POTO Busan review (centered on actors).
(*I wrote longer reviews in Korean on another SNS before. **It's a long review with bad English grammar, so if you're busy, I recommend you to read only keywords.)
0. I saw POTO Busan performances for the first time on April 30(Both matinée and evening performances). I had saw POTO World tour and London (+ JOJ concert in Korea😄) before and (as you all know) the POTO Korea set was the original version, not the world tour version or the London reopening version. The costumes were similar to the recent London costumes, but have more beads except Star Princess costume. The directing and choreography(except Masquerade) were Broadway versions before COVID.
I finished brief introduction, so I'll talk about actors now. (I know that POTO Korea video bootlegs exist, but most of them were recorded in very early days including previews. And some actors(particularly 조승우 and 송은혜) were sick at the beginning of the Busan run. So later performances were much better than those videos.)
송원근's Raoul is gentle, romantic and mentally mature(He looks younger than his age, but he is actually 40). His Raoul resembles Steve Barton's Raoul in many ways. I think he's one of the standard ALW Raouls. (If you like the original London cast, I recommend 손지수 Christine and 송원근 Raoul pair.) His gentle voice, good romance acting and nice dance skills are his strengths.(He is now a famous musical actor, but long ago he was an unfamous idol/dance singer. He has also been a drama actor since 2013.) + Personally, his stifling acting at The Final Lair was very impressive.
황건하 has a very unique voice for Raoul. He has a very heavy tone. His deep voice color reminds me of Bengt Nordfors's Raoul. However, his Raoul is not as mature as Nordfors's. His Raoul is young(황건하 is 25 years old, so I think that's the reason.) and and full of enthusiasm like the Leroux Raoul. But his Raoul isn't fragile like the Leroux Raoul. His Raoul is weaker than Ramin and Hadley's, but it has a similar sense of mettle.
Doesn't 황건하's impression resemble that of Hadley and Ramin? +I think 황건하's strength is his nice singing skills.
To be honest, Korean audiences gave 송은혜 a better rating than 손지수 on the reservation site during Busan run. On the contrary, I've seen many non-Korean old phans tend to prefer 손지수. If you want to know why, go to 2-4). (* I love both of them similarly.)
2-1) Voice color: Both Christines have quite different voice colors. 💙송은혜 Christine has a clear and very light voice color. Her voice is transparent and light like a shiny glass bead. Her voice color resembles previous Korean ALW Christines (Especially 김소현 Christine) voice colors.(+ Emmy Rossum's voice color a little bit too.) 🤍손지수 Christine has a light(but less lighter than 송은혜's voice), warm and very soft(<-->clear) voice. I think her voice color is very unique! Her voice reminds me of soft and warm angel wings.
2-2) Singing style: 💙송은혜 sang POTO numbers more like musical singing style than opera " .(She majored in opera, but worked as a popera singer/an ensemble in the musical Elisabeth.) I think her singing style resembles previous Korean Christines (Especially, 최현주 Christine's POTO Korea 1st revival run. *최현주's stage name in Japan was 'Sai Tamami'.) and Sierra Boggess (Particularly WYSHA) a lot. 송은혜 has a girlish voice and face(I think both Christines look younger than their age. 송은혜 is 30 years old and 손지수 is 33 years old.), but she is an independent and modern Christine 'compared to the other Christine'. But her voice is light and less powerful than Sierra's, so sometimes I think her singing resembles Amy Manford too(But less operatic way).
🤍손지수 sang POTO numbers in an operatic way. (She is an opera singer.) And her calm and classical singing style is very reminiscent of Sarah Brightman's singing style. (+ Rebecca Caine's West End run.) But warmer and softer than them(I think Caine and Brightman has cooler voice and more vivid voice).
I prefer 🤍손지수's WYSHA🤍 more than 송은혜's and I prefer 💙송은혜's TOM and POTO(I like her cadenza & high notes)💙 more than 손지수's. Personally, 손지수's WYSHA is one of the top five WYSHWs I've heard.
2-3) Character interpretation: 💙As I said above, 송은혜 Christine was an independent and modern Christine 'compared to the other Christine'. Also, her interpretation influenced a lot by 최현주(최현주's Korea run. But I think 송은혜's voice color and face resemble 김소현's.) and Sierra's. But I think her Christine is less stronger than Sierra's. + 송은혜 Christine's love for Phantom is more Erosive 'compared to the other Christine'. ++ I like 송은혜's Serafimo.
🤍In every way, 손지수's Christine evoked the nostalgia of Christines in the 80s and 90s. (Her special voice color that distinguishes it from others, operatic singing style and Leroux-like Christine interpretation.) She was a very soft and warm Christine. She respected and relied on Phantom, her teacher and guardian. And her love for the Phantom was close to the Virgin Mary's agape love for humanity. I really love her classical Christine interpretation!
2-4) Points to be improved: I really love 손지수's classical Christine, but she need to develop her dialogue acting and body acting. She is a native Korean and speaks Korean naturally in her daily life, but on stage, she spoke lines as if she were reading a textbook. She spoke strictly and exaggerates at the same time. I know POTO is a sung-through musical but her Little Lotte dialogue acting was not good. But if you are not a native Korean speaker, it will be hard to notice. (+ Interestingly, her songs contained a variety of emotions and her pronunciation was not strange when she sings.) I think this is why she is preferred by non-Korean phans over Korean audiences. If you want to know her strengths, read the keywords from 1-1) to 1-3).
송은혜's lines and body acting were okay, but often 손지수's facial expressions were better than her. (The interesting thing is that 송은혜 said she has been a phan for more than a decade, but the other Christine – who wasn't a phan – is preferred to her by a global phandom👀(I think it's because 송은혜 is a fan of Sierra and old phans tend to prefer classic POTO over 25th anniversary.)) And neither of them can do ballet professionally.
3. Phantom actors (* I didn't see 조승우
Phantom's performance in a good seat, and his condition was not good at that day, so I'll exclude him from this Busan review.)
전동석's Phantom was a romantic and soft phantom like Kopit's Phantom(* He played Kopit Phantom. But still, his ALW Phantom was stronger than his kopit Phantom). His Phantom seemed to have loved Christine for a long time. Not every performance, but he would often greet Christine (as if he were worshiping her) during the POTO number like the picture below.
And he carefully stroked her face when she fell asleep during The Music of the Night. His phantom reminds me of Earl Carpenter's phantom, who was also a soft phantom and liked to stroke Christine's hair.
* 전동석 sang POTO numbers by mixing musical and opera singing styles.(Although he majored in opera, he has worked as a musical actor for a long time, not an opera singer.) And he sang high notes well.
On the contrary, 김주택's Phantom was a very strict teacher and musician who wants to strongly control his student – Christine who will show his music to the world – 'at first'. He looked domineering and sometimes very dangerous villain. During STYDI, 전동석's Phantom seemed so sad and he couldn't hurt Christine, but 김주택's Phantom was very angry and seemed to strangle(but not kill) Christine if she was caught. But he got shocked and recognized his love to Christine when Christine handed over his mask during STYDI. After that 김주택 Phantom changed a lot. Even his voice changed a lot.
* At first, 김주택 Phantom's voice sounded very heavy and Phantom is in his mid-40s to early 50s, but after STYDI, his voice changed softly and Phantom is in his mid or late-30s except some scenes. (* 전동석 Phantom's voice sounded like he is in his mid-30s. And his voice color was lighter than 김주택's.) Also, 김주택 sang the numbers very operaically(It's natural that he is an opera singer(Baritone). *POTO is his musical debut).
I expected he still had a very scary side during AIAOY reprise 1, but I was surprised that he cried really a lot during AIAOY reprise 1. He broke my predictions several times and gave me fresh shocks as if I had never seen the Phantom of the Opera.
From here, I'm going to compare the two phantom actors. During PONR, 전동석's phantom was very sexy and I am sure his 'Don Juan Triumphant' must be loved by the audience. I saw the performance from the perspective of the Paris Opera audience who enjoyed the show. On the contrary, 김주택 Phantom's 'Don Juan Triumphant' seemed very dangerous. I felt a dangerous criminal go crazy and snuck in. I saw the performance from the perspective of the Paris Opera staff who were nervously watching the performance. And I love 김주택's AIAOY reprise 2.
At the final lair, 전동석 Phantom tended to recite that Christine was the only light to him after she left. I think his experience of Kopit Phantom was melted here. I like the way he emphasized Phantom's love to Christine. From beginning to end, the most important thing to him was Christine. Even during the 'Why So Silent', he thought that 'you' were Christine, not André and Firmin. Anyway, he let Christine go and cried, but he also smiled (like Ethan Freeman's Phantom) because his soul was saved by her kiss. 김주택 Phantom's final lair was scary and nervous. But Christine, especially soft and angelic 손지수 Christine, melted that dramatically with a warm heart and kisses. I think 김주택 Phantom and 손지수 Christine are a really good match for each other. They have similar singing styles(They are both opera singers and studied at the Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi di Milano.) and the height difference between 김주택(178cm) and 손지수(early 160s) is also appropriate. (*송은혜 is taller than 170cm and she wears Christine's heels on stage, so she has better chemistry with tall phantoms. **The phantom in the image below is 전동석, who is 186cm tall.)
Let's get back to the point. I think 손지수's interpretation of Christine goes well with all Korean Phantoms. But I think 손지수's soft and warm Christine goes best with 김주택's strict and scary phantom. It reminds me of a fairy tale that the goddess of spring softly melts the god of cold winter. + 김주택's Phantom also smiled (like Ethan Freeman's Phantom) at the end.
4. Carlottas, Piangi, Meg and André.
Both Carlotta actresses are young and are not much older than Christine actresses. For example, 한보라 – one of the Carlotta actresses, was born in 1988, and 손지수 – one of the Christine actresses, was born in 1989. So that reminded me of the relationship between Patti sisters(Adelina Patti/Carlotta Patti) and Christine Nilsson(*Both Adelina and Christine were born in 1843). 한보라, in particular, has a light tone like Adelina. (The other Carlotta – 이지영 has a calm voice.)
박회림 Piangi was really good at both singing and acting. The long extension of Hannibal high note at the end of the Busan run was very surprising.
조하린, who played Meg, has a sweet and girlish voice :) I like her Meg, though she sometimes struggled with the high notes. Her dance was great too.
Finally, I admired 윤영석's André. His André really loves music and art. It was really impressive that his eyes were shining when he saw arts. His André was as good as his Phantom in both singing and acting.
