She is quite believable, however, as the object of both the Phantom’s and Raoul’s unabashed adoration, exuding a youthful passion that draws attention to her no matter where she is onstage. Joseph’s light lyric soprano wends its way beautifully through “Angel of Music,” “Wishing You Were Here Again” and the memorable duet with Raoul, “All I Ask of You,” but it is a bit of a stretch to imagine her Christine having the vocal power and authority to command a large opera stage. And he always appears to be trying to win her rather than seduce her. His rage at being unmasked by Christine is not nearly as profound as the monumental despair he exudes when realizing he has lost his beloved to the young and handsome Raoul. And indeed Bohmer’s voice soars powerfully through the Phantom’s emotion-filled signature song, “The Music of the Night,” as well as the ominous “ The Phantom of the Opera” and “Point of No Return” (both in duet with Joseph’s Christine).īut his Phantom is never as effective in anger or sexuality as he is in sorrow. The book by Richard Stilgoe and Webber concentrates on the motivations of the three main characters: the singularly driven Phantom, the sensual but ambivalent young soprano Christine and her passionate true love Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny (Lawrence Anderson). And the hilariously accurate opera parodies, “Hannibal” and “Il Muto” (featuring the wonderfully comedic Patricia Hurd and Mark Calkins as Italian opera stars), provide evidence why such composers as Salieri and Meyerbeer have passed into oblivion. Maria Bjornson’s remarkably inventive production design enhances Hal Prince’s staging, and evokes the excitement-filled sense of a working opera company of the times.
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