Das Phantom Der Oper (The Phantom of the Opera) (German Cast Recording - Hamburg) [Soundtrack]

Das Phantom der Oper is a great buy for any Phantom fan, moderate or extreme. Prospective buyers (you) are probably most concerned with its comparison to the London cast recording or that of the recent major motion picture. Fear not.

First it must be admitted that the German Phantom and Christine have more talent and depth to their voices than Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. This doesn't necessarily mean, however, that they are "better" at playing these roles. However, the differences in musical ability and voice are very refreshing for long time listeners to the London cast. In many instances, Hoffman (the Phantom) sings with much more power and emotion behind his words. His laugh at the end of Act 1 is chilling. Kaufmann (Christine) hits high notes with an ease not evident in Brightman, and her voice is really quite soothing. Despite these differences, diehard fans of Crawford and Brightman will not be turned off by either of the main performers. Their contrasts are sometimes very subtle-- the German casting was obviously done with the popular London cast in mind. The minor roles in Das Phantom are solid, though Raoul's voice is less of the warm he-man of Steve Barton and little more high pitched. Carlotta, Firmin, Andre, Madame Giry, Meg, etc. are not drastically different from their respective roles in the London cast.

Fans of the movie will not find Gerard Butler or Emmy Rossum in this soundtrack at all. Their is an obvious difference in timbre in the voice of the Phantom, and Christine's voice is more mature and refined. If you like the movie but not the London cast, I can't see any reason why you'd enjoy this version, as it is much more comparable to the London cast than any other I've heard.

If you like the London cast at all, this is a great buy. The quality of sound is perfect, and the performers are completely professional. Fans of the Crawford and Brightman will not be disappointed, but will hopefully find something new and refreshing to obsess over, just as they did with the London Cast.

Nun bist du dem Untergang geweiht, durch das Phantom der Dunkelheit!

***As a final note, i must ask you to please not be turned off by this being in a different language. German is a beautiful, fluid language, and for those of you who speak German, the translations are very accurate and never awkward or clumsy- sounding. Do try this album, all Phans!***

Du allein hast mich von mir gefreit-

Nun endet die Musik der Dunkelheit...

This Music is(as Always) Simply Enchanting,
The Singers are(of course) wonderful and
The Emotion is There...
Though the cast does not include
Michael Crawford(the phantom) Sarah Brightman(Christine) and Steve Barton(Raoul)From the original London and Broadway cast
It Does have...
Peter Hoffman as the phantom
Anna Maria Kaufmann as Christine and
Hartwig Rudolz as Raoul

Peter Hoffman has a beautiful voice as The Phantom, And His Emotion and acting... Splendid! He lrts you know how he feels.
like when he yells "Go Now! Go Now And Leave Me!!" At the end of Das Unterirdische Labyrinth when he lets Christine go you can tell the phantom is heartbroken... also, I like how in the title song in his first solo part he raises the note a little higher.

Anna Marie Kaufmann also has a beautiful voice, like in Denk An Mich she starts out a bit nervous and quiet so that you can tell the difrence between The Rehersal and The Gala.
And at the end of the title song, when Christine starts to vocalize she starts higher than Sarah Brightman did and Ends Higher than Sara Brightman Did!

Hartwig Rudolz makes a dashing Raoul, he sound very similer(in my opinion) to Steve Barton(The Original Raoul in London)
He has very good acting skills and you can hear him use them well in MEHR WILL ICH NICHT VON DIR and DAS UNTERIRDISCHE LABYRINTH.

Ah! The Music! Its Preformed Beautifuly! With Some Added Insterments It Sounds Better Than Ever!
Now, You Should Know... Because Its in German at first it will sound a bit weird, So You Should listen to the London cast a few times...

I Highly recomend

DAS PHANTOM DER OPER
DIE MUSIK DER NACHT
MEHR WILL ICH NICHT VON DIR
MASKENBALL and
DAS UNTERIRDISCHE LABYRINTH

I recommend all this songs,
And I'm A Thirteen Year Old Boy!!
And Some Gratitude Towards Amazon.com is in order
For Having this CD available

Thank You.

This is a great CD (it's the "highlights" version of the German album, because you can buy the double also). It's interesting to hear the little changes within the Orquestration. As always, orchestra cords sometimes vary a bit, sound is a bit different (but you can only expect to notice this if you're a phantom lover & expert).

The German cast is excelente. Of course, you wont listen to the once-in-a-lifetime cast "Sarah & Michael", but it is also a beautiful recording.

The language it's a bit harder, and can show a bit "less sweeter" if you're nos custumed to listen to the German language. Even though, great pieces as "Think of you" will still have their enchantment.

While listening to this recording you can also imagine the same exact scenes from the London or Brodway production, but with absolut diferent faces and a different concept (inside the same) because of the difference made by a different language.

It really is worth buying. You'll have a great time as a Lloyd Webber & Phantom fan!