The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall on Blu-Ray

I was first introduced to The Phantom of the Opera when my brother's class did a play that incorporated some of the music. This was back in 1989 I believe.

I have never actually seen the whole Phantom of the Opera play though. I saw the Joel Schumaker movie version a few years ago. Watching the recording of the live performance of the play at the Royal Albert Hall though was quite different.

Summary: Broadway’s longest-running production of all time celebrates a triumphant quarter century on stage with The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall, coming to Blu-rayTM – with perfect hi-def picture and perfect hi-def sound- DVD, On Demand and Digital Download on February 7, 2012 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. On October 2, 2011, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and producer Cameron Mackintosh marked the 25th anniversary of their beloved musical extravaganza, “The Phantom of the Opera,” with a lavishly staged production at London’s legendary Royal Albert Hall that was beamed live via satellite to cinemas across the globe. The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall marks the first time a live performance of the blockbuster musical has been made available for home viewing, making it a must-have anniversary release for fans everywhere. - summary from Universal Studios Home Entertainment

If you've never been to a live performance of a musical and you don't see any way to get to one any time soon, watching a recording of the performance is a good way to get an idea of what it would be like although I'm sure it would be much more real in person. (The bigger the TV you watch it on, the better.)

With a movie, scenes can be redone if they aren't perfect innumerable times and mistakes can also be edited out. With a live performance, anything can happen and they can't stop and start over if a mistake is made. Knowing this, every time I saw a strange look or a person stumbled over a word, I kept wondering if it was supposed to be like that or if they had messed up a little. I will never know.

I loved the portrayal of Christine and Carlotta but wasn't impressed with the portrayal of the Phantom. The actor sang well, it was more the look I didn't like. The way the mask sat and the way his face looked when the mask was off. However I only have the movie I mentioned previously to compare to, but I wasn't the only one that thought his face was strange. Overall though I thoroughly enjoyed it.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION BLU-RAY™:
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA LIVE AT ROYAL ALBERT HALL
Street Date: February 7, 2012
Copyright: 2012 Universal Studios

Running Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Rating: N/A
Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Portuguese, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Icelandic, Cantonese, Mandarin
Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

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