INTERVIEW WITH SIERRA BOGGESS

Interview with Sierra Boggess by Musical World on August 2010. Sierra talks about Christine being her dream role while she studied singing and how she fulfilled her dream playing her character on Las Vegas production. Now, three years later, she has the chance to live her dream again by playing Christine, ten years older, in Love Never Dies.

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Entrevista realizada por Musical World a Sierra Boggess en Agosto de 2010. En ella, Sierra habla de como Christine fue su papel de ensueño desde que estudiaba canto y de como cumplió su sueño al interpretar a Christine en la producción de Las Vegas. Ahora, tres años más tarde, su sueño revive de nuevo al interpretar a Christine, diez años mayor, en Love Never Dies.

INTRODUCING THE NEW GUSTAVES

We introduce you to the new Gustaves, asking questions such as: What are your experiences in musicals? When is your first performance? How are rehearsals like? Watch the video to know their answers! We wish them good luck! 

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Os presentamos a los nuevos Gustaves, respondiendo preguntas como: ¿Qué experiencias tienen con los musicales? ¿Cuándo es su primera actuación? ¿Cómo es estar en los ensayos? Mira el vídeo para saber sus respuestas. ¡Les deseamos muy buena suerte!

MUSICAL EXPERIENCES OF LOVE NEVER DIES PHANS

We start this posts about those who have seen the musical and want to share their experience, opinions, and memories. This is Irene Adler's experience. She saw the musical on August 11th, here some of her impressions.

In comparison with The Phantom of the Opera, this piece has less spectacular scenography effects, and a slower pace. This is compensated, though, with the emotion showed with its scenes, especially within the second act. And with the beauty of the score, which matches up with The Phantom of the Opera.

Love Never Dies has been only performing since March, and still keeps improving: for instance, "That's the place you ruined you fool" has been totally suppressed from the show. 

"Heaven by the sea" has been removed in its totality. "Only for him/Only for you" beginning adds a few Meg lines, while the theme that plays at the end of the show with Meg and Gustave plays in the background (with this addition, Meg's unhealthy obsession with The Phantom is way more reflected). "Beautiful" has been removed too, those lines when Coney's Freaks are taking Gustave. A new reprise, mixing "Heaven by the sea" and "Only for him/Only for you" has been added, shortly after starting the second act. The Phantom refers to Gustave as "little Vicomte".

And not just there's a wonderful score, but the emotion showed onstage is enhanced: a song that isn't particularly striking, such as "Love Never Dies", becomes such an exciting moment on stage! This is a highly recommended experience: don't let yourselves be fooled with bad reviews. If I had to be picky, just one thing can be faulted and that's the scenography, which could be way more elaborated.

Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggees: Incredible. Ramin Karimloo: perfect voice. His "Till I hear you sing" rendition doesn't leave you indifferent. And his acting, with anger when is needed and gentle when the moment requires, makes believable his violent side and his tender and romantic, almost paternal, side. Sierra Boggess: she's all elegance and softness, with a beautiful voice.

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Empezamos este bloque de entradas de experiencias de todos cuantos hayan visto el musical y quieran contar sus opiniones y recuerdos. Esta es la experiencia de Irene Adler. Vio el musical el 11 de Agosto, aquí alguna de sus impresiones:

En comparación con El Fantasma de la Ópera esta obra tiene menos efectos escenográficos y un ritmo menos trepidante, pero lo compensa con creces con la emotividad presente en la obra, sobre todo en el segundo acto, y con la belleza de la partitura, que está a la altura de El Fantasma de la Ópera. 

Love Never Dies lleva en cartel sólo desde Marzo, y todavía están mejorándola: por ejemplo, "That's the place you ruined you fool" se ha suprimido en su mayor parte.

"Heaven by the sea" ha sido totalmente eliminada. La primera parte de "Only for him/Only for you" ha sido eliminada: directamente "Only for you" y unas frases de Meg con la misma música que luego oiremos cuando habla con Gustave mientras intenta ahogarlo (en las que queda más reflejada su obsesión malsana con el Fantasma). También se ha cortado el inicio de "Beautiful", cuando los Freaks se llevan a Gustave. Se ha añadido un reprise que mezcla "Heaven by the sea" y "Only for him/Only for you", poco después de empezar la segunda parte. El Fantasma se refiere a Gustave como "el pequeño vizconde".

Y es que si ya la partitura es una maravilla, su emotividad en el escenario se acrecienta: una canción que no llama especialmente la atención, como "Love Never Dies", se convierte en un momento emocionante en el escenario. Una experiencia más que recomendable: no os dejéis convencer por las malas críticas. Siendo quisquillosa, sólo se le puede poner una pega y es la escenografía, que podría ser más elaborada.

Ramin Karimloo y Sierra Boggees: Increíble Ramin Karimloo. Voz perfecta, su "Till I hear you sing" pone los pelos de punta. Y su interpretación, igual: con garra cuando hace falta y con suavidad cuando el momento lo requiere, hace creíble el lado violento y el lado tierno, enamorado, y hasta paternal, del Fantasma. Sierra Boggess: una Christine toda elegancia y suavidad, con una voz bonita. 

SUSAN KAY & FREDERICK FORSYTH, JOURNEY TO LOVE NEVER DIES

This post doesn't bring any news about the musical itself, but it's kind of quintessential for Love Never Dies and its characters. Have you ever wondered about Erik's life before Phantom of the Opera? Or what made him hide beneath that Opera House? Or what events happened in his troubled past that brought him to the story we all know and love in The Phantom of the Opera? 

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We invite you to read these books and delve into The Phantom's story:

Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera

Susan Kay's Phantom

Frederick Forsyth's The Phantom of Manhattan

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The Phantom's life is narrated with great skill in Susan Kay's Phantom. This book narrates The Phantom's life from birth, his relationship with his unloving mother, his childhood and the chapter of his life where he joined the circus. The novel also covers his travels and his isolation beneath the Garnier Opera House and Christine. Although she is a fundamental part of The Phantom's story, this novel goes deeper into Erik's character and his life and upbringing.



And we wouldn't be even talking about Phantom or Love Never Dies with no mention of Gaston Leroux and the novel that started it all. The Phantom of the Opera was first published as a serialization in Le Gaulois in 1909. The setting of the novel came from an actual Paris opera house that Leroux had heard the rumours about from the time the opera house was finished (sounds familiar?). The details about the Palais Garnier, and rumours surrounding it, are closely linked in Leroux's writing. The underground lake that he wrote about is accurate to this opera house, and it is still used for training firefighters to practice swimming in the dark. The event that was the infamous chandelier crash also rang to be true. The mysteries that Leroux uses in his novel about the Phantom are still mysteries. However, he defended the rumours to be true, even on his death bed.

Flash forward to 90 years later, Frederick Forsyth started working in collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber to bring the story of The Phantom of the Opera into a conclusion. Andrew Lloyd Webber started planning a sequel for one of his best-known works just four years after The Phantom's premiered. The author himself was part of the creative team when Love Never Dies started to grow, but he finally decided to drop his participation and decided, later in 1990, to publish his ideas into a full novel: The Phantom of Manhattan. Ten years after the chandelier crashed in the Opera Populaire and the mysterious figure of The Phantom vanished, he runs away to America where the streets are full of people who, like himself, have been rejected by society. But Erik is a smart man, and he slowly starts collaborating & designing Coney Island's fair parks until he becomes one of the wealthiest (and most mysterious) Empresario of Manhattan. Mirror tricks, automatons... success is guaranteed. But he receives a letter from an old acquaintance revealing a secret that would change everything. He starts composing again and inaugurates a new Opera House for Christine, now a worldwide consecrated Opera Diva, to perform...

Enjoy the reading!
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