Labels: manga anime

Labels: manga anime

Labels: school

Labels: school

Labels: school

Labels: school

Labels: school

Labels: school

Labels: school

Labels: performance

in one word: FANTABULOUS! i don't care if there's no such word, the show was fantastic and fabulous, absolutely awesome and majestic! musical lover out there, this is one show that you must NOT ever miss!!!

i'm glad i've watched the Phantom movie beforehand, if not surely i'd get confused by the story, just like when i watched Miss Saigon some years back.

review and comments all based on my opinion only ^_^don't read if you haven't watched it, it contains loads of spoilers!!!!!!!!!!!

as you can see, my seat was row B, seat 20 and 19 (i went with minghui, my ex tuition teacher). what i thought was: if there's row B, surely there is a row A, right? it's common sense. but guess what, when we reached there, we walked all the way to the very most front of the theatre and found out the row B was actually the very first row!! oh..my..goodness!! in front of me was a barrier and beyond that was a caved down place where the orchestra was playing!! i'm as close as anyone can get to the stage!! i was so excited! that's the best $145 worth of Class A ticket i could ever spend!! i could see the conductress the whole time! yes, it was a conductress, Vanessa Scammel, and man, she's so pretty! ^_^ i wish i could take picture with her!!

like in the movie, it all started with an auction. and the great chandelier that was the object of auction number 6-6-6 was down there too, covered with cloth. when it started being auctioned, 2 men yanked the cloth off and the Phantom of the Opera music boomed throughout the whole theatre, layers upon layers of curtains were lowered and theatrical VIP boxes entered the stage accompanied by flashes of lights. the great chandelier shook and twinkled as it was slowly raised to the ceiling of the theatre!

i had to turn my head round and up to be able to see where it's finally being positioned coz i was at the first row. i think in the end it rested above the 3 or 4th row seats. as with the phantom movie, during the first scene when the music played complete with the pipe organ and all, i had goosebumps all over my shoulder and back and i almost cried, it always happened, i don't know why. it just feels so.. majestic, that's the word that can almost describe the feeling, majestic and grand and.. wow~... u know..

next comes the scene of the rehearsal of Hannibal. there were many girl dancers, and i looked and searched for the potential Christine Daae. the $25 programme booklet was on my lap and yet i didn't dare to turn my eyes away from the stage, so it was only until she was asked to sing that i knew which was christine. she wasn't as young as the movie's christine, but man, can she sing. awesome voice, Rebecca Pitcher!! i couldn't remember the movie's Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, but John Bowles is cute =D Carlotta Guidicelli in the movie is annoying, but i can't help liking Caroline du Plessis, i think she's cute too =D and of course, great voice, caroline!! oh my goodness watching them screeching until, i don't even know what note, made me wanna stand beside a piano and test my own screeching ability XD

yet, my greatest applaud went to The Phantom. duh~ you said, but the phantom wasn't my favourite character in the movie. nope, it was christine. but in this show, the phantom, Brad Little, stole my heart, as well as broke it and shattered it into pieces, at the last scene. but we'll come to that later.

during the rehearsal scene, i was so shocked when the backdrop fell with a really loud and sharp CLANG that i did a great wince. i guess people like me, who easily twitch and wince when being shocked, shouldn't sit at first row, coz i would've been distracting the people behind me v.v after 'the show', christine went backstage and Meg Giry talked to her. like in the movie, she has really sweet voice. Nadia Komazec doesn't just have nice voice but looked really cute too. i'm surprised to know that she's as old as hany o.O wow~

the phantom came and took christine to his secret hideout, passing through tunnel on a lake. they recreated the lake by loads of smoke, perhaps dry ice? and being the first row means that we got the chance of immersing ourselves fully into the atmosphere and living at the scene of the act. meaning? we got to breathe in the whole puff of smoke seeping through in great amount from the stage floor, stupid T_T i almost choked and coughed, the smoke was really strong, i think at one time it went about 1 metre above my head and it kept on streaming steadily (you can't have the lake 'drying out' in a short time, can you?)... thank goodness after awhile the smoke subsided and flowed down to the compartment of the orchestra. i don't know how they managed to breathe, but they kept playing the music really well, even when *i think* they couldn't see the conductress well because she was being blocked by a wall of smoke. she continued conducting though, and i guess they could see her baton...

Music of the Night was one of my favourite pieces of song, and the phantom was conveying his feeling clearly eventhough we couldn't see part of his face. his longing for christine, his rage, and pain, when christine flipped his mask over, it was all very clearly portrayed. what's most catching from his acting was, i guess, his hand movement which assissted to convey his feelings perfectly.

the scene of Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur Andre receiving notes from the phantom was cute, especially when soon after Raoul came bearing a note of his own from the phantom, and followed closely by Carlotta, and soon bearing the last note came Madame Giry. it was rather hard to catch the words of the phantom as Raoul 'read' Madame Giry's note though coz the phantom's voice went to the side and back of the theatre, making a complete round starting from my right side moving down in clockwise direction until it reached the stage again at the left side.

Il Muto scene was cute too. i was reminded of Le Nozze di Figaro's story (The Marriage of Figaro) which involves an aristocrat who has an affair with a chambermaid and it was known to the spouse =p but the hanging scene of the stagehand was shocking and eerie... i mean, for the body to suddenly drop like that, it's scary...

i love the backdrop during the scene of raoul and christine outside when they declared their love. it was sparkling with little shining stars and the view of roofs of houses and the theatre at night, it was cool. at this scene, though, i realised another drawback of being seated at the first row. apart from having to breath in the 'lake', i also couldn't see the phantom as he stood upon the sculpture that was hung high above the stage, like directly above my row of seat. i could only see his hand and a little bit of green light *sigh*

the masquerade scene was a feast to the eyes as the Hannibal rehearsal scene had been. there were many costumes, colourful magnificent costumes that i just couldn't stop scanning through characters upon characters for their dresses while at the same time trying to keep my eyes on christine and raoul. i noticed a number of statues being put on the staircase to give the impression that there were more masquerade participants than there actually were, but unless everyone was moving, it was quite hard to see which was a person and which was a statue. when the phantom came and tossed the scoresheet of Don Juan Triumphant to (i can't remember who!) i was quite surprised, coz he wasn't exactly looking at him, and yet the toss was perfectly caught! so cool =D

"why so silent good messiurs? did you think that i have left you for good?" is one of the lyrics that i always remember. i don't know why it stuck on my mind, but it had always been since i watched the movie...

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again is another one of my favourite pieces, but the scene at the grave wasn't as captivating as the movie's. perhaps because in the movie the phantom could jump about and confront raoul directly while he couldn't possibly jumped down from a height of 4-5 metres from the ground and still expect him to sing afterwards... the great flame that erupted as he raged was so bright and hot against the dark stage that i saw reflection of it in my eyes even when the next scene had started *blinks* and afterwards i smelled the pungent smell of fireworks smell, or perhaps gunpowder? yeap, another version of living in the scene of the act.

the scene of the opera house being 'secured' with policemen was another scene that made me winced. when the police standing nearest to me, like 2 metres to my left hand, broke a fire with a loud BANG towards the 5th VIP box i jumped again >.<>

Don Juan Triumphant scene, the phantom looked like he couldn't wait to lay his hand on christine *oops* well, i didn't mean it as a bad comment, he acted really well. but i was shocked when christine flipped his mask and wig over... had the phantom been looking that hideous since earlier on?? i guess not..right? i don't remember seeing bald head during Music of the Night scene..

at the very last scene, when raoul was hung by his neck and the phantom asked christine to choose, i was having a mixture of feeling in me. incredulous that he could be so mean, pity that he yearned so much for love, and a number of other feelings. but when christine kissed him, and he looked so confused, and... confused, i really feel pity for him. and when he asked christine to go, my hand already went to cover my mouth..

as the whole theatre fell silent, and the monkey musical box started playing, my tears went to my throat. the phantom looked at it, as though it was the only friend left behind, and knelt there singing sadly to it.

christine came, and the phantom couldn't believe his eyes. he looked so happy and grateful, like a little kid who've been denied love for so long finally seeing someone ready to accept him as he was... only to br turned down again as christine slowly handed back his ring.

he caught her hand, singing, whispering so softly, so pitifully, so sadly, "christine... i love you..."

she turned, but he held her hand, still beseeching her not to leave him, to accept him as nobody has never accepted him before...

but she left.

he dropped to the floor, crying so heart-breakingly, music filling the air with great sadness.. he picked up the wedding circlet that he gave christine and hugged it like it was the greatest treasure on this earth... this was someone whom had never felt a shred of compassion in his life, shunned by birth from his own mother, been used as an object of attraction in a circus, who fell in love whole heartedly for a girl whom he taught to sing, whom he put all his faith that she would accept him for the person that he was, without getting scared by his looks...

by then, tears had already running freely from my eyes. it was so painful, so heart wrenching to see the phantom crouching there, crying and holding the circlet to his heart..

he broke and shattered my heart completely into tiny bits of pieces...

i couldn't remember how the end really ended, coz i was so overcome with emotion and was crying and crying, but i remembered the phantom disappearing against a chair he used to sit... and when i realised it, the curtain was down and people were clapping, and the crew went out and one by one the more important roles walked out too. when it came to the phantom, the whole theater gave an even more resounding applause.

as i said, it was fantabulous. if anyone wanna watch it, perhaps cheaper category like E or D, i don't mind watching again. seriously. but it must be AFTER my assessment, AND preferably during tuesday or thursday on which we could catch Brad Little after the performance!

among all musicals that i've seen, be it live or on movies, this is the best. great stuff! MUST WATCH! MUST WATCH AGAIN! XDD

rating: excellent. like 10/10 or 100/100 or whatever number you wanna use. great acting, great singing, great music! i could hear or see no fault in anything that i've heard or seen today (oh, now that i mentioned it, i DID, i saw rebecca fumbled with her masquerade once =D).

The conductress at the end of the show, Vanessa Scammell. i wish i could take picture with her... or ask for her autograph...some conductors conduct like so bo-ring way, but what i saw of her today was not so.

i took a glimpse at the orchestra. saw a number of asians, and from the way the spoke i gathered they were singaporeans. i don't know who they are though, the SSO? i saw that there was a one-man percussionist.. which is like so cool, he managed all the percussions starting from drums, xellophone and even chimes throughout the entire performance on his own?? or was there another percussionist? but i couldn't see another percussionist, nor did i see another place for another one...

minghui said we're lucky to be catching rebecca pitcher as christine daae, coz usually the afternoon performance in the weekend would be filled by the alternate christine. like her a lot, rebecca pitcher. great voice and great acting!!

Labels: performance

Labels: yoshiki

Labels: school

Labels: school

THE SUPER IMPORTANT WISHLIST :
Yoshiki - Eternal Melody 1

CD Wishlist

JaeChunSu - The... (preordered)
Versailles Philharmonic Quintet - Jubilee (major debut album)
Jejung & Yuchun from Tohoshinki - COLOR~ Melody & Harmony/Shelter Double A single
Tohoshinki - Stand By U single
Dong Bang Shin Gi - Rising Sun album
Tohoshinki - Five in the Black album
Tohoshinki - Heart, Mind, Soul album
Dong Bang Shin Gi - Tri-Angle album
Tegomassu - Tegomassu no Uta album
Tegomassu - Tanabata Matsuri
NEWS - Touch
Tegomass - Miso Soup
Yamashita Tomohisa - Daite Senorita

Hizaki GRACE Project - Ruined Kingdom
Hizaki Grace Project - Dignity of Crest
Within Temptation - Mother Earth or Silent Force
Saint Preux - Concerto Pour Deux Voix
Lord of the Rings Complete Recordings
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Complete Recordings
Raphael (Kazuki) - Forever and Ever
Raphael - Raphael Singles
X - Vanishing Vision Album
X Japan - Dahlia Album
X Japan - Art of Life ~mini album
X Japan - Art of Life ~live
L'Arc en Ciel - Smile
Hyde - 666


DVD Wishlist

JYJ - Thanksgiving Live in Dome DVD (preordered)
Tohoshinki - The Secret Code live in Tokyo Dome
TVXQ - All About TVXQ Season III DVD <--- !

Versailles Philharmonic Quintet - Chateau De Versailles DVD
Versailles Philharmonic Quintet - History Of The Other Side DVD
X Japan Returns Complete DVD 30th/31st December 1993
Versailles - Aesthetics HIZAKI version, with perfume Princess Stairs
Versailles - Aesthetics Kamijo version, with perfume Louise
Hizaki Grace Project - Monsho
Raphael - First
Raphael - Last
Raphael - Raphael Clips
Raphael - Pictorial Poem 2
X Japan - Art Of Life - 1993.12.31 Tokyo Dome
X Japan - Dahlia Tour / Dahlia Tour Final
X Japan - Complete Collection II (which, upon acquiring, will cancel the earlier 2 DVDs mentioned)
hide - Film The Psychommunity Reel.1
hide - Film The Psychommunity Reel.2
hide - Seventeen Clips - Perfect Clips Presented By Hide Museum
hide - Ugly Pink Machine File 2
hide - Alivest Perfect Stage 10000 Cuts Hide Hide Hide


CD In Possession

Tegomasu - Tegomasu no Ai minialbum
Versailles Philharmonic Quintet - Jubilee (major debut album)
Tohoshinki - Bolero/Kiss The Baby Sky/Wasurenaide Triple A single <--- !the perfect single!
Tohoshinki - Stand By U single
Dong Bang Shin Gi - Mirotic album (Platinum edition)
Tohoshinki - T album
Tohoshinki - The Secret Code album
Versailles - Ascendead Master (Reg + Ltd Ed. DVD Type I, II, III)
NEWS - Koi no ABO single (Reg and Ltd Ed.) <-- i'm selling the regular edition, contact me if you're interested (only for beijing, singapore and jakarta buyers only)
Versailles - Prince & Princess single
NEWS - Color album
Versailles - Noble album
Tegomass - Ai Ai Gasa single
Tegomass - Kiss ~Kaerimichi no Love Song single
NEWS - Summer Time single
NEWS - pacific album
My Chemical Romance - I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
HIM - And Love Said No, The Greatest Hits 1997 - 2004
HIZAKI Grace Project - Curse of Virgo single
Hyde - Faith
Yui - Can't Buy My Love
Versailles - Lyrical Sympathy mini album
Yoshiki - Catacombs Soundtrack
HIZAKI - Maiden Ritual ~experimental edition
HIZAKI - Dance with grace
Raphael - Fumetsuka
Within Temptation - Heart of Everything
X Japan - Blue Blood & Blue Blood Special Edition
X Japan - Jealousy & Jealousy Special Edition
X Japan - The Last Live
X Japan - X Japan on Piano
X Japan - B.O.X (Best of X)
X Japan - X Japan Perfect Best
X Japan - Best Fans Collection
Yoshiki - Eternal Melody II
hide - hide BEST Psychommunity
Malice Mizer - La Meilleur Selection de Malice Mizer "best selection"
Moi dix Mois - Dix Infernal
Gackt - Mars
Dir en grey - Macabre
L'Arc en Ciel - Awake
L'Arc en Ciel - The Best of L'Arc en Ciel 1998-2000
Luna Sea - Never Sold Out
Glay - Speed POP
Glay - Rare Collection vol.1
Glay - Rare Collection vol.2
Glay - Love is Beautiful
Glay - Drive, Complete Best
GLOBE - Level 4
Aikawa Nanase - ID, Best Album
Hamasaki Ayumi - Duty
Every Little Thing - Every Best Single + 3
V6 - seVen
V6 - Very Best I
V6 - Very Best II
My Chemical Romance - Threee Cheers For Sweet Revenge
My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade


DVD/VCD in possession

Versailles - Ascendead Master (mini movies in Limited Ed singles type I,II,III)
X Japan - X VISUAL SHOCK DVD BOX 1989-1992
TVXQ - All About TVXQ Season II DVD Set <--- ♥&hearts♥
NEWS - Pacific Concert 2007-2008 and First Tokyo Dome Concert
NEWS - Never Ending Wonderful Story
Happy Feet Japanese version - Tegoshi Yuya as Mumble
X Japan - Aoi Yoru Shiroi Yoru Complete Box
Yoshiki - Yoshiki Symphonic 2002 featuring Violet UK
hide - Ugly Pink Machine File 1
X - Hamettsu ni Mukatte 'On The Verge of Destruction' Concert
X Japan - The Last Live
X - X Clip 1