[convict24601]

Personally, I have only heard the movie soundtrack and the Canadian Highlights. Heres my take:

Orchestra: For a recorded version of the actual show, the Canadian takes my vote. The orchestrations on tis cd are superb and powerful - Masquerade, Point of No return, Overture and Entr'acte show this quality off especially. However, of the two, the movie sountrack's orchestra is the best - a larger orchestra is used opposed to a pit orchestra, and many different instruments are added to enhance the sound. (ie - guitar in the title song.

1. Movie
2. Canadian

Phantom: To be honest, I actually like Colm Wilkinson and Gerard Butler. Sure, they are not John Owen Jones, but they each bring different qualities and new life to the character. However, I do not like how Colm.sings.like.this.sometimes. It takes away from the emotion in the music, such as in the final lair scene. He is still a very good phantom though. Gerard's baritone is unique....it took some getting used to though - i'm used to some of Phantom's lines being sung an octave higher.

1. Colm Wilkinson and Gerard Butler

Christine: Rebecca Caine wins this one. Emmy is a wonderful singer and has definate talent and I enjoy her Christine as well. However, Rebecca has such a powerful, well trained, ear pleasing voice - Wishing is so beautiful when she sings it. I love both their voices, but I like Rebecca's more.

1. Rebecca Caine
2. Emmy Rossum (not far behind though.)

Raoul: Patrick Wilson. His voice is clear and pleasant. He does sound like a young man who can win Christine's heart. He is also very believable. Byron Nease on the other hand does not meet those standards. Don't get me wrong -Byron is a good Raoul. He has a good, clear and very pleasant voice and is definately not as bad as people have made him out to be. BUT he is not Raoul material. He sounds...dull... and although operatic power is good, the way he does operatic power in the role of Raoul just doesn't fit the character. His voice is lacking in emotion as well (almost like he just sang the role).

1. Patrick Wilson
2. Byron Nease

Other Notes: Canadian Piangi is fabulous. He hits tenor C's as if they were middle c's. Movie Carlotta is perfect - spoilt prima donna and downright unlikeable. Meg sounds pretty much the same on both cds, as do the managers. Ensemble is thunderous in both cds. and masquerade is perfect on both cd's beacause of this. The movie version includes more songs, yet i'm happy listening to the 17 track highlights cd (although I would prefer a 2 disc version.)

I'm goin with a tie. Sure, they have their ups and downs, but they are both practically toe to toe. [/code]

[renthead4402]

The movie soundtrack is garbage. Patrick Wilson is the worst of the lot. London is the best by far.

[operafantomet]

My ranking goes like this:

1. Original London Cast (espeically the re-mastered one, because it sounds "cleaner". Listen to that Masquerade!)

2. Canadian Cast

3. Movie soundtrack

The reason is this: I DETESTE the movie soundtrack, basically because of the lead singers (Rossum and Butler). They're awful-awful-awful. To allow Emmy Rossum to crack on a note in "Think of Me" is just appaling. And that weak upper register of hers... the scooping... Agh. And Butler, with his "No-one-will-notice-that-I-can't-sing-if-I-add-tons-of-"emotion" whisky voice... The movie soundtrack basically gives me headache. The orchestra is wonderful, and I like Patrick Wilson and Margaret Preece quite a bit. But the negative parts are so dominant, and the positive sides so few.

I do enjoy the Canadian cast CD much, much more. Rebecca Caine possess a wonderful, well-trained soprano, and Colm Wilkinson also masters his voice fully. I cannot help but laugh at the parts where he sounds like he has a cold, and I don't think the voices blend very well. But the quality overall impress me. Ditto for the orchestra, though I could have wished for more "oomph" at places. And it's only a highlight CD.

The London cast CD is one of my favourite CDs, no matter the language. Brightman and Crawford sounds duller in the CD than what they did live, but I do think they blend well and make a believeable duo. And the supporting cast - WOW!!! Ditto for orchestra. There are a few things here and there I don't fancy quite as much, but overall I love it.

[B3TA07]

OLC, but my favorite english recording is Hugh Panaro's last night in the broadway production.

[convict24601]

[Futuretonywinner]

I love the Original London Cast because Michael Crawford is the best Phantom. I love Colm Wilkinson, but Crawford is the quintisential phantom. Also, Music of the Night has better lyrics that were later replaced. As for the movie soundtrack, Gerard Butler's voice is nowhere near as strong as Wilkinson's or Crawford's.

[Toasterphantom]

Personally, I like the Canadian recording better than the original. Michael Crawford wasn't a bad actor/singer for Phantom. But he was the original. The part was his own, so he didn't have to make it his own. Actors who came after him were forced to do something to make it their own, and the show has evolved and the characters were all given something extra. Colm Wilkinson has a very strong voice, and alot of emotion in it that I feel Michael Crawford sometimes didn't. I also, while I like Sarah Brightman's voice, prefer Rebecca Caine's. It always seemed a bit richer and fuller to me. And the orchestra is alot more prominent and captivating in the Canadian recording. So I reccoment that. But the original comes in as a close second.

Movie sound track doesn't stand a chance. If you ever go for non-english, I say it's a tie between German and Dutch. The singers in each are amazing. Japanese is interesting, but for some reason, no japanese phantom's I've ever heard can laugh right. . . and it bothered me.

[Set_Buildin_Dad]

I like the London cast recording best, but I wish the orchestra on it sounded as good as the movie one. I think the Movie's orchestra is superior. The orchestra on the OLC recording I have is dull.

I have never heard the Canadian recording.

[LaGataNegra]

Agreed, SBD! Now, if we can get somebody to do a remix-the London cast voices with the Movie orchestrations, we'd all be in auditory heaven.

I'm thrilled that you guys are saying great things about the Canadian Cast! I just ordered it and can't wait to give it a listen!

[Toasterphantom]

You'll be pleased when you get it. The voices are as good/better than the OLC, and the orchestra fills in all thats desired from it. You'll enjoy it very much.

[Mistress]

Rebecca Caine is GOD....honestly, that woman sings circles around Brightman...I love the darker edge to her voice, not many other Christines have that (Lisa Vroman comes to mind as one who does).

And her Wandering Child with Colm sound fantastic!

Honestly, I can't say enough about the OCC...the violin work in there is also pure awsomeness.

[Phantom On A Budget]

I vote for the OLC, more or less because it annoys me the least. Add in some sentimental meaning and the amazing Steve Barton, and there you have it. While the OCC is blessed with superior orchestration and Rebecca Caine, its favors end there for me. I can barely keep myself from laughing when I hear Wilkinson and Neese (the latter particularly. Having never seen him live I cannot speak about his acting, but vocally he comes across as pompous beyond belief - something I hate very much).

I appreciate Wilkinson's unique voice in Les Mis, but generally cannot stand him as the Phantom. His phrasing, amongst other things, drives me batty. He is very far removed from my ideal.

[operafantomet]

[Yip1982]

I think a little more about the West End cast version, as I feel it gets pretty close to the heart of this ALW musical as I see it. It's true that the Canadian version has some pretty competent performances, but the West End version really lets you in on the atmosphere. I also admit to feeling a little disappointed with the film version, despite the stronger orchestrations.

[Sweeney Hyde]

I love the OLCR.

I do think, though, that the Canadian Highlights have a much more theatrical element to them and I cannot put my finger on why...but it feels more like a show...does that makes sense?

[Quique]

As far as cast - OLC is king. But I also love the Canadian recording for its warmth.

[EponineBarker]

I'm still debating about whether I prefer the OLC or the MST because I love them both.

The Orchestrations: I would have the say the movie orchestrations are the best IMHO. They're so lush and powerful.

The Phantom: One of the things I can't decide on, MC or GB? Michael was the Original and has a wonderful voice, but Gerard has a sort of rawness in his voice that seemed to suit Erik, once again, IMHO. So I'll have to get back to you on this one.

Colm was okay, as I've mentioned in another thread on here, I hated him when I first heard the OCC, but he's grown on me. I like the commanding tone he had in a few songs, (like when he's shouting "sing for me!" near the end of the title song.) but at other times, his singing seemed choppy...which is probably one reason I don't listen to his MOTN too much, because I can't seem to hear the hypnotic sensuality that I hear in MC's and GB's versions.

Christine: Yet another difficult decision for me, but Emmy won ultimately for me because I liked the sweet innocence in her voice. And since she didn't have an extremely powerful voice, her TOM (yes, I know everyone makes a reference to this song) was a bit more believable, IMHO. And before you try to hunt me down, run me through and cook me over a fire like a hot dog, let me tell you that Sarah was my first Christine, not Emmy. I love Sarah too, because she has a powerful voice, which makes her singing a bit more convincing, cause it's a bit easier to believe that an Angel of Music had given her a voice unlike any other.

As for Rebecca Caine, she, just like Colm, grew on me. I didn't really like her TOM as first because of the candenza. Now don't get me wrong, her candenza was beautiful, but when I first heard it, it sounded too professional to me, like she was already the diva and not some chorus girl taking over the role.

Raoul: It's difficult to decide this too, because I love SB and PW, so I'm not going go into a long thing about them. Byron Nease has a nice voice, but he's just not Raoul to me.


Sweeney Hyde-I do get what you mean about the OOC seeming to have a more theatric feel to it, I think that everytime I listen to it.

[Mungojerrie_rt]

I can't really chose one since the OLC and the movie have so many ups and down and I've never heard the Canadian one.

I have nothing against Emmy Rossom's singing, it's very nice and very good for someone who's suposebly not trained. It's just her acting I don't like. Sarah Brightman, while being a better singer, has a voice that just irks me sometimes.

The same goes for Michael Crawford. There's something about his voice I don't like. But Gerrard Butler has a nice voice (and I'd like to see those who say otherwise do better).

It's a shame that Carlotta is dubbed in the movie, because she has the perfect voice for the role.

The movie Meg and Mdme Giry ar much better. I really don't like the OLC Mdme Giry.

My vote: Record the current Australian Tour Cast. They cannot be beaten. When Ana Marina sings "You decieved me!" she has such power that she knocks the Phantom over. Meg has such versitility in her voice between "Where in the world have you been hiding" and "He's there! The Phantom of the Opera!" And Carlotta was increadibly funny.