The majestic "Carnival Night" scene brings everyone back to the lively Paris Opera House in the play. After completing the first stage of rehearsals in Shanghai, the crew of the original musical "Phantom of the Theater" (hereinafter referred to as "Phantom") made its first public appearance in the rehearsal hall of Yihai Theater on June 13. Executive director Rainer Fried and executive choreographer Dany Berry, along with Jonathan "Phantom" Losmov, "Christine" Grace Roberts and "Raul Shani" Matt Leigh Xi met with the media and shared their feelings and gains in the "Phantom" family.
Since the original version of "The Phantom of the Opera" announced in February this year that it would launch a new round of international tour in China, the crew's preparations and implementation work have entered a "countdown" state. Since mid-May, the production team and all actors have arrived in Shanghai one after another for four weeks of rehearsals in the rehearsal hall and two weeks of stage synthesis. At present, the crew has completed its tasks in the rehearsal hall and will move to the Shenzhen Esplanade Center on June 17 to start the next two weeks of stage rehearsal synthesis and rehearsals before the premiere.
"Carnival Night" has become a touchstone for the quality of "Phantom"
Under the leadership of executive director Rainer Fried, the most grand "Carnival Night" segment of the musical "Phantom of the Opera" was staged in the rehearsal hall of Yihai Theater. In this scene, all the characters took the stage and staged a magnificent dance. However, this joyful atmosphere is not simply a celebration, but contains deep contradictions and conflicts. Although Christine is engaged to the Viscount, she still cannot get rid of the influence of the Phantom in her heart. This complex emotional entanglement is fully reflected in the carnival night. At the ball, the Phantom appeared as the Red Death, terrifying and weird, bringing a strange and uneasy atmosphere to the carnival.
The Phantom's twist and perverseness, Christine's uneasiness, and the Viscount's sincerity and depth... In just over five minutes of performance, the three protagonists demonstrated their solid skills and strong aura. The high-level performance clips and the details that stand up to scrutiny confirm the professionalism and maturity of the production of "The Phantom of the Opera" that has been polished for nearly 40 years.
"Phantom" Jonathan said that in addition to the music director, there are also two music supervisors who were Andrew Lloyd Webber's right-hand men, and he was lucky enough to work with the main creators who personally participated in the creation of "Phantom of the Opera" , it was a very special experience for him. "Christine" Grace Roberts said that she was both nervous and excited to join the Phantom crew for the first time to play such a classic role. "The creative team has given me a lot of help in terms of narrative logic and stage presentation. It also makes me look forward to the following stage synthesis and makeup rehearsals, and the moment when I put on a wig and costume." "Lao Viscount Shani" Matt Lisi believes that the most exciting part of this year's show is seeing more new blood joining the show. "They gave this classic work more dimensions, and also allowed me to view and interpret the character from a new perspective."
"Silk" was launched to witness the industry upgrade
During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday that just passed, this time The Shenzhen Esplanade, the first stop of the international tour of "Phantom of the Opera", has begun intensive stage installation work. An authentic "Paris Opera House" will be officially unveiled early next month. As we all know, the technical difficulty of "Phantom" is the ceiling of the industry. The technical team in the early stage needs to conduct at least three technical inspections of the theater, including drawing inspection, on-site structural survey, load-bearing calculation, etc., and the actual technical installation usually takes 20 more than days. Thanks to the national tour of the Chinese version of "Phantom of the Opera" last year, many theaters have entered into actual practice exercises in advance, making the landing and transition of this international tour in China more compact and smooth.
According to plan, the installation schedule of Shenzhen Esplanade Art Center is only 8 days, which saves more than half of the time compared with the past.It is understood that Shenzhen Esplanade completed part of the technical content docking with the foreign team during the national tour of the Chinese version of "The Phantom of the Opera" last year, compressing the preliminary work by half; after the Chinese version of the tour, it also completed the technical content The loading and unloading dock process was reviewed in detail and the process division of labor was optimized again. For example, in the past, unloading operations required batches to arrive at the site in three time periods. However, this year, by subdividing the stage work area and maximizing the use of backstage space, 22 container equipment were able to complete unloading in one day. At the same time, considering the possible impact of weather factors on the work of entering and exiting the scene, the Esplanade also installed a weather-resistant shed on the unloading platform in advance to ensure that the backstage work will not be affected by the rainy season in the south.
In addition to the Shenzhen station, other theaters that have undertaken the tour of the Chinese version of "Phantom of the Opera" have also received "fast track" recognition from foreign parties this time, greatly improving the transition efficiency of this round of tour and opening up more cities , more games provide technical possibilities.
Behind these "silky" operations are the accumulation of results of the "Phantom China Plan". In the past five years, from the production of the Chinese version to the original international tour, the "Phantom China Project" has improved the Chinese musical industry's ability to produce international standard plays, witnessed the comprehensive growth of talents from actors to production to marketing, and cultivated a number of core job types Technical personnel have realized the localization of the entire production process. Zhao Jiyun, who previously served as the music director of the Chinese version of "Phantom of the Opera", was highly recognized by foreign parties and became the music director of this year's original international tour, demonstrating Shanghai's market potential in innovating performing arts cooperation models and allocating global performing arts resources. .
"Trainee Program" helps dreams come true
In order to give more young people who want to work in the musical theater industry in the future the opportunity to experience and learn the rehearsal process of the classic "Phantom" up close, this time the crew specially targeted Opportunities for internships in the rehearsal hall are open to current students in related majors. Among them are students from domestic institutions such as Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Shanghai Theater Academy, as well as students from prestigious overseas universities such as Berklee College of Music, Brown University, and Arizona State University, who used their vacation time to participate in internships, and students from Beijing Dance Academy came from Beijing Came here specially.
As a master's student in musical theater vocals at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Ding Hao was originally considering "The Phantom of the Opera" as his thesis direction, and this rare internship opportunity provided him with valuable first-hand information. "From a professional perspective, the sounds we hear and the emotions we feel are different in the studio version, on the distant stage, and in the close rehearsal hall. I found that these actors don't seem to need too much 'mobilization' During the process, everyone immediately entered a state of concentration as soon as the time was up, and it lasted forever, which gave me a more concrete understanding of dedication and professionalism."
Yang Jiaying, who studied at Berklee College of Music, learned from these outstanding actors. I learned how to "fill in the blanks" in the blank spaces of the script. "Executive director Reina has emphasized more than once that "The Phantom of the Opera" is a musical about details. This also made me reflect on what I neglected when playing a character, such as how to figure out the character's psychology and play with a sense of conviction. Performance." Yang Jiaying's campus musical theater club is about to organize a highlight show, and she hopes to apply what she has seen and learned this time.
The rehearsal hall trainee program is an innovative practice in the process of Shanghai Media and Radio Performing Arts Group building the entire musical industry chain. The first stop of the international tour of "Phantom of the Opera" will be in China, allowing the crew to complete all rehearsals in China. Shanghai Media and Entertainment Group seized this opportunity and took the initiative to communicate with foreign parties about the "trainee program", successfully helping musical theater students turn their dreams into reality, making the City of Philharmonic truly a desirable place for young musical theater people. .
Author: Jiang Fang
Text: Jiang Fang Picture: Performer Editor: Xuan Jing Editor: Li Ting
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