A note before we begin ...
... I'm realizing that even though it's true, the "crisp clear audio" review is getting redundant for most anything post 2005 ...
... So those that have descriptions as such were reviewed prior to me coming to that conclusion. Basically, I'm gonna start only noting down issues I catch. If there's no description, assume I found nothing wrong lol. My grades speak for themselves though. There's gotta be issues if anything past here is less than an A.
... So those that have descriptions as such were reviewed prior to me coming to that conclusion. Basically, I'm gonna start only noting down issues I catch. If there's no description, assume I found nothing wrong lol. My grades speak for themselves though. There's gotta be issues if anything past here is less than an A.
2000's
London, January 6, 2000
Richard Halton (s/b), Meredith Braun, Matthew Cammelle, Margaret Preece, David Delve, Mark Siney, Heather Jackson, Lucy Middleton
Nice clear audio, but with intermittent skips that detract from the overall enjoyment, thus the split grade. Would love to find a pristine copy.
A/B
US Tour, February 22, 2000 (Spokane)
Brad Little, Rebecca Pitcher, Jim Weitzer
Nice crisp and clear audio. Some odd tracking choices.
A
London, March 4, 2000
Scott Davies, Claire Louise Hammacott (alt), Matthew Cammelle, Margaret Preece, David Delve,
Richard Halton, Heather Jackson, Lucy Middleton, Paul Brodene Smith
Very much on the quiet side, I had to jack the volume all the way up. It's clear, decent quality, but it's also got what I have for years termed the "London Echo".
There is a strange plug in Act One, at the beginning of "Angel Of Music", what sounds to be the instrumental from the beginning of the Graveyard replaces Meg's entrance to Christine's room, which is missing "Where in the world have" and starts with "You've been hiding".
B+
Mexico City, Mexico, March 8, 2000
Saulo Vasconcelos, Lolita Cortes, Jose Joel
Highlights, runs 56:30 minutes. My first thought on hearing this - 2000????? Really? Very garbled quality, sounds like an analog transfer gone bad. There's something over the vocals, some disturbance. My Spanish isn't good to begin with, but I can't make out the words here. I can hear the actors are hitting the notes, though, if it helps.
Very disappointed to learn there's no Music Of The Night. The first lair jumps from the title song to I Remember. It feels like this was made by a fan of Lolita Cortes, because that's not the only place where the Phantom's part gets cut (Why So Silent, for example, when Christine's part of Masquerade is present.)
C
Antwerp, Belgium, April 4, 2000
Rob Pitcher (2nd u/s), Susanne Duwe, Michael Shawn Lewis, William Lynn Dixon, Marc Meersman, Rita Saxmark (u/s Carlotta), Stephanie Tschoppe, Ernst von Looy, Sophie Kiddle
Good sound quality for this time period when things were hit and miss between the analog and digital ages. Some odd echo that I'm sure is likely theatre accoustics. The source disk this came from is listed as having "three second pauses" but once again I'm not sure how that translates to a digital copy should one try to re-burn, so just throwing it out there (I preferred pauses to lower quality, what can I say?) Years ago on my old list I had this marked with a question by Duwe - apparantly the trader I got it off of back then questioned it being Duwe. Would love a good comparison because I noted not being sure myself, thinking Christine sounded a lot like Inneke Van Klinken. Just throwing that out there as well.
A-
Antwerp, Belgium, June 1, 2000?
Hans Peter Janssens, Inneke van Klinken (alt), Michael Shawn Lewis, Ernst van Looy, Marc Meersman, Ann Lauwreins, Stéphanie Tschöppe, William Lynn Dixon, Sophie Kiddle
Very VERY clear audio - crystal. I'd think soundboard if there wasn't this one cough I heard during MOTN.
Back in the day I had the Belgium audios listed as being in Flemish ... I don't know how close Flemish is to Dutch or German, (I know Dutch is somewhat close to German) and this honestly makes me think it's in Dutch, but again, I'm not fluent enough in Dutch to be sure.
** NOTE: I recently pulled this one back out for a re-listen and comparison after trading for the "June 10, 2000" audio from this location with the same cast after noting that both were high quality and I felt "soundboard quality" upon first listen. After extensive comparison, I've found these are both the SAME audio. I noted above the cough in MOTN. This happens in the very last notes of the song - it's two short coughs together. Both audios have the exact same cough, as well as too many other similarities in actor's phrasing, for them to be two different audios. So now I don't know which is the correct date because this audio has been traded around with two different dates for a LONG time most likely without there being a question.
A+
Hamburg, Germany, June 5, 2000
Ian Jon Bourg, Alison Kelly, Kyle Gonyea
Possibly a soundboard, nice clear sound.
A
Antwerp, Belgium, June 21, 2000
Hans Peter Janssens, Inneke Van Klinken (U/S), Michael Lewis, William Lynn Dixon, Marc Meersman, An Lauwreins, Arnst van Looy, Sophie Kiddle
A few added percussion elements which you don’t hear often, very interesting.
A+
Hamburg, June 30, 2000
Ian Jon Bourg, Colby Thomas, Kiel Klaphake, David Hunerjager, Niklaus Ruegg, Vera Borisova, Linda Bruske, Marcello Ronchietto, Sabrina Harper.
Special Guests - Peter Hoffman, Anna Maria Kaufmann
10th anniversary performance of the Hamburg production. Not the clearest of the clear. There's popping in the final lair through two tracks, but it stops before the post-show presentation, thus the dual grade (the first grade is for the rest of the show). Includes speeches, guest Phantom Peter Hoffman singing MOTN and guest Christine Anna Maria Kaufmann singing 'Wishing' (both after the actual show)
A-/B
Hamburg, July 5, 2000
Ian Jon Bourg, Colby Thomas, Christopher Morandi (u/s), Vera Borisova, David Hunerjaeger, Linda Bruske, Marcello Ronchietto
Very crisp and clear, with a bit of an echo from theatre accoustics. Quite probably a digital recording.
FINALLY someone who knows enough German tracked this one, and did NOT name the "Wandering Child" track with the Vienna name, which seems to be a theme amongst the German language audios. I know, that's nit-picky when I could not spell it, but could hear it's different.
A+
UK Tour, July 17 2000 (Bradford)
Peter Karrie, Amy Nuttall, Robert Finlayson, Michael Bauer, Alan Vicary, Gabriella Santinelli, Heather Craig, Armen Boldy.
Nice clear quality recording, with some mic adjustment noise from time to time.
There is one strange thing, it sounds like there is a very young child not far from the taper . . . there's one point I thought I heard a baby cry and another where there is a kid saying "mommy". I don't know WHY I am hearing these things, but they're there.
A-
UK Tour - July 29, 2000 (Bristol)
Peter Karrie, Deborah Dutcher, Robert Finlayson, Michael Bauer, Alan Vicary, Gabriella Santinelli, Janet Murphy, Armen Boldy, Heather Craig
Some hiss, but not overbearing.
A-
London, August 7, 2000
Garth Bardsley (U/S), Charlotte Paige, Nicholas Maude (U/S?), David Delve, Richard Halton, Shan Cothi, Ann Adlene, Lee David Bowen, Hayley Driscoll
Not Matthew Cammelle as Raoul as reported by some lists. Excellent quality given the hit-or-miss in the quality category from this time period (that whole verge of digital recordings catching on. I think this is digital.)
A-
Broadway, August 9, 2000
David Gaschen (U/S), Sarah Pfisterer, Gary Mauer
Very clear, but with a bit of analog hiss overlaying the audio.
B
Broadway, August 12, 2000
James Romick (U/S), Sarah Pfisterer, Gary Mauer
Nice clear audio, very nearly soundboard clarity (if it weren't for a few audience noises I'd have wondered). Act two is slightly louder than Act One though. Earliest known audio of Romick's Phantom, and one of a small handful of Pfisterer's Christine. I wanted to laugh at the end of Wandering Child ... when Romick says, "Well, don't go!" there was this tone of surprise in his voice. Like Raoul and Christine leaving was the absolute last thing he expected to happen.
A
Broadway, August 15, 2000
Howard McGillin, Sarah Pfisterer, Gary Mauer, George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller
Sound is a tad low and there's some analog hiss - not too bad, but enough between both for me to drop the grade. Not a whole lot of recordings out there of Pfisterer.
B
London, September 2000
Scott Davies, Charlotte Page, Matt Cammelle
Originally analog, has been cleaned up, but it's got this odd quality to it from the de-hissing process. There's still hiss when the volume is jacked up (which I have to do with quieter audios like this one.)
B-
Hamburg, October 6, 2000
Kyle Gonyea (u/s), Colby Thomas, Christopher Morandi (u/s), Vera Borisova, David Hunerjaeger, Niklaus Ruegg, Taylor Wilson, Marcello Ronchietto, Kate Lawrence, Mark Siney (Reyer), Eberhard Neitzei (Lefevre), Peter Graham (Buquet), Ronn Early (Don Attilio/Passarino), Reinhard Schulze (Auctioneer)
I have some questions on the date. Years ago I did a cassette transfer on an audio dated this with this exact cast ... but this audio is NOT my transfer. The biggest give-away is the transfer I did was missing the very end of the final lair after the kiss. This audio, however, has a complete lair. Given the trader I may very well have gotten my cassettes off of all those years ago though, my date could have been wrong as well. I'll never know for sure now if I honestly had the October 6th recording or another of Gonyea.
Some strange skipping at the beginning and ending of tracks, possibly from a bad rip or burn. The quality of the audio in general isn't bad, but the transfer or rip-reburn-rerip somewhere along the line was a poor job (Again, it's not my transfer! I'd LOVE to get a hold of my transfer again *Sighs*) Given that the general quality of the audio underneath, I'm going to give this a split grade, the higher being what I would grade without those issues.
A/B
UK Tour, November 11, 2000 (Manchester)
Peter Karrie, Deborah Dutcher, Robert Finlayson, Michael Bauer, Carl Sanderson, Gabriella Santinelli, Janet Murphy, Armen Boldy, Heather Craig
Final performance of the 2nd UK Tour. Slight pauses in odd places.
A-
Hamburg, Germany, December 28, 2000
Michael Nicholson, Alison Kelly, Stefan Voigt (u/s)
Analog hiss and some mild generation loss. Just barely in the "B" grade range in my opinion. Also, only two tracks per act.
B-
Hamburg, Germany, 2001
Ian Jon Bourg, Olivia Safe (u/s), Kyle Gonyea, David Hunerjaeger
Very odd tracking choices. Analog hiss throughout.
B
London, January 10, 2001
Scott Davies, Claire Louise Hammacott, Matthew Cammelle, Michael Bauer, Alan Vicary, Shan Cothi, Janet Murphy, Lee David Bowen, Lucy Middleton
On the quiet side.
A
Broadway, April 12, 2001
Howard McGillin, Sandra Joseph, Gary Mauer, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Rebecca Eichenberger, Leila Martin, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Liz McCartney
Awesome quality audio, with no overload on loud notes, very little audience noise as well.
My old copy had McGillin's BCEFA speech, this copy does not, so someone cut it out somewhere along the way.
A
Hamburg, Germany, June 29/30, 2001
Ian Jon Bourg, Colby Thomas, Kyle Gonyea
Final performance; Act 1 is from the 29th, Act 2 is from the 30th.
Solid audio.
A
London, July 7, 2001
Alan Vicary (2nd u/s -usually played Andre), Deborah Dutcher, Matt Cammelle, Michael Bauer, Mark Siney (u/s), Shan Cothi, Janet Murphy, Lee David Bowen, Lucy Middleton
Very nice audio, on the quiet side. Has that echo that seems to be common to many London audios (I think it's the acoustics in Her Majesty's). Some clicking and popping in the end of the Mirror scene and the beginning of the title track.
A-
Broadway, August 2001
Howard McGillin, Sarah Pfisterer, Jim Weitzer, Jeff Keller, James Romick or Scott Mikita, Rebecca Echinberger, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Joelle Gates
Even back in the early part of the 2000's, no one knew the exact date on this one. One of those mysteries. At any rate though, it's a nice crystal clear audio.
A
US Tour September 4, 2001 (Atlanta)
Ted Keegan, Kathy Voytko, John Cudia
Act 1 only. Some random noises that sound like scratches. Decent audio underneath with some overload at the loud bits.
A
US Tour, September 15, 2001. (Atlanta) (matinee)
Ted Keegan, Julie Hanson (alt), John Cudia, Julie Schmidt, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Ray Gabbard, Heather McFadden
For the most part, this audio is very good. But there is some spotty generation loss here, mostly in the form of a little scratchiness from time to time. That's the only thing that's going to keep this one from being an A ... because from the underlying sound I can tell that this was NOT an analog recording - no analog hiss is present. My best guess on the cause of the loss is multiple rip/reburns at lower bit rates.
Possibly the earliest recording of Julie Hanson's Christine (for some reason I thought she didn't join the tour until sometime in 2002 ... but hey, I've been known to be wrong before!)
B+
Copenhagen, Denmark October 6, 2001
Peter Jorde, Hanne Damm, Björn Olsson, Vera Borisova
Nice clear audio. Used to be rare ... not sure if it still is.
A+
London, October 10, 2001
John Owen-Jones, Deborah Dutcher, Matthew Cammelle, An Lauwereins, Bruce Montague, Charles Shirvell, Janet Murphy, Lucy Middleton, Jeremy Secomb
On the quiet side, but nice and clear. One of the earliest audios of JOJ from his first run as Phantom.
A
London, December 12, 2001
John Owen-Jones, Deborah Dutcher, Matthew Cammelle, An Lauwereins, Christian Jon Billett (u/s), Bruce Montague, Charles Shirvell, Janet Murphy, Lucy Middleton
TRACKED. Unless this was 'recently released' (possible, I didn't have it back in the day) I'm very surprised to find an audio from that time that was untracked, since it was taken prior to the rise of "online trades" - in 2001 it was a lot harder to upload a file of this size. Of course, it could have been originally analog and only recently transferred ... but I don't hear the hiss I'd associate with an analog transfer.
Overload on the loud bits, and the 'odd London echo', along with a bit of a 'recorded in a tin can' sound quality to it. Some minor 'skipping' type noises, very intermittent. Sound is very mildly skewed to one side (by mildly, I mean my ears did not detect it, but Audacity did. I just can't figure out if it's left or right. However, someone with perfect hearing would probably catch it so I'm throwing it out there.) Also, loud enough for me to be comfortable listening at below half-volume. But otherwise a nice clear audio.
Deborah Dutcher's TOM cadenza ... VERY nice.
As far as the grade goes ... since it sounds as though it's a very early generation audio, I'm going to grade it as I would have if I had recieved it in the early 2000's.
A-
London, January 5, 2002
John Owen Jones, Deborah Dutcher, Matthew Cammelle, Bruce Montague, Charles Shirvell, Margaret Mary Kane (u/s), Janet Murphy, Jeremy Secomb, Lucy Middleton
Very clear sound through most of the performance. When this first came out for some reason I thought there was a possibility of it being a soundboard ... it's not, but given what was around back then, I'm not suprised I thought so. Has the typical London echo.
Cast list taken from my old website. IIRC, back when it was first released I could have told you who the master was so I likely got my full cast list from them.
A
London March 14, 2002
Tim Morgan (2nd Cover), Claire Louise Hammacott, Robert Finlayson, Robert Irons, Bruce Montague, Nan Christie, Liz Robertson, Hayley Driscoll, Jeremy Secomb
A beautiful audio, just as billed. Very clear sound, of course, has that echo that seems peculiar to audios coming from Her Majesty's. Morgan's Phantom is very inspired (makes me wonder why he's only a cover?)
Some minor confusion over the date - some lists have this as March 15, (I've also seen it listed as March 15, 2003) but they're the same audio. There's identical chair noises at the beginning of Wandering Child, and the same murmur from either the taper or someone near them.
Only known audio of Morgan as Phantom.
A
London, May 23, 2002
John Owen Jones, Amanda Jane Callaghan (u/s), Robert Finlayson
Very nice sound. During the Entr'acte, you hear very clearly young children speaking. There's a skip in Think Of Me. Intermittent mic noise and you can hear the taper moving in his (her?) chair. First time Amanda went on as Christine; she muddles lines in Think of Me and sings the "old" lyrics to Wishing.
A-
US Tour, May 30, 2002 (Des Moines, Iowa.) Matinee.
Brad Little, Rebecca Pitcher, Dan Callaway (u/s), Julie Schmidt, David Cryer, D.C. Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Jay Lusteck (u/s), Erin Sacks
Specifically labeled as Matinee because there was a recording done at the evening performance as well (with a different Raoul. I used to have it, once upon a time.) Better quality than I remembered, very clear which wasn't a given at this point in time for tour audios.
A
London, June 28, 2002
John Owen-Jones, Celia Graham, James Spilling (U/S)
A little heavy on the base. Has that echo that's peculiar to London Audios.
A-
Seoul, Korea, June 30, 2002
Jang-seob Kim, Kim So hyun, Se-hun Jeong
Jeong nearly misses his cue during Wandering Child, comes in slightly late (unless this was intentional in this production? IDK I've only got the one audio from Korea.)
Nice crisp and clear sound.
A+
Stuttgart, Germany, October 23, 2002
Ian Jon Bourg, Janine Kitzen, Jonas Holst
First preview of the Stuttgart production. Decent enough audio. No where near the quality of the November 1 2002 audio with the same Phantom/Christine though.
A
US Tour, October 23, 2002 (Philadelphia, PA)
Ted Keegan, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, Kim Stengel,
David Cryer, DC Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Frederic Heringes, Erin Sacks
RavnQuest's master. First performance of the engagement. From a digital master. Contains the entire show, pre-show announcement and exit music. The sound at the Forrest Theatre was deplorable so this audio is not as good as it could have been. Various technical problems throughout the show. Oddly though, this is better quality than the recording from December 1st (same taper, same equipment, and if I remember what I was told correctly after all these years, similar position in theatre for attempt at filming.)
A
Stuttgart, November 1, 2002
Ian Jon Bourg, Janine Kitzen, Michael Shawn Lewis
Crisp and clear, could this have been a soundboard? It really almost sounds like a studio recording ... Except when you hear the applause at the exit ...
A+
London, December 3, 2002
Richard Halton (s/b), Celia Graham, Robert Finlayson, Bruce Montague, Robert Irons, Nan Christie, Jeremy Secombe, Liz Robertson, Hayley Driscoll
A
US Tour, December 1, 2002 (Philadelphia, PA)
Ted Keegan, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson,
Kim Stengel, Frederic Heringues, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Erin Sacks
RavnQuest's Master. Fair amount of overload and heavy on the bass (Sadly though I know for a fact this was caused by crappy theatre accoustics *Sigh*). Also some mechanical noise from the digital recorder. "Missing" Music Of The Night - the track for it is there, but it's completely silent (very very VERY strange!)
A-
US Tour, December 21, 2002 (Philadelphia, PA)
Tim Martin Gleason (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Dan Calloway (U/S, Final), David Cryer, D.C. Anderson, Kim Stengel, Frederic Heringues, Susan Emerson (U/S), Erin Sacks
This audio used to be ridiculously rare - for a very very long time I was one of a few who had it and NO ONE listed it. Come to think of it, I never DID list it on my old site. Ah well it's out there now.
RavnQuest's master. A touch on the low side volume wise. Coughing near the taper at various points (what do you expect in Philadelphia in December?? IIRC the temperature was nearing the negatives ... yes, I was there.) First recording of Gleason as Phantom VERY early in his understudy of the role (as in, he'd had his first time behind the mask earlier in the week, as told at the stage door a few days prior to this recording). Final for Calloway with the tour. Flub in "Seal My Fate", the gun doesn't go off and Calloway ad-libs. Final performance of the Philadelphia engagement.
A-
Madrid, Spain, 2003 (1)
Luis Amando, Teresa Barrientos, Zenon Recalde (2nd Raoul), David Venacio Murio, Enrique R del Portal, Ruth Nabal (2nd Carlotta?), Angels Jimenez, Enrique Ferrer, Evangelina Esteves
SOUNDBOARD. Over the years I've seen people say that they think this is just a high quality digital audio but ... the tell is in the lack of audience noise. The applause is muted, you can hear hitches of breath from the performers, and that combined with the overall quality makes me vote soundboard. (Besides if this had been an audience recording there'd be tons of chatter during the exit music - and there's NOT. Not a peep. Just a nice clear instrumental.) I guess that long-winded explanation also gives a good clue about the audio's quality.
A+
Madrid, Spain, 2003 (2)
Juan Carlos Barona (Second Phantom), Felicidad Farag?, Armando Pita, Julia Möller
SOUNDBOARD. Perfectly beautiful recording of the Madrid cast, almost like a cast recording.
Barona's Phantom is a very strong baritone, very deep and resounding voice, but he seemed to lack heart. When I said almost like a cast recording, that goes to the style of the acting – the heart of the live performance is just not there. This is seen in Farag's Christine and Pita's Raoul as well, sadly. Disappointing for such a beautiful audio with some otherwise beautiful voices! However if you prefer a perfectionist quality over emotionalism, this is the audio for you.
A+
Stuttgart, January 12, 2003
Steve Lucas (u/s), Sandra Danyella (u/s), Michael Shawn Lewis
Frequent overload, and some skipping throughout (Notably in the title song). I can't be sure, but I suspect the taper used binaural mics - it has that 'faux surround sound' effect during "Seal My Fate". Some mild hiss, but oddly clear underneath. Yes, I know that makes little sense but there it is. Almost makes me think it was digital transferred to cassette and back again one generation later. According to the previous trader, her copy had "six second pauses - "as a previous trader copied a 3-second pause copy with 3-second pauses *again*." Only known audio of Lucas's Phantom to come out of this Stuttgart run.
A-
Stuttgart, January 15, 2003
Ian Jon Bourg, Maike Switzer (alt), Alen Hodzovic, Ernst van Looy (Firmin), Marko Woytowicz (Andre), Susann Hagel (Carlotta), Marcello Ronchietto (Piangi), Susan Rigvava-Dumas (Madame Giry), Lara Glew (Meg)
Very heavy bass, overpowering at times. Also, definitely a case of scratchy disk syndrome (I'm going to coin this term now, for when I'm pretty sure the source disk of the rip was scratched, as I think this one was.) Still, other than that it's a good audio of Bourg, who I've always enjoyed.
B+
US Tour, February 15, 2003 (Lansing, MI)
Brad Little, Julie Hanson, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Frederic Heringes, Erin Sacks
Some analog hiss present (strange because my old review stated it as crisp and clear? The hiss isn't too bad, but how I missed it ...) I don't think Julie's mic was adjusted right that night because during AIAOY when she and TMG sing in harmony he blows her out of the water to the point you barely hear her. Tracked very strangely - example the last track of Act 1 is from Il Muto to the end of the show.
B+
London, February 18, 2003
John Owen-Jones, Celia Graham, Matt Cammelle, Richard Hazell (Firmin), Robert Irons (André), Nan Christie (Carlotta), Josie Benson (Mme. Giry u/s), Jeremy Secombe (Piangi), Hayley Driscoll (Meg Giry) Gorgeous audio, absolutely crystal-clear quality. An extremely strong cast overall.
A
Stuttgart Germany, February 20, 2003
Steve Lucas (u/s), Maike Switzer, Alex Hodzovic
A
Broadway, February 24, 2003
Howard McGillin, Lisa Vroman, John Cudia
Some skipping at the ends of both acts: starting from AIAOY and “It's over now…,” respectively. A few words dropped here and there but nothing major. Very clear audio.
A-
Stuttgart, Germany, March 2, 2003
Ian Jon Bourg, Marion Wilmer (u/s), Alen Hodzovic, Ernst van Looy, Steve Lucas, Barbara Gray Nystrom, Gabriele Ramm, Marcello Ronchietto, Lara Glew
A
US Tour, April 2, 2003? (Buffalo?)
Thomas Cunningham (U/S), Marni Raab (ALT), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), D.C. Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Frederic Heringues (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Mme. Giry)
The audio system in Buffalo definitely wasn't up to snuff, you can hear slight distortion in the actor's higher, louder notes. Some skipping noise in Wandering Child. Almost sounds like it was originally analog - there's a hiss overlaying the entire audio. Missing the Entr'acte.
Most traders accept the date of April 2 for this audio, but there was a lot of confusion about either the date or the location being inaccurate back in 2003/2004 when this started circulating (mostly due to me getting a hold of it through a truely incompetent trader at the time who gave me two different dates.) I'm leaving my "original" review of this audio in the info file.
And again, I know I said no cast reviews but ... Cunningham's Phantom is nicely psychotic, definitely for those who don't want their Phantom to be too fluffy :-)
B-
Broadway, May 20, 2003
Hugh Panaro, Lisa Vroman, John Cudia, Patricia Phillips, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews (u/s), Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Joelle Gates
A
London, May 29, 2003
Richard Halton (SB), Nicky Adams (Alt), Niklas Andersson, Nan Christie (Carlotta) Jeremy Secomb (Piangi), Josie Benson (Understudy, Giry), Richard Hazell (Firmin), Robert Irons (Andre), Hayley Driscoll (Meg)
Crisp clear sound, but a little low at some points.
A-
Broadway, June 16, 2003
Hugh Panaro, Adrianne McEwan (alt), John Cudia, Patricia Phillips, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Heather McFadden
A
Budapest, Hungary, July 22, 2003
Attila Csengeri, Eszter Biro, Zsolt Homonnay, Orsolya Roser, Robert Weil, Bela Szerednyey, Viktoria Bajza, Peter Pankotay, Viktoria Varady, Gyula Vikidal (Buquet), Zsolt Bognar (Reyer), Attila Lote (Lefevre), Komel Pusztaszeri (Auctioneer)
The sound is a bit thin with a tinge of overload at times, but other than that it sounds very nice. A little bit of skipping during the applause after Music of the Night, moderate to severe skipping after Point of No Return.
A
US Tour, July 30, 2003 Matinee (San Francisco)
Tim Martin Gleason (u/s), Lisa Vroman, D.B. Bonds (u/s), D.C. Anderson (Andre), David Cryer (Firmin), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Frederick Heringues (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Mme. Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Originally analog and it shows – some hiss throughout. Small bits likely missing around flip points (I noticed one in the "Before the Premiere" scene – not MUCH missing, just a few orchestral notes). However, the transfer was done from a very early generation, so the analog issues aren't as vast as many other analog recordings are.
For a very *VERY* long time recordings of Gleason's Phantom were *VERY* hard to come by and this one, the first one that was released (others were kept hidden for vast periods) was ridiculously rare. (My old site will state this as the earliest recording, though I knew even back then it wasn't ...)
B
US Tour, August 5, 2003 (San Francisco, CA)
Brad Little, Marni Raab (alt.), DB Bonds (u/s), David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, David Gaschen (u/s)
Oddly echoey, probably has to do more with the acoustics of the theater than the microphone. Also slightly heavy on the bass. Hilarious goof where the overture recording doesn't start, so the chandelier begins to rise in complete silence until about fifteen seconds later when the recording kicks in. (Someone was asleep at the wheel!) Also, though it is not apparent on the recording, the taper told me that during this show, the veil went missing for Final Lair so Brad was forced to substitute the ring.
(Why did I give this a B+ years ago?)
A
Stuttgart, Germany, August 8, 2003
Thomas Schulze, Janine Kitzen, Roy Weissensteiner (u/s), Eberhard Neitzel, Marko Woytowicz, Barbara Gray-Nystrom, Annette Kuhn, Charlie Serrano (u/s)
A
Stuttgart, August 22, 2003
Ian Jon Bourg, Maike Switzer (alt), Alen Hodzovic, Stefan Müller-Ruppert, Jonathan Agar, Barbara Gray-Nystrom, Gabriele Ramm, Marcello Ronchietto, Lara Glew
Very much on the quiet side. Minor volume imbalances and overload at the loudest bits, almost makes me think someone was trying to adjust the mic volume manually? But there's clarity underneath that makes it skirt the grade drop.
A-
US Tour, August 29, 2003 (San Francisco, CA)
Brad Little, Lisa Vroman, Tim Martin Gleason, D. C. Anderson (Andre), David Cryer (Firmin), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Frederic Heringues (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Mme. Giry), Kate Wray (Meg Giry)
Crisp clear sound, a perfect recording. Done by the same taper who did the July 18, 2003 audio.
A
Budapest, September 26, 2003
Sándor Sasvári, Renáta Krassy, Zsolt Hommonay
One of the earliest released audios out of Budapest (When I first recieved it there weren't any others released as yet, according to the notes on my old list.) This production was the first to use what at the time had been a London Only lyric - the Trio in Perros scene, and quite possibly it set the trend that many productions around the world now have it added. Quality wise, very good. Mild overload on the loud bits - nothing out of the norm. My original copy had 3 second pauses. I don't know how that will translate to anyone burning this to disk.
A-
London, October 6, 2003. 730pm Performance.
Earl Carpenter (u/s), Katie Knight Adams, Ramin Karimloo, Sam Hiller (Andre), Richard Hazell (Firmin) Heather Jackson (Madame Giry)
This was the first performance of the new cast AND the first performance of the (then) current London Phantom stand-by. A few small flubs here and there (Earl uses "This slave of fashion" twice in the Mirror, for example). Also has that echo sound that seems common amongst London audios of the time.
A
US Tour, November 18, 2003 (Los Angeles, CA)
Brad Little, Marni Raab (Alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), D.C. Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (?) (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Mme. Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
A little on the quiet side but still an amazingly beautiful audio. Made by the same taper as the video from this night (possibly ripped from said video.)
A-
US Tour, November 19, 2003 (Los Angeles, CA)
Brad Little, Lisa Vroman, Tim Martin Gleason, DC Anderson, David Cryer, Kim Stengal, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Jimmy Smagula, Kate Wray
I wonder if someone has played around with the volume on this at some point over the years because I used to have this listed as "on the quiet side" but it's really not (and I know my hearing has NOT improved in more than ten years.) Vroman cracks in the cadenza of "Think of Me" and Little cracks in "Down Once More." Brad's "Christine, why ... WHY?" has to be heard to be believed. One of the earliest recordings of Smagula as Piangi.
A
US Tour, December 5, 2003 (Los Angeles)
Brad Little, Lisa Vroman, Tim Martin Gleason
Cassette transfer. Highlights, and a choppy one at best, runs under half an hour. Mostly Christine's parts. Starts at the Mirror scene, cuts from halfway through the title song straight to the rooftop scene, which is missing the end of the reprise. Act 2 begins with a SHORT segment of Notes II before "Twisted Every Way" and then skips to the beginning of Don Juan Triumphant. Audio ends right at the unmasking.
One of the last recordings of Brad before he left the tour, and if I'm not mistaken, the last of Lisa Vroman as Christine, she left shortly after this. Nice enough audio for an analog, but the cuts can be annoying. I can also tell it used to be on CD at some point, there are times I can hear what was once a three second pause. Given it's shortness, I'm just going to gift it out to anyone who is interested - provided of course, you ask nicely :-)
B
US Tour, January 11, 2004 Matinee, (Orlando, FL)
Brad Little, Elizabeth Southard (Alternate), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg), William Patrick Dunne (Understudy, Bouquet)
Digital – Master.
Missing the Prologue and the Entr'acte. Crisp, clear sound. Brad Little's second-to-last with the tour. I'm fairly certain that this is the only audio of Little and Southard together.
A
US Tour, January 11, 2004 Evening, (Orlando, FL, 3NT)
Brad Little (Final Performance in production), Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Digital – Master.
Missing the beginning of the Prologue, the Entr'acte, and the first minute of Act Two before Masquerade, everything else is there. Little was VERY emotional as this was his final show with the tour, in the final lair scene after Christine returns with the ring, he's choked up from trying not to cry when he sings the final line "It's over now the music of the night".
A
US Tour, January 13, 2004, (Orlando FL)
Tim Martin Gleason (US), Elizabeth Southard (Alt), Peter Lockyer (US), David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Digital – Master.
Missing most of the Entr'acte. Also, in "Angel of Music" something happens to Meg's mike, and she's a little hard to hear when harmonizing with Christine. Also intermittent coughing in the audience, not too far from me.
RARE cast - I don't think there's another one of this particular main trio (in this order anyway - there *is* one where Gleason and Lockyer are switched around.)
A
US Tour, January 21, 2004 (Orlando, FL)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg), William Patrick Dunne (Understudy, LeFevre)
Digital – Master.
Missing a chunk of the Entr'acte, which if you've heard the Entr'acte once you've heard it. VERY early audio of Gary's Phantom - he'd only been in the role for a week. The earliest available audio of Gary's Phantom.
A
US Tour, February 1, 2004 Matinee, (Orlando, FL)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Peter Lockyer (US), David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Joan Eubank (US, Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Digital – Master.
Missing part of the Entr'acte and may have some audience talking throughout (all through the performance people around me were talking – VERY ANNOYING!) Next to last show of the Orlando Engagement. Very early audio of Gary Mauer's Phantom.
A
US Tour, February 8, 2004 (Austin, TX)
Gary Mauer, Sarah Lawrence (u/s), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Patty Goble (u/s Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Excellent audio out of Austin! Some small bits missing in the Overture, but nothing major. Another early audio of Gary in the role, Austin was his first "full" stop on the tour, but he'd still only been behind the mask less than a month here. His MOTN is already strong, and there are other hints at the great he would become.
A
US Tour, February 18, 2004 (Austin, TX)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, Paul Slade Smith (u/s), Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Jimmy Smagula, Kate Wray, William Patrick Dunne (u/s Lefèvre/Firechief)
HIGHLIGHTS - ACT 2 ONLY.
As I recall, there was some issue with the master's equipment that prevented the recording of Act 1. Beautiful quality audio though. Early audio of Mauer's Phantom, he's starting to settle in a little here.
A
US Tour, February 19, 2004 (Austin, TX.)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Ray Gabbard (u/s), David Cryer, Paul Slade-Smith (u/s), Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Jimmy Smagula, Joelle Gates (u/s)
Another awesome audio out of Austin. (One of these days I'd LOVE to have the complete set again ... all 12 of them.) Scratching sound in IGYMM. (You just want to gather Gary up and HUG him there though.)
A
Stuttgart, March 6, 2004
Thomas Schulze (alt), Kristin Hölck (alt), Steve Lucas (u/s), Karen Michelle Buck (u/s Carlotta), Wolfgang DeMarco (u/s Firmin), Steffen Friedrich (u/s Andre), Annette Kuhn (u/s Madame Giry), Katie Wood (u/s Meg), Marcello Ronchietto (Piangi)
About 30 minutes of random highlights. No pauses between tracks. Includes AoM (and the managers talking to Raoul after the show), about 13 seconds of The Mirror, Title Song ("sing once again with me" and ends before Thomas tells her to sing for him), most of the Don Juan Rehearsal, Journey to the Cemetery (complete), Wishing (complete), Wandering Child (complete), Seal My Fate (complete), Don Juan Triumphant (complete), PoNR (mostly complete), and then the unmasking scene and ends right before Down Once More (no final lair at ALL - how disappointing!). Sound quality: a bit soft, and skewed to the right. But other than those nitpicks, it's really REALLY good quality sound - almost no overload, no hiss. It's a shame it's not the whole show, especially with all the understudies on!
A
Stuttgart, Germany, April 4, 2004
Ian Jon Bourg, Kristin Hoelck, Carsten Lepper, Marko Woytowicz, Ernst van Looy, Petra Koschatzki, Brian Bowley, Gabriele Ramm, Katie Wood, Ralph Abelein
Someone out there is floating this around labeled as being from the Netherlands. If there's one language other than English I'll recognize, it's German lol. But it did get me to give this another listen. Beautiful audio! Bourg is one of those Phantoms that just begs to be listened to again and again.
A
Broadway, June 7, 2004
Hugh Panaro, Julie Hanson (alt), Michael Lewis (u/s), Julie Schmidt, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andres, Marilyn Caskey, John Waisnia (u/s), Heather McFadden
Very heavy bass problem in the heavier parts of the show - bad enough that the taper replaced the Overture and the Title Song with tracks from another audio (You can *hear* the change in quality at the point of the switch in the Overture - the first note or two is from the original audio, the rest of the song is obviously not. I'd love to know what audio they used for the Title Song becuase it's goreous quality!) The 'thinner' songs where there's not a lot of bass are decent quality. Given that the quality fluctuates the way it does, I'm splitting the grade.
A-/B
London, June 18, 2004
John Owen-Jones, Nicky Adams, Ramin Karimloo
Mild to moderate overload on the loud bits. Otherwise good quality.
A-
Budapest, Hungary July 11, 2004
Zoltan Miller (3rd), Barbara Fonyo (5th), Zsolt Homonnay, Robert Weil, Istvan Miko, Orsolya Röser, Viktoria Bajza, Istvan Rozsos, Viktoria Varady
Gorgeous digital audio. Nice, full sound. Taper manually adjusted the volume switch and sometimes doesn’t adjust in time. Most of the Overture overloaded as a result. Some skipping during Hannibal and the beginning of ToM. Some odd tracking choices. Yes, Fonyo really is the 5th Christine, not an understudy. Carlotta’s croak sounds more like a hiccup.
A-
London, August 17, 2004
Earl Carpenter (s/b), Katie Knight-Adams, Ramin Karimloo, Richard Hazell, Sam Hiller, Judith Gardner-Jones, Heather Jackson, Jim Heath, Nouska Hanly (u/s)
A
US Tour, August 29, 2004, (Baltimore, MD)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, D.C. Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Jimmy Smagula, Kate Wray, Paul Slade Smith (LeFevre), Stephen R. Buntrock (M Reyer/Jeweler), John Keuther (Auctioneer)
Perfect quality, sounds like you’re right there. This audio ushered in what I always thought of as the Golden Age of Phantom audios - as I recall this taper was the first US taper to use binaural mics for her audios - and that mic and Mini Disk recorder got handed around a lot to a handful of us at different tour stops.
Gary cracks his last note in MOTN, and Beth's Wishing brings down the house.
A
London, October 4, 2004
Matthew Cammelle (s/b), Rachel Barrel, Oliver Thornton
18th Anniversary Performance of Phantom in London.
Some minor overload issues at the loud bits, but not bad enough to drop the full grade. Also some hiss left from a volume boost that happened early in this audio's existence - the early version traded was barely audible as I recall.
A-
US Tour, November 7, 2004. (Cleveland, OH.)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt.), Tim Martin Gleason, Kim Stengel (Carlotta) David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), John Whitney (Piangi), Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo (Meg), Gwen Eagleton (U/S, Giry)
Final performance in Cleveland. Missing almost all of the Entr'acte (Heard it once? Yeah ...)
Ahhhhh ... Gary and Beth. Probably the most recorded duo on the tour, for good reason. 'Nuff said.
A
London, December 8, 2004
Matthew Cammelle (s/b), Rachel Barrell, Oliver Thornton, Sally Harrison, Richard Hazell, Sam Hiller, Heather Jackson, Claire Tilling, Rohan Tickell
A
World Tour, Shanghai, January 2005
James Skinner (2nd u/s), Marni Raab, Jarrod Carland
The date is in question, it could be any time from December 2004 until March 2005. There are a couple of spots where some of the applause was cut out and a few snaps in the AIAOY reprise, but other than that a great quality audio. Cuts off during the Final Lair right after "go now and leave me."
A
World Tour - Shanghai, China - January 11, 2005
Brad Little, Marni Raab, Jarrod Carland, Jonathan Taylor, Anders Sohlman, Pauline Du Plessis, Jackie Rees, Marcus Desando, Jee-Hyun Noh, Andre Strijdom (Reyer), James Skinner (Passarino), Malcolm Terrey (Auctioneer/Lefevre), Rouel Beukes (Buquet), Hanlee Louw
Yep, it didn't even take Brad a full year to come back lol, as evidenced by an audio of him one year after his 'final performance' with the US tour.
A
Broadway, January 12, 2005 - Matinee
David Gaschen (u/s), Sandra Joseph, John Cudia, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Heather McFadden
Gaschen was the listed Phantom for this week, covering Hugh's 3 week leave. Although not posted, Janet Saia covers Susan Owen's roles due to illness. Gaschen was phenomenal - supposedly he was sick but you just can't tell. Includes the whole show, pre-show announcement, and Gaschen's post- show UNICEF speech.
A
US Tour, February 4, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, Paul Slade Smith (U/S, Andre), Kim Stengel, Peter Lockyer (U/S, Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
Digital - Master. Opening night in Ft. Myers.
One of only two audios of Lockyer's Piangi. Includes pre-show announcements, full curtain calls, and some exit music. MOST of the Entr'acte is intact. I wish I could have videoed – seeing Peter in Piangi's fat suit was a riot! (And here's where I really decided to begin filming ...) Wouldn't think such a small man would have such a large voice.
A
US Tour, February 11, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Peter Lockyer (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Laureen Vigil (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
Digital – Master.
Lockyer is a very interesting Phantom. His MOTN feels to be too fast – he doesn't really hold the "Be", and just seems to almost be rushing through the number. He flubs part of the AIAOY reprise after PONR – stops singing, and then comes back with the proper second line. .
RARE - one of only two known audios of Lockyer's Phantom
Highlights video available of this performance.
A
US Tour, February 18, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Stephen R. Buntrock (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Peter Lockyer (U/S), David Cryer, DC Anderson, Joan Sobel (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
Digital - Master
FULL SHOW. Missing the beginning of the Entr'acte, everything else is there. Funny note from the audience - In the short silence between "You try my patience!" and "Make your choice!" someone near me says, "Jerk!" John Kuether (Don Attilio) holds the low note in Il Muto for a good fifteen seconds. For some reason, a very delayed reaction from the audience at the end of act 1.
RARE cast – one of only three known audios of Buntrock as Phantom, and the only one with the particular understudies.
Highlights video available of this performance.
A
US Tour, February 24, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
Digital - Master
Taped from 13th row center orchestra.
I swear that Gary whispers "Stay" to Christine as she's about to leave after returning the ring in the lair. He actually joked on a forum after hearing about this that he asked for a steak. Seriously, though, you have to jack the volume up, but it's THERE.
Highlights video available of this performance.
A+
US Tour, May 8, 2005 Evening (Boston, MA, 3NT)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt.), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Gary flubs some words in MOTN (Basically he switches "Caress you" and "possess you" around, you *really* have to be listening closely to catch it, because he covers so well you'd miss it. Believe me, I did when I first heard this audio ten years ago!) Beautiful quality audio, made by the same taper as the Baltimore audios from 2004 and the Atlanta audios from later in 2005.
A
Budapest, May 9, 2005
Victor Posta, Barbara Fonyó, Sándor Nagy
Muffled, with a metronome-like "click" over most of it. Just the sound of that click reminds me of something that would happen with cassettes from time to time when the record heads were dirty while making a tape, even one coming from a pristine source such making a mixtape from CD's. That is, that's the only other way I can think of to describe this. At any rate, whether it was originally digital or analog (my money is on analog personally) this was a very sloppy transfer. Which stinks because I could be wrong, but this might be the only recording of Victor Posta (I don't recall it being readily available during my original trading run, at any rate.) There is some clarity underneath, which makes me think this would be a good candidate for cleanup if I knew how. One of these days I'll learn!
(Was Posta an understudy or alternate? IIRC he wasn't the principal Phantom in this production.)
B
US Tour, May 14, 2005 Matinee (Boston, MA, 3NT)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Peter Lockyer (u/s), Kate Wray
Another gorgeous quality audio from this wonderful touring cast.
A
Broadway July 9, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Julie Hanson, Tim Martin Gleason, Janet Saia (u/s), Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein
Julie Hanson's last performance. Hugh is nearly crying and cracks at the very end of MOTN and has to take a moment to compose himself before the last phrase. Also includes a heartbreaking curtain speech by Hugh bidding Julie farewell.
A
London, July 18, 2005
Earl Carpenter, Jane Mark (u/s), Tom Solomon (u/s), Richard Hazell, Sam Hiller, Sally Harrison, Rohan Tickell, u/s Mme. Giry, Heidi Ann O'Brien
Possibly the only audio of Jane Mark as Christine? I was trading in this time period and I somehow never had an audio of her back then, so I'm seriously guessing this one was underground for a while.
Not the best quality on a London audio of this time period, the sound is slightly muffled. Almost like the taper had the mic just barely covered. Also, some odd track cuts here.
B+
US Tour, August 31, 2005 (Atlanta)
Gary Mauer, Marie Danvers, Michael Shawn Lewis, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
SOUNDBOARD. HIGHLIGHTS. Most of the show, missing parts of Act 2 between Masquerade and Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. Most of it is gorgeous. There's some skipping / scratching in act 2 - Notably during Wishing, Wandering Child, and leading up to PONR (but not during).
I am not 100% sure about the exact date, but I am sure on the location and the time frame is close to the date. It wasn't until a recent trade that I realized there are TWO soundboards from this time period. The thing is that this was sent to me as an audience recording which it is NOT. It has been , however, been being traded around as this date so I'll leave it for the time being.
If the date IS correct, however, it was opening night in Atlanta.
A+/B
US Tour, September 18, 2005, (Atlanta, GA)
Gary Mauer, Marie Danvers, Michael Shawn Lewis, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
SOUNDBOARD. Slight muffling of the sound, but missing the scratching that was present in parts of Wishing/Wandering Child / and PONR that the other soundboard has. Also this one isn't missing anything like the other one is. Recorded from the IR system. As with most IR feeds, this is also the foldback mix which isn't really mixed at all.
Some traders have this labeled as "Boston" and it is definitely NOT - the tour was in Boston from March 28 through June 5, 2005. (I was a serious tour junkie between 2003 and 2006. The tour was in Atlanta from August 31 until September 25, 2005. There was a master at both those shows who was very reputable about dates. Also, Marie Danvers and Michael Shawn Lewis did not join the Tour until well after the Boston Run (Rebecca Pitcher and Beth Southard were the Christines and Tim Martin Gleason was Raoul in Boston) Possibly one of MSL's last performances during this run with the tour - John Cudia took over partway through Atlanta IIRC.
Some question on the date. I've learned through comparison there is a SECOND soundboard from this time frame floating around.
A-/B
US Tour, September 25, 2005 (Atlanta, 3NT)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt.), John Cudia, Kim Stengel, D.C. Anderson, David Cryer, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Closing performance in Atlanta, recorded from front row. Gorgeous quality recording, very close to soundboard quality.
A
Broadway, September 14, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Kris Koop (u/s), Tim Martin Gleason, Anne Runolfsson, Tim Jerome, George Lee Andrews, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein, James Romick (u/s Lefevre), Fred Rose (u/s Reyer)
Tinny sound to it, and on the quiet side to boot. However, the quality other than that is pretty darn good. It just kinda sounds like it was recorded on substandard equipment. Missing the AIAOY reprise.
B
Essen, Germany, September 20, 2005
Thomas Borchert, Anne Goerner, Nikolaj Alexander Brucker, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Laurie A. Mc Gowan, Gabriele Ramm, Daniel Brenna, Annabal Knight
First preview of the show in Essen.
A
Broadway, October 1, 2005 Matinee
Hugh Panaro, Susan Owen (u/s), Tim Martin Gleason, Tim Jerome, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein
Final Matinee performance for Hugh Panaro before he left the show to go to LeStat (and we all know he came back!)
A
Broadway, October 1, 2005 Evening
Hugh Panaro, Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason, James Romick (u/s), George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein
Hugh Panaro's last performance prior to taking on the role of Elton John's Lestat, includes curtain call and speeches at the end. Gorgeous audio. The cast was on fire.
I'd taken a vow when redoing my list (since I lost so much and gained others over the past decade) to skip most of the cast reviews, but I can't help myself on this one.
Hugh Panaro's Bravo Monsieur ... friggen GENIUS. Needs to be both seen and heard to be believed.
Full video also available.
A
Broadway, October 3, 2005
Howard McGillin (First Performance) , Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason, George Lee Andrews, Tim Jerome, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein
Howard's first performance back behind the Mask (he and Panaro seemed to rotate for a few years off and on and off and on again.) Nice clear audio.
A
US Tour, October 8, 2005 (Ft. Lauderdale)
Stephen Tewksbury (u/s), Sarah Lawrence (u/s), John Cudia, Kirk Vaughn-Robinson (u/s), DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, John Whitney, Kate Wray
MOST OF THE SHOW. Cuts out some dialogue parts including most of the Prologue, the first two verses of ToM, the falling chandelier, the first bit before Masquerade, Twisted Every Way, and Don Juan Rehearsal. Muffled, distant-sounding, overload on the loud bits, and echo-y but very listenable. Stephen flubs some words in MOTN.
B
Essen, October 15, 2005
Ian Jon Bourg, Anne Görner, Roy Weissensteiner
*Originally was only one track per act but has been re-tracked. Not my work though, just throwing that one out there.*
I'm going to be just as honest as the trader who gave this to me was (I was warned, but I'm a glutton ...) the quality SUCKS. I usually try to stay away from descriptors like that, but this time it's very much warranted. WHY this would happen in 2005 when most tapers were going digital, I'll never know. VERY muffled and TONS of overload in all the loud bits. And when the sound overloads, there's this horrible scratching and screeching. I couldn't even listen to the Overture as it was just one long screech. There's also some off the wall sound fluctuations all over the place, and a bunch of popping in random spots. The audio is a bit louder during Act 2, but that only means more scratchy overload. "A collector's peice, indeed ..." Only really for serious collectors.
C-
Broadway, October 21, 2005
Stephen R. Buntrock (u/s), Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason
MOST OF THE SHOW. Gorgeous clear audio in 'surround sound' produced using binaural mics. However, my copy is missing chunks out of Act 2 - I only have five *working* tracks out of 14 -Masquerade, Notes 2 (which ends at "I'll go mad!"), Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, Point Of No Return, and Final Lair. I'm willing to trade for a pristine copy, which I KNOW exists because I had it years ago.
Yeah, I'm willing to trade even though Buntrock STILL isn't one of my favorite Phantoms. I'd hoped he wouldn't seem as whiny as when I saw him live *Sigh*.
A
Essen, November 3, 2005
Ian Jon Bourg, Sandra Danyella, Roy Weissensteiner
Act I starts mid-way through the description of Lot 666 and Act II is complete (Not enough missing to declare a highlights, but throwing it out there.) Beautiful quality audio, much better than the October 15 audio of Bourg. Nice and clear, and loud. No overload either.
A
Essen, December 3, 2005
Ian Jon Bourg, Beatrix Reiterer (u/s), Alexander Bruckner
Sounds like it was recorded using an mp3 player, and given the recording capabilities of those in 2005 (crappy) ...
Sounds like it was recorded inside a tin can that was inside another tin can inside a third tin can. Yes. It's that tinny. And scratchy. Which is a damn shame to do so to Ian.
C
Essen, December 4, 2005
Christian Müller (u/s), Sandra Danyella, Alexander Brucker
There is a mechanical noise under the audio ... when I say under, basically the audio (vocals and instrumentals) overpowers it. But it's there ... reminds me of what is sometimes left over after de-hissing, but given the quality of the vocals/instrumentals, I can't see them needing a de-hissing. They're too loud and clear.
I can't quite ignore that noise though ...
B+ / A - IF You can ignore that noise.
Essen, December 17, 2005
Thomas Borchert, Anne Goerner, Nikolaj A. Brucker, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Laurie Anne McGowan, Daniel Brenna, Annette Kuhn, Annabel Knight
Missing a bit of the Overture (less than 30 seconds a little more than halfway through.) But as impressive as the Overture is, I don't consider it a make-or-break for me on an audio.
Sound quality is quite good. Mild echo (likely theatre accoustics). But nice and crystal clear otherwise. As the trader I got it from stated, "recorded close to the brass, the Masquerade brass farts are delicious."
A
US Tour, December 18, 2005 (Cincinnati)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard, John Cudia, Kim Stengel, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Rebecca Judd (u/s), Kristi Patricia (u/s), John Whitney
I've seen this labeled as Atlanta ... which it definitely is NOT. (Remember, 3NT junkie. Atlanta was the stop before Ft. Lauderdale in October 2005 which I would have seen if it had NOT been for a hurricane named Wilma. That and the fact I got the below description off of someone who was sitting right next to the Master ...) It's definitely from Cincinnati. #endrant.
Taper says: Recorded from the fifth or sixth row back, stage right. Contact noise a few times during the show. Gary was incredibly loud that night and tends to drown out the cast at times; also, his loudest parts tend to get a bit buzzy. Brief dropout during Gary's "night" at the end of the lair - has been edited out but the music sounds like it skips for half a second. Two small flubs - the gun doesn't fire during Seal My Fate so John makes a quick save by telling the marksman he should have fired (the gun clicks softly. And OMG, Gary sounds SOOOO creepy when he says "For once, Monsieur Vicomte is *right*." Way to send shivers down my spine. That never happens there. Never.) Also, John forgot his "but why?" when Madame Giry was explaining about the Punjab lasso. One of the last audios of David Cryer on tour as Firmin.
A
London, December 21, 2005
Earl Carpenter, Celia Graham (alt), David Shannon, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Wendy Ferguson, Rohan Tickell, Annette Yeo, Naomi Cobby (u/s)
A VERY clear audio of a wonderful cast.
Someone was laying a little heavy on the sauce when they ripped this one ... act two's tracks are basically backwards. With 23 being bows, and 36 the Entr'acte.
And just to give a laugh ... when I was labeling the new folder for it I tried to date it as being the year 2550. Now how's that hope for a long run?
A+
London, December 22, 2005
Matthew Cammelle (s/b), Celia Graham, David Shannon, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Wendy Ferguson, Rohan Tickell, Annette Yeo, Naomi Cobby (u/s)
Very nearly soundboard quality.
Not a note about the audio, but included in the file is an album art file ... and it's just odd that whoever created it made it from a picture from either Broadway or the US Tour - because the Raoul in the picture is Tim Martin Gleason. Just a laugh.
A+
Essen, December 26, 2005
Thomas Borchert, Anne Görner, Nicolaj A. Brucker
Tracked VERY strangely, for example, Final Lair is split into nine tracks. Yes. Nine. And that's not counting Down Once More as part of it either.
Tons of overload, a fair bit of hiss, and in many places this weird rhythmic clicking or bumping noise over everything. Might have been something to do with the recording equipment. You hear it mostly in the quiet moments, possibly because the loud moments overpower whatever it is. It has some good moments where the audio is lower A quality, so I'm splitting the grade.
A-/B-
Essen, December 31, 2005
Ian Jon Bourg, Anne Görner, Nikolaj Brucker, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Laurie Anne McGowan, Daniel Brenna, Annette Kuhn, Annabel Knight
Some skipping in the Final Lair, but other than that a supurb quality audio.
A
London, 2006 (?)
Matthew Cammelle (s/b), Rachel Barrell, David Shannon
HIGHLIGHTS. SOUNDBOARD. This has been traded or gifted out with a date of 2006, but almost every list has this as a 'best guess' date. Only includes four songs - The Mirror, POTO, PONR, and the Final Lair. But the quality on this is cast recording quality.
A+
Broadway, January 9, 2006
Howard McGillin, Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason, George Lee Andrews, Tim Jerome, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Heather McFadden
Record-breaking show. Full show, speeches included.
A
World Tour, January 24, 2006 (Taipei)
Brad Little, Ana Marina, John Bowles, Jonathon Taylor, Andres Sohlman, Pauline du Plessis, Jackie Rees, David Rogers-Smith, Jee-Hyun Noh
Gorgeously crystal clear.
A
US Tour, February 11, 2006 (Schenectady, NY) (Matinee)
Stephen Tewksbury (u/s), Elizabeth Southard (alt), Jim Weitzer, John Jellison (u/s), DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
TRACKED. Recorded with an mp3 recorder, which back in 2006 meant poor quality. Scratchy sound, background noise. It's a damn shame it's not better quality because Beth and Tewks sound great together, and if I'm not mistaken, this is the only recording of this duo that exists.
Missing the *very* end of act 1 - ends just before the Phantom cries out "GO" and drops the chandelier.
B
US Tour, March 16, 2006 (Providence, RI)
Jason Mills (u/s), Marie Danvers, Jim Weitzer, Kim Stengel, Stephen Tewksbury (Piangi u/s), D.C. Anderson, John Jellison, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray
Jason Mill's first performance as Phantom. Recorded on an .Mp3 recorder (likely using the recorder's internal mic) so the sound quality leaves quite a bit to be desired. Fair bit of mechanical hiss present. This is one of those exceptions to my thinking anything past 2005 should be gorgeous quality *Sigh* but ah well. Worth it if for nothing else, knowing it's a Phantom's very first time behind the mask.
Missing the Entr'acte (heard it once, heard it a hundred times ...) and features disruption in PONR just after the unmasking - as an audience member crawls over the taper before running out of the theatre. Also features an odd for the time use of "Fathering Gaze" in Wandering Child.
B
Essen, March 18, 2006
Ethan Freeman, Sandra Danyella (u/s), Lucius Wolter (u/s)
Not the 'incomplete, horrible quality' version that's floating out there. This one is cleaned up and complete. Still bass heavy, and with some overload on the loud bits (the Overture, especially, is unlistenable), but the rest of the show is decent quality. There is, however, a mechanical noise overlaying what would be an other wise clear audio.
B+
Essen, Germany, March 19, 2006
Ethan Freeman, Beatrix Reiterer, Lucius Wolter, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Laurie McGowan, Annette Kuhn, Bonifacio Galvan, Annabel Knight
On the quieter side, with some minor hiss.
A-
Essen, Germany, May 22, 2006
Uwe Kroeger, Beatrix Reiterer, Christian Mueller (u/s)
A
US Tour, April 5, 2006 (Dallas, TX, 3NT)
Gary Mauer, Marie Danvers, Jim Weitzer, John Jellison, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Some mic contact noises, audience coughing. Slight echo that had everything to do with the lousy acoustics in the theatre and nothing to do with the taper's equipment (I know where of I speak on this one, but no I did *NOT* tape this one. I was there the next two nights though!) Other than that, a brilliant audio of the Tour cast. Gary's next-to-last performance with the tour.
A
US Tour, April 6, 2006 (Dallas, TX)
Gary Mauer (FINAL), Elizabeth Southard (FINAL), Jim Weitzer, John Jellison (FINAL), DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Taper says: A little more echoey than the previous night – primarily due to the lousy acoustics of the hall and the fact that our seats were in the mezz, but still very clear. This one really is one of the most magical moments on stage I've ever seen – the last show for the Mauer/Southard husband/wife team, and they really poured their hearts into it – Mauer gets very emotional during MOTN, and Southard does the same in Wishing. No goodbye speeches were delivered, though curtain calls were taped. Final for Mauer, Southard and Jellison.
Digital video (multi-cam shot with this mini-disk audio fed in) available of this performance.
A
US Tour, April 7, 2006, (Dallas, TX)
John Cudia (1st), Marie Danvers, Jim Weitzer, Bruce Winant, DC Anderson, Kim Stengal, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray
Digital - Master
Highlights. Mostly Phantom-Centric.
John Cudia's first performance as Principal Phantom in the Tour, he'd just taken over from Gary Mauer.
Battery issues caused me to make cuts to get as much as I could of John's first performance with the tour. Audio begins at the Mirror, through the first lair. Missing everything after the first lair until sometime in Il Muto. Skips most of the rooftop, until the Phantom comes out. Part of Masquerade is there, and of course Why So Silent. Then skips to about halfway through Wishing, and is complete to the end of the show.
A
US Tour, April 11, 2006 (Dallas)
John Cudia, Marie Danvers, Jim Weitzer, Kim Stengel, Bruce Winant, D.C. Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Quite a lot of overload on this one. Very early audio of Cudia's Phantom on tour.
B
Las Vegas, June 21, 2006
Brent Barrett, Elizabeth Loyacano, Tim Martin Gleason, Geena Jeffries Mattox, John Leslie Wolf, Lawson Skala, Brianne Kelly Morgan, Rebecca Spencer
Preview performance. Quite possibly the earliest audio out of Vegas (I don't recall seeing an earlier date, but as we know someone could release one ten years from now!)
To quote the master's notes: "The quality is less than stellar, but it's listenable." Very muffled sounding, close to what I'd term tin can, but mixed with under water. Some hiss. Comparable to a 1990's B quality audio, really. Makes me wonder what equipment was used to record this - an mp3 player?
B-
Las Vegas, July 1, 2006
Brent Barrett, Sierra Boggess (?), Tim Martin Gleason, Lawson Skala, John Wolfe, Genna Mattox, Rebecca Spencer, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Brianne Kelly Morgan
MUCH better quality than the earlier audio of Barrett. Previous trader had a question mark by Sierra's name, anyone care to confirm it's her?
Mild overload on the loud bits, nothing out of the norm. Slightly echo-y. Wonder if it was taped by the same person as the July 2 audio?
A
Las Vegas, July 2, 2006 (7 PM)
Anthony Crivello, Elizabeth Loyacano, Tim Martin Gleason, Lawson Skala, John Leslie Wolfe, Elena Jeanne Batman (Carlotta), Rebecca Spencer, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Brianne Kelly Morgan
Beautifully clear digital audio! Has a slightly echo-y sound to it, and some minor overload on the loud bits. The orchestrations on the title song remind me of the Steve Harley/Sarah Brightman video.
(Were there two recordings from this date and location to make the taper note the time of the performance? Point to ponder ...)
A-
Broadway, July 3, 2006
James Romick (u/s), Julie Hanson (alt.), Michael Shawn Lewis, Patricia Phillips, George Lee Andrews, David Cryer, Marilyn Caskey, Peter Lockyer (u/s), Kara Klein (u/s)
I *LOVE* how Romick says, "Well, don't go!" at the end of Bravo Monsieur ... like it was the last thing he expected to happen was them leaving. Almost like it was a game to him and he was being petulant about them quitting the game.
A
London, July 13, 2006
Earl Carpenter, Tabitha Webb (u/s), David Shannon, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Wendy Ferguson, Rohan Tickell, Annette Yeo, Heidi Ann O'Brien
Some minor 'crackles' - mostly heard when you jack the volume all the way up, which you really don't need to do. I only did so because there was this gasp I heard when reviewing Wandering Child ... It sounds like it was Christine gasping over the Phantom appearing, but it was so clear I'm not sure how an audience recording would pick that up? Either way I liked it.
A
Essen, July 13, 2006
Ian Jon Bourg, Anne Gorner, Lucius Wolter
The usual overload on the loud bits and a mild amount of hiss that can be heard when the volume is jacked up. Very *loud* audio, I actually turned the volume down for this one. Other than that though, nice and clear!
A
Essen, July 15, 2006 (1)
Christian Mueller (u/s), Martina Rumpf (u/s), Lucius Wolter (u/s), Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Evelyn Werner, Gabriele Ramm, Daniel Brenna, Annabel Knight
Nice clear sound, some mild hiss. Minimal tracking (total is 22 tracks for the whole show) and the tracks don't use the number in the track name so Windows defaults to ABC order.
*Note: Not sure if this is matinee or evening. I have a second audio with this date, different quality and different tracking that is specifically marked as being "Matinee". Same cast for both. Just throwing that out there.*
A
Essen, July 15, 2006 (matinee)
Christian Müller (u/s), Martina Rumpf (u/s), Lucius Wolter (u/s), Evelyn Werner, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Gabriele Ramm, Daniel Brenna, Annabel Knight
Slightly muffled (like something was covering the mic?) But otherwise clear.
A-
Essen, Germany, July 30, 2006
Uwe Kröger, Anne Görner, Nikolaj A. Brucker
Uwe Kröger's final performance.
A
Las Vegas, August 12, 2006
Brent Barrett, Sierra Boggess, Tim Martin Gleason
On the quiet side. Very echo-y. Some muffled mic contat noise.
A-
Essen, Germany, September 24, 2006
Ian Jon Bourg, Anne Görner, Nikolaj A. Brucker
Ian Jon Bourg's final performance in Essen. One track per act. Sound quality is good.
A
Essen, Germany, November 25, 2006
Roy Weissensteiner (u/s), Anne Görner, Nikolaj Alexander Brucker
On the quiet side, but nicely crisp and clear.
A
Las Vegas, December 10, 2006
Anthony Crivello, Elizabeth Loyacano, Tim Martin Gleason, Elena Jeanne Batman, John Leslie Wolf, Lawson Skala, Rebecca Spencer, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Brianne Kelly Morgan
A *TON* of overload on this one - I've tried to come up with a way to describe it, but I don't know that I can any other way than that. It sounds DARK. Like someone fiddled with the bass. Also sounds like there's a very low analog hiss over top of the audio. Which is a shame in a sense because there's something solid if you can get past the "darkness" for lack of a better term. If this had been made ten years prior to when it was, it'd have been a low-A, but ...
Also, it's currently in .RA format (Real Audio). I'm trying to convert it.
B-
US Tour, December 17, 2006 (Philadelphia PA)
John Cudia, Marni Raab, Michael Gillis, D.C. Anderson, Bruce Winant, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
A
US Tour, January 5, 2007 (Toledo, OH)
David Gaschen (u/s), Marni Raab, Michael Gillis, Kim Stengel, Bruce Winant, DC Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Recorded with a digital voice recorder. Has that 'tin can' sound. There were lots of little technical difficulties that night and David flubs a bit. Michael has a tendency to yell his lines hilariously (namely "I feeeeeear yooooouuuu noooooot!" Funnily enough David did the same thing with "Upooooon yoooouuu boooottthhh!")
B
US Tour, January 27, 2007 (Toledo, OH)
Sal Sabella (u/s), Marni Raab, Michael Gillis, Kim Stengel, Bruce Winant, DC Anderson, Rebecca Judd, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Missing the Prologue, otherwise complete. Quite possibly the only recording of Sabella as Phantom.
A
US Tour, January 28, 2007 (Toledo, OH)
Rob Lorey (u/s), Sarah Lawrence, Michael Gillis, DC Anderson, Bruce Winant, Kim Stengel, Rebecca Judd, Sal Sabella (u/s)
Taper says: "Closing show in Toledo. John Cudia had apparently been sick for a while so a slew of understudies went on during this stop. Missing about thirty seconds of the prologue with a few seconds of microphone adjustment, other than that a very clear audio although the person beside me was sick and coughed."
A
Essen, Germany, February 8, 2007
Fernand Delosch (u/s), Anne Goerner, Nikolaj Alexander Brucker
On the quiet side, but nice and clear otherwise.
A
Essen, Germany, March 10?, 2007
Christian Mueller, Anne Goerner, Nikolaj Alexander Brucker, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Laurie Anne McGowan, Marcello Ronchietto, Gabriele Ramm
I originally recieved this billed as the final performance in Essen with a date of March 11, but have since learned thanks to a savvy trader that the final performance in Essen was March 10th.
A
Tokyo, Japan, March 20, 2007
Osamu Takai, Tamami Sai, Yusuke Kitazawa
One track per act. ... Maybe I'm being picky, but there's a hiss there I didn't expect to hear in an audio from the later part of this decade.
B
London, March 20, 2007
Earl Carpenter, Tabitha Webb (us), Michael Xavier/Andrew Thwaite (Us) (?)
Some confusion over whether Raoul is Michael Xavier or Andrew Thwaite. I don't know either well enough to make an identification so throwing that out there. The Metadata claims it's Thwaite, but it's been listed as Xavier. I'm usually inclined to believe metadata but conceed that without knowing whether the Metadata was placed by the taper or not there's no way to know for sure.
At any rate, a gorgeous audio ... I almost thought it was a soundboard for a moment until I heard coughing in Wandering Child.
A-
Las Vegas, March 26, 2007 (evening)
Anthony Crivello, Elizabeth Loyacano, Tim Martin Gleason, Elena Jeanne Batman, Lawson Skala, John Leslie Wolfe, Rebecca Spencer, Steven Hood (u/s), Brianne Kelly Morgan
Definitely one of the better quality audios to come out of Vegas.
A
US Tour, March 28, 2007 (Toronto)
David Gaschen (u/s), Erin Stewart (u/s), Greg Mills (u/s), Kim Stengel, Bruce Winant, D.C. Anderson, John Whitney, Rebecca Judd, Polly Baird (u/s)
I don't know if it's theatre accoustics, but there's a lot of echo. Also some very mild hiss (heard when I jack the volume up.) Nothing serious enough to drop the full grade though. I've said it before I'll say it again - it's a damn shame that Gaschen was never made a principal in an English language production. Possibly the only audio of Stewart as Christine.
A-
Broadway, May 15, 2007
Gary Mauer, Jennifer Hope Wills, Michael Shawn Lewis, Janet Saia (u/s), George Lee Andrews, David Cryer, Marilyn Caskey, Jimmy Smagula (u/s)
From Gary's limited run on Broadway (He was only on as Phantom there for a few weeks IIRC, covering for either Howard McGillin or Hugh Panaro).
I know I said not going into cast reviews buuut ... Mauer still has it here :-)
A
Broadway, May 19, 2007
Gary Mauer, Jennifer Hope Wills, Michael Shawn Lewis, Kenneth Kantor (u/s), George Lee Andrews, Kris Koop, Marilyn Caskey, Jimmy Smagula, Heather McFadden
From Gary's very limited run on Broadway. Quite possibly the last recording of him behind the mask.
A
London, July 17, 2007
Earl Carpenter, Leila Benn Harris, Oliver Thornton (s/b),. James Barron, Sam Hiller, Wendy Ferguson, Heather Ferguson, Howard Ellis (u/s), Lindsey Wise
A
London, July 19, 2007
Ramin Karimloo (s/b), Tabitha Webb (u/s), Michael Xavier, Wendy Ferguson, Rohan Tickell, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Heather Jackson, Lindsey Wise
Beautiful quality, mild echo. Tabitha flubs a line in Wandering Child (she sings "Wildly my mind beats against me" instead of "against you").
A
Australia, July 28, 2007 (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina, John Bowles, John O'May, Derek Taylor, Andrea Creighton, David Rodgers-Smith
SOUNDBOARD. AWESOME sound quality. One would think they intended this to be a cast recording. Some chatter after the performance on the final track ... someone left the mics on!
Warlow's Phantom is to DIE for.
A+
Australia, August 15, 2007 (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin, John Bowles
Lots of buzz, mechanical noise and muffled vocals. Not as bad as I thought it'd be, but it's definitely not an A.
C
Australia, August 21, 2007 (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin (alt), John Bowles, John O'May (Firmin), Derek Taylor (Andre)
The audio cuts out for a second or two here and there, apparantly this was noted by the taper as being due to sound issues where they were sitting. Supposedly during speaking portions, but it happens during MOTN as well. Nothing really *missed* there, just ... a very minor break. It is slightly annoying though but what can you do? There's also this crackling sound over top of much of the audio as well, I don't know WHY. But apart from that, it's perfect clear ... it's just not a perfect A. Not dropping the whole grade though.
A-
Australia, August 28, 2007 (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin, John Bowles
Nice and clear, but with a slight hiss overlaying it. It's not what I'd think of when I hear analog hiss, though, if that makes sense. It sounds more like a noise made by either the recorder or mics. And I really only hear it when I jack the volume up during the quiet bits.
A-
Broadway, October 6, 2007
James Romick (u/s), Jennifer Hope Wills, Geoff Packard (u/s)
VERY heavy on the bass, very muffled (sounds like it was recorded inside several boxes.) Bad enough to detract from enjoying it properly.
B-
London, October 9th, 2007
Ramin Karimloo, Leila Benn Harris, Alex Rathgeber, Wendy Ferguson, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Heather Jackson, Benjamin Lake, Lindsey Wise
21st Anniversary Performance HIGHLIGHTS
Not all tracks in good shape. MOTN for example has chunks missing out of it. Skips in the title song and incomplete to boot. Kinda disappointing. Including pre-show announcement and speeches, runs about 1 hr and 40 minutes.
If it weren't for the chunks and skips, I'd give this an A, because when it's there, it's GOOD.
B
US Tour, November 3, 2007 (Chicago, IL)
John Cudia, Sara Jean Ford, Greg Mills, Kim Stengel (Carlotta), D.C. Anderson (Andre)
First thought that comes to mind - WHY? Obviously this was recorded with some kind of substandard equipment because there's just no reason for the sound quality of this in a post-2005 audio. Some kind of mechanical distortion overlays the audio. If I were good at such things I'd say this might be a candidate for clean-up. The vocals and orchestration underneath are clear, it's nice and loud (enough so that I lowered the volume as low as it can go without being non-existant and it's still nearly too loud - and I'm hard of hearing so that's unheard of!). But that distortion ...
C
London, February 21, 2008
Nic Greenshields (SB), Leila Benn Harris, John Addison (us), Heather Jackson, Wendy Ferguson, Benjamin Lake, Lindsey Lake, Sam Hiller, James Barron
HIGHLIGHTS - runs just under 22 minutes. Basically the end of each act - for act 1 it's the entire rooftop scene, and act 2 starts at "Seal My Fate" (or as labeled in this track, "Lockdown".) Act 2 ends with Madame Giry saying "He is across the lake".
In PONR, the first two lines of Christine's are unintelligible (I suspect a mic issue).
Sound quality is slightly muffled, but not horribly so. Still, given the age ...
A-
Broadway, April 3, 2008
Tim Martin Gleason (u/s), Elizabeth Loyacano, Paul Schaefer (u/s)
Very clear audio. Does have some odd noise coming from the left hand side though. Not enough to make me drop the grade, but it's there intermittently.
A
London, April 8, 2008
Nic Greenshields (s/b), Leila Benn Harris, Alex Rathgeber
Nic forgets a line in 'Point of No Return'.
A
Austrailia, April 26, 2008 (Brisbane)
Roy Weissensteiner (s/b), Ana Marina, Alexander Lewis
A
Australia, April 27, 2008 (Brisbane)
Simon Pryce (u/s), Ana Marina, David Somerville (u/s)
SOUNDBOARD. Not too sure of date and location, but if the date is correct, so is the location.
Very clear sound. One track per act.
A
US Tour, May 29, 2008 (Sacramento, CA)
Stephen Tewksbury (US?), Sara Jean Ford, Greg Mills
TRACKED. According to previous sources, this was recorded onto DVD and then transferred to MP3. No clue why ... Soundwise, I've no complaints, it's a solid audio. Missing the beginning of the Prologue, starts at Lot 666. There's some added element in the Overture that I can't put my finger on here. Some muffling in the first verse of the title song (like the taper was moving the mic, or the device as may have been the case? I don't know of a video with this date/cast but the whole thing with it being labeled as recorded to DVD ... unless it was a failed attempt at video and the taper decided to do audio?) Also missing the Entr'acte (heard it once heard it a million times ...)
I'm pretty sure that Tewksbury was never promoted to principal Phantom (though darn it, he SHOULD have been if for nothing other than his Final Lair, brilliant!) but as I'm not 100 percent sure, I'll leave that question mark beside the understudy notation till someone can tell me otherwise. At any rate though, at the time I wrote this, this is currently the best quality audio I have of Tewksbury's Phantom.
A
US Tour, June 5, 2008 (Sacramento, CA?)
Stephen Tewksbury (u/s), Marni Raab (alt), Greg Mills
TRACKED. Missing the beginning of the Prologue - starts at "A poster for this house's production of Hanibal ..." Also missing all but the last few notes of the Entr'Acte.
Not sure on the location, pretty sure this is a guess made by previous traders (the one I got it off of also had a question mark by it) since there's an audio from about a week prior labeled as being Sacramento. Sadly, by the point this one was made I'd not been trading, or had any hope of seeing the tour even if it did come nearby, so I wasn't following the dates like I was during my "tour junkie" days. Ah well ... it's a good guess though. The similarities in the sound quality between this and the May 29th audio really make me think they're the same taper as well as the same theatre - perhaps a Tewksbury fan who made sure to attend when he'd be performing?
I have to say this ... Tewks sounds a LOT like Brad Little.
A
Broadway, June 9, 2008
John Cudia, Jennifer Hope Wills, Tim Martin Gleason
Some hiss overlaying the entire audio. Maybe it's being picky of me, but I wouldn't expect hiss in an audio of this age when so many digital options are out there. Which makes me think either this was analog (which the sound under the hiss almost makes me think not), or it's a sloppy transfer.
B+
Australia, June 15, 2008
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina, Alexander Lewis
Nice and clear, whoever took this has a good set of mics. Too good almost. You can hear someone near the taper unwrapping what sounds like some kind of food.
A
London, July 8, 2008
Ramin Karimloo, Leila Benn Harris, Matthew McKenna (u/s), Richard Hazell, Criag Nicholls (u/s), Wendy Ferguson, Benjamin Lake, Heather Jackson, Lindsey Wise
mtl24601's master
A
US Tour, July 19, 2008 (San Diego, CA)
Richard Todd Adams, Marni Raab, Greg Mills, Kim Stengel , D. C. Anderson, Bruce Winant, Nancy Hess, John Whitney, Jessi Ehrlich
Some minor crackling in some tracks.
A
Australia, September 10, 2008 (Sydney)
Alexander Lewis (u/s), Julie Goodwin, David Somerville (u/s)
Includes pre-show announcment (legality of recording), and announcement of the Phantom understudy. Slight echo, overall good.
A
Australia, September 11, 2008 (Sydney)
Alexander Lewis (u/s), Ana Marina, David Somerville (u/s)
At any rate, nice clear audio, some echo. Includes announcement at the beginning of the show that Lewis will be playing the Phantom (meaning it was likely a last minute thing.) Some very mild hiss on the quiet bits (again, not analog. It's weird. There's a difference though.)
A-
Australia, September 13, 2008 (Sydney)
Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin, Alexander Lewis
There are some minor crackles in places. Not enough to make me down the grade though. The tempo is faster than I expected ... is this typical of Australia productions?
Warlow's Music Of The Night sent some serious shivers up my spine ... wasn't expecting that either. I mean, I knew I liked his voice, but OH LORDY, it wasn't just the vocals, it's something in the acting coming through the audio. Dang it, now I want a VIDEO of this man!
A
London, November 11, 2008
Nic Greenshields (u/s), Gina Beck, Simon Bailey, Kate Radmilovic, Barry James , Gareth Snook, Heather Jackson, Rohan Tickell, Tori Johns
musical_laura's master. Some pops and crackles, but very intermittent and not very loud. At any rate not enough to drop the grade.
Was Nic an understudy or standby? I've got other audios of him labeled as standby ...
A-
US Tour, December 10, 2008 (San Francisco)
Andrew Varela (u/s), Trista Moldovan, Kyle Barisich, D.C. Anderson, Bruce Winant, Kim Stengel, Anne Kanengeiser
Act II ONLY. Some patchy, mild scratching, but not enough to lower a full grade. Includes Andrew's BCEFA speech (He's hilarious in this one, worth a listen even if you don't like to listen to speeches.) It's a damn shame that Act 1 wasn't recorded. On the rarer side, one of only two known audios of Varela (and DEFINITELY a different show than the December 18 audio - that one has coughs in Wandering Child that are not in this one, and the speech is completely different.)
A-
US Tour, December 12, 2008 (San Francisco, CA)
Thomas Schumacher (u/s), Trista Moldovan, Kyle Barisich, Andrew Varela (Buquet)
Includes Thomas's BC/EFA speech. Slight overload on the loud bits, but otherwise a great audio. Whoever tracked it has an awesome sense of humor - "The Mirror" is labeled "Raoul is Annoying" and "Magical Lasso" is labeled "Andrew Varela's Star Turn as Joseph Buquet".
Was Andrew an understudy for Buquet at this point?
A
US Tour, December 18, 2008 (San Francisco, CA)
Andrew Varela (u/s), Trista Moldovan, Kyle Barisich, D.C. Anderson, Bruce Winant, Kim Stengel, Anne Kanengeiser
Some mild distortion in places, otherwise solid. Includes curtain calls and BCEFA speech.
(Don't ask me how I managed this, but I initially listed it as December 12, even though both my file name and the metadata labeled it as the 18th ... I now *HAVE* a copy of the true December 12 audio though.) One of only two known audios of Andrew's Phantom (and the only full audio, the other being Act 2 only). DEFINITELY a different show than the December 10th audio - Andrew's BCEFA speech is VERY different, and this audio has coughing in Wandering Child that is missing in the other audio of Andrew.
A
Copenhagen, 2009
Flemming Enevold, Teresia Bokor, Tomas Ambt Kofod, Jennifer Wagstaffe and Marie Bo,
B
Broadway, February 19, 2009
Howard McGillin, Elizabeth Loyacano (Christine s/b), Tim Martin Gleason
Info gotten from the master. I've seen this listed with Ryan Silverman, and unless there are two different audios of this date with different Raoul's ... either way my copy is DEFINITELY TMG.
A
Las Vegas, February 21, 2009
Anthony Crivello, Kristi Holden, Andrew Ragone.
There are some parts of this audio that are very VERY good. There is, however, some not-so-good. Mostly it's the loud bits have a ton of overload in them.
Whoever ripped this had a sense of humor ... the title of Wandering Child is fireballs!.mp3 - awesome.
A/B+
Perth, Australia, March 1, 2009
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina, Robert Bertram (u/s)
More cast info in file.
A
Australia, March 6, 2009 (Perth)
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina, Alexander Lewis
Good clear sound through most. Some odd track naming. Some slight muffling in spots that sounds like the taper was adjusting the mic (not throughout thank goodness).
A
Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 17, 2009
Carlos Vittori, Claudia Cota
My first thoughts on sampling a track: "This is an audio from 2009? REALLY?"
The sound quality on this one is something I'd expect from a much, much, much older audio. By that ... from an analog audio. It sounds like it was recorded on a cassette and then transferred ... there's a hiss over top of the whole proceedings.
(I'll give it the grade I'd have given it if it were a 1990's audio ... even though I should be a LOT tougher given it's relative newness ...)
B
Copenhagen, Denmark, April 30, 2009
Peter Jorde, Teresia Bokor, Tomas Ambt Kofod, Eva Malmgren, Morten Staugaard, Steen Springborg, Marie Bo, Fernando Concha, Jennifer Wagstaffe
A
Copenhagen, Denmark, May 1, 2009
Preben Kristensen, Mia Karlsson, Tomas Ambt Kofod, Malin Landing (u/s), Morten Staugaard, Steen Springborg, Marie Bo, Fernando Concha, Jennifer Wagstaffe
A
Warsaw, Poland, May 5, 2009
Paweł Podgórski, Edyta Krzemień, Łukasz Talik
Soundboard recording of the third Phantom, missing Carlotta's 'Think of Me' and 'Magical Lasso'.
There's a sword fight in Bravo Monsieur? This non-replica obviously used the 2004 movie as it's guide. Ah well, at least it used better judgment in it's casting.
A
World Tour, Taipei, Taiwan, July 11, 2009
Brad Little, Julie Goodwin, Alexander Lewis
Matinee performance. Labeled as such because there is an audio out there with the same date and location from the evening performance.
One track per act. Decent sound quality.
A
London, September 7, 2009
Nigel Richards (s/b), Gina Beck, Simon Bailey, Barry James, Gareth Snook, Rebecca Lock, Nicky Adams, Rohan Tickell, Emma Harris
First performance of the 2009-2010 cast.
A
US Tour, October 21, 2009 (St. Louis, MO)
Tim Martin Gleason, Trista Moldovan, Sean MacLaughlin, Kim Stengel, D.C. Anderson, Michael McCoy, Nancy Hess, David Gaschen, Paloma Garcia-Lee
TRACKED. Missing the Entr'acte (if you've heard it once ...) Quality wise, not what I was expecting out of a post-2005 audio. Sounds like it was recorded in a tin can. LOTS of echo. I suppose that's better than the hiss of the 90's but ...
B-
London, October 31, 2009
Ramin Karimloo, Gina Beck, Simon Bailey
A
Richard Halton (s/b), Meredith Braun, Matthew Cammelle, Margaret Preece, David Delve, Mark Siney, Heather Jackson, Lucy Middleton
Nice clear audio, but with intermittent skips that detract from the overall enjoyment, thus the split grade. Would love to find a pristine copy.
A/B
US Tour, February 22, 2000 (Spokane)
Brad Little, Rebecca Pitcher, Jim Weitzer
Nice crisp and clear audio. Some odd tracking choices.
A
London, March 4, 2000
Scott Davies, Claire Louise Hammacott (alt), Matthew Cammelle, Margaret Preece, David Delve,
Richard Halton, Heather Jackson, Lucy Middleton, Paul Brodene Smith
Very much on the quiet side, I had to jack the volume all the way up. It's clear, decent quality, but it's also got what I have for years termed the "London Echo".
There is a strange plug in Act One, at the beginning of "Angel Of Music", what sounds to be the instrumental from the beginning of the Graveyard replaces Meg's entrance to Christine's room, which is missing "Where in the world have" and starts with "You've been hiding".
B+
Mexico City, Mexico, March 8, 2000
Saulo Vasconcelos, Lolita Cortes, Jose Joel
Highlights, runs 56:30 minutes. My first thought on hearing this - 2000????? Really? Very garbled quality, sounds like an analog transfer gone bad. There's something over the vocals, some disturbance. My Spanish isn't good to begin with, but I can't make out the words here. I can hear the actors are hitting the notes, though, if it helps.
Very disappointed to learn there's no Music Of The Night. The first lair jumps from the title song to I Remember. It feels like this was made by a fan of Lolita Cortes, because that's not the only place where the Phantom's part gets cut (Why So Silent, for example, when Christine's part of Masquerade is present.)
C
Antwerp, Belgium, April 4, 2000
Rob Pitcher (2nd u/s), Susanne Duwe, Michael Shawn Lewis, William Lynn Dixon, Marc Meersman, Rita Saxmark (u/s Carlotta), Stephanie Tschoppe, Ernst von Looy, Sophie Kiddle
Good sound quality for this time period when things were hit and miss between the analog and digital ages. Some odd echo that I'm sure is likely theatre accoustics. The source disk this came from is listed as having "three second pauses" but once again I'm not sure how that translates to a digital copy should one try to re-burn, so just throwing it out there (I preferred pauses to lower quality, what can I say?) Years ago on my old list I had this marked with a question by Duwe - apparantly the trader I got it off of back then questioned it being Duwe. Would love a good comparison because I noted not being sure myself, thinking Christine sounded a lot like Inneke Van Klinken. Just throwing that out there as well.
A-
Antwerp, Belgium, June 1, 2000?
Hans Peter Janssens, Inneke van Klinken (alt), Michael Shawn Lewis, Ernst van Looy, Marc Meersman, Ann Lauwreins, Stéphanie Tschöppe, William Lynn Dixon, Sophie Kiddle
Very VERY clear audio - crystal. I'd think soundboard if there wasn't this one cough I heard during MOTN.
Back in the day I had the Belgium audios listed as being in Flemish ... I don't know how close Flemish is to Dutch or German, (I know Dutch is somewhat close to German) and this honestly makes me think it's in Dutch, but again, I'm not fluent enough in Dutch to be sure.
** NOTE: I recently pulled this one back out for a re-listen and comparison after trading for the "June 10, 2000" audio from this location with the same cast after noting that both were high quality and I felt "soundboard quality" upon first listen. After extensive comparison, I've found these are both the SAME audio. I noted above the cough in MOTN. This happens in the very last notes of the song - it's two short coughs together. Both audios have the exact same cough, as well as too many other similarities in actor's phrasing, for them to be two different audios. So now I don't know which is the correct date because this audio has been traded around with two different dates for a LONG time most likely without there being a question.
A+
Hamburg, Germany, June 5, 2000
Ian Jon Bourg, Alison Kelly, Kyle Gonyea
Possibly a soundboard, nice clear sound.
A
Antwerp, Belgium, June 21, 2000
Hans Peter Janssens, Inneke Van Klinken (U/S), Michael Lewis, William Lynn Dixon, Marc Meersman, An Lauwreins, Arnst van Looy, Sophie Kiddle
A few added percussion elements which you don’t hear often, very interesting.
A+
Hamburg, June 30, 2000
Ian Jon Bourg, Colby Thomas, Kiel Klaphake, David Hunerjager, Niklaus Ruegg, Vera Borisova, Linda Bruske, Marcello Ronchietto, Sabrina Harper.
Special Guests - Peter Hoffman, Anna Maria Kaufmann
10th anniversary performance of the Hamburg production. Not the clearest of the clear. There's popping in the final lair through two tracks, but it stops before the post-show presentation, thus the dual grade (the first grade is for the rest of the show). Includes speeches, guest Phantom Peter Hoffman singing MOTN and guest Christine Anna Maria Kaufmann singing 'Wishing' (both after the actual show)
A-/B
Hamburg, July 5, 2000
Ian Jon Bourg, Colby Thomas, Christopher Morandi (u/s), Vera Borisova, David Hunerjaeger, Linda Bruske, Marcello Ronchietto
Very crisp and clear, with a bit of an echo from theatre accoustics. Quite probably a digital recording.
FINALLY someone who knows enough German tracked this one, and did NOT name the "Wandering Child" track with the Vienna name, which seems to be a theme amongst the German language audios. I know, that's nit-picky when I could not spell it, but could hear it's different.
A+
UK Tour, July 17 2000 (Bradford)
Peter Karrie, Amy Nuttall, Robert Finlayson, Michael Bauer, Alan Vicary, Gabriella Santinelli, Heather Craig, Armen Boldy.
Nice clear quality recording, with some mic adjustment noise from time to time.
There is one strange thing, it sounds like there is a very young child not far from the taper . . . there's one point I thought I heard a baby cry and another where there is a kid saying "mommy". I don't know WHY I am hearing these things, but they're there.
A-
UK Tour - July 29, 2000 (Bristol)
Peter Karrie, Deborah Dutcher, Robert Finlayson, Michael Bauer, Alan Vicary, Gabriella Santinelli, Janet Murphy, Armen Boldy, Heather Craig
Some hiss, but not overbearing.
A-
London, August 7, 2000
Garth Bardsley (U/S), Charlotte Paige, Nicholas Maude (U/S?), David Delve, Richard Halton, Shan Cothi, Ann Adlene, Lee David Bowen, Hayley Driscoll
Not Matthew Cammelle as Raoul as reported by some lists. Excellent quality given the hit-or-miss in the quality category from this time period (that whole verge of digital recordings catching on. I think this is digital.)
A-
Broadway, August 9, 2000
David Gaschen (U/S), Sarah Pfisterer, Gary Mauer
Very clear, but with a bit of analog hiss overlaying the audio.
B
Broadway, August 12, 2000
James Romick (U/S), Sarah Pfisterer, Gary Mauer
Nice clear audio, very nearly soundboard clarity (if it weren't for a few audience noises I'd have wondered). Act two is slightly louder than Act One though. Earliest known audio of Romick's Phantom, and one of a small handful of Pfisterer's Christine. I wanted to laugh at the end of Wandering Child ... when Romick says, "Well, don't go!" there was this tone of surprise in his voice. Like Raoul and Christine leaving was the absolute last thing he expected to happen.
A
Broadway, August 15, 2000
Howard McGillin, Sarah Pfisterer, Gary Mauer, George Lee Andrews, Jeff Keller
Sound is a tad low and there's some analog hiss - not too bad, but enough between both for me to drop the grade. Not a whole lot of recordings out there of Pfisterer.
B
London, September 2000
Scott Davies, Charlotte Page, Matt Cammelle
Originally analog, has been cleaned up, but it's got this odd quality to it from the de-hissing process. There's still hiss when the volume is jacked up (which I have to do with quieter audios like this one.)
B-
Hamburg, October 6, 2000
Kyle Gonyea (u/s), Colby Thomas, Christopher Morandi (u/s), Vera Borisova, David Hunerjaeger, Niklaus Ruegg, Taylor Wilson, Marcello Ronchietto, Kate Lawrence, Mark Siney (Reyer), Eberhard Neitzei (Lefevre), Peter Graham (Buquet), Ronn Early (Don Attilio/Passarino), Reinhard Schulze (Auctioneer)
I have some questions on the date. Years ago I did a cassette transfer on an audio dated this with this exact cast ... but this audio is NOT my transfer. The biggest give-away is the transfer I did was missing the very end of the final lair after the kiss. This audio, however, has a complete lair. Given the trader I may very well have gotten my cassettes off of all those years ago though, my date could have been wrong as well. I'll never know for sure now if I honestly had the October 6th recording or another of Gonyea.
Some strange skipping at the beginning and ending of tracks, possibly from a bad rip or burn. The quality of the audio in general isn't bad, but the transfer or rip-reburn-rerip somewhere along the line was a poor job (Again, it's not my transfer! I'd LOVE to get a hold of my transfer again *Sighs*) Given that the general quality of the audio underneath, I'm going to give this a split grade, the higher being what I would grade without those issues.
A/B
UK Tour, November 11, 2000 (Manchester)
Peter Karrie, Deborah Dutcher, Robert Finlayson, Michael Bauer, Carl Sanderson, Gabriella Santinelli, Janet Murphy, Armen Boldy, Heather Craig
Final performance of the 2nd UK Tour. Slight pauses in odd places.
A-
Hamburg, Germany, December 28, 2000
Michael Nicholson, Alison Kelly, Stefan Voigt (u/s)
Analog hiss and some mild generation loss. Just barely in the "B" grade range in my opinion. Also, only two tracks per act.
B-
Hamburg, Germany, 2001
Ian Jon Bourg, Olivia Safe (u/s), Kyle Gonyea, David Hunerjaeger
Very odd tracking choices. Analog hiss throughout.
B
London, January 10, 2001
Scott Davies, Claire Louise Hammacott, Matthew Cammelle, Michael Bauer, Alan Vicary, Shan Cothi, Janet Murphy, Lee David Bowen, Lucy Middleton
On the quiet side.
A
Broadway, April 12, 2001
Howard McGillin, Sandra Joseph, Gary Mauer, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Rebecca Eichenberger, Leila Martin, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Liz McCartney
Awesome quality audio, with no overload on loud notes, very little audience noise as well.
My old copy had McGillin's BCEFA speech, this copy does not, so someone cut it out somewhere along the way.
A
Hamburg, Germany, June 29/30, 2001
Ian Jon Bourg, Colby Thomas, Kyle Gonyea
Final performance; Act 1 is from the 29th, Act 2 is from the 30th.
Solid audio.
A
London, July 7, 2001
Alan Vicary (2nd u/s -usually played Andre), Deborah Dutcher, Matt Cammelle, Michael Bauer, Mark Siney (u/s), Shan Cothi, Janet Murphy, Lee David Bowen, Lucy Middleton
Very nice audio, on the quiet side. Has that echo that seems to be common to many London audios (I think it's the acoustics in Her Majesty's). Some clicking and popping in the end of the Mirror scene and the beginning of the title track.
A-
Broadway, August 2001
Howard McGillin, Sarah Pfisterer, Jim Weitzer, Jeff Keller, James Romick or Scott Mikita, Rebecca Echinberger, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Joelle Gates
Even back in the early part of the 2000's, no one knew the exact date on this one. One of those mysteries. At any rate though, it's a nice crystal clear audio.
A
US Tour September 4, 2001 (Atlanta)
Ted Keegan, Kathy Voytko, John Cudia
Act 1 only. Some random noises that sound like scratches. Decent audio underneath with some overload at the loud bits.
A
US Tour, September 15, 2001. (Atlanta) (matinee)
Ted Keegan, Julie Hanson (alt), John Cudia, Julie Schmidt, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Ray Gabbard, Heather McFadden
For the most part, this audio is very good. But there is some spotty generation loss here, mostly in the form of a little scratchiness from time to time. That's the only thing that's going to keep this one from being an A ... because from the underlying sound I can tell that this was NOT an analog recording - no analog hiss is present. My best guess on the cause of the loss is multiple rip/reburns at lower bit rates.
Possibly the earliest recording of Julie Hanson's Christine (for some reason I thought she didn't join the tour until sometime in 2002 ... but hey, I've been known to be wrong before!)
B+
Copenhagen, Denmark October 6, 2001
Peter Jorde, Hanne Damm, Björn Olsson, Vera Borisova
Nice clear audio. Used to be rare ... not sure if it still is.
A+
London, October 10, 2001
John Owen-Jones, Deborah Dutcher, Matthew Cammelle, An Lauwereins, Bruce Montague, Charles Shirvell, Janet Murphy, Lucy Middleton, Jeremy Secomb
On the quiet side, but nice and clear. One of the earliest audios of JOJ from his first run as Phantom.
A
London, December 12, 2001
John Owen-Jones, Deborah Dutcher, Matthew Cammelle, An Lauwereins, Christian Jon Billett (u/s), Bruce Montague, Charles Shirvell, Janet Murphy, Lucy Middleton
TRACKED. Unless this was 'recently released' (possible, I didn't have it back in the day) I'm very surprised to find an audio from that time that was untracked, since it was taken prior to the rise of "online trades" - in 2001 it was a lot harder to upload a file of this size. Of course, it could have been originally analog and only recently transferred ... but I don't hear the hiss I'd associate with an analog transfer.
Overload on the loud bits, and the 'odd London echo', along with a bit of a 'recorded in a tin can' sound quality to it. Some minor 'skipping' type noises, very intermittent. Sound is very mildly skewed to one side (by mildly, I mean my ears did not detect it, but Audacity did. I just can't figure out if it's left or right. However, someone with perfect hearing would probably catch it so I'm throwing it out there.) Also, loud enough for me to be comfortable listening at below half-volume. But otherwise a nice clear audio.
Deborah Dutcher's TOM cadenza ... VERY nice.
As far as the grade goes ... since it sounds as though it's a very early generation audio, I'm going to grade it as I would have if I had recieved it in the early 2000's.
A-
London, January 5, 2002
John Owen Jones, Deborah Dutcher, Matthew Cammelle, Bruce Montague, Charles Shirvell, Margaret Mary Kane (u/s), Janet Murphy, Jeremy Secomb, Lucy Middleton
Very clear sound through most of the performance. When this first came out for some reason I thought there was a possibility of it being a soundboard ... it's not, but given what was around back then, I'm not suprised I thought so. Has the typical London echo.
Cast list taken from my old website. IIRC, back when it was first released I could have told you who the master was so I likely got my full cast list from them.
A
London March 14, 2002
Tim Morgan (2nd Cover), Claire Louise Hammacott, Robert Finlayson, Robert Irons, Bruce Montague, Nan Christie, Liz Robertson, Hayley Driscoll, Jeremy Secomb
A beautiful audio, just as billed. Very clear sound, of course, has that echo that seems peculiar to audios coming from Her Majesty's. Morgan's Phantom is very inspired (makes me wonder why he's only a cover?)
Some minor confusion over the date - some lists have this as March 15, (I've also seen it listed as March 15, 2003) but they're the same audio. There's identical chair noises at the beginning of Wandering Child, and the same murmur from either the taper or someone near them.
Only known audio of Morgan as Phantom.
A
London, May 23, 2002
John Owen Jones, Amanda Jane Callaghan (u/s), Robert Finlayson
Very nice sound. During the Entr'acte, you hear very clearly young children speaking. There's a skip in Think Of Me. Intermittent mic noise and you can hear the taper moving in his (her?) chair. First time Amanda went on as Christine; she muddles lines in Think of Me and sings the "old" lyrics to Wishing.
A-
US Tour, May 30, 2002 (Des Moines, Iowa.) Matinee.
Brad Little, Rebecca Pitcher, Dan Callaway (u/s), Julie Schmidt, David Cryer, D.C. Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Jay Lusteck (u/s), Erin Sacks
Specifically labeled as Matinee because there was a recording done at the evening performance as well (with a different Raoul. I used to have it, once upon a time.) Better quality than I remembered, very clear which wasn't a given at this point in time for tour audios.
A
London, June 28, 2002
John Owen-Jones, Celia Graham, James Spilling (U/S)
A little heavy on the base. Has that echo that's peculiar to London Audios.
A-
Seoul, Korea, June 30, 2002
Jang-seob Kim, Kim So hyun, Se-hun Jeong
Jeong nearly misses his cue during Wandering Child, comes in slightly late (unless this was intentional in this production? IDK I've only got the one audio from Korea.)
Nice crisp and clear sound.
A+
Stuttgart, Germany, October 23, 2002
Ian Jon Bourg, Janine Kitzen, Jonas Holst
First preview of the Stuttgart production. Decent enough audio. No where near the quality of the November 1 2002 audio with the same Phantom/Christine though.
A
US Tour, October 23, 2002 (Philadelphia, PA)
Ted Keegan, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, Kim Stengel,
David Cryer, DC Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Frederic Heringes, Erin Sacks
RavnQuest's master. First performance of the engagement. From a digital master. Contains the entire show, pre-show announcement and exit music. The sound at the Forrest Theatre was deplorable so this audio is not as good as it could have been. Various technical problems throughout the show. Oddly though, this is better quality than the recording from December 1st (same taper, same equipment, and if I remember what I was told correctly after all these years, similar position in theatre for attempt at filming.)
A
Stuttgart, November 1, 2002
Ian Jon Bourg, Janine Kitzen, Michael Shawn Lewis
Crisp and clear, could this have been a soundboard? It really almost sounds like a studio recording ... Except when you hear the applause at the exit ...
A+
London, December 3, 2002
Richard Halton (s/b), Celia Graham, Robert Finlayson, Bruce Montague, Robert Irons, Nan Christie, Jeremy Secombe, Liz Robertson, Hayley Driscoll
A
US Tour, December 1, 2002 (Philadelphia, PA)
Ted Keegan, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson,
Kim Stengel, Frederic Heringues, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Erin Sacks
RavnQuest's Master. Fair amount of overload and heavy on the bass (Sadly though I know for a fact this was caused by crappy theatre accoustics *Sigh*). Also some mechanical noise from the digital recorder. "Missing" Music Of The Night - the track for it is there, but it's completely silent (very very VERY strange!)
A-
US Tour, December 21, 2002 (Philadelphia, PA)
Tim Martin Gleason (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Dan Calloway (U/S, Final), David Cryer, D.C. Anderson, Kim Stengel, Frederic Heringues, Susan Emerson (U/S), Erin Sacks
This audio used to be ridiculously rare - for a very very long time I was one of a few who had it and NO ONE listed it. Come to think of it, I never DID list it on my old site. Ah well it's out there now.
RavnQuest's master. A touch on the low side volume wise. Coughing near the taper at various points (what do you expect in Philadelphia in December?? IIRC the temperature was nearing the negatives ... yes, I was there.) First recording of Gleason as Phantom VERY early in his understudy of the role (as in, he'd had his first time behind the mask earlier in the week, as told at the stage door a few days prior to this recording). Final for Calloway with the tour. Flub in "Seal My Fate", the gun doesn't go off and Calloway ad-libs. Final performance of the Philadelphia engagement.
A-
Madrid, Spain, 2003 (1)
Luis Amando, Teresa Barrientos, Zenon Recalde (2nd Raoul), David Venacio Murio, Enrique R del Portal, Ruth Nabal (2nd Carlotta?), Angels Jimenez, Enrique Ferrer, Evangelina Esteves
SOUNDBOARD. Over the years I've seen people say that they think this is just a high quality digital audio but ... the tell is in the lack of audience noise. The applause is muted, you can hear hitches of breath from the performers, and that combined with the overall quality makes me vote soundboard. (Besides if this had been an audience recording there'd be tons of chatter during the exit music - and there's NOT. Not a peep. Just a nice clear instrumental.) I guess that long-winded explanation also gives a good clue about the audio's quality.
A+
Madrid, Spain, 2003 (2)
Juan Carlos Barona (Second Phantom), Felicidad Farag?, Armando Pita, Julia Möller
SOUNDBOARD. Perfectly beautiful recording of the Madrid cast, almost like a cast recording.
Barona's Phantom is a very strong baritone, very deep and resounding voice, but he seemed to lack heart. When I said almost like a cast recording, that goes to the style of the acting – the heart of the live performance is just not there. This is seen in Farag's Christine and Pita's Raoul as well, sadly. Disappointing for such a beautiful audio with some otherwise beautiful voices! However if you prefer a perfectionist quality over emotionalism, this is the audio for you.
A+
Stuttgart, January 12, 2003
Steve Lucas (u/s), Sandra Danyella (u/s), Michael Shawn Lewis
Frequent overload, and some skipping throughout (Notably in the title song). I can't be sure, but I suspect the taper used binaural mics - it has that 'faux surround sound' effect during "Seal My Fate". Some mild hiss, but oddly clear underneath. Yes, I know that makes little sense but there it is. Almost makes me think it was digital transferred to cassette and back again one generation later. According to the previous trader, her copy had "six second pauses - "as a previous trader copied a 3-second pause copy with 3-second pauses *again*." Only known audio of Lucas's Phantom to come out of this Stuttgart run.
A-
Stuttgart, January 15, 2003
Ian Jon Bourg, Maike Switzer (alt), Alen Hodzovic, Ernst van Looy (Firmin), Marko Woytowicz (Andre), Susann Hagel (Carlotta), Marcello Ronchietto (Piangi), Susan Rigvava-Dumas (Madame Giry), Lara Glew (Meg)
Very heavy bass, overpowering at times. Also, definitely a case of scratchy disk syndrome (I'm going to coin this term now, for when I'm pretty sure the source disk of the rip was scratched, as I think this one was.) Still, other than that it's a good audio of Bourg, who I've always enjoyed.
B+
US Tour, February 15, 2003 (Lansing, MI)
Brad Little, Julie Hanson, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Frederic Heringes, Erin Sacks
Some analog hiss present (strange because my old review stated it as crisp and clear? The hiss isn't too bad, but how I missed it ...) I don't think Julie's mic was adjusted right that night because during AIAOY when she and TMG sing in harmony he blows her out of the water to the point you barely hear her. Tracked very strangely - example the last track of Act 1 is from Il Muto to the end of the show.
B+
London, February 18, 2003
John Owen-Jones, Celia Graham, Matt Cammelle, Richard Hazell (Firmin), Robert Irons (André), Nan Christie (Carlotta), Josie Benson (Mme. Giry u/s), Jeremy Secombe (Piangi), Hayley Driscoll (Meg Giry) Gorgeous audio, absolutely crystal-clear quality. An extremely strong cast overall.
A
Stuttgart Germany, February 20, 2003
Steve Lucas (u/s), Maike Switzer, Alex Hodzovic
A
Broadway, February 24, 2003
Howard McGillin, Lisa Vroman, John Cudia
Some skipping at the ends of both acts: starting from AIAOY and “It's over now…,” respectively. A few words dropped here and there but nothing major. Very clear audio.
A-
Stuttgart, Germany, March 2, 2003
Ian Jon Bourg, Marion Wilmer (u/s), Alen Hodzovic, Ernst van Looy, Steve Lucas, Barbara Gray Nystrom, Gabriele Ramm, Marcello Ronchietto, Lara Glew
A
US Tour, April 2, 2003? (Buffalo?)
Thomas Cunningham (U/S), Marni Raab (ALT), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), D.C. Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Frederic Heringues (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Mme. Giry)
The audio system in Buffalo definitely wasn't up to snuff, you can hear slight distortion in the actor's higher, louder notes. Some skipping noise in Wandering Child. Almost sounds like it was originally analog - there's a hiss overlaying the entire audio. Missing the Entr'acte.
Most traders accept the date of April 2 for this audio, but there was a lot of confusion about either the date or the location being inaccurate back in 2003/2004 when this started circulating (mostly due to me getting a hold of it through a truely incompetent trader at the time who gave me two different dates.) I'm leaving my "original" review of this audio in the info file.
And again, I know I said no cast reviews but ... Cunningham's Phantom is nicely psychotic, definitely for those who don't want their Phantom to be too fluffy :-)
B-
Broadway, May 20, 2003
Hugh Panaro, Lisa Vroman, John Cudia, Patricia Phillips, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews (u/s), Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Joelle Gates
A
London, May 29, 2003
Richard Halton (SB), Nicky Adams (Alt), Niklas Andersson, Nan Christie (Carlotta) Jeremy Secomb (Piangi), Josie Benson (Understudy, Giry), Richard Hazell (Firmin), Robert Irons (Andre), Hayley Driscoll (Meg)
Crisp clear sound, but a little low at some points.
A-
Broadway, June 16, 2003
Hugh Panaro, Adrianne McEwan (alt), John Cudia, Patricia Phillips, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Heather McFadden
A
Budapest, Hungary, July 22, 2003
Attila Csengeri, Eszter Biro, Zsolt Homonnay, Orsolya Roser, Robert Weil, Bela Szerednyey, Viktoria Bajza, Peter Pankotay, Viktoria Varady, Gyula Vikidal (Buquet), Zsolt Bognar (Reyer), Attila Lote (Lefevre), Komel Pusztaszeri (Auctioneer)
The sound is a bit thin with a tinge of overload at times, but other than that it sounds very nice. A little bit of skipping during the applause after Music of the Night, moderate to severe skipping after Point of No Return.
A
US Tour, July 30, 2003 Matinee (San Francisco)
Tim Martin Gleason (u/s), Lisa Vroman, D.B. Bonds (u/s), D.C. Anderson (Andre), David Cryer (Firmin), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Frederick Heringues (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Mme. Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Originally analog and it shows – some hiss throughout. Small bits likely missing around flip points (I noticed one in the "Before the Premiere" scene – not MUCH missing, just a few orchestral notes). However, the transfer was done from a very early generation, so the analog issues aren't as vast as many other analog recordings are.
For a very *VERY* long time recordings of Gleason's Phantom were *VERY* hard to come by and this one, the first one that was released (others were kept hidden for vast periods) was ridiculously rare. (My old site will state this as the earliest recording, though I knew even back then it wasn't ...)
B
US Tour, August 5, 2003 (San Francisco, CA)
Brad Little, Marni Raab (alt.), DB Bonds (u/s), David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, David Gaschen (u/s)
Oddly echoey, probably has to do more with the acoustics of the theater than the microphone. Also slightly heavy on the bass. Hilarious goof where the overture recording doesn't start, so the chandelier begins to rise in complete silence until about fifteen seconds later when the recording kicks in. (Someone was asleep at the wheel!) Also, though it is not apparent on the recording, the taper told me that during this show, the veil went missing for Final Lair so Brad was forced to substitute the ring.
(Why did I give this a B+ years ago?)
A
Stuttgart, Germany, August 8, 2003
Thomas Schulze, Janine Kitzen, Roy Weissensteiner (u/s), Eberhard Neitzel, Marko Woytowicz, Barbara Gray-Nystrom, Annette Kuhn, Charlie Serrano (u/s)
A
Stuttgart, August 22, 2003
Ian Jon Bourg, Maike Switzer (alt), Alen Hodzovic, Stefan Müller-Ruppert, Jonathan Agar, Barbara Gray-Nystrom, Gabriele Ramm, Marcello Ronchietto, Lara Glew
Very much on the quiet side. Minor volume imbalances and overload at the loudest bits, almost makes me think someone was trying to adjust the mic volume manually? But there's clarity underneath that makes it skirt the grade drop.
A-
US Tour, August 29, 2003 (San Francisco, CA)
Brad Little, Lisa Vroman, Tim Martin Gleason, D. C. Anderson (Andre), David Cryer (Firmin), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Frederic Heringues (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Mme. Giry), Kate Wray (Meg Giry)
Crisp clear sound, a perfect recording. Done by the same taper who did the July 18, 2003 audio.
A
Budapest, September 26, 2003
Sándor Sasvári, Renáta Krassy, Zsolt Hommonay
One of the earliest released audios out of Budapest (When I first recieved it there weren't any others released as yet, according to the notes on my old list.) This production was the first to use what at the time had been a London Only lyric - the Trio in Perros scene, and quite possibly it set the trend that many productions around the world now have it added. Quality wise, very good. Mild overload on the loud bits - nothing out of the norm. My original copy had 3 second pauses. I don't know how that will translate to anyone burning this to disk.
A-
London, October 6, 2003. 730pm Performance.
Earl Carpenter (u/s), Katie Knight Adams, Ramin Karimloo, Sam Hiller (Andre), Richard Hazell (Firmin) Heather Jackson (Madame Giry)
This was the first performance of the new cast AND the first performance of the (then) current London Phantom stand-by. A few small flubs here and there (Earl uses "This slave of fashion" twice in the Mirror, for example). Also has that echo sound that seems common amongst London audios of the time.
A
US Tour, November 18, 2003 (Los Angeles, CA)
Brad Little, Marni Raab (Alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), D.C. Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (?) (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Mme. Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
A little on the quiet side but still an amazingly beautiful audio. Made by the same taper as the video from this night (possibly ripped from said video.)
A-
US Tour, November 19, 2003 (Los Angeles, CA)
Brad Little, Lisa Vroman, Tim Martin Gleason, DC Anderson, David Cryer, Kim Stengal, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Jimmy Smagula, Kate Wray
I wonder if someone has played around with the volume on this at some point over the years because I used to have this listed as "on the quiet side" but it's really not (and I know my hearing has NOT improved in more than ten years.) Vroman cracks in the cadenza of "Think of Me" and Little cracks in "Down Once More." Brad's "Christine, why ... WHY?" has to be heard to be believed. One of the earliest recordings of Smagula as Piangi.
A
US Tour, December 5, 2003 (Los Angeles)
Brad Little, Lisa Vroman, Tim Martin Gleason
Cassette transfer. Highlights, and a choppy one at best, runs under half an hour. Mostly Christine's parts. Starts at the Mirror scene, cuts from halfway through the title song straight to the rooftop scene, which is missing the end of the reprise. Act 2 begins with a SHORT segment of Notes II before "Twisted Every Way" and then skips to the beginning of Don Juan Triumphant. Audio ends right at the unmasking.
One of the last recordings of Brad before he left the tour, and if I'm not mistaken, the last of Lisa Vroman as Christine, she left shortly after this. Nice enough audio for an analog, but the cuts can be annoying. I can also tell it used to be on CD at some point, there are times I can hear what was once a three second pause. Given it's shortness, I'm just going to gift it out to anyone who is interested - provided of course, you ask nicely :-)
B
US Tour, January 11, 2004 Matinee, (Orlando, FL)
Brad Little, Elizabeth Southard (Alternate), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg), William Patrick Dunne (Understudy, Bouquet)
Digital – Master.
Missing the Prologue and the Entr'acte. Crisp, clear sound. Brad Little's second-to-last with the tour. I'm fairly certain that this is the only audio of Little and Southard together.
A
US Tour, January 11, 2004 Evening, (Orlando, FL, 3NT)
Brad Little (Final Performance in production), Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Digital – Master.
Missing the beginning of the Prologue, the Entr'acte, and the first minute of Act Two before Masquerade, everything else is there. Little was VERY emotional as this was his final show with the tour, in the final lair scene after Christine returns with the ring, he's choked up from trying not to cry when he sings the final line "It's over now the music of the night".
A
US Tour, January 13, 2004, (Orlando FL)
Tim Martin Gleason (US), Elizabeth Southard (Alt), Peter Lockyer (US), David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Digital – Master.
Missing most of the Entr'acte. Also, in "Angel of Music" something happens to Meg's mike, and she's a little hard to hear when harmonizing with Christine. Also intermittent coughing in the audience, not too far from me.
RARE cast - I don't think there's another one of this particular main trio (in this order anyway - there *is* one where Gleason and Lockyer are switched around.)
A
US Tour, January 21, 2004 (Orlando, FL)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Kim Stengel (Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg), William Patrick Dunne (Understudy, LeFevre)
Digital – Master.
Missing a chunk of the Entr'acte, which if you've heard the Entr'acte once you've heard it. VERY early audio of Gary's Phantom - he'd only been in the role for a week. The earliest available audio of Gary's Phantom.
A
US Tour, February 1, 2004 Matinee, (Orlando, FL)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Peter Lockyer (US), David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Joan Eubank (US, Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Digital – Master.
Missing part of the Entr'acte and may have some audience talking throughout (all through the performance people around me were talking – VERY ANNOYING!) Next to last show of the Orlando Engagement. Very early audio of Gary Mauer's Phantom.
A
US Tour, February 8, 2004 (Austin, TX)
Gary Mauer, Sarah Lawrence (u/s), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), Patty Goble (u/s Carlotta), Jimmy Smagula (Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea (Giry), Kate Wray (Meg)
Excellent audio out of Austin! Some small bits missing in the Overture, but nothing major. Another early audio of Gary in the role, Austin was his first "full" stop on the tour, but he'd still only been behind the mask less than a month here. His MOTN is already strong, and there are other hints at the great he would become.
A
US Tour, February 18, 2004 (Austin, TX)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, Paul Slade Smith (u/s), Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Jimmy Smagula, Kate Wray, William Patrick Dunne (u/s Lefèvre/Firechief)
HIGHLIGHTS - ACT 2 ONLY.
As I recall, there was some issue with the master's equipment that prevented the recording of Act 1. Beautiful quality audio though. Early audio of Mauer's Phantom, he's starting to settle in a little here.
A
US Tour, February 19, 2004 (Austin, TX.)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Ray Gabbard (u/s), David Cryer, Paul Slade-Smith (u/s), Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Jimmy Smagula, Joelle Gates (u/s)
Another awesome audio out of Austin. (One of these days I'd LOVE to have the complete set again ... all 12 of them.) Scratching sound in IGYMM. (You just want to gather Gary up and HUG him there though.)
A
Stuttgart, March 6, 2004
Thomas Schulze (alt), Kristin Hölck (alt), Steve Lucas (u/s), Karen Michelle Buck (u/s Carlotta), Wolfgang DeMarco (u/s Firmin), Steffen Friedrich (u/s Andre), Annette Kuhn (u/s Madame Giry), Katie Wood (u/s Meg), Marcello Ronchietto (Piangi)
About 30 minutes of random highlights. No pauses between tracks. Includes AoM (and the managers talking to Raoul after the show), about 13 seconds of The Mirror, Title Song ("sing once again with me" and ends before Thomas tells her to sing for him), most of the Don Juan Rehearsal, Journey to the Cemetery (complete), Wishing (complete), Wandering Child (complete), Seal My Fate (complete), Don Juan Triumphant (complete), PoNR (mostly complete), and then the unmasking scene and ends right before Down Once More (no final lair at ALL - how disappointing!). Sound quality: a bit soft, and skewed to the right. But other than those nitpicks, it's really REALLY good quality sound - almost no overload, no hiss. It's a shame it's not the whole show, especially with all the understudies on!
A
Stuttgart, Germany, April 4, 2004
Ian Jon Bourg, Kristin Hoelck, Carsten Lepper, Marko Woytowicz, Ernst van Looy, Petra Koschatzki, Brian Bowley, Gabriele Ramm, Katie Wood, Ralph Abelein
Someone out there is floating this around labeled as being from the Netherlands. If there's one language other than English I'll recognize, it's German lol. But it did get me to give this another listen. Beautiful audio! Bourg is one of those Phantoms that just begs to be listened to again and again.
A
Broadway, June 7, 2004
Hugh Panaro, Julie Hanson (alt), Michael Lewis (u/s), Julie Schmidt, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andres, Marilyn Caskey, John Waisnia (u/s), Heather McFadden
Very heavy bass problem in the heavier parts of the show - bad enough that the taper replaced the Overture and the Title Song with tracks from another audio (You can *hear* the change in quality at the point of the switch in the Overture - the first note or two is from the original audio, the rest of the song is obviously not. I'd love to know what audio they used for the Title Song becuase it's goreous quality!) The 'thinner' songs where there's not a lot of bass are decent quality. Given that the quality fluctuates the way it does, I'm splitting the grade.
A-/B
London, June 18, 2004
John Owen-Jones, Nicky Adams, Ramin Karimloo
Mild to moderate overload on the loud bits. Otherwise good quality.
A-
Budapest, Hungary July 11, 2004
Zoltan Miller (3rd), Barbara Fonyo (5th), Zsolt Homonnay, Robert Weil, Istvan Miko, Orsolya Röser, Viktoria Bajza, Istvan Rozsos, Viktoria Varady
Gorgeous digital audio. Nice, full sound. Taper manually adjusted the volume switch and sometimes doesn’t adjust in time. Most of the Overture overloaded as a result. Some skipping during Hannibal and the beginning of ToM. Some odd tracking choices. Yes, Fonyo really is the 5th Christine, not an understudy. Carlotta’s croak sounds more like a hiccup.
A-
London, August 17, 2004
Earl Carpenter (s/b), Katie Knight-Adams, Ramin Karimloo, Richard Hazell, Sam Hiller, Judith Gardner-Jones, Heather Jackson, Jim Heath, Nouska Hanly (u/s)
A
US Tour, August 29, 2004, (Baltimore, MD)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, D.C. Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Jimmy Smagula, Kate Wray, Paul Slade Smith (LeFevre), Stephen R. Buntrock (M Reyer/Jeweler), John Keuther (Auctioneer)
Perfect quality, sounds like you’re right there. This audio ushered in what I always thought of as the Golden Age of Phantom audios - as I recall this taper was the first US taper to use binaural mics for her audios - and that mic and Mini Disk recorder got handed around a lot to a handful of us at different tour stops.
Gary cracks his last note in MOTN, and Beth's Wishing brings down the house.
A
London, October 4, 2004
Matthew Cammelle (s/b), Rachel Barrel, Oliver Thornton
18th Anniversary Performance of Phantom in London.
Some minor overload issues at the loud bits, but not bad enough to drop the full grade. Also some hiss left from a volume boost that happened early in this audio's existence - the early version traded was barely audible as I recall.
A-
US Tour, November 7, 2004. (Cleveland, OH.)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt.), Tim Martin Gleason, Kim Stengel (Carlotta) David Cryer (Firmin), DC Anderson (Andre), John Whitney (Piangi), Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo (Meg), Gwen Eagleton (U/S, Giry)
Final performance in Cleveland. Missing almost all of the Entr'acte (Heard it once? Yeah ...)
Ahhhhh ... Gary and Beth. Probably the most recorded duo on the tour, for good reason. 'Nuff said.
A
London, December 8, 2004
Matthew Cammelle (s/b), Rachel Barrell, Oliver Thornton, Sally Harrison, Richard Hazell, Sam Hiller, Heather Jackson, Claire Tilling, Rohan Tickell
A
World Tour, Shanghai, January 2005
James Skinner (2nd u/s), Marni Raab, Jarrod Carland
The date is in question, it could be any time from December 2004 until March 2005. There are a couple of spots where some of the applause was cut out and a few snaps in the AIAOY reprise, but other than that a great quality audio. Cuts off during the Final Lair right after "go now and leave me."
A
World Tour - Shanghai, China - January 11, 2005
Brad Little, Marni Raab, Jarrod Carland, Jonathan Taylor, Anders Sohlman, Pauline Du Plessis, Jackie Rees, Marcus Desando, Jee-Hyun Noh, Andre Strijdom (Reyer), James Skinner (Passarino), Malcolm Terrey (Auctioneer/Lefevre), Rouel Beukes (Buquet), Hanlee Louw
Yep, it didn't even take Brad a full year to come back lol, as evidenced by an audio of him one year after his 'final performance' with the US tour.
A
Broadway, January 12, 2005 - Matinee
David Gaschen (u/s), Sandra Joseph, John Cudia, Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Heather McFadden
Gaschen was the listed Phantom for this week, covering Hugh's 3 week leave. Although not posted, Janet Saia covers Susan Owen's roles due to illness. Gaschen was phenomenal - supposedly he was sick but you just can't tell. Includes the whole show, pre-show announcement, and Gaschen's post- show UNICEF speech.
A
US Tour, February 4, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, Paul Slade Smith (U/S, Andre), Kim Stengel, Peter Lockyer (U/S, Piangi), Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
Digital - Master. Opening night in Ft. Myers.
One of only two audios of Lockyer's Piangi. Includes pre-show announcements, full curtain calls, and some exit music. MOST of the Entr'acte is intact. I wish I could have videoed – seeing Peter in Piangi's fat suit was a riot! (And here's where I really decided to begin filming ...) Wouldn't think such a small man would have such a large voice.
A
US Tour, February 11, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Peter Lockyer (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Laureen Vigil (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
Digital – Master.
Lockyer is a very interesting Phantom. His MOTN feels to be too fast – he doesn't really hold the "Be", and just seems to almost be rushing through the number. He flubs part of the AIAOY reprise after PONR – stops singing, and then comes back with the proper second line. .
RARE - one of only two known audios of Lockyer's Phantom
Highlights video available of this performance.
A
US Tour, February 18, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Stephen R. Buntrock (U/S), Rebecca Pitcher, Peter Lockyer (U/S), David Cryer, DC Anderson, Joan Sobel (U/S Carlotta), John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
Digital - Master
FULL SHOW. Missing the beginning of the Entr'acte, everything else is there. Funny note from the audience - In the short silence between "You try my patience!" and "Make your choice!" someone near me says, "Jerk!" John Kuether (Don Attilio) holds the low note in Il Muto for a good fifteen seconds. For some reason, a very delayed reaction from the audience at the end of act 1.
RARE cast – one of only three known audios of Buntrock as Phantom, and the only one with the particular understudies.
Highlights video available of this performance.
A
US Tour, February 24, 2005 (Ft. Myers, FL)
Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Sarah Spradlin-Bonomo
Digital - Master
Taped from 13th row center orchestra.
I swear that Gary whispers "Stay" to Christine as she's about to leave after returning the ring in the lair. He actually joked on a forum after hearing about this that he asked for a steak. Seriously, though, you have to jack the volume up, but it's THERE.
Highlights video available of this performance.
A+
US Tour, May 8, 2005 Evening (Boston, MA, 3NT)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt.), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Gary flubs some words in MOTN (Basically he switches "Caress you" and "possess you" around, you *really* have to be listening closely to catch it, because he covers so well you'd miss it. Believe me, I did when I first heard this audio ten years ago!) Beautiful quality audio, made by the same taper as the Baltimore audios from 2004 and the Atlanta audios from later in 2005.
A
Budapest, May 9, 2005
Victor Posta, Barbara Fonyó, Sándor Nagy
Muffled, with a metronome-like "click" over most of it. Just the sound of that click reminds me of something that would happen with cassettes from time to time when the record heads were dirty while making a tape, even one coming from a pristine source such making a mixtape from CD's. That is, that's the only other way I can think of to describe this. At any rate, whether it was originally digital or analog (my money is on analog personally) this was a very sloppy transfer. Which stinks because I could be wrong, but this might be the only recording of Victor Posta (I don't recall it being readily available during my original trading run, at any rate.) There is some clarity underneath, which makes me think this would be a good candidate for cleanup if I knew how. One of these days I'll learn!
(Was Posta an understudy or alternate? IIRC he wasn't the principal Phantom in this production.)
B
US Tour, May 14, 2005 Matinee (Boston, MA, 3NT)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt), Tim Martin Gleason, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Peter Lockyer (u/s), Kate Wray
Another gorgeous quality audio from this wonderful touring cast.
A
Broadway July 9, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Julie Hanson, Tim Martin Gleason, Janet Saia (u/s), Jeff Keller, George Lee Andrews, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein
Julie Hanson's last performance. Hugh is nearly crying and cracks at the very end of MOTN and has to take a moment to compose himself before the last phrase. Also includes a heartbreaking curtain speech by Hugh bidding Julie farewell.
A
London, July 18, 2005
Earl Carpenter, Jane Mark (u/s), Tom Solomon (u/s), Richard Hazell, Sam Hiller, Sally Harrison, Rohan Tickell, u/s Mme. Giry, Heidi Ann O'Brien
Possibly the only audio of Jane Mark as Christine? I was trading in this time period and I somehow never had an audio of her back then, so I'm seriously guessing this one was underground for a while.
Not the best quality on a London audio of this time period, the sound is slightly muffled. Almost like the taper had the mic just barely covered. Also, some odd track cuts here.
B+
US Tour, August 31, 2005 (Atlanta)
Gary Mauer, Marie Danvers, Michael Shawn Lewis, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
SOUNDBOARD. HIGHLIGHTS. Most of the show, missing parts of Act 2 between Masquerade and Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. Most of it is gorgeous. There's some skipping / scratching in act 2 - Notably during Wishing, Wandering Child, and leading up to PONR (but not during).
I am not 100% sure about the exact date, but I am sure on the location and the time frame is close to the date. It wasn't until a recent trade that I realized there are TWO soundboards from this time period. The thing is that this was sent to me as an audience recording which it is NOT. It has been , however, been being traded around as this date so I'll leave it for the time being.
If the date IS correct, however, it was opening night in Atlanta.
A+/B
US Tour, September 18, 2005, (Atlanta, GA)
Gary Mauer, Marie Danvers, Michael Shawn Lewis, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
SOUNDBOARD. Slight muffling of the sound, but missing the scratching that was present in parts of Wishing/Wandering Child / and PONR that the other soundboard has. Also this one isn't missing anything like the other one is. Recorded from the IR system. As with most IR feeds, this is also the foldback mix which isn't really mixed at all.
Some traders have this labeled as "Boston" and it is definitely NOT - the tour was in Boston from March 28 through June 5, 2005. (I was a serious tour junkie between 2003 and 2006. The tour was in Atlanta from August 31 until September 25, 2005. There was a master at both those shows who was very reputable about dates. Also, Marie Danvers and Michael Shawn Lewis did not join the Tour until well after the Boston Run (Rebecca Pitcher and Beth Southard were the Christines and Tim Martin Gleason was Raoul in Boston) Possibly one of MSL's last performances during this run with the tour - John Cudia took over partway through Atlanta IIRC.
Some question on the date. I've learned through comparison there is a SECOND soundboard from this time frame floating around.
A-/B
US Tour, September 25, 2005 (Atlanta, 3NT)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard (alt.), John Cudia, Kim Stengel, D.C. Anderson, David Cryer, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Closing performance in Atlanta, recorded from front row. Gorgeous quality recording, very close to soundboard quality.
A
Broadway, September 14, 2005
Hugh Panaro, Kris Koop (u/s), Tim Martin Gleason, Anne Runolfsson, Tim Jerome, George Lee Andrews, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein, James Romick (u/s Lefevre), Fred Rose (u/s Reyer)
Tinny sound to it, and on the quiet side to boot. However, the quality other than that is pretty darn good. It just kinda sounds like it was recorded on substandard equipment. Missing the AIAOY reprise.
B
Essen, Germany, September 20, 2005
Thomas Borchert, Anne Goerner, Nikolaj Alexander Brucker, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Laurie A. Mc Gowan, Gabriele Ramm, Daniel Brenna, Annabal Knight
First preview of the show in Essen.
A
Broadway, October 1, 2005 Matinee
Hugh Panaro, Susan Owen (u/s), Tim Martin Gleason, Tim Jerome, George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein
Final Matinee performance for Hugh Panaro before he left the show to go to LeStat (and we all know he came back!)
A
Broadway, October 1, 2005 Evening
Hugh Panaro, Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason, James Romick (u/s), George Lee Andrews, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein
Hugh Panaro's last performance prior to taking on the role of Elton John's Lestat, includes curtain call and speeches at the end. Gorgeous audio. The cast was on fire.
I'd taken a vow when redoing my list (since I lost so much and gained others over the past decade) to skip most of the cast reviews, but I can't help myself on this one.
Hugh Panaro's Bravo Monsieur ... friggen GENIUS. Needs to be both seen and heard to be believed.
Full video also available.
A
Broadway, October 3, 2005
Howard McGillin (First Performance) , Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason, George Lee Andrews, Tim Jerome, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Kara Klein
Howard's first performance back behind the Mask (he and Panaro seemed to rotate for a few years off and on and off and on again.) Nice clear audio.
A
US Tour, October 8, 2005 (Ft. Lauderdale)
Stephen Tewksbury (u/s), Sarah Lawrence (u/s), John Cudia, Kirk Vaughn-Robinson (u/s), DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, John Whitney, Kate Wray
MOST OF THE SHOW. Cuts out some dialogue parts including most of the Prologue, the first two verses of ToM, the falling chandelier, the first bit before Masquerade, Twisted Every Way, and Don Juan Rehearsal. Muffled, distant-sounding, overload on the loud bits, and echo-y but very listenable. Stephen flubs some words in MOTN.
B
Essen, October 15, 2005
Ian Jon Bourg, Anne Görner, Roy Weissensteiner
*Originally was only one track per act but has been re-tracked. Not my work though, just throwing that one out there.*
I'm going to be just as honest as the trader who gave this to me was (I was warned, but I'm a glutton ...) the quality SUCKS. I usually try to stay away from descriptors like that, but this time it's very much warranted. WHY this would happen in 2005 when most tapers were going digital, I'll never know. VERY muffled and TONS of overload in all the loud bits. And when the sound overloads, there's this horrible scratching and screeching. I couldn't even listen to the Overture as it was just one long screech. There's also some off the wall sound fluctuations all over the place, and a bunch of popping in random spots. The audio is a bit louder during Act 2, but that only means more scratchy overload. "A collector's peice, indeed ..." Only really for serious collectors.
C-
Broadway, October 21, 2005
Stephen R. Buntrock (u/s), Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason
MOST OF THE SHOW. Gorgeous clear audio in 'surround sound' produced using binaural mics. However, my copy is missing chunks out of Act 2 - I only have five *working* tracks out of 14 -Masquerade, Notes 2 (which ends at "I'll go mad!"), Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, Point Of No Return, and Final Lair. I'm willing to trade for a pristine copy, which I KNOW exists because I had it years ago.
Yeah, I'm willing to trade even though Buntrock STILL isn't one of my favorite Phantoms. I'd hoped he wouldn't seem as whiny as when I saw him live *Sigh*.
A
Essen, November 3, 2005
Ian Jon Bourg, Sandra Danyella, Roy Weissensteiner
Act I starts mid-way through the description of Lot 666 and Act II is complete (Not enough missing to declare a highlights, but throwing it out there.) Beautiful quality audio, much better than the October 15 audio of Bourg. Nice and clear, and loud. No overload either.
A
Essen, December 3, 2005
Ian Jon Bourg, Beatrix Reiterer (u/s), Alexander Bruckner
Sounds like it was recorded using an mp3 player, and given the recording capabilities of those in 2005 (crappy) ...
Sounds like it was recorded inside a tin can that was inside another tin can inside a third tin can. Yes. It's that tinny. And scratchy. Which is a damn shame to do so to Ian.
C
Essen, December 4, 2005
Christian Müller (u/s), Sandra Danyella, Alexander Brucker
There is a mechanical noise under the audio ... when I say under, basically the audio (vocals and instrumentals) overpowers it. But it's there ... reminds me of what is sometimes left over after de-hissing, but given the quality of the vocals/instrumentals, I can't see them needing a de-hissing. They're too loud and clear.
I can't quite ignore that noise though ...
B+ / A - IF You can ignore that noise.
Essen, December 17, 2005
Thomas Borchert, Anne Goerner, Nikolaj A. Brucker, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Laurie Anne McGowan, Daniel Brenna, Annette Kuhn, Annabel Knight
Missing a bit of the Overture (less than 30 seconds a little more than halfway through.) But as impressive as the Overture is, I don't consider it a make-or-break for me on an audio.
Sound quality is quite good. Mild echo (likely theatre accoustics). But nice and crystal clear otherwise. As the trader I got it from stated, "recorded close to the brass, the Masquerade brass farts are delicious."
A
US Tour, December 18, 2005 (Cincinnati)
Gary Mauer, Elizabeth Southard, John Cudia, Kim Stengel, David Cryer, DC Anderson, Rebecca Judd (u/s), Kristi Patricia (u/s), John Whitney
I've seen this labeled as Atlanta ... which it definitely is NOT. (Remember, 3NT junkie. Atlanta was the stop before Ft. Lauderdale in October 2005 which I would have seen if it had NOT been for a hurricane named Wilma. That and the fact I got the below description off of someone who was sitting right next to the Master ...) It's definitely from Cincinnati. #endrant.
Taper says: Recorded from the fifth or sixth row back, stage right. Contact noise a few times during the show. Gary was incredibly loud that night and tends to drown out the cast at times; also, his loudest parts tend to get a bit buzzy. Brief dropout during Gary's "night" at the end of the lair - has been edited out but the music sounds like it skips for half a second. Two small flubs - the gun doesn't fire during Seal My Fate so John makes a quick save by telling the marksman he should have fired (the gun clicks softly. And OMG, Gary sounds SOOOO creepy when he says "For once, Monsieur Vicomte is *right*." Way to send shivers down my spine. That never happens there. Never.) Also, John forgot his "but why?" when Madame Giry was explaining about the Punjab lasso. One of the last audios of David Cryer on tour as Firmin.
A
London, December 21, 2005
Earl Carpenter, Celia Graham (alt), David Shannon, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Wendy Ferguson, Rohan Tickell, Annette Yeo, Naomi Cobby (u/s)
A VERY clear audio of a wonderful cast.
Someone was laying a little heavy on the sauce when they ripped this one ... act two's tracks are basically backwards. With 23 being bows, and 36 the Entr'acte.
And just to give a laugh ... when I was labeling the new folder for it I tried to date it as being the year 2550. Now how's that hope for a long run?
A+
London, December 22, 2005
Matthew Cammelle (s/b), Celia Graham, David Shannon, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Wendy Ferguson, Rohan Tickell, Annette Yeo, Naomi Cobby (u/s)
Very nearly soundboard quality.
Not a note about the audio, but included in the file is an album art file ... and it's just odd that whoever created it made it from a picture from either Broadway or the US Tour - because the Raoul in the picture is Tim Martin Gleason. Just a laugh.
A+
Essen, December 26, 2005
Thomas Borchert, Anne Görner, Nicolaj A. Brucker
Tracked VERY strangely, for example, Final Lair is split into nine tracks. Yes. Nine. And that's not counting Down Once More as part of it either.
Tons of overload, a fair bit of hiss, and in many places this weird rhythmic clicking or bumping noise over everything. Might have been something to do with the recording equipment. You hear it mostly in the quiet moments, possibly because the loud moments overpower whatever it is. It has some good moments where the audio is lower A quality, so I'm splitting the grade.
A-/B-
Essen, December 31, 2005
Ian Jon Bourg, Anne Görner, Nikolaj Brucker, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Laurie Anne McGowan, Daniel Brenna, Annette Kuhn, Annabel Knight
Some skipping in the Final Lair, but other than that a supurb quality audio.
A
London, 2006 (?)
Matthew Cammelle (s/b), Rachel Barrell, David Shannon
HIGHLIGHTS. SOUNDBOARD. This has been traded or gifted out with a date of 2006, but almost every list has this as a 'best guess' date. Only includes four songs - The Mirror, POTO, PONR, and the Final Lair. But the quality on this is cast recording quality.
A+
Broadway, January 9, 2006
Howard McGillin, Sandra Joseph, Tim Martin Gleason, George Lee Andrews, Tim Jerome, Anne Runolfsson, Marilyn Caskey, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Heather McFadden
Record-breaking show. Full show, speeches included.
A
World Tour, January 24, 2006 (Taipei)
Brad Little, Ana Marina, John Bowles, Jonathon Taylor, Andres Sohlman, Pauline du Plessis, Jackie Rees, David Rogers-Smith, Jee-Hyun Noh
Gorgeously crystal clear.
A
US Tour, February 11, 2006 (Schenectady, NY) (Matinee)
Stephen Tewksbury (u/s), Elizabeth Southard (alt), Jim Weitzer, John Jellison (u/s), DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
TRACKED. Recorded with an mp3 recorder, which back in 2006 meant poor quality. Scratchy sound, background noise. It's a damn shame it's not better quality because Beth and Tewks sound great together, and if I'm not mistaken, this is the only recording of this duo that exists.
Missing the *very* end of act 1 - ends just before the Phantom cries out "GO" and drops the chandelier.
B
US Tour, March 16, 2006 (Providence, RI)
Jason Mills (u/s), Marie Danvers, Jim Weitzer, Kim Stengel, Stephen Tewksbury (Piangi u/s), D.C. Anderson, John Jellison, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray
Jason Mill's first performance as Phantom. Recorded on an .Mp3 recorder (likely using the recorder's internal mic) so the sound quality leaves quite a bit to be desired. Fair bit of mechanical hiss present. This is one of those exceptions to my thinking anything past 2005 should be gorgeous quality *Sigh* but ah well. Worth it if for nothing else, knowing it's a Phantom's very first time behind the mask.
Missing the Entr'acte (heard it once, heard it a hundred times ...) and features disruption in PONR just after the unmasking - as an audience member crawls over the taper before running out of the theatre. Also features an odd for the time use of "Fathering Gaze" in Wandering Child.
B
Essen, March 18, 2006
Ethan Freeman, Sandra Danyella (u/s), Lucius Wolter (u/s)
Not the 'incomplete, horrible quality' version that's floating out there. This one is cleaned up and complete. Still bass heavy, and with some overload on the loud bits (the Overture, especially, is unlistenable), but the rest of the show is decent quality. There is, however, a mechanical noise overlaying what would be an other wise clear audio.
B+
Essen, Germany, March 19, 2006
Ethan Freeman, Beatrix Reiterer, Lucius Wolter, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Laurie McGowan, Annette Kuhn, Bonifacio Galvan, Annabel Knight
On the quieter side, with some minor hiss.
A-
Essen, Germany, May 22, 2006
Uwe Kroeger, Beatrix Reiterer, Christian Mueller (u/s)
A
US Tour, April 5, 2006 (Dallas, TX, 3NT)
Gary Mauer, Marie Danvers, Jim Weitzer, John Jellison, DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Some mic contact noises, audience coughing. Slight echo that had everything to do with the lousy acoustics in the theatre and nothing to do with the taper's equipment (I know where of I speak on this one, but no I did *NOT* tape this one. I was there the next two nights though!) Other than that, a brilliant audio of the Tour cast. Gary's next-to-last performance with the tour.
A
US Tour, April 6, 2006 (Dallas, TX)
Gary Mauer (FINAL), Elizabeth Southard (FINAL), Jim Weitzer, John Jellison (FINAL), DC Anderson, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Taper says: A little more echoey than the previous night – primarily due to the lousy acoustics of the hall and the fact that our seats were in the mezz, but still very clear. This one really is one of the most magical moments on stage I've ever seen – the last show for the Mauer/Southard husband/wife team, and they really poured their hearts into it – Mauer gets very emotional during MOTN, and Southard does the same in Wishing. No goodbye speeches were delivered, though curtain calls were taped. Final for Mauer, Southard and Jellison.
Digital video (multi-cam shot with this mini-disk audio fed in) available of this performance.
A
US Tour, April 7, 2006, (Dallas, TX)
John Cudia (1st), Marie Danvers, Jim Weitzer, Bruce Winant, DC Anderson, Kim Stengal, John Whitney, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Kate Wray
Digital - Master
Highlights. Mostly Phantom-Centric.
John Cudia's first performance as Principal Phantom in the Tour, he'd just taken over from Gary Mauer.
Battery issues caused me to make cuts to get as much as I could of John's first performance with the tour. Audio begins at the Mirror, through the first lair. Missing everything after the first lair until sometime in Il Muto. Skips most of the rooftop, until the Phantom comes out. Part of Masquerade is there, and of course Why So Silent. Then skips to about halfway through Wishing, and is complete to the end of the show.
A
US Tour, April 11, 2006 (Dallas)
John Cudia, Marie Danvers, Jim Weitzer, Kim Stengel, Bruce Winant, D.C. Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Quite a lot of overload on this one. Very early audio of Cudia's Phantom on tour.
B
Las Vegas, June 21, 2006
Brent Barrett, Elizabeth Loyacano, Tim Martin Gleason, Geena Jeffries Mattox, John Leslie Wolf, Lawson Skala, Brianne Kelly Morgan, Rebecca Spencer
Preview performance. Quite possibly the earliest audio out of Vegas (I don't recall seeing an earlier date, but as we know someone could release one ten years from now!)
To quote the master's notes: "The quality is less than stellar, but it's listenable." Very muffled sounding, close to what I'd term tin can, but mixed with under water. Some hiss. Comparable to a 1990's B quality audio, really. Makes me wonder what equipment was used to record this - an mp3 player?
B-
Las Vegas, July 1, 2006
Brent Barrett, Sierra Boggess (?), Tim Martin Gleason, Lawson Skala, John Wolfe, Genna Mattox, Rebecca Spencer, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Brianne Kelly Morgan
MUCH better quality than the earlier audio of Barrett. Previous trader had a question mark by Sierra's name, anyone care to confirm it's her?
Mild overload on the loud bits, nothing out of the norm. Slightly echo-y. Wonder if it was taped by the same person as the July 2 audio?
A
Las Vegas, July 2, 2006 (7 PM)
Anthony Crivello, Elizabeth Loyacano, Tim Martin Gleason, Lawson Skala, John Leslie Wolfe, Elena Jeanne Batman (Carlotta), Rebecca Spencer, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Brianne Kelly Morgan
Beautifully clear digital audio! Has a slightly echo-y sound to it, and some minor overload on the loud bits. The orchestrations on the title song remind me of the Steve Harley/Sarah Brightman video.
(Were there two recordings from this date and location to make the taper note the time of the performance? Point to ponder ...)
A-
Broadway, July 3, 2006
James Romick (u/s), Julie Hanson (alt.), Michael Shawn Lewis, Patricia Phillips, George Lee Andrews, David Cryer, Marilyn Caskey, Peter Lockyer (u/s), Kara Klein (u/s)
I *LOVE* how Romick says, "Well, don't go!" at the end of Bravo Monsieur ... like it was the last thing he expected to happen was them leaving. Almost like it was a game to him and he was being petulant about them quitting the game.
A
London, July 13, 2006
Earl Carpenter, Tabitha Webb (u/s), David Shannon, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Wendy Ferguson, Rohan Tickell, Annette Yeo, Heidi Ann O'Brien
Some minor 'crackles' - mostly heard when you jack the volume all the way up, which you really don't need to do. I only did so because there was this gasp I heard when reviewing Wandering Child ... It sounds like it was Christine gasping over the Phantom appearing, but it was so clear I'm not sure how an audience recording would pick that up? Either way I liked it.
A
Essen, July 13, 2006
Ian Jon Bourg, Anne Gorner, Lucius Wolter
The usual overload on the loud bits and a mild amount of hiss that can be heard when the volume is jacked up. Very *loud* audio, I actually turned the volume down for this one. Other than that though, nice and clear!
A
Essen, July 15, 2006 (1)
Christian Mueller (u/s), Martina Rumpf (u/s), Lucius Wolter (u/s), Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Evelyn Werner, Gabriele Ramm, Daniel Brenna, Annabel Knight
Nice clear sound, some mild hiss. Minimal tracking (total is 22 tracks for the whole show) and the tracks don't use the number in the track name so Windows defaults to ABC order.
*Note: Not sure if this is matinee or evening. I have a second audio with this date, different quality and different tracking that is specifically marked as being "Matinee". Same cast for both. Just throwing that out there.*
A
Essen, July 15, 2006 (matinee)
Christian Müller (u/s), Martina Rumpf (u/s), Lucius Wolter (u/s), Evelyn Werner, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Gabriele Ramm, Daniel Brenna, Annabel Knight
Slightly muffled (like something was covering the mic?) But otherwise clear.
A-
Essen, Germany, July 30, 2006
Uwe Kröger, Anne Görner, Nikolaj A. Brucker
Uwe Kröger's final performance.
A
Las Vegas, August 12, 2006
Brent Barrett, Sierra Boggess, Tim Martin Gleason
On the quiet side. Very echo-y. Some muffled mic contat noise.
A-
Essen, Germany, September 24, 2006
Ian Jon Bourg, Anne Görner, Nikolaj A. Brucker
Ian Jon Bourg's final performance in Essen. One track per act. Sound quality is good.
A
Essen, Germany, November 25, 2006
Roy Weissensteiner (u/s), Anne Görner, Nikolaj Alexander Brucker
On the quiet side, but nicely crisp and clear.
A
Las Vegas, December 10, 2006
Anthony Crivello, Elizabeth Loyacano, Tim Martin Gleason, Elena Jeanne Batman, John Leslie Wolf, Lawson Skala, Rebecca Spencer, Larry Wayne Morbitt, Brianne Kelly Morgan
A *TON* of overload on this one - I've tried to come up with a way to describe it, but I don't know that I can any other way than that. It sounds DARK. Like someone fiddled with the bass. Also sounds like there's a very low analog hiss over top of the audio. Which is a shame in a sense because there's something solid if you can get past the "darkness" for lack of a better term. If this had been made ten years prior to when it was, it'd have been a low-A, but ...
Also, it's currently in .RA format (Real Audio). I'm trying to convert it.
B-
US Tour, December 17, 2006 (Philadelphia PA)
John Cudia, Marni Raab, Michael Gillis, D.C. Anderson, Bruce Winant, Kim Stengel, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
A
US Tour, January 5, 2007 (Toledo, OH)
David Gaschen (u/s), Marni Raab, Michael Gillis, Kim Stengel, Bruce Winant, DC Anderson, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Recorded with a digital voice recorder. Has that 'tin can' sound. There were lots of little technical difficulties that night and David flubs a bit. Michael has a tendency to yell his lines hilariously (namely "I feeeeeear yooooouuuu noooooot!" Funnily enough David did the same thing with "Upooooon yoooouuu boooottthhh!")
B
US Tour, January 27, 2007 (Toledo, OH)
Sal Sabella (u/s), Marni Raab, Michael Gillis, Kim Stengel, Bruce Winant, DC Anderson, Rebecca Judd, John Whitney, Kate Wray
Missing the Prologue, otherwise complete. Quite possibly the only recording of Sabella as Phantom.
A
US Tour, January 28, 2007 (Toledo, OH)
Rob Lorey (u/s), Sarah Lawrence, Michael Gillis, DC Anderson, Bruce Winant, Kim Stengel, Rebecca Judd, Sal Sabella (u/s)
Taper says: "Closing show in Toledo. John Cudia had apparently been sick for a while so a slew of understudies went on during this stop. Missing about thirty seconds of the prologue with a few seconds of microphone adjustment, other than that a very clear audio although the person beside me was sick and coughed."
A
Essen, Germany, February 8, 2007
Fernand Delosch (u/s), Anne Goerner, Nikolaj Alexander Brucker
On the quiet side, but nice and clear otherwise.
A
Essen, Germany, March 10?, 2007
Christian Mueller, Anne Goerner, Nikolaj Alexander Brucker, Ernst van Looy, Fernand Delosch, Laurie Anne McGowan, Marcello Ronchietto, Gabriele Ramm
I originally recieved this billed as the final performance in Essen with a date of March 11, but have since learned thanks to a savvy trader that the final performance in Essen was March 10th.
A
Tokyo, Japan, March 20, 2007
Osamu Takai, Tamami Sai, Yusuke Kitazawa
One track per act. ... Maybe I'm being picky, but there's a hiss there I didn't expect to hear in an audio from the later part of this decade.
B
London, March 20, 2007
Earl Carpenter, Tabitha Webb (us), Michael Xavier/Andrew Thwaite (Us) (?)
Some confusion over whether Raoul is Michael Xavier or Andrew Thwaite. I don't know either well enough to make an identification so throwing that out there. The Metadata claims it's Thwaite, but it's been listed as Xavier. I'm usually inclined to believe metadata but conceed that without knowing whether the Metadata was placed by the taper or not there's no way to know for sure.
At any rate, a gorgeous audio ... I almost thought it was a soundboard for a moment until I heard coughing in Wandering Child.
A-
Las Vegas, March 26, 2007 (evening)
Anthony Crivello, Elizabeth Loyacano, Tim Martin Gleason, Elena Jeanne Batman, Lawson Skala, John Leslie Wolfe, Rebecca Spencer, Steven Hood (u/s), Brianne Kelly Morgan
Definitely one of the better quality audios to come out of Vegas.
A
US Tour, March 28, 2007 (Toronto)
David Gaschen (u/s), Erin Stewart (u/s), Greg Mills (u/s), Kim Stengel, Bruce Winant, D.C. Anderson, John Whitney, Rebecca Judd, Polly Baird (u/s)
I don't know if it's theatre accoustics, but there's a lot of echo. Also some very mild hiss (heard when I jack the volume up.) Nothing serious enough to drop the full grade though. I've said it before I'll say it again - it's a damn shame that Gaschen was never made a principal in an English language production. Possibly the only audio of Stewart as Christine.
A-
Broadway, May 15, 2007
Gary Mauer, Jennifer Hope Wills, Michael Shawn Lewis, Janet Saia (u/s), George Lee Andrews, David Cryer, Marilyn Caskey, Jimmy Smagula (u/s)
From Gary's limited run on Broadway (He was only on as Phantom there for a few weeks IIRC, covering for either Howard McGillin or Hugh Panaro).
I know I said not going into cast reviews buuut ... Mauer still has it here :-)
A
Broadway, May 19, 2007
Gary Mauer, Jennifer Hope Wills, Michael Shawn Lewis, Kenneth Kantor (u/s), George Lee Andrews, Kris Koop, Marilyn Caskey, Jimmy Smagula, Heather McFadden
From Gary's very limited run on Broadway. Quite possibly the last recording of him behind the mask.
A
London, July 17, 2007
Earl Carpenter, Leila Benn Harris, Oliver Thornton (s/b),. James Barron, Sam Hiller, Wendy Ferguson, Heather Ferguson, Howard Ellis (u/s), Lindsey Wise
A
London, July 19, 2007
Ramin Karimloo (s/b), Tabitha Webb (u/s), Michael Xavier, Wendy Ferguson, Rohan Tickell, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Heather Jackson, Lindsey Wise
Beautiful quality, mild echo. Tabitha flubs a line in Wandering Child (she sings "Wildly my mind beats against me" instead of "against you").
A
Australia, July 28, 2007 (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina, John Bowles, John O'May, Derek Taylor, Andrea Creighton, David Rodgers-Smith
SOUNDBOARD. AWESOME sound quality. One would think they intended this to be a cast recording. Some chatter after the performance on the final track ... someone left the mics on!
Warlow's Phantom is to DIE for.
A+
Australia, August 15, 2007 (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin, John Bowles
Lots of buzz, mechanical noise and muffled vocals. Not as bad as I thought it'd be, but it's definitely not an A.
C
Australia, August 21, 2007 (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin (alt), John Bowles, John O'May (Firmin), Derek Taylor (Andre)
The audio cuts out for a second or two here and there, apparantly this was noted by the taper as being due to sound issues where they were sitting. Supposedly during speaking portions, but it happens during MOTN as well. Nothing really *missed* there, just ... a very minor break. It is slightly annoying though but what can you do? There's also this crackling sound over top of much of the audio as well, I don't know WHY. But apart from that, it's perfect clear ... it's just not a perfect A. Not dropping the whole grade though.
A-
Australia, August 28, 2007 (Melbourne)
Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin, John Bowles
Nice and clear, but with a slight hiss overlaying it. It's not what I'd think of when I hear analog hiss, though, if that makes sense. It sounds more like a noise made by either the recorder or mics. And I really only hear it when I jack the volume up during the quiet bits.
A-
Broadway, October 6, 2007
James Romick (u/s), Jennifer Hope Wills, Geoff Packard (u/s)
VERY heavy on the bass, very muffled (sounds like it was recorded inside several boxes.) Bad enough to detract from enjoying it properly.
B-
London, October 9th, 2007
Ramin Karimloo, Leila Benn Harris, Alex Rathgeber, Wendy Ferguson, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Heather Jackson, Benjamin Lake, Lindsey Wise
21st Anniversary Performance HIGHLIGHTS
Not all tracks in good shape. MOTN for example has chunks missing out of it. Skips in the title song and incomplete to boot. Kinda disappointing. Including pre-show announcement and speeches, runs about 1 hr and 40 minutes.
If it weren't for the chunks and skips, I'd give this an A, because when it's there, it's GOOD.
B
US Tour, November 3, 2007 (Chicago, IL)
John Cudia, Sara Jean Ford, Greg Mills, Kim Stengel (Carlotta), D.C. Anderson (Andre)
First thought that comes to mind - WHY? Obviously this was recorded with some kind of substandard equipment because there's just no reason for the sound quality of this in a post-2005 audio. Some kind of mechanical distortion overlays the audio. If I were good at such things I'd say this might be a candidate for clean-up. The vocals and orchestration underneath are clear, it's nice and loud (enough so that I lowered the volume as low as it can go without being non-existant and it's still nearly too loud - and I'm hard of hearing so that's unheard of!). But that distortion ...
C
London, February 21, 2008
Nic Greenshields (SB), Leila Benn Harris, John Addison (us), Heather Jackson, Wendy Ferguson, Benjamin Lake, Lindsey Lake, Sam Hiller, James Barron
HIGHLIGHTS - runs just under 22 minutes. Basically the end of each act - for act 1 it's the entire rooftop scene, and act 2 starts at "Seal My Fate" (or as labeled in this track, "Lockdown".) Act 2 ends with Madame Giry saying "He is across the lake".
In PONR, the first two lines of Christine's are unintelligible (I suspect a mic issue).
Sound quality is slightly muffled, but not horribly so. Still, given the age ...
A-
Broadway, April 3, 2008
Tim Martin Gleason (u/s), Elizabeth Loyacano, Paul Schaefer (u/s)
Very clear audio. Does have some odd noise coming from the left hand side though. Not enough to make me drop the grade, but it's there intermittently.
A
London, April 8, 2008
Nic Greenshields (s/b), Leila Benn Harris, Alex Rathgeber
Nic forgets a line in 'Point of No Return'.
A
Austrailia, April 26, 2008 (Brisbane)
Roy Weissensteiner (s/b), Ana Marina, Alexander Lewis
A
Australia, April 27, 2008 (Brisbane)
Simon Pryce (u/s), Ana Marina, David Somerville (u/s)
SOUNDBOARD. Not too sure of date and location, but if the date is correct, so is the location.
Very clear sound. One track per act.
A
US Tour, May 29, 2008 (Sacramento, CA)
Stephen Tewksbury (US?), Sara Jean Ford, Greg Mills
TRACKED. According to previous sources, this was recorded onto DVD and then transferred to MP3. No clue why ... Soundwise, I've no complaints, it's a solid audio. Missing the beginning of the Prologue, starts at Lot 666. There's some added element in the Overture that I can't put my finger on here. Some muffling in the first verse of the title song (like the taper was moving the mic, or the device as may have been the case? I don't know of a video with this date/cast but the whole thing with it being labeled as recorded to DVD ... unless it was a failed attempt at video and the taper decided to do audio?) Also missing the Entr'acte (heard it once heard it a million times ...)
I'm pretty sure that Tewksbury was never promoted to principal Phantom (though darn it, he SHOULD have been if for nothing other than his Final Lair, brilliant!) but as I'm not 100 percent sure, I'll leave that question mark beside the understudy notation till someone can tell me otherwise. At any rate though, at the time I wrote this, this is currently the best quality audio I have of Tewksbury's Phantom.
A
US Tour, June 5, 2008 (Sacramento, CA?)
Stephen Tewksbury (u/s), Marni Raab (alt), Greg Mills
TRACKED. Missing the beginning of the Prologue - starts at "A poster for this house's production of Hanibal ..." Also missing all but the last few notes of the Entr'Acte.
Not sure on the location, pretty sure this is a guess made by previous traders (the one I got it off of also had a question mark by it) since there's an audio from about a week prior labeled as being Sacramento. Sadly, by the point this one was made I'd not been trading, or had any hope of seeing the tour even if it did come nearby, so I wasn't following the dates like I was during my "tour junkie" days. Ah well ... it's a good guess though. The similarities in the sound quality between this and the May 29th audio really make me think they're the same taper as well as the same theatre - perhaps a Tewksbury fan who made sure to attend when he'd be performing?
I have to say this ... Tewks sounds a LOT like Brad Little.
A
Broadway, June 9, 2008
John Cudia, Jennifer Hope Wills, Tim Martin Gleason
Some hiss overlaying the entire audio. Maybe it's being picky of me, but I wouldn't expect hiss in an audio of this age when so many digital options are out there. Which makes me think either this was analog (which the sound under the hiss almost makes me think not), or it's a sloppy transfer.
B+
Australia, June 15, 2008
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina, Alexander Lewis
Nice and clear, whoever took this has a good set of mics. Too good almost. You can hear someone near the taper unwrapping what sounds like some kind of food.
A
London, July 8, 2008
Ramin Karimloo, Leila Benn Harris, Matthew McKenna (u/s), Richard Hazell, Criag Nicholls (u/s), Wendy Ferguson, Benjamin Lake, Heather Jackson, Lindsey Wise
mtl24601's master
A
US Tour, July 19, 2008 (San Diego, CA)
Richard Todd Adams, Marni Raab, Greg Mills, Kim Stengel , D. C. Anderson, Bruce Winant, Nancy Hess, John Whitney, Jessi Ehrlich
Some minor crackling in some tracks.
A
Australia, September 10, 2008 (Sydney)
Alexander Lewis (u/s), Julie Goodwin, David Somerville (u/s)
Includes pre-show announcment (legality of recording), and announcement of the Phantom understudy. Slight echo, overall good.
A
Australia, September 11, 2008 (Sydney)
Alexander Lewis (u/s), Ana Marina, David Somerville (u/s)
At any rate, nice clear audio, some echo. Includes announcement at the beginning of the show that Lewis will be playing the Phantom (meaning it was likely a last minute thing.) Some very mild hiss on the quiet bits (again, not analog. It's weird. There's a difference though.)
A-
Australia, September 13, 2008 (Sydney)
Anthony Warlow, Julie Goodwin, Alexander Lewis
There are some minor crackles in places. Not enough to make me down the grade though. The tempo is faster than I expected ... is this typical of Australia productions?
Warlow's Music Of The Night sent some serious shivers up my spine ... wasn't expecting that either. I mean, I knew I liked his voice, but OH LORDY, it wasn't just the vocals, it's something in the acting coming through the audio. Dang it, now I want a VIDEO of this man!
A
London, November 11, 2008
Nic Greenshields (u/s), Gina Beck, Simon Bailey, Kate Radmilovic, Barry James , Gareth Snook, Heather Jackson, Rohan Tickell, Tori Johns
musical_laura's master. Some pops and crackles, but very intermittent and not very loud. At any rate not enough to drop the grade.
Was Nic an understudy or standby? I've got other audios of him labeled as standby ...
A-
US Tour, December 10, 2008 (San Francisco)
Andrew Varela (u/s), Trista Moldovan, Kyle Barisich, D.C. Anderson, Bruce Winant, Kim Stengel, Anne Kanengeiser
Act II ONLY. Some patchy, mild scratching, but not enough to lower a full grade. Includes Andrew's BCEFA speech (He's hilarious in this one, worth a listen even if you don't like to listen to speeches.) It's a damn shame that Act 1 wasn't recorded. On the rarer side, one of only two known audios of Varela (and DEFINITELY a different show than the December 18 audio - that one has coughs in Wandering Child that are not in this one, and the speech is completely different.)
A-
US Tour, December 12, 2008 (San Francisco, CA)
Thomas Schumacher (u/s), Trista Moldovan, Kyle Barisich, Andrew Varela (Buquet)
Includes Thomas's BC/EFA speech. Slight overload on the loud bits, but otherwise a great audio. Whoever tracked it has an awesome sense of humor - "The Mirror" is labeled "Raoul is Annoying" and "Magical Lasso" is labeled "Andrew Varela's Star Turn as Joseph Buquet".
Was Andrew an understudy for Buquet at this point?
A
US Tour, December 18, 2008 (San Francisco, CA)
Andrew Varela (u/s), Trista Moldovan, Kyle Barisich, D.C. Anderson, Bruce Winant, Kim Stengel, Anne Kanengeiser
Some mild distortion in places, otherwise solid. Includes curtain calls and BCEFA speech.
(Don't ask me how I managed this, but I initially listed it as December 12, even though both my file name and the metadata labeled it as the 18th ... I now *HAVE* a copy of the true December 12 audio though.) One of only two known audios of Andrew's Phantom (and the only full audio, the other being Act 2 only). DEFINITELY a different show than the December 10th audio - Andrew's BCEFA speech is VERY different, and this audio has coughing in Wandering Child that is missing in the other audio of Andrew.
A
Copenhagen, 2009
Flemming Enevold, Teresia Bokor, Tomas Ambt Kofod, Jennifer Wagstaffe and Marie Bo,
B
Broadway, February 19, 2009
Howard McGillin, Elizabeth Loyacano (Christine s/b), Tim Martin Gleason
Info gotten from the master. I've seen this listed with Ryan Silverman, and unless there are two different audios of this date with different Raoul's ... either way my copy is DEFINITELY TMG.
A
Las Vegas, February 21, 2009
Anthony Crivello, Kristi Holden, Andrew Ragone.
There are some parts of this audio that are very VERY good. There is, however, some not-so-good. Mostly it's the loud bits have a ton of overload in them.
Whoever ripped this had a sense of humor ... the title of Wandering Child is fireballs!.mp3 - awesome.
A/B+
Perth, Australia, March 1, 2009
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina, Robert Bertram (u/s)
More cast info in file.
A
Australia, March 6, 2009 (Perth)
Anthony Warlow, Ana Marina, Alexander Lewis
Good clear sound through most. Some odd track naming. Some slight muffling in spots that sounds like the taper was adjusting the mic (not throughout thank goodness).
A
Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 17, 2009
Carlos Vittori, Claudia Cota
My first thoughts on sampling a track: "This is an audio from 2009? REALLY?"
The sound quality on this one is something I'd expect from a much, much, much older audio. By that ... from an analog audio. It sounds like it was recorded on a cassette and then transferred ... there's a hiss over top of the whole proceedings.
(I'll give it the grade I'd have given it if it were a 1990's audio ... even though I should be a LOT tougher given it's relative newness ...)
B
Copenhagen, Denmark, April 30, 2009
Peter Jorde, Teresia Bokor, Tomas Ambt Kofod, Eva Malmgren, Morten Staugaard, Steen Springborg, Marie Bo, Fernando Concha, Jennifer Wagstaffe
A
Copenhagen, Denmark, May 1, 2009
Preben Kristensen, Mia Karlsson, Tomas Ambt Kofod, Malin Landing (u/s), Morten Staugaard, Steen Springborg, Marie Bo, Fernando Concha, Jennifer Wagstaffe
A
Warsaw, Poland, May 5, 2009
Paweł Podgórski, Edyta Krzemień, Łukasz Talik
Soundboard recording of the third Phantom, missing Carlotta's 'Think of Me' and 'Magical Lasso'.
There's a sword fight in Bravo Monsieur? This non-replica obviously used the 2004 movie as it's guide. Ah well, at least it used better judgment in it's casting.
A
World Tour, Taipei, Taiwan, July 11, 2009
Brad Little, Julie Goodwin, Alexander Lewis
Matinee performance. Labeled as such because there is an audio out there with the same date and location from the evening performance.
One track per act. Decent sound quality.
A
London, September 7, 2009
Nigel Richards (s/b), Gina Beck, Simon Bailey, Barry James, Gareth Snook, Rebecca Lock, Nicky Adams, Rohan Tickell, Emma Harris
First performance of the 2009-2010 cast.
A
US Tour, October 21, 2009 (St. Louis, MO)
Tim Martin Gleason, Trista Moldovan, Sean MacLaughlin, Kim Stengel, D.C. Anderson, Michael McCoy, Nancy Hess, David Gaschen, Paloma Garcia-Lee
TRACKED. Missing the Entr'acte (if you've heard it once ...) Quality wise, not what I was expecting out of a post-2005 audio. Sounds like it was recorded in a tin can. LOTS of echo. I suppose that's better than the hiss of the 90's but ...
B-
London, October 31, 2009
Ramin Karimloo, Gina Beck, Simon Bailey
A