 15, 1995
Ethan Freeman, Jill Washington, Simon Bowman, Kevin Wainwright, Mark Wynter, Paula Blott
Freeman’s Last London Show Originally analog, so some hiss, and occasionally a little quiet. Scratchiness over multiple tracks - not all though. Act 1's quality seems different from Act 2, so I'm giving it a split grade. Missing "I Remember" in Act One at least. I'm guessing here, but this might have had 3 second pauses during it's life on CD. Small bits missing between some tracks.
B/C
Toronto August 25, 1995
Ciarán Sheehan, Glenda Balkan, Laird Mackintosh
Some analog hiss (not unexpected for the time frame) but not as bad as I thought it'd be.
B
US Tour, September 3, 1995 (Dallas, TX)
Randal Keith (u/s), Rita Harvey, Lawrence Anderson
Opening night in Dallas. Cuts from "Make your choice" to Christine and Raoul in the boat during the Final Lair scene. This has gone through hiss reduction, but there's still a fair amount of hiss at the quieter parts.
B-
US Tour, October 29, 1995 (San Diego, CA)
Rick Hilsabeck, Sarah Pfisterer, Nat Chandler (?), David Cryer
Quite a bit of analog hiss, otherwise decent sound quality for the time period.
B
Hamburg, November 25, 1995
Michael Nicholson, Carla Nicholson, Paul Matsumoto
Cassette Transfer - Highlights. Very good sound for the fact it's an analog transfer. Minimal analog hiss and very little generation loss.
Each act runs between 40-45 minutes. Michael Nicholson's Phantom is rather good, and matched against his wife Carla's Christine . . . wow. That amazing chemistry you expect from a husband-wife duo. Rare audio of the Nicholson's together.
B+
Basel, Switzerland, 1996
In English. (This production alternated between English and German for performances.)
Florian Schneider, Kimilee Bryant, Chris Lynn (u/s), Sally Williams (Giry). Frederic Heringues (Piangi)
Some interference noise here and there in the first act...but nothing major. The music box that is 'still in working order' doesn't play during the prologue because someone was asleep at the keyboard, and Lynn muddles the opening lyrics to 'All I Ask of You'. Anyone know the date or the rest of the cast? I know that this production ran from 10/12/95 to 7/27/97. Need to re-listen to this as I have since obtained a CD copy to replace my cassette, so review may not be completely accurate.
A-
Basel, Switzerland, 1996?
In German. (This production alternated between English and German)
Florian Schneider, Ute Baum, Bjorn Olsson
Has also been traded under the date July 2, 1997 (possibly February 7, 1997) in a "two tracks per act" version, but they're the same audio - same *exact* track damage in Wandering Child. (Basically Wandering Child cuts in and out with silence.) This one is the better quality, however. But, there's a chance that the 1997 date is actually the correct date for this. I know years ago the 1996 date was in heavy use, however.
I now have another date to add: October 20, 1996. I recently traded for this, only to find it's the exact same audio all over again. Same damage in Wandering Child.
A little heavy on the bass in louder parts. There is track damage during Wandering Child - it keeps ... skipping is the only word I can come up to describe this. Being a digitized track it should not do this, but it does. VERY disappointing because I love that track. *Sigh*. Rarer of the two known bootlegs of Schneider as Phantom.
B
Hamburg, January 21, 1996 (matinee)
Dale Tracy (u/s), Carla Nicholson, Jorg Westerkaup, Reinhard Schulze, Lyle Garrett,
Laurie Ann McGowen, Ellen Bullinger, Clarence Carter, Gabrielle Nicholson, Bernard Julius (M. Reyer), Johathan Guss (Don Attilio), Florian Giertzuch (Auctioneer), Eberhard Neitzel (Lefevre), Peter Graham (Buquet)
Highlights - runs about 83 minutes. VERY quiet - I had to jack the volume up as loud as I could get it to go to be able to hear this. A lot of intermittent mic contact noise. Sounds like it might have fallen victim to high speed dubbing along the way somewhere.
Seriously though, if you want to hear Dale Tracy as Phantom, go for the March 1996 (?) audio. Much bettery quality. I'd call this one for the serious trader only.
C
UK Tour, February 17, 1996 (Edinburgh)
Mark McKerracher, Carmen Cusack (u/s), Andrew Halliday, Anthony Raffell, Paul Monaghan, Dante Holst, Samantha Young (u/s), Adrian Martin, Amanda Light
HORRIBLE sound quality. Audio is low to begin with, tons of hiss and analog noises. Sounds like it might have encountered HSD along the way. Don't think there's too many audios of Carmen Cusack's Christine out there. But if you're looking for an audio of Mark McKerracher, go for the 1995 soundboard.
D
London, March 21, 1996
Grant Norman, Nikki Ankara, Simon Bowman, Kevin Wainwright (Firman), Mark Wynter (Andre), Valda Aviks (Carlotta), Evette Davis (Mme Giry), Huw Priday (Piangi), Katherine Fletcher (Meg)
Cassette Transfer – Highlights. Runs about an hour and 25 minutes.
Analog hiss, but there's a solid audio under here. This had to have been recorded close to the stage, you hear things I'm not used to hearing.
B
Hamburg, March 31, 1996(?)
Dale Tracy (alt.), Susan Derry (u/s), Scott Gregory (alt.), Michael Starrs, Reinhard Schulze (u/s), Vera Borisova (u/s), Pamela Laurent, Colenton Freeman, Gabriela Nicholson
Nice clear audio out of Hamburg, very little overload and nearly no hiss.
Some confusion on the date. I've seen this traded with the same cast info and same date/month but with the year 1997.
A
London, April 13, 1996
Grant Norman, Nikki Ankara, Philip Rowe (u/s)
Somewhat quiet with loads of hiss. Still listenable though, which just barely saves it from a C grade.
B-
Scheveningen, Netherlands, August 2, 1996
Henk Poort, Els Bongers, Peter De Smet, Nico Schaap (Firmin), Wiebke Goetjes (Carlotta)
*Last* performance in Holland for the public. (The very last performance was by invitation only.) Typical analog issues, namely hiss, but no signs of HSD. Overall for the age this is in good shape.
B+
Hamburg, August 9, 1996
Thomas Schulze, Colby Thomas, Jörg Westerkamp
Bass overload at the loud bits. Analog hiss. But underneath there's a good solid audio.
B
Broadway September 25, 1996
Davis Gaines, Tracy Shayne, Matthew R. Jones, Elena Jane Batman, George Lee Andrews,
Jeff Keller, Leila Martin, Tener Brown, Frederic Hughes
Assuming the date is correct, very close to the end of Gaine's run as the Phantom on Broadway. And if the cast list is correct (and I have no reason to think otherwise) this JUST solved the mystery of who was Raoul in Gaines's final performance on Broadway for me!
As for the audio itself, decent quality, some analog hiss but not much. Tracked VERY oddly.
A-
Sydney, Australia September 27, 1996
Rob Guest, Danielle Everett, John Bowles
Final show in Sydney before the production moved to Perth. Includes speeches. Decent sound for the time, some analog hiss but not overpowering.
B
Broadway, October 5, 1996
Davis Gaines, Tracy Shayne, Matthew R. Jones, George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller, Lelia Martin (Giry?)
Audio is a little low and there's a mechanical noise throughout. Gaines' last performance as the Phantom; includes speeches at the end. My old copy had 3 second pauses - not sure if that transfers from CD to mp3 or not.
This audio has been traded around for years with either Brad Little or Gary Mauer alternately listed as Raoul. It is NOT either one of them.
Audio will include three bonus tracks from other audios - an All I Ask Of You comparison if you will, as to how I determined it was Matthew R. Jones. Further comments available in an info file included with the audio.
B-
Broadway, October 14, 1996
Jeff Keller (u/s.), Teri Bibb (Alt), Gary Mauer, George Lee Andrews, Lelia Martin
I can tell this was an analog at some point in it's life, there's a minor amount of hiss but not too much. Obviously someone took great care in transferring it.
Probably the earliest recording of Gary Mauer as Raoul.
I'm beginning to wonder if the date is correct – Davis Gaines left the Broadway production on or around October 5, and O'Leary took over on October 11 . . . I'm positive though that if the date is incorrect, it's in between that time period. It just seems strange to me to have an understudy Phantom on stage only three days into the run of a new Phantom? However, not knowing circumstances, etc ...
B
Hamburg 1997
Shuler Hensley, Colby Thomas, Ray Gabbard, Kenneth Posey, Anders Sohlman, Jeanne Bruggeman, Ellen Bullinger, Thomas Bayer, Carrie Stewart, Bernhard Julius, Florian Giertzuch, Peter Graham, Werner Kaus, Jonathan Guss
Lovely quality for its age. Hensley is a very impressive Phantom, though his pronunciation of German leaves something to be desired, lovely lovely voice and psychopathic at all the right moments. Bruggeman for some reason, thinks that toads should quack instead of croak.
A
Toronto, February 1, 1997
Laird Mackintosh (u/s), (Christine ?), Brian C. Duyn (u/s)
Some discrepancy amongst traders as to whether it's Glenda Balkan or Teresa DeZarn as Christine - the meta data lists Glenda though.
Some mic contact noise here and there. Some parts of this are almost insanely clear, others are muffled. Perusing my old reviews of audios out of Toronto, this shouldn't surprise me though.
B
US Tour, February 15, 1997 (Denver, CO)
Craig Schulman, Susan Owen (alt), Lawrence Anderson, Patricia Hurd (?),
TJ Meyers (?), Ian Jon Bourg, Olga Talyn, Donn Cook (?), Jennifer Dawn Stillings
Some analog hiss, But there's a decent quality audio underneath that.
B+
London, February 24, 1997
Simon Bowman, Megan Kelly, Alasdair Harvey, Kevin Wainwright (Firmin), Mark Wynter (Andre), Jasna Ivir (Carlotta), Evette Davis (Giry), Richard Poraebrook (Piangi), Janos Kurucz (Buquet), Amanda Light (Meg)
Cassette Transfer. Audio is a little muffled, some analog hiss, but otherwise in good condition. There is a bit of mechanical noise in the quiet parts.
B
US Tour, April 6, 1997 (Atlanta)
Ian Jon Bourg (u/s), Sandra Joseph, Lawrence Anderson, T.J. Meyers, Roger Befeler (u/s André)
Good sound with a very minor amount of analog hiss. Some small bits missing around the flip points.
A-
US Tour, April 19, 1997 (Kansas City, MO)
Brad Little, Tamra Hayden (alt), Jason Pebworth
HIGHLIGHTS, runs just over 31 minutes long. Basically it's Act one from "Your number sir, thank you. Lot 663 then, gentlemen" in the Prologue, to the first line of the second verse of the title song (just as Brad starts singing). So basically if you're looking at this for Brad Little's Phantom, you'll get very little of that out of it (the Mirror and some Bravi's). However, it might be the only recording of Hayden's Christine.
A bit of hiss present, but there's a decent quality audio underneath it.
B
US Tour, May 12, 1997 (Cleveland? Atlanta?)
Craig Schulman, Sandra Joseph, Lawrence Anderson, TJ Meyers, Ian Jon Bourg, Patricia Hurd, Olga Talyn, Donn Cook, Jennifer Dawn Stillings
Nice clear audio, almost sounds digital. No hiss. There's an odd echo quality to it, but that's probably the theatre's acoustics.
I originally received this as being from Cleveland. I've seen it listed as Atlanta. I've got it from a reputable trader who lives near Cleveland that the tour was there with this approximate cast between April 17 and June 7, 1997 and that she saw it in that time period, so I'm relabeling it as Cleveland.
A
Toronto, Canada, June 5, 1997
Ethan Freeman, Margaret Ann Gates (u/s), Laird Mackintosh
Very strange tracking - act 1 is three tracks, though it's nearly all - missing a portion of the Prologue - there. Act 2 is again, nearly all there, but is only 5 tracks. In fact the first track is nearly half the act.
The quality, like the tracking, is all over the place. There are a very few moments where things are clear, but time has taken it's toll on this audio. Even with cleaning, I doubt it'd ever be better than a low B.
C
US Tour, June 22, 1997 (Sacramento)
Brad Little, Jessica Henson (u/s), Jason Pebworth (?)
My first thought ... THIS is from the 90's? It's so ... CLEAR! Almost sounds like a digital recording (I *know* it's possible it's just so darn few traders seemed to USE anything digital back then, everyone wanted cassettes ... This might be one of the earliest full recordings of Brad's Phantom? Also, doesn't sound like Pebworth, anyone confirm?
The only drawback of this audio ... someone went CRAZY on track cuts - over 50 tracks, with 7 of those being the Final Lair.
A
US Tour, June 27, 1997, (Sacramento)
Brad Little, Kimilee Bryant, Jason Pebworth
Missing 'Notes II'. Not as clear of a recording as the one from the 22nd, but it's still pretty good. Some hiss.
B
Basel, Switzerland, July 13, 1997
David Gaschen, Lynette Knapp, Bjorn Olsson, Charles Huddleston, Robin Buck, Leigh Munro, Linda Bruske, Hans Dornbusch
In German. One of only three known audios to come out of Basel, and the only one with Gaschen in the lead role.
Huge chunk of Act II is missing, starts at the very last lines of Notes II.
I have now tracked this audio properly from the version I originally had, which only had three tracks. Sound quality is excellent for the age on this one.
On the rarer side - that needs to change before it disappears altogether like so many other wonderful audios have ...
A
US Tour, August 2, 1997 (Portland, OR)
Thomas Cunningham (us), Marie Danvers (alt), Jason Pebworth
MOST OF THE SHOW - about 55 minutes for the first act and 40 for the second act. VERY odd indexing - especially the Final Lair, which is cut into seven tracks. Tons of analog hiss, and mechanical noise, but I don't think it's been HSD.
I'd forgotten until I was going through the Lair tracks to determine the number - Cunningham has a VERY distinctive "This face which earns a mother's fear and loathing ...". I'd also forgotten just how psychopathic his final lair was. Which makes it even more of a shame that this isn't a clearer audio, because now darn it I want a really GOOD audio of this man!
B-
London, August 27, 1997
Peter Cousens, Myrra Malmberg, Mike Sterling, Richard Halton, Ian Platt (u/s), Jasna Ivir, Heather Jackson (u/s), Patrick Togher, Natasha Knight
A
US Tour, August 30, 1997 (Washington, DC, 2NT)
Lawrence Anderson (u/s), Susan Owen, Robert Vernon (u/s), Liz McCartney, Don Cook, Ian Jon Bourg, Olga Talyn, Mark Calkins, Jennifer Dawn Stillings
The typical analog hiss, on the quiet side.
B
US Tour, September /December 1997
(September 20, 1997, Cleveland OH?)
(December 13, 1997 Los Angeles?)
Ron Bohmer, Sandra Joseph, Lawrence Anderson
This audio has been traded as two different dates over the years, and I doubt we'll ever figure out WHICH date and location is correct. I now have three different copies of it with varying qualities - and two dates. And here's another thing. If the September date is the correct one ... then the location on that one may not be correct (there are two other tour audios stating location in Washington, DC with dates days before and days after this one. And yes, it's the same tour - those other audios both feature Lawrence Anderson.)
Originally analog . . . mostly clear but with some hiss. Magical Lasso and the beginning of Notes I sound kinda like Alvin And the Chipmunks – someone was messing around with the speed of the tape when they were putting it to CD (A very sloppy transfer in my opinion.) Static during AIAOY Reprise. Some skips in “Entr’acte” and the very beginning of “Masquerade”. Cuts off “Seal my Fate” until “Let the audience in…” (One of these does NOT have a missing "Seal My Fate" but I don't remember which one now.)
Upon review of StYDI on all three audios - they all not only have the same flip point missing line (strange because there's ALSO a similar skip in Magical Lasso) but there is audience mumbling at the beginning of I Remember that is identical across all three copies. Also, in I Remember / STYDI there is also noise from the taper moving in his/her seat that is identical across all three copies.
B+/B/B-
US Tour, September 29, 1997 (Washington, DC)
Ian Jon Bourg (u/s), Susan Owen (alt), Lawrence Anderson, Donn Cook,
Glenn White (u/s), Liz McCarney, Olga Talyn, Mark Calkins, Susan Zaguire (u/s)
HIGHLIGHTS. Runs about 73 minutes. I'm trying to come up with a proper discriptor to the sound quality. There is something in the left channel, a mild kind of interference. It's not as noticible in the right side audio. There's clear vocals underneath that though.
B
Toronto, December 6, 1997
Peter Karrie, Elizabeth DeGrazia, Kip Wilborn
Originally analog but transferred and digitally cleaned-up. VERY minor hiss when I have the volume jacked all the way up, which sadly with my current headphone setup was the only way I could hear it properly (and my headphones are currently buds, so take that at face value.) There is a rather deep, echo-y sound to this one, as if recorded in a sports stadium instead of a theatre. But that's likely theatre accoustics. No overload on the loud notes, but it's on the quiet side. Even with clean up though, it'll never quite make an A grade. Still, it's more than listenable if you're a fan of Karrie's Phantom.
*Note: I'm not sure, but it sounds like Karrie says "Following gaze" in Wandering Child, but it's probably Fathering.*
B
London, December 8, 1997
Peter Cousens, Jill Washington, Simon Bowman (u/s), Jasna Ivir
Very quiet audio, tons of hiss, and mechanical noise.
C-
San Francisco, December 20, 1997
Christopher Carl (u/s), Karen Culliver, Martin Lewis (u/s), Lee Strawn, Norman Large, Liz McCartney, Rebecca Judd, Gualtiero Negrini, Irene Cho
Very minor amount of hiss, but otherwise nice and clear. To be honest, probably the clearest to come out of the original San Fran run.
A
London, December 27, 1997
Peter Cousens, Shona Lindsay, Mike Sterling, Jasna Ivir, Leo Andrew, Anthony Raffell, Ellen Jackson, Natasha Knight, David Hillman
Analog hiss, some coughing fits near the taper. But there's a clear audio under the hiss.
B
Broadway, January 2, 1998
Ted Keegan (u/s), Adrienne McEwan (alt), Gary Mauer, Wren Marie Harrington (u/s),
George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller, Leila Martin, Frederic Heringes, Geralyn Del Corso
Highlights, runs 1 hour 16 minutes. Analog hiss all over the recording, but no signs of HSD.
B-
Broadway, February 2, 1998
Thomas James O'Leary, Sandra Joseph, Gary Mauer
Analog hiss, and sound is skewed to the left. Other than that it's solid, but I have NO clue why I didn't mention the skewing when I originally reviewed it?
B
San Francisco, February 17, 1998
Franc D'Ambrosio, Bonnie Rapp (u/s), Christopher Carl
Audio volume is skewed to the left side - there is audio in the right channel, but it's VERY quiet. Almost inaudible unless you are only listening with the one ear. Makes me think it was once a mono recording that someone tried to adjust along the way. Very OBVIOUSLY originally analog - that odd, tinney sound (for lack of a better description.) I also wouldn't be surprised to find it went through HSD during it's life on cassette.
C
Toronto, Canada, March 12, 1998
Kip Wilborne (u/s), Glenda Balkan, Brian C. Duyn (u/s), Kim Stengel, Terry Hodges, Kevin McGuire, Catherine Duff (u/s), Catriona Ferguson, Brent Weber
Heavy on the hiss, but still audible.
C
US Tour, March/June 1998 (Chicago)
(March 21, 1998, Chicago)
(June 27, 1998 Chicago)
Ron Bohmer, Susan Owen?/Susan Facer?, Jason Pebworth.
Not sure on the date. Once again after comparison of these two audios I have determined them to be one in the same, but with mildly varied qualities. The one I had listed as June 27 being the better copy of the two.
This has also been listed as both Susan Owen and Susan Facer. Would love confirmation on which one it really is.
I had suspected when I first got these audios that they were the same by the seeming sameness of Bravo Monsieur between Ron and Jason - the exact same inflections on both, no variations, etc. Then I learned of a similar discrepancy on two other Bohmer audios. In the other two, the tell was in STYDI, so I used that as my test track on this.
Both of these audios have coughs in STYDI - one before the title line, and a second about 30 seconds later. That the coughs are identical in both audios proves to me beyond a doubt that these are the exact same audio.
The one that's been going around with the March date is slightly skewed to the left. The June one is NOT.
Bohmer has this AWESOMELY maniacal laugh after Pebworth's "Free her, you have no claim on her ..." that is absolutely priceless and needs to be heard to be believed.
A/B
Perth, Australia, June 6, 1998
Rob Guest, Danielle Everett, John Bowles, Helen Noonan, John Ewing, Martin Croft, Jackie Rees, Christina Tan, David Rogers Smith
Nice sounding audio out of Oz (possibly beginning of digital recording era making this not an analogue?)
A
San Francisco July 1, 1998
Franc D'Ambrosio, Lisa Vroman, Christopher Carl
Full show. If this date is correct ... D'Ambrosio's 2000th performance as the Phantom. No speeches are included to confirm this. Was originally analog, so there is hiss in the recording, background talking in some places, but not many (between scenes mostly) and every once in a while you can hear the tapers adjusting the mic. Also some recorder noise. Something I noticed about D'Ambrosio, in Wandering Child he says "Far from my fathering gaze" instead of "far reaching" . . . it's different, and I like it. Need to pull out my other D'Ambrosio audios to see if he does it every time.
(My original copy of this was a highlights, so either someone coughed up the full show ... or there is a discrepancy where the date is concerned. We'll probably never know.)
B
US Tour, August 4, 1998 (Minneapolis, MN, 2NT)
Ian Jon Bourg (u/s), Marie Danvers, Lawrence Anderson, Doreen Falcetta, Chip Huddleston, Robert Hildreth (u/s), Leila Martin, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Jennifer Dawn Stillings, Glenn White (Reyer), Robert Hovencamp (u/s auctioneer), Robert Reid Lafranc (u/s Lefevre)
Quite a bit of analog hiss, and on the quiet side. Under that there's a good audio here. The hiss is the only sign on gen loss on this one.
B
US Tour, August 22, 1998 (Minneapolis, MN, 2NT)
Davis Gaines, Marie Danvers, Lawrence Anderson
Good sound for an analog recording.
B+
Toronto, September 14, 1998
Ethan Freeman, Elizabeth DeGrazia (alt), Doug LaBrecque, Kim Stengel, Terry Hodges,
Kevin McGuire, Catherine Duff (u/s), Roland Rusinek, Catriona Ferguson
Very unbalanced - the orchestra overpowers the vocals in the 'loud bits' (you can barely hear the Angel Of Music motif in Wandering Child, for example. Tons of overload on the loud bits as well. I don't know if this distortion I'm hearing is an overload issue or not - it reminds me of a speaker being blown out but still trying to listen to bassy music through it?
I could be wrong given the issues, but it sounds like Ethan flubs a line in the Title Song - it sounds like he sings, "Sing once again with me YOUR strange duet" instead of "our" ... because how does one person sing a duet? Would love to have someone else confirm my ears!
It's a damn shame all this overload or whatever ... because if the orchestra could be balanced down and the overload eliminated this could be an A quality.
C+/B-
Toronto, September 20, 1998
Christopher Groendaal, Ciaran Sheehan, Jeff Hyslop, Ethan Freeman, Peter Karrie, <---- (yes, FIVE Phantoms)
Elizabeth DeGrazia, David Rogers, Kevin McGuire (Firmin), Terry Hodges (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Brent Weber (Piangi), Kristina Marie Guiguet (Giry?), Catriona Derguson (Meg?)
9th Anniversary of Phantom in Torronto.
Beautifully clear audio of one of the most amazing nights of Phantom ever! I wish there had been a video of this night, it was absolutely amazing.
Five different Phantoms each perform different parts of the show, all of them taking a line during "Seal My Fate" and then at the end, the entire comes together to sing "Music Of The Night." Absolutely stunning. Missing minor bits around the flip points (I noticed listening to the final lair missing part of Christine's line "Pitiful creature of darkness" but not missing Peter Karrie's trademark "You try my patience . . ." as I've seen listed by others. A little bit of over-enthusiastic fan screaming during some of the applause, but they're good enough to quiet down again when the music starts back up.
B
US Tour, September 27, 1998 (Los Angeles, CA. 2NT)
Davis Gaines, Melinda Prince (u/s), Lawrence Anderson
Someone went through and did a fair bit of cleanup work on what I know was, long ago, an audio that was in horrid shape. Some recorder noise remains, and a fair bit of analog hiss (but no where near what used to be there.) On the quiet side. There's this noise that sounds like it might be someone talking on the right side during Wandering Child. But it's so muted down I
can't make out exactly what it is, it could be an echo. One of the last audios made of Davis Gaines's Phantom.
B+
San Francisco, November 5, 1998
Franc D'Ambrosio, Lisa Vroman, Martin Lewis (u/s)
Muffled, and heavy bass overpowers vocals at times. Includes exit music. Quirks: a couple of skips (missing lines) most likely from the flip points. It's a darn shame about the overload issues because if it were not for the overload muffling the works, there's an A quality audio underneath, and an A audio from the original San Fran production is SOOOO hard to find! But the overload is like a steady bass drum that just doesn't stop and is not ignorable. *Sigh*.
B-
San Francisco, November 21, 1998
Michael Lackey (u/s), Karen Culliver (u/s?), Martin Lewis (u/s), Lee Strawn, Norman Large, Liz McCartney, Rebecca Judd, Gualtiero Negrini, Irene Cho
Steady hiss overlaying this one. But if you can get past the hiss it's an A quality - a rare enough bird for being from San Francisco! I've said it before, Michael Lackey and Brad Little must have been separated at birth - their voices are VERY similar!
Since I know Lisa Vroman was the principal Christine ... was Karen Culliver an understudy or an alternate?
A-
London, November 24, 1998
Glyn Kerslake, Jill Washington, Mike Sterling, Jasna Ivir, Anthony Rattell, Leo Andrew, David Hillman, Amanda Light, Ian Belsey (Passarino)
An extremely clear recording with the faintest amount of analog hiss. I was almost ready to believe it a soundboard until I heard some coughing in the AIAOY reprise (two in separate places - nothing distracting.) But seriously one of the best balanced pre-2000 recordings I've heard that were audience recordings. A bit of overload on the loudest bits, but nothing outside of the norm, in fact better than most.
Glyn's pronunciation might be a bit odd, but dang that man pours his heart out in some of the most heartbreaking moments here.
A
Toronto, December 31, 1998
David Rogers (u/s), Elizabeth DeGrazia, Brian Duyn (u/s), Kim Stengel
Gorgeous sound quality. Far and away the clearest out of the Toronto production that I've come across.
A
London, 1999
Mike Sterling, Meredith Braun (alt), Gardar Thor Cortez
Somewhat muffled, with the typical "London Echo" (that hollow sound. Yeah, I swear it's the theatre.) Tiny skip before “Christine, I love you.” This may be the earliest recording of the changed cadenza at the end of Think of Me. Orchestra sometimes drowns out the voices, especially the winds and brass.
Usually I don't notice Raoul's all that much, but there's something about Gardar in the Wandering Child scene ... he sounds like if Christine did go to the Phantom he'd break apart emotionally. The way he says "Angel of Darkness, cease this torment" needs to be heard to be believed. It was a nice change to the scene and gave me something to think about.
A-
UK Tour, 1999 (Bristol)
Scott Davis, Zoe Curtlett, (u/s)?
The famous "Mirror breaks down and stops the show" audio. (Original description I got from previous trader was the show stopped for a few seconds, upon listening to the track, I'm pretty sure it was much longer, but the taper edited out a bit of 'silence'.) There's actually an announcement about technical difficulties at the end of "The Mirror" as things stalled.
Nice clear audio.
A
Mexico City, Mexico, 1999
Saulo Vasconcelos, Irasema Terrazas, Jose Joel, Luis Rene Aguirre, Jose Antonio Lopez, Tatiana Marouchtchak, Tere Cabera, Laura Morelos
Soundboard. Recorded as an unofficial cast recording and presumably given to the cast as such (Gotta love when those leak out!!!) Beautiful beautiful sound, this shouldn't even count as a "bootleg" because the sound quality is just that good.
A+
San Francisco, January 3, 1999.
Franc D'Ambrosio, Lisa Vroman, Christopher Carl, Patricia Hurd (Carlotta), Michael Lackey (Andre), Richard Gould (Firmin), Rebecca Judd (Giry), Jennifer Gould (Meg)
Closing Night of the San Francisco Company.
UPGRADED! From the last night of the San Francisco company. Includes closing speeches from the principals. This copy has been re-mastered to remove hiss. My old copy had copious skipping in the Prima Donna track. This copy seems to have a 'plug' in the track - the audio breifly becomes "A" quality, for part of Prima Donna. Most of the audio is a solid B, however. The speeches were missing from the new copy however ... so I plugged in the old copy's speeches track. I have done enough comparison though to guarantee they are the same audio with different qualities - there are many places with identical audience noises.
B
London, March 6, 1999
Glyn Kerslake, Jill Washington, Chris Harley, Anthony Raffell, Leo Andrews, Jasna Ivir, Heather Jackson, David Hillman, Amanda Light
... This is clear enough to make me think soundboard, except for the fact that the applause is quite louder than we typically hear in a soundboard.
A
Hamburg, March 20, 1999
The identity of the cast is in question. It's either:
David Gaschen/Michael Nicholson, Carla Nicholson, David Gaschen/Keil Klamphake
I have two copies of this audio, slightly different qualities. Both are:
Very good sound quality. Some very small bits missing (flip points? Wandering Child has a small chunk missing for sure, possibly others.)
- One has slightly more hiss than the other. Also, one may have been a victim of HSD - there is a slight tempo difference making one of them run a few minutes shorter than the other. However, upon comparisons of both audios, I've determined they are the same. Most of the track cuts are completely identical in their starting positions. One of them, the beginning of act 1 has more tracks than the other, but if you look at the numbering on the other audio, you can see the odd numbering even though there aren't as many tracks. (I noted the odd numbering in my old review, before receiving this new copy.)
Also, the shorter one has bonus tracks included at the end of both acts - I suspect someone felt the need to fill the disks. One bonus track on Act 1, and five on act 2.
For sanity's sake, I'm going to add an "A" or "B" designation to my file, since I'm not deleting one or the other. The shorter version with the bonus tracks will be "B"
A
US Tour, April 17, 1999 (Norfolk, VA, 3NT)
Ted Keegan, Rebecca Pitcher, Richard Todd Adams
Clear audio for the time period, with a mild amount of hiss when I have the sound turned all the way up (which given my current headphone setup with earbuds, is necessity with older audios. Take that description at face value.)
Something happens to the sound during the rooftop scene (which I normally don't give much thought to, but my very old description from years ago mentioned skipping so I wanted to check it out.) It sounds like there's a plug from another audio. Right in the middle of the line "In that night there was music in my mind" there's a very NOTICIBLE switch in quality - the plug is much better quality, more than likely digital. It goes back to the original at "Yet in his eyes all the sadness of the world."
B
Toronto, May 23, 1999
René Simard (final), Elizabeth DeGrazia (final), Laird Mackintosh
Possible HSD. Audio is fuzzy, obviously originally analog with the hiss that goes with it. There's a crackling and popping sound that appears – not constant but every few minutes there's the scratching sound. The quality is actually all over the place - the scratching and the popping lessen as you get into act 2, but the hiss and saturation gets worse. Also tracked very strangely – Act One is only seven tracks and Act Two is eight tracks. Final performance for Simard and DeGrazia, includes curtain speech by Simard.
Years ago I had Simard listed as a possible understudy, can anyone confirm or deny?
A rare audio of Simard, possibly the only one.
B- / B
Broadway, June 11, 1999
Hugh Panaro, Adrienne McEwan, Gary Mauer
If the hiss weren't so heavy, this would be an A quality audio. This would be a very good candidate for hiss reduction, if I were actually talented at that kind of audio editing. Honestly if someone out there can do that sort of thing without destroying the audio I'd be willing to gift this one to have it done, because it's a damn shame as good as the performance sounds.
B-
US Tour, July 18, 1999 (Salt Lake City)
Ian Jon Bourg (u/s), Megan Starr-Levitt (alt), Richard Todd Adams
Slightly muffled, dull sound - as though the mic wasn't in the open air. Four seconds of Magical Lasso missing, as well as a small chunk of the Don Juan Rehearsal and a bit of screaming after Don Juan Triumphant - probably flip points. Rarish recording of Bourg behind the mask on Tour (in that there's only a handful of known audios of him from this time period.)
B
London, July 31, 1999
Mike Sterling, Charlotte Page, Gartor Thor Cortez
A little overloaded on the bass, but otherwise nice and clear.
A
Hamburg, July 31, 1999
David Gaschen (last), Colby Thomas, Kiel Klamphake, James Rio, David Hunerjager, Vera Borisova, Marcelo Ronchietto, Ruth Hale, Sabrina Harper
David Gaschen's final performance with the Hamburg production. Slightly on the quiet side, with a fair bit of analog hiss, more so really than most of the other Hamburg audios I have. I don't see this one on a lot of lists, and it wasn't one I had my hands on during my early 2000's trading period. But it's definitely not one of the other Hamburg audios I have (I compared, just to be sure.) This one is hissier than most of them, but there's just enough clarity under the hiss to keep me from dropping it another grade.
B-
Toronto, August 18? 1999
Jeff Hyslop, Melissa Dye, unknown Raoul
Originally analog and it shows - a good bit of hiss, a mechanical hum in the quiet bits, and you can hear the tapeheads rotating in the quieter parts. Overload on the loud bits. I can't be sure, but possible HSD. There are a few seconds missing towards the beginning of each track so it sounds like there's a skip, which results in the lower grade. Also used to have annoying bleeps between some tracks, but have been edited out. Missing all of Magical Lasso, a bit of the pre-DJT proceedings, and cuts off just before the last note of the Final Lair. Regardless of the issues though the vocals are quite clear, they just sound very high pitched.
Question on the date. I originally recieved this as simply 1999. In a recent trade I recieved it again with the August 18 date on it. Comparison proves they're the same audio, traded with two different dates and some slightly different track cuts, so I'm throwing it out there. Both copies are about the same quality, however.
B-
Hamburg, Germany, August 21, 1999?
Jerzy Jeszke, Lori Zeglarski (us?), Kyle Gonyea
Sometimes listed as August 12, 1999, but they're the same audio - I actually had both in my archive folder and didn't realize it until looking at another trader's list. I compared Wandering Child on both. They both have this click-type sound in the same place, during Lori's first lines in the song.
Buzzing noise overlays this audio - sound reminds me of a bad CD transfer. This sucks because if you could cut out the buzz there is a beautiful quality audio underneath.
In one of the audios info text file I have a (us?) designation next to Lori ... was she an understudy? Any info appreciated!
B
Toronto, Canada, October 31, 1999
Paul Stanley, Melissa Dye, David Rogers, Kim Stengel, Terry Hodges, Paul Mulloy, Kristina Marie Guiget, Brent Weber, Catriona Ferguson
Final performance in Toronto. Includes speeches and cast singing Music Of The Night together after the performance. Sound quality solid.
A
London, November 1999
Richard Halton (SB), Charlotte Page, Gartor Thor Cortes
HIGHLIGHTS. Runs about an hour and 15 minutes. Fair bit of analog hiss, and the odd London Echo of course. Bits of it are pretty muffled - almost as though it was recorded underwater? - others are clearer. Almost sounds like it might have encountered HSD somewhere along the way, but I'm not 100 percent sure on that.
B/C
San Diego, CA 3NT, November 17, 1999
Michael Lackey (u/s), Rebecca Pitcher, Richard Todd Adams. David Cryer, Richard Reardon (?), Julie Schmidt(?)
Rare recording of Lackey probably doing some emergency covering for Ted Keegan on tour. Has that slow-motion sound quality I normally associate with a recording that's encountered high-speed dubbing in it's lifetime before it's transfer to digital from cassette. I swear Lackey and Brad Little were separated at birth - their voices are very, very similar.
A-
UK Tour, Edinburgh, November 21, 1999
Carl Sanderson (u/s), Deborah Dutcher, Tom Sellwood (u/s), Michael Bauer, Dermot McLaughlin (u/s), Carrie Ellis, Julie Steinke, Hans Dornbusch, Hayley Driscoll
Some overload on the loud bits. Overall a good audio though.
B
UK Tour, Edinburgh December 1, 1999
Mike Sterling, Deborah Dutcher, Richard Lake, Michael Bauer, Dermont McLaughlin, Carrie Ellis, Julie Steinke, Hans Dornbusch, Hayley Driscoll
Very nice audio, sounds like it may be digital (Not sure how widespread digital recorders were in 99?) Either way, gorgeous clear sound with some very nice percussive elements that I'm not sure I've heard before.
A
Hamburg, December 31, 1999
Michael Nicholson (alt), Lori Zeglarski (u/s), Kyle Gonyea, David Hunerjaeger, Anders Sohlman, Vera Borisova, Linda Bruske, Marcello Ronchietto, Sabrina Harper, Stephan Drakulich (M. Reyer), Eberhard Neitzel (M. Lefèvre), Jonathan Guss (Auctioneer), Ronn Ealy (Don Attilio), Suzanne Gari (Confidante)
Some hiss, but not overpowering. Can be quiet at times. Still, a good solid audio underneath.
A