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Songs From Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom Of The Opera, With Bonus Songs From Sunset Boulevard


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This 1993 recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera is an interesting item. It stars Claire Moore, who took over the Christine role from Sarah Brightman in the London production, and Ethan Freeman, who played the title role in Vienna in 1988, joined the London cast as M. Andre in 1991, then took over as the Phantom in 1994 and played opposite Moore for a time. Popular Scottish singer John Barrowman plays Raoul, a role he has played on stage. It’s a good recordi… More >>

Songs From Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom Of The Opera, With Bonus Songs From Sunset Boulevard

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  1. #1 by Anonymous on June 30, 2010 - 12:43 am

    Neither of the leads sound very good…And the woman playing Christine has a lisp. Buy the London cast, you can’t go wrong there.
    Rating: 2 / 5

  2. #2 by Syris on June 30, 2010 - 1:52 am

    I want to give this 2 1/2 stars, but I’m going to be nice instead, for a first. This is a decent cast, and the symphony really does blow you away. Claire Moore is a fair Christine, but the first Angel of Music kills her when you realize she has a lisp. This new Phantom at first can’t decide whether he wants to be Michael Crawford, be Colm Wilkinson, or be himself. When he finally decides, and this takes a while, he isn’t too bad. Webber should get the cast back together again and re-record this, because if they get a second shot at this it might sound better. Might.
    Rating: 3 / 5

  3. #3 by Anonymous on June 30, 2010 - 3:26 am

    This recording of Phantom was not that great. First of all, the orchestrations were so unbelievable weak for the first 4 songs, then got better.
    I really did not like Claire Moore’s voice on this recording. Her voice is weak, and unemotional, besides the fact that she is not a strong soprano (at least not here), she truly sounds like a shrill mezzo-soprano. When she sings the high E at the end of POTO, she sounds like me trying to hit it anywhere but the shower. She can’t compare to Rebecca Caine (Canada recording) or even Sarah Brightman (London Recording).

    Graham Bickley as the Phantom was slightly better, but not as strong as Michael Crawford, and he can’t even hold a candle to Phantom I saw live, Brad Little. His Music Of The Night is better than some, but not great.

    John Barrowman is okay as Raoul, but I’ve heard much better. He has slightly more emotion than his cast mates, but loses it during All I Ask Of You.

    The Good Thing About It:
    1. Another Phantom CD!!!!!

    2. It switches back and forth from bad to good.
    3. During Prima Donna you can actually understand what someone besides Carlotta is singing!
    Rating: 2 / 5

  4. #4 by University of Virginia Guy on June 30, 2010 - 3:32 am

    Being a big fan of The Phantom of the Opera, I already owned the original London cast recording, the film soundtrack, and the Canadian cast recording when I bought this one.

    What needs to be said first is that the Phantom in this recording, Ethan Freeman, outperforms the three other ones. This album’s “Music of the Night” was the first I could finally enjoy with some strong and passionate singing and without the pretentious and/or technique-lacking (Crawford) or even talentless (Butler, the guy in the film) singing. Indeed, Freeman is the first true “singer” of the title role in a recording. It is shameful that this is so, for the Phantom ideally should have a strong and trained voice. In Leroux’s novel, he skillfully sings opera with Christine. Lloyd Webber’s score appropiately gives the Phantom some beautiful and difficult things to sing (take the high B in “Music of the Night”!), but the other three have all fallen short for different reasons, which I need not mention.

    Claire Moore plays Christine very well with her apparently classically trained voice. She is superior to the pretentious Sarah Brightman and to the severely technique-lacking Emmy Rossum. What is Christine supposed to be? An opera singer!! Of course I do not and will never expect Christine (or the Phantom, for that matter) to be a full pledged lyric soprano (tenor), but good singing always helps. I think Moore is equally meritorious as Rebecca Caine (also with that operatic quality) in the Canadian recording.

    As I listen to “All I Ask of You,” I cannot reason why they cast John Barrowman as Raoul. Though perhaps better overall than Patrick Wilson’s Raoul (film), he falls short of the talents of Freeman and Moore. He has this “happy pop” quality in the beautiful and famous love duet which completely drowns the effort of Moore. Did he purposely sing it this way and hide a better controlled and bigger voice? I don’t know but probably not. Byron Nease from the Canadian recording still is the best Raoul.

    Another merit of this recording is the National Symphony and Munich Symphony Orchestras. “The Phantom of the Opera” intrestingly and to my delight uses less (how much less I can’t tell you) electronic and percussion intruments. Again, this is much more authentic of the time period, setting (below an opera house), and legitimate musical theatre.

    Yes, I am a big opera and “classical” music fan. Yes, Lloyd Webber’s score deserves it attention. And yes, it is heavily “classsically” influenced among a couple of other musicals. So it deserves to be sung LIKE an opera. Again, this doesn’t mean we need Luciano Pavarotti and Kiri Te Kanawa to come to Broadway and sing it, but singers who can sing (not belt, shout, speak-sing, or whatever) suffice. The creators of this album evidently understood this (more or less) and have therefore given us the most beautifully performed (though most obscure) version.
    Rating: 5 / 5

  5. #5 by Anonymous on June 30, 2010 - 6:25 am

    This album is the BEST money can buy. If you love the broadway show or if you just want the music, BUY IT NOW. This is excellent, simply excellent. And that’s all there is too it!!!
    Rating: 5 / 5