Love Never Dies, Adelphi Theatre, London
Set ten years after Christine and Raoul escape the Phantom and the events of the Paris Opera, Love Never Dies see's the Phantom reunited with his love obsession, Christine, and the paths their decisions ten years ago have created.
The plot:
We learn that the Phantom escaped the angry mobs of Paris with the help of Madame Giry and Meg Giry and is living in the 'wondrous show land', Coney Island. The Phantom has created 'Phantasma', a show world of freaks and glitz and glamour which allows him to hide from the world. Meg is his star performer who is constantly seeking acceptance and praise from the Phantom, who is still tortured by grief and nursing his broken heart at the loss of his one true love. He longs for her to return to him and hear her voice once again...
Christine has become a world renowned star and is mysteriously invited to perform in New York at Phantasma. She arrives with her husband, Raoul and their 10 year old son, Guastave. It is obvious that their relationship is not all she hoped it would be and, although they love each other, they are caught in a somewhat unhappy marriage. We learn that Raoul has become a heavy drinker who has gambled away their fortune. Unaware of who is behind the invitation, Christine and is lured into performing by the offer of money and the bright lights and vows to sing one final time.
Upon arriving in Coney Island, Christine is reunited with former stage partner and friend Meg and will once again be performing alongside her. Soon after her arrival she learns who is behind the invitation, and is blackmailed into performing when the Phantom threatens the life of Gustave.
In a twist of events, Christine and Raoul’s son, Gustave, is actually the results of a night of passion 10 years ago between Christine and the Phantom after Christine went to the Phantom to rekindle a relationship, only to be left alone. Christine is sworn to secrecy of Gustave’s true descent and the Phantom swears to leave everything he owns to his son.
Christine must once again choose between her 'angel of music' and the life she has led with Raoul. The Phantom visits Raoul and makes him a proposition; if Christine performs, Raoul must leave alone, if not, they are free to leave as a family. Raoul eventually leaves Christine when she performs despite his efforts to discourage her.
Meg becomes increasingly jealous of the Phantom's obsession with Christine, feeling shunned after the years spent devoted to looking after him and trying her hardest to impress him, driving her insane with grief, and kidnapping their son. Christine and the Phantom learn of Meg's actions and reach her before she is able to bring any harm to Gustave. The Phantom reasons with Meg before she can hurt herself (showing the softer side to the Phantom that the audience falls in love with in the original show) but in a moment of emotion and despair, Meg fires the gun, which tragically kills Christine.
After months of waiting to see Love Never Dies, the show did not disappoint, but equally did not amaze. It seems to be that a widely expressed view, and one that I would have to agree with, that Lloyd Webber's most recent instalment is very good but just a little bit strange...
I found that, unfortunately, Love Never Dies lost some of the traditional charm that The Phantom of The Opera oozed, as did the character of the Phantom. Bizarrely, the Phantom seems to be more widely accepted, however he still possesses the evil side to his character shown through trickery, blackmail and threats. I felt that I lost some of the empathy felt for the character that was built in the Phantom of the Opera in his bid to win back the affection of Christine until the end scenes.
Those who love the traditional aspects of theatre may be disappointed due to its modern twist. I have to say that I thought the stage show was excellent, with clever and effective production and projections. I loved the phantoms lair, with all of his weird and wonderful characters and possessions. The dangerous nature of the connection and tension between Christine and The Phantom is still strong, as is the thin line between love and obsession, and the audience is able to empathize with Christine and the love she feels for the Phantom and Raoul.
Overall I thought the cast were strong. I could not fault Christine and I thought that both Raoul and Meg were very strong. Although great on her own, I did feel that the duets between Meg and Madam Giry didn't quite work. I really liked the three 'freaks' (Fleck, Squelch and Gangle) and would have liked to have seen more of them. Gustave was a little shakey in parts and on the whole I liked The Phantom once I got over his 't' pronunciation and somewhat 'raspy' breath in areas.
Although I felt Love Never Dies was lacking in trademark songs that have the power to send chills down your spine and leave you with goose bumps from head to toe, such as Music of the Night and All I ask of You in The Phantom of the Opera, the title song, Love Never Dies is truly beautiful and was faultlessly performed.
Though it is not one of Lloyd Webber's best, it is definitely worth watching but won't have the same legacy as its predecessor, which can be considered nothing short of a masterpiece. I found that, unfortunately, Love Never Dies lost some of the traditional charm that The Phantom of The Opera oozed, as did the character of the Phantom. Bizarrely, the Phantom seems to be more widely accepted, however he still possesses the evil side to his character shown through trickery, blackmail and threats. I felt that I lost some of the empathy felt for the character that was built in the Phantom of the Opera in his bid to win back the affection of Christine until the end scenes.
Those who love the traditional aspects of theatre may be disappointed due to its modern twist. I have to say that I thought the stage show was excellent, with clever and effective production and projections. I loved the phantoms lair, with all of his weird and wonderful characters and possessions. The dangerous nature of the connection and tension between Christine and The Phantom is still strong, as is the thin line between love and obsession, and the audience is able to empathize with Christine and the love she feels for the Phantom and Raoul.
Overall I thought the cast were strong. I could not fault Christine and I thought that both Raoul and Meg were very strong. Although great on her own, I did feel that the duets between Meg and Madam Giry didn't quite work. I really liked the three 'freaks' (Fleck, Squelch and Gangle) and would have liked to have seen more of them. Gustave was a little shakey in parts and on the whole I liked The Phantom once I got over his 't' pronunciation and somewhat 'raspy' breath in areas.
Although I felt Love Never Dies was lacking in trademark songs that have the power to send chills down your spine and leave you with goose bumps from head to toe, such as Music of the Night and All I ask of You in The Phantom of the Opera, the title song, Love Never Dies is truly beautiful and was faultlessly performed.
No comments:
Post a Comment