#poto czech non-replica production
Text
POTO DUBAI
Lifting up a question from a previous post:
"Any comments on the Dubai production? From what I have seen on Instagram, the colour palette of costumes is strangely muted, it looks a bit drab as a result, unlike the opulent original. Cheaper no doubt, but looks about 10-15 years too late in terms of silhouettes. Erik’s organ in its rocky niche is a nice gothic touch"
The current Middle East Tour started its life as a sit-down production in Romania in 2015, with design by Andrew Riley. The same production opened in Norway in 2018, but then massively vamped, with pimped sets, a new and fierce chandelier, and an overall upgraded costume design. This production continued to Greece, and now the Middle East, closing in Dubai as we speak and heading to Kuwait Bulgaria next.
I agree that the palette is fairly muted. It's an incredibly blue production, if anything. There were scenes I would have wanted a splash of colour, of red, of green, of pink, of yellow. After two hours there is a certain blue overdose. The overall mood is this:
But I like the set design a lot. Moody and monumental but still with enough blank spaces where the imagination can kick in. And very much a nod to the Palais Garnier throughout, but other angles and details than Bjørnson's design. I am especially fond of the ever-present Garnier-esque proscenium and chandelier, as well as the "torn" drum-structure featuring the organ or dome on the other side, and a diagonal staircase on the other side.
The mock operas and the glittering mirrored hall for Masquerade are the only to break the "blueness". Here's the main look for Il Muto:
And the two main looks for Masquerade, the first being very golden, and the second very red.
As for the costume design being a bit "late" for when POTO is traditionally set - yes. I've done two off-hand interviews with people involved in this production. One of them told me that it was the London office encouraging non-replica productions to seek out other time periods, other styles, other looks, to not become Maria Bjørnson blueprints. That is why you have inter-war style in Estonia, non-defined or modern-day style in Finland, Serbia and Bulgaria, 1860s movie clone in Poland, and Edwardian/Belle Epoque in this particular production.
(there ARE non-replica production doing full-blown Victorian, hereunder Hungary, Czech Republic and the Mediterranean version, so it doesn't seem to be set in stone. But the word used was encouraged, not demanded)
There also seems to be a will to do things opposite of the original. "So the Phantom wears his mask on the right side? Then we'll go left!"... "Oh, so Christine is a brunette? Then we go blonde!"... "Oh, so Meg is a blonde? Then we go brunette!"... Yeah.
I hope that answered your questions/comments and gave some links and stuff to explore further :)
#poto romania#poto norway#poto greece#poto middle east tour#phantom of the opera#andrew riley#non replica#scenography#costume design
21 notes
·
View notes
Note
What goes into the decision behind running a replica vs. non-replica POTO? Does it boil down to costs or contracts or is it related to artistic license? And even when they run non-replica, it still says ALW's Phantom, so how much still has to run true to his original?
For the decision-making, it just depends on the production! There are some versions that could probably afford to do the replica production, but choose not to because they want to explore other interpretations or because they have always done non-replicas. For example, musicals in Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Finland have traditionally always done non-replicas, so when they put Phantom on, it's no different. Within this category too are other reasons - for example, several of these productions are also in repertoire theaters, meaning they have multiple different shows cycling in the same theater across the year, so it's also about using the space wisely.
For other productions, yes, cost is a big reason. This is more the case in countries where musical theater is not as established, such as Italy, Norway, or Greece; here, it's easier to not have to pay the licensing costs or production to put on the replica and just make a version that is cheaper and likely to recoup the money back. But that doesn't mean artistry or creative license is not a factor, and creators of productions on a lower budget have still talked about how they wanted the opportunity to reinterpret the material.
As for the second question, the show has to use the same music, story, and lyrics (with some leeway for translations) as the replica, but the sets, costumes, choreography, and blocking can change. If you look at any non-replica of ALW's, they are still playing the same music, singing the same songs, and following the same general story; it's just the visuals and the blocking that changes, and even the latter has to stay within the boundaries of the story (no Christine going back to the Phantom at the end, for example). If everything changes, then you're not a non-replica, you're just a totally different version, e.g. the Ken Hill version, the Yeston/Kopit version.
Not that that's stopped some high school productions from trying to insert their new and improved lines.
14 notes
·
View notes
Note
What do you think of the new Italian/Spanish POTO?
I know initially I didn't care for the Italian production at all really, but I think it has grown on me with the Spain publicity, although I still wish both countries had done the replica in the native language. I still believe some of the choices are ridiculous (shirtless Final Lair Raoul, Phantom with a jet pack, suicidal All I Ask of You, unimaginative Masquerade choreography, tiny flaming chandelier, Phantom swinging back and forth like Tarzan, Firmin in drag) but some of the costumes are really beautiful in a low key way and the rotating drum set is cool and reminds me of Schikaneder, although it does seem kind of cramped. I also love the mirrored show curtain. But seriously, no wedding dress in the Final Lair? What do all these non replicas have against it??? Only the Czech, Estonian, and Bulgarian productions have any sort of costume change for this scene.
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
Happy reopening to PotO in Prague!
Monika Sommerová (Carlotta), Natálie Grossová (Meg) and Michaela Štiková-Gemrotová (Christine) during the intermission before Masquerade (from Monika's Instagram story)
#poto prague#poto czech#michaela gemrotová#monika sommerová#natálie grossová#and it seems all of them will be playing Christine this run#Monika remains an alternate Christine along with being an alternate Carlotta#and I think Natálie will be the understudy Christine#so happy that this production is back#phantom of the opera#non-replica
7 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi Marlene 👋, I have a question. What are the top best Christine costumes from both the replica and non-replica productions? And do you know if the US National Tour of POTO will be coming back anytime soon?
Thank you 😊 💓
I'll be listening 😁😁😁😁😁
Of course this is my opinion, but for replicas I would say my top 3 are the German Star Princesses, the UK Aminta's, and the early US Wedding dresses.
For non-replicas, my favorites are:
The Czech Elissa dresses, the Sydney Harbour negligee and Serafimo...
... the Oslo/Greece Masquerade dress, the Polish Wishing dress, and the Oslo/Greece Aminta.
EDIT: I just realized I completely forgot to answer your second question! I don’t think a US Tour will be happening soon. Probably between 3-6 years? I think we’ll get one eventually but there was just a 6 year tour that ended in 2020, albeit the Restaged one.
25 notes
·
View notes
Text
Christine dressing gowns in non-replica productions.
(Oslo/Greece, Estonia, Czech, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Finland/Sweden, Hungary)
Bonus! 2004 Movie, “real” dressing gown, “dream”’ dressing gown, and POTO Kristianstad:
#phantom of the opera#poto#non replica#it’s hard to go wrong with the dressing gown and yet...#my posts
10 notes
·
View notes
Note
POTO secret santa here saying hi. can I be your giftee next year? they're lucky to have you this year. How did you learn to sew and make costumes? What is your favorite dress in the POTO musical? My weekend was great thanks, worked sat but had sun with the family.
Maybe RJ or Rumple will make me your Secret Santa next year, if you do both the Tanz and PotO ones next year. You never now if something extra will turn up in the mail, I am gonna have your address once my gift arrives this year.
Trial and error kinda taught me to sew costumes and dolls. Well, trial and error and studying other people's work online. I took a sewing class in middle school and bought a sewing machine. But that only taught me basic sewing things. I honestly worked my way up to sewing full costumes. I sewed on embellishments and buttons to a red vest I bought for an Enjolras cosplay, I made Herbert's puffy shirt in Wenn Liebe in dir ist, made multiple petticoats, made a steampunk version of Sarah's ball gown, then actual Sarah ballgown, then lower part of my 1889 day dress, and now finally the 1840s ball gown. And I haven't used a store bought pattern in all of those! (I go though like a week of research and visualize what to do to and sew everything. Then days of muslin rough drafts!)
Oh, man tough question. All of them? Well, all of Christines. Wishing dress, Star princess, Aminta, Wedding dress... There's so many pretty costumes! In Tanz it's easy Sarah's Ballgown, Elisabeth her Hungarian coranation dress/wenn ich tanzen will, but Christine's wishing, wedding, Aminta, and star princess dresses are amazing. Non-Christine dress favs have to be Carlotta's two managers dress. But that's of course all replica. Recently I kinda like Serbia's hannibal Carlotta dress. I really like the rows of stuff. I kinda liked the historicalness of Estonian wishing dress, really plain thou. BUT I really like the Czech and Hungarian productions. Czech Star princess, czech Aminta, czech Sylvan glades, Poland and Hungarian Raoul masquerade
You know, I've actually been thinking about doing a sort of series of drawings of historically actuate versions of replica PotO costumes. Ah, maybe next year.
3 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Artwork for the upcoming POTO Serbia production
I like it a lot. Very classy, with the cracked font, mask and rose, and with a gentle blue/black background with hint of details. Best non-replica logo work as of yet, I’d say. Maybe except the Hungarian 10th anniversary one, with the Palais Garnier rooftop set. That one was gorgeous.
From the Serbian Facebook page
#poto serbia#mask logo#fantom iz opere#phantom of the opera#pozorista na terazijama#so they're also performing in 2018#i'm chuckling though#the norwegian producer said NO NON-REPLICA PRODUCTION WHATSOEVER were allowed to use the original logo font + mask#then i showed him the hungarian and estonian and czech ones#and he was like 'oh no it was a brand new rule'#and here's the serbian one...#did he actually lie to me?#like... seriously?
59 notes
·
View notes
Note
I noticed that in the Greek production of POTO the ending is different than the original West End and Broadway production, do you have any pics from different productions of POTO with different final lair endings?
You’re right, this is a scene that can differ. Some non-replica productions, like the Hungarian, Polish and Czech versions, are very close to the original staging; Raoul caught in a “magical lasso”, the Phantom at his organ, a gate or portcullis in the back etc. Small changes can be seen, for example that Christine might be in her Aminta costume, or Meg appearing in ballet costume instead of disguised as a boy. But overall it’s recognizable.
(Final Lair in Poland)
There’s also versions varying exactly how Raoul is trapped by the Phantom, be it ropes or metal constructions. The craziest versions to date is probably Vegas’ spiked cage:
And the Polish projection tour (as I call it), with Raoul tied to a chair:
I guess that I could also add that the Romanian/Norwegian/Greek version had Raoul tied up with the boat’s rope, to a pole:
But then there’s version where the story (or blocking) has changed fundamentally. You mention the Romanian/Norwegian/Greek version, where Christine doesn’t return with the ring, which is a radical change. Instead we see old Raoul in the wheelchair, placed identically to the Auction scene, and Christine reappears in her Masquerade costume, in a “music box ballerina pose” which we’ve seen her do in Masquerade. It’s like she’s merely a part of his faint memory, and the whole show which we’ve witnessed is also just his memories.
This was a big departure from the usual blocking. I saw it a couple of times in Norway, and thought it worked well. It was brave, and poetic. Still, not having Christine returning felt like a missed opportunity. It’s usually one of the most heart-breaking moments in the show. Story wise, I think they could have done both (except I realize that quick change would have been fierce).
At the top of my head I can’t think of any totally different versions. Or I might not be familiar with them. The closest is the Restaged Tour, which overall felt quite similar to the original, but with the added element of the bed, where some of the Phantoms threw Christine on the bed and/or got quite physical with her. Christine also ripped the Phantom’s score to pieces, which was a cool and daring move.
37 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hello! Firstly, thank you for this blog - I've recently re fallen down the POTO rabbit hole after a long period off and your blog has enabled this massively by providing insight and detail I didnt think I would ever have access to (that's good, I think? 🤣). My ask is what would be your recs for non replica (inc vegas) clips to get a flavour of how different these shows are? Either 'Wow!' or 'What?' moments. The pics I have seen have me very intrigued.
Thanks, glad you enjoy! As for your question, for some of these non-replicas, it isn’t about videos that make me go “Wow!” or “WTF?”, it’s about getting videos at all. Most of the time, I think a full video is best to experience a non-replica, simply because so many things can be changed and one clip of a scene is really not enough to get a sense of the differences, so where available, I’ll post that, but with so many of these, only clips or trailers are available, so clips and trailers it is. Here we go:
Hungarian non-replica production: This video is a fairly decent record of the production. It and similar videos from this year were apparently all dress rehearsals, so the actors are kind of low energy compared to later performances, but it is complete.
Polish non-replica production: There’s actually a couple of fairly long highlights videos of this production, but none are on YouTube (or got taken down). So you can watch, I dunno, this trailer, and this trailer, and this trailer, and this clip.
Las Vegas shortened production: There’s several Las Vegas videos, but this one, from August 8, 2008 with Anthony Crivello, Kristi Holden, and Andrew Ragone, is probably the clearest and best filmed one. It is still worth looking at the others for a slightly farther view.
25th anniversary concert: Yes, I am counting this one. Go watch the DVD, or maybe a livestream.
Restaged UK Tour production: Yes, I am counting this as different from the US version of this production. There are two very nice videos of this production, but since neither of them are probably on YouTube, you can watch this, this, this, and this.
Restaged US Tour production: There’s several full videos, all great, and lots of clips of various casts scattered around. You can watch this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and this.
Czech non-replica production: As with many non-replicas, there are various clips scattered everywhere, but so far the videos on this channel are the best I’ve seen.
Estonian non-replica production: Pretty much the only clips I’ve seen from this show are from its official channel. You can watch this clip and this clip, and then check out various snippets of material from this, this, this, this, this, this, and this.
Finland/Gothenburg non-replica production: Most complete video is this Act One only bootleg. Otherwise, you can watch this trailer (Finland) and this trailer (Gothenburg) plus this clip.
Romanian non-replica production: After you’re done with this weird concept trailer, the only other material is from this interview video and this set of promo clips, and also this recently released video of the Romanian cast singing the title song, as well as ‘Music of the Night’ and ‘All I Ask of You’.
Serbian non-replica production: There’s not a lot of videos of this production. Here's a news clip and trailer.
Norwegian/Greek non-replica production: For Norway, watch this trailer and this clip, this clip, and this clip. For Greece, this trailer and every Phantom video on this channel.
Bulgarian non-replica production: There’s some scenes here and some highlights here and here.
World Tour modified production: Honestly, if you can get your hands on it, just watch the May 23, 2019 bootleg. Full show, nice detail (if laggy), great cast, really just the best way to note the (pretty minute) differences in the production.
UK Tour modified production: Given how quickly it closed, there is almost nothing of this production other than some short bootleg clips. But what can you do.
44 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hey Anea. Sorry if someone else asked this question, but which year has the most number of productions of ALW POTO worldwide? I’d assume the mid-late 90s were the peak of phantom popularity, but I think there have been many international productions of the musical around 2000s and 2010s as well, even if said productions didn’t run as long as the older ones in the 90s. You’re more than welcome to count non-replica as well. Thank you for reading and stay safe!
Solid Phantom years (meaning years with a lot of parallelle productions running around the world) includes:
1993:
West End
Broadway
Toronto
Stockholm
Vienna
Hamburg
Scheveningen
Sapporo
1st. National US Tour (San Francisco & Los Angeles)
Canadian Tour (Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Honolulu)
Australian Tour (Melbourne)
UK Tour (Manchester)
3rd National US Tour (Seattle, Portland, St. Paul, Pittsburg, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati)
1995:
West End
Broadway
Toronto
Stockholm
Hamburg
Scheveningen
Basel
Osaka
1st National US Tour (San Francisco)
3rd National US Tour (Kansas, New Orleans, Orlando, San Antonio, Connecticut, Columbus)
Australian Tour (Sydney)
Canadian Far East Tour (Singapore and Hong Kong)
UK Tour (Edinburgh)
2009:
West End
Broadway
Las Vegas
Copenhagen
Osaka and Nagoya
Buenos Aires
Seoul
3rd National US Tour (Los Angeles, Denver, Kansas, Hartford, Milwaukee, Detroit, Durham, Fort Lauderdale)
Australian Tour (Perth, Adelaide)
World Tour (Taipei)
Plus new non-replica productions in Hungary and Poland
2015:
West End
Broadway
Nagoya
Hamburg
Oberhausen
Moscow
World Tour (Hong Kong, Istanbul, Guangzhou, Beijing)
Restaged US Tour (Tampa, Norfolk, Fort Myers, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Buffalo, East Lansing, Tulsa, Seattle, Portland, Tempe, Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, San Francisco, San Diego, Tuscon, San Antonio, Houston, Toronto)
Plus non-replica productions in Romania, Finland, Czech Republic, Estonia and Hungary
23 notes
·
View notes
Photo
The Phantom’s deformity in non-replica productions
Hungary (Sandor Sasvari)
Restaged Tour (Derrick Davis)
Norway/Greece (Espen Grjotheim)
Estonia (Stephen Brandt Hansen)
Poland (Damian Aleksander)
Czech Republic (Marian Vojtko)
Finland/Sweden (Joa Helgesson)
Bulgaria (unidentified)
Serbia (Vasa Stajkić)
(missing: Joel Zerpe in POTO Kristianstad, Sweden)
#the phantom's deformity#phantom of the opera#erik the spook#final lair#there is a fine line between deformity and melted cheese
85 notes
·
View notes
Note
So we know Hannibal is based off of carthage, Il Muto is a french salon, and point of no return is a middle ages peasant village. have any non-replicas shaken it up as far as historical/cultural basis?
To specify a bit further, this is what Hal Prince himself has said about the mock operas in POTO, in a Bjørnson Scenographer tribute from October 2009:
”HANNIBAL: “A full-stage set, magnificent drapes, followed by canvas-drops rise from the floor to create Hannibal, a lightly satirical version of the Paris Opéra production of Aida”
IL MUTO: “The second, near the end of the first act, is comic - faux Mozart, in the style of The Marriage of Figaro. Called Il Muto in our production, it is complete with pretty pink scenery and the cast in heavy white and black makeup, wearing elaborate wigs and beautiful costumes.”
DON JUAN: ”The third of the operas, in Act Two, is a new version of Don Juan - created by Andrew and the librettists as a twelve-tone opera, indicating that the Phantom’s composing is decades ahead of Schönberg and Stockhausen.”
So in the replica version we have a Verdi/Aïda knock-off with a hint of ancient Egypt, as well as the Carthage battle against Rome (with ditto elephants), a Mozart/Marriage of Figaro spin with the big bed in focus, and a twelve-tone take on the Don Giovanni tale (set in an abstracted stone castle in 17th century Moorish Spain, rather than a middle age peasant village)
If excluding non-replica versions where they “only” do a backdrop without a specific setting, then many versions has stuck to this formula, even if their general staging has been quite different. But there are of course exceptions too. For Hannibal, the focus is often on the elephants, or a general desert setting. In Il Muto, the Figaro bed is often cut as reference. A an example, the Restaged Tour has an ornamental wall as backdrop, a closet, couch and folding screens as props. Similar can be seen in both the Romanian/Norwegian production, and the Czech one. Here’s the Restaged Tour look:
And the Romanian/Norwegian take on a similar idea:
As far as Don Juan goes, there’s been some creative takes on that one as well. The Czech production feature a late Baroque European interior, with a fire place, a table, and a grand bed with drapes:
The Polish version has pyramide-shaped glass structures (which - truth be told - reminds me of Aussie LND), and a big, red “boudoir” couch:
The Estonian production look more like a Queen of Spades or Alice in Wonderland take on the story, with the defined black/red costumes:
And then you have the Finnish/Swedish production, where a giant corset with similar structure to Christine’s costume probably symbolize something deep, but I have no idea what:
So there are lots of variants. Often productions do give a nod to plausible existing operas of which Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music is a spin on. But often they have unique ideas as well, especially in the more abstracted Don Juan. It might have to do with the twelve-tone music being more progressive and less bound to a specific opera than the other musicals.
#mock operas#mock opera#hal prince#phantom of the opera#hannibal#il muto#don juan triumphant#set design
36 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Current + upcoming professional productions of “Phantom of the Opera”
WEST END
Her Majesty’s Theatre, London
Starring in the leads: Ben Lewis (Scott Davies), Kelly Mathieson (Amy Manford), Jeremy Taylor (from September 2017)
https://uk.thephantomoftheopera.com/
BROADWAY
The Majestic Theatre, New York
Starring in the leads: James Barbour, Ali Ewoldt (Rachel Eskenazi-Gold), Rodney Ingram
https://us.thephantomoftheopera.com/
JAPAN
Upcoming cities: Hiroshima (Sept-Nov), Kyoto (from December 2017)
Starring in the leads: Masayuki Sano/Osamu Takai, Sae Yamamoto/Ayako Tomada, Shanui Kaoru, Kamenaga Toogo (based on the Yokohama cast)
https://www.shiki.jp/applause/operaza/
RESTAGED US TOUR (non-replica)
Winnipeg, Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Waterbury, Memphis, Minneapolis, Columbus, Charlotte, Greenville, Tampa, Durham, New Orleans, South Bend, Dayton, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Portland, Seattle, San Diego (2017-2018)
Starring in the leads: Derrick Davis, Eva Tavares (Emma Grimsley), Jordan Craig
Using the replica costumes, but new set design and new staging
https://ustour.thephantomoftheopera.com/
HUNGARY (non-replica)
Madach Theatre, Budapest
Repertoire piece, next performance slot: October 19, 20, 21, 22 (double), 27, 28 (double), 29, 30, and November 3, 4 (double), 5 (double).
Starring in the leads: Attila Csengeri/Victor Posta/Sándor Sasvári, Barbara Fonyó, Renáta Krassy/Andrea Mahó, Gábor Bot, Zsolt Hommonay, Bálint Magyar, Ádám Solti
The first non-replica production, opening in 2003
http://www.madachszinhaz.hu/showinfo.php?id=13
SWEDEN (non-replica)
Gothenburg Opera House
September 23, 2017 to May 20, 2018
Starring in the leads: Joa Helgesson/Fred Johanson, Sofie Asplund/Frida Engström, John Martin Bengtsson/Tobias Ahlsell
Same staging as the Finnish production
http://en.opera.se/forestallningar/the-phantom-of-the-opera-2017-2018/
SERBIA (non-replica)
Pozoriste na Terazijama, Belgrade
Opening October 7, 2017
Brand new design
http://pozoristeterazije.com/#
POLAND (non-replica)
Opera i Filharmonia / Europejskie Centrum Sztuki, Bialystok
Revival in spring 2018, to celebrate the 10th anniversary in Poland
Starring in the leads: TBA
A non-replica version closely modeled after the 2004 movie
http://www.oifp.eu/pl/2013-02-13-15-10-4/upior-w-operze.html
NORWAY (non-replica)
Folketeateret, Oslo
Opening September 7, 2018
Starring in the leads: TBA
Same staging as in Romania (judging from the creative team)
http://www.folketeateret.no/program/the-phantom-of-the-opera
FINLAND (non-replica)
Finnish National Opera, Helsinki
Returning from Gothenburg, opening November 2018
Starring in the leads: TBA
http://oopperabaletti.fi/en/
CZECH REPUBLIC (non-replica)
Goja Music Hall, Praha
Revival in 2018
Starring in the leads: TBA. But the 2016-17 cast was Radim Schwab/Marian Vojtko, Michaela Gemrotovà/Monika Sommerova/Tereza Marshall, Bohus Matus/Tomás Vanek
http://www.fantomopery.cz/
There is also various semi-professional productions and concerts versions happening around the world, for example POTO Malta on October 20-21, 2017.
#phantom of the opera#not tagging them all#poto west end#poto broadway#poto japan#restaged us tour#poto hungary#poto gothenburg#poto serbia#poto norway#poto czech#non replica#poto poland
98 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hello! Does czech republic have a phantom production and do you have pictures? :)
HAD, rather. Prague had a non-replica production which closed in December, after having run from Sept. 2014. :)
You can find lots of photos of it in the tag “POTO CZECH”:
http://operafantomet.tumblr.com/tagged/poto-czech
2 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
parkbutterfly
nabi
notyourbabe-xxx
not your babe
tiziotazio
Senza titolo
mylilbigfire
Horsemanship💕
tsunderejon
wherever you go, i go. that's the deal.