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dramatic_mizfit

Marie Danvers

Has anyone else seen her? What did you think?

I saw her the other day when the national tour came through Denver. I'm gonna be honest. I didn't like her. I thought she sounded exactly the same as the lady playing Carlotta, whose name I can't recall. It sounded almost like she was trying too hard, because she used vibratto every time she opened her mouth, and it just sounded bad.

I don't know. Maybe it was just second day jitters. Maybe it was just me. I have tickets to see it again with my family on the 15th, so I'm hoping she sounds better, because it was almost a disappointment.

What did you think of her?
The Very Angry Woman

Re: Marie Danvers

dramatic_mizfit wrote:
Maybe it was just second day jitters.


"Second day"? She's been in the show off and on since about 1998.

(I haven't seen her, so I can't comment about her performance.)
Quique

Marie...

I saw her in the 2nd national tour at L.A.'s Pantages Theatre in 1997. She was rather pinched and sqeaky whenever she began and ended singing.

And yes!...dramatic_mizfit, Marie's vibrato is a never-ending annoyance. It doesn't matter how short the line is, she makes sure to vibrate the crap out of it. After a while, you begin to phase-out and just stare at the spectacular scenery, because further listening is downright grating! Mad
operafantomet

Re: Marie Danvers

dramatic_mizfit wrote:
Has anyone else seen her? What did you think?

I saw her the other day when the national tour came through Denver. I'm gonna be honest. I didn't like her. I thought she sounded exactly the same as the lady playing Carlotta, whose name I can't recall. It sounded almost like she was trying too hard, because she used vibratto every time she opened her mouth, and it just sounded bad.

She doesn't USE a lot of vibrato, she HAS a lot of vibrato. The difference is that if a vibrato is used, it is controlled and maybe held back a little (think of jazz singers that can ling a line quite flat, and then add lots of vibrato towards the end). I do get your point, though - as most other American Christines, her voice is quite vibrato heavy. I mean - Sandra Joseph, Julie Hanson, Rebecca Pitcher.... But whether one like it or not - THAT is another story.

I quite like Marie Danvers int he role. I've only seen clips here and there, but I think she's a superb actress, a very good dancer and with a strong voice. She doesn't have the fleating and feather light soprano as Joke de Kruijf and Hye Kyung Lee, but I don't think that's the only voice opportunity for a Christine. I've come to like heavier voices too.
dramatic_mizfit

Re: Marie Danvers

The Very Angry Woman wrote:
dramatic_mizfit wrote:
Maybe it was just second day jitters.


"Second day"? She's been in the show off and on since about 1998.

(I haven't seen her, so I can't comment about her performance.)



No, I meant second day as in here in Denver. I don't know if that makes a difference when you're on tour all the time, but, maybe.
GlamorousGriz

Re: Marie Danvers

dramatic_mizfit wrote:
The Very Angry Woman wrote:
dramatic_mizfit wrote:
Maybe it was just second day jitters.


"Second day"? She's been in the show off and on since about 1998.

(I haven't seen her, so I can't comment about her performance.)



No, I meant second day as in here in Denver. I don't know if that makes a difference when you're on tour all the time, but, maybe.


It can, so I've heard, depending on your view of the city...
dramatic_mizfit

The people reviewing it on the radio mentioned this same thing about jitters, so I figured it could be possible.
Quique

Re: Marie Danvers

operafantomet wrote:
dramatic_mizfit wrote:
Has anyone else seen her? What did you think?

I saw her the other day when the national tour came through Denver. I'm gonna be honest. I didn't like her. I thought she sounded exactly the same as the lady playing Carlotta, whose name I can't recall. It sounded almost like she was trying too hard, because she used vibratto every time she opened her mouth, and it just sounded bad.

She doesn't USE a lot of vibrato, she HAS a lot of vibrato. The difference is that if a vibrato is used, it is controlled and maybe held back a little (think of jazz singers that can ling a line quite flat, and then add lots of vibrato towards the end). I do get your point, though - as most other American Christines, her voice is quite vibrato heavy. I mean - Sandra Joseph, Julie Hanson, Rebecca Pitcher.... But whether one like it or not - THAT is another story.

I quite like Marie Danvers int he role. I've only seen clips here and there, but I think she's a superb actress, a very good dancer and with a strong voice. She doesn't have the fleating and feather light soprano as Joke de Kruijf and Hye Kyung Lee, but I don't think that's the only voice opportunity for a Christine. I've come to like heavier voices too.


I think I know what you're trying to say but please correct me if I'm wrong. Are you saying vibrato just is for certain singers? Meaning, it's not a technique that is applied but rather sort of "built-in" and a part of a singer's voice whether they like it or not?

Either way, you're partially correct, because usually a singer who is able to achieve a strong vibrato, finds it difficult to sing without it. But isn't that referred to as "timbre"?

I ask, cause I got to see Marie about 4 or 5 times in the role and while she was a good actress, I found her singing to be weak, almost feeble-sounding at times. On top of that, the problem with her had more to do with intentional vibrato, as opposed to timbre. It was pretty heavy (wobbly) and she did it through-out the night, without a single "smooth" note. It was as if she were performing during an earthquake, or something, heehee!

That didn't bother me nearly as much as how her voice would sound feeble toward the end and also at the very beginning of every line she sang. Even a friend, whom I treated to the show (we sat 1st row orchestra, dead center, so we didn't imagine this, hehe.), complained after the show saying it was great and all but the Christine's voice was "weak," and he's not even a theatre person, haha.

It could be she has improved since, I mean, that was way back in 1997.

Changing subject, so you now like heavier voices, eh?

I remember when you used to dislike them. The funny thing is, back then, I used to dislike lighter, smoother voices but now, I like them. I started liking them after wearing-out that excellent live Danish cast recording you sent me a while back. Now, that is Joke de Kruijf on that recording, right? You told me once but since I have the memory of an old fuddy-duddy, I have since forgotten and have assumed it is her.

In fact, if you don't mind, can you please do me a favor and list the cast on that recording for me. I lost the cast list and hate listening to recordings without knowing who's who, hehe. I must have listened to that recording a million times and said to myself, "she's/he's great!" I want to be able to put a name to these people for once, LOL! That's one of my favorite Phantom recordings. Why on earth didn't they record it professionally?
operafantomet

Re: Marie Danvers

Quique wrote:


I think I know what you're trying to say but please correct me if I'm wrong. Are you saying vibrato just is for certain singers? Meaning, it's not a technique that is applied but rather sort of "built-in" and a part of a singer's voice whether they like it or not?

Either way, you're partially correct, because usually a singer who is able to achieve a strong vibrato, finds it difficult to sing without it. But isn't that referred to as "timbre"?

I ask, cause I got to see Marie about 4 or 5 times in the role and while she was a good actress, I found her singing to be weak, almost feeble-sounding at times. On top of that, the problem with her had more to do with intentional vibrato, as opposed to timbre. It was pretty heavy (wobbly) and she did it through-out the night, without a single "smooth" note. It was as if she were performing during an earthquake, or something, heehee!

That didn't bother me nearly as much as how her voice would sound feeble toward the end and also at the very beginning of every line she sang. Even a friend, whom I treated to the show (we sat 1st row orchestra, dead center, so we didn't imagine this, hehe.), complained after the show saying it was great and all but the Christine's voice was "weak," and he's not even a theatre person, haha.

It could be she has improved since, I mean, that was way back in 1997.

Changing subject, so you now like heavier voices, eh?

I remember when you used to dislike them. The funny thing is, back then, I used to dislike lighter, smoother voices but now, I like them. I started liking them after wearing-out that excellent live Danish cast recording you sent me a while back. Now, that is Joke de Kruijf on that recording, right? You told me once but since I have the memory of an old fuddy-duddy, I have since forgotten and have assumed it is her.

In fact, if you don't mind, can you please do me a favor and list the cast on that recording for me. I lost the cast list and hate listening to recordings without knowing who's who, hehe. I must have listened to that recording a million times and said to myself, "she's/he's great!" I want to be able to put a name to these people for once, LOL! That's one of my favorite Phantom recordings. Why on earth didn't they record it professionally?


A vibrato is when the vocal chords swings because air is pushed through the throat. So that's something everyone have, but some have much more "swings" than others. And some also controls it better than others. To try to "erase" a strong vibrato is not good for the voice, but it is possible to smoothen it and and use it as an effect.

I like Christines with a very strong voice - something I didn't use to like. But it mustn't be extreme - I think Christine needs a gentle touch to her voice somehow, whether the ground quality is operatic, airy, dramatic or silky soft (AKA the timbre). Actually, I like most voice types in the role, as long as they're skilled singers and understands the role.

The Christine on the Danish recording is Hanne Damm
The Phantom is Peter Jorde, Raoul is Björn Olsson, and Carlotta is Vera Borisova. Meg is played by Anna Grönros. Those are the ones I remember.

Check out http://www.geocities.com/danishphantom
for lots of info of the Danish production Very Happy

Joke de Kruijf was in the Dutch production (and also in Vienna), but never in Denmark. Love her voice, though.
dramatic_mizfit

I saw her again on Tuesday night and she sounded slightly better, so maybe it was just jitters or something. But my dad mentioned something about her using "tremuloso" (sorry if I got that wrong) instead of vibrato...I'm not a singer so I really don't know what the difference is. Does this pertain to her using it all the time?
theonetowatch

I saw her in Pittsburgh and she's definitely not my favorite. She did sound a lot like the Carlotta and her voice really got on my nerves at some points. It was VERY warbly. However I'm not saying she was bad, because she had lots of ability in other areas. I was cringing when they sang The Point of No Return and they pronounced past like past instead of pahst...it was really annoying. I don't know if that bothers anyone else. What bothered me more was the Meg, who was played by Kate Wray. Not a good voice.
theaterbuff12287

I just saw her in St. Louis and I really didn't think she was a very good Christine. For some reason to me anyone who has a lot of vibrato in their voice doesn't sound innocent enough to play that part. I have always felt that Christine should be young and naive....a singer who has a lot of vibrato like Marie Danvers just sounds too worldly and wise to me.
Glinda Upland

~Marie Danvers~

I haven't seen her.Is she good?
abandoned_memory

Marie Danvers possibly uses the least amount of vibrato in any Christine I've seen. Not THE least, but still, not a lot. Christine is supposed to have vibrato. Vibrato can be beautiful, and since she's singing opera, it makes sense that it's in there. You obviously haven't heard Rebecca Pitcher. Look her up, and compare her vibrato to Marie's. Marie's is practically non-existant when compared to Rebecca's.

And for the record, every stage Christine has vibrato. If you want to listen to a Christine who doesn't, listen to Emmy Rossum. But I'd take vibrato over Emmy's scooping and failure to hit the high notes any day.
dramatic_mizfit

abandoned_memory wrote:
Marie Danvers possibly uses the least amount of vibrato in any Christine I've seen.


That's interesting. I thought she used way too much vibrato. (or had too much vibrato, whatever the term should be) Even the little phrases she used so much vibrato, and it was kind of grating by the end of the show. Hmm.
Fyra

I saw her when the tour came through Denver, too. I didn't like her at all--I found her voice to be too feeble for Christine. And when she hit the E at the end of "PotO," it sounded terrible.

Did anyone see the other Christine? I don't remember her name, I think it was Elizabeth something-or-another, but I wish I'd seen her instead.
obsessivewickedfan

Marie Danvers

I heard her on my first time seeing Phantom and IOi thought she was great! And then I went on Google video and realized how TERRIBLE she sounded compared to Emmy! Yuck! That's all I can say. There was WAY TO MUCH vibrato I can tell you that right now. Awfull just awful.
I really don't like her voice anymore.
Glinda Upland

Ok. I looked through my program. She came to Kalamazoo when I went to see the show. I wasn't lying when I said that I had never seen her. I saw Sarah Lawrence, The alternate! I knew Marie Danvers sounded Familiar!
Paula74

Marie was my first live Christine and she's definitely my least favorite. Her voice had a shrill edge and her acting never really convinced me.
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