Three Phantoms, Copenhagen

I know this blog is in Swedish - usually - but writing this kind of concert review just felt weird and strange in Swedish ... so English it is! :)

So, I went with Annika to Copenhagen last Saturday (11 May) to see Three Phantoms, a concert celebrating the fantastic musical The Phantom of the Opera, with John Owen-Jones, Earl Carpenter, Matthew Cammelle and Rebecca Caine.
Unfortunately I didn't know much about Matthew Cammelle and Rebecca Caine before this (yes, I should have studied up, but things have been pretty intense lately), but just the fact that Rebecca Caine was the Original Cosette in West End's Les Misérables in 1985 is totally cool! :)
I'd seen Earl Carpenter as Javert in Les Miz in 2009 and was quite curious to see him. Javert is my favourite character in Les Miz and I am very particular about how I want that character interpreted, and Mr. Carpenter and I didn't quite agree there - but I was very much looking forward to seeing him do other things! :)
I almost saw John Owen-Jones as Jean Valjean in London, unfortunately he was off that particular day and we had an understudy which I was quite disappointed about as I had been looking forward to seeing him ... Still, it made me look forward to seeing him in Three Phantoms even more! :)

Before the concert, Annika and I walked around Tivoli for a bit, I had never been there before, and we actually saw John Owen-Jones there which was really cool! :) Wish I'd had the nerve so say something to him though ....:)

Unfortunately, the concert had no programmes or anything like that, and it would have been nice to have something to take home - also, it would have made writing this blog entry easier, as I seem to have forgotten quite a bit (guess I have to blame the major migraine attack I got after the concert) - still, this review will focus on the highlights, the things I well and truly remember!

I had thought it would be more of a straight up concert, where they basically sang the songs, one after another, and that was that. Instead, the concert was much more interactive, with conversations, jokes, information and anecdotes on the stage - which was so much fun!! The tone among the singers on stage was fantastic, it was great to see them working together, and although the routine was rehearsed and had an underlying script, it was very easy going and funny, natural and relaxed, and absolutely amazing to watch! Lots of humour too, which I love!!

I have to say something about Les Misérables too, as all four performers have been involved in the show. Matthew Cammelle sang "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables", and I was totally blown away!! He did such an amazing job and I was almost in tears - and I usually don't even cry to that song in context, in the musical (even though I know it is quite emotional)!!
Earl Carpenter sang "Stars" and well ... he's a very, very talented performer, but like I mentioned before, I am particular about Javert and also about "Stars" and ... no, it wasn't my favourite version of this song, sorry ...
After "Stars" came "A Heart Full Of Love", which was really great. It's not a song you'd expect, and to hear it was very nice, and it was of course extra fun to see Rebecca Caine do it, as the original Cosette! :) She and Matthew Cammelle was wonderful together, and it was nice to see John Owen-Jones come out as Valjean (as I had missed him in London)!!
Mr. Owen-Jones went on to sing "Bring Him Home" and it was an absolute pleasure to listen to him! I love this song, but I think it is the most difficult song in Les Misérables, and thus far I have only come across four people who can sing it really well and do it justice - and John Owen-Jones is definitely one of them!! (If anybody is interested, the others are David Shannon, Alfie Boe and Swedish performer Christer Nerfont.)

I really enjoyed Earl Carpenter singing "Race You to the Top of the Morning" from Secret Garden. At first I was a bit nervous, I have a record where my all-time-favourite Philip Quast sings that song - but I was totally amazed by Mr. Carpenter who did a fantastic job!

Rebecca Caine sang "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady. That song has a special meaning to me, and it was performed very well, so it became quite emotional for me for a while there ... At times I felt Rebecca Caine went a little bit too much opera for me, but when she kept it to pure musicals, I really loved her performance!!

We saw "Prima Donna" from The Phantom of the Opera, just like "A Heart Full Of Love" this was not a song I had expected, and I quite enjoyed it. Rebecca Caine, of course, was Carlotta, Matthew Cammelle was Raoul and John Owen-Jones and Earl Carpenter was André and Firmin (sorry, never knew which one of them is which .... - well, André and Firmin I mean, I do know Mr. Owen-Jones and Mr. Carpenter!! *lol*). Later on, Rebecca Caine did Christine in "Think of Me" in the most wonderful way!!

The three phantoms sang "This is the Moment" from Jekyll and Hyde. Unfortunately I have never seen this musical, but I am in love with this song - and the three of them did such a fantastic job with the song! They really should release it on a cd - hey, why not a Three Phantoms-cd?!?! And a dvd?!? I would not protest!! :)

I do have to say, my favourite among the four was John Owen-Jones! I loved his performance throughout the concert - he has the most amazing voice!! Even though he did have some trouble remembering what he was supposed to say in between songs! :) The continuous joke on stage was that after Mr. Owen-Jones' songs, Matthew Cammelle and Earl Carpenter were "contractually obliged to let the audience know that the song is available for purchase on John Owen-Jones' website"! *LOL* Don't know if all this attention was enough for Mr. Owen-Jones to forget his lines ...? :)

At one point, all three phantoms sang a song together (I have unfortunately forgotten which one now), when John Owen-Jones suddenly started doing his own thing and eventually ended up singing the ABBA song "Knowing Me, Knowing You"! :) When Mr. Cammelle and Mr. Carpenter stopped singing and asked him what on Earth he was doing, he replied that he was singing ABBA - in reply to the obvious question "Why??", he said: "They're Danish!" :) I almost felt a little offended there and wanted to let him know that at least two people in the audience actually was from Sweden (!), but luckily Matthew Cammelle and Earl Carpenter set him straight!
Love that kind of humour! :)

Intertwined in the concert were purely instrumental songs which made a nice contrast. I especially enjoyed "Send in the Clowns" and a great and very catchy medley from "Mary Poppins".

During one song, the three phantoms made the very talented conductor Anthony Gabriele take a break, sit on a chair on stage and listen to the next song - which was very nicely conducted by Earl Carpenter!! :) A man of many talents!

Toward the end of the concert the three phantoms sang the most stunning version of "Music of the Night" which basically made my hair stand on end! Absolutely phenomenal!!

Unfortunately the concert ended rather abruptly. We got to hear one extra song from Wicked, and the the singers, conductor and orchestra received standing ovations! The audience had been a really good one actually (a few people talked a bit loud at times, but nothing very disturbing), and it was obvious everyone wanted the performers back on stage, even if they had to improvise - but they only came back for a very short while and then disappeared ...

However, I have to say the concert was absolutely fantastic, and I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I had expected. I just hope I'll be able to see these wonderful performers live again at some point!