Favorite Christine Daae

[Globefan]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 8:24pm

Who is your favorite Christine Daae? Mine is Patti Cohenour 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 8:41pm

Phantom was the first cast recording I ever purchased. They were out of the London cast recording, so I purchased the Canadian recording. I never saw her in person but Rebecca Caine's voice was so stunning, she still is my favorite even though I saw it with two different actresses years later. 

[toottoot]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 8:48pm

Globefan said: "Who is your favorite Christine Daae? Mine is Patti Cohenour"

It doesn't hurt that Patti Cohenour is also just about the nicest person in the world. I'm an OG-er though, and would go with Sarah Brightman here. 

[ImAProphet]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 8:55pm

Rebecca Caine's voice is my favorite. My favorite performance that I've actually seen was Kelly Mathieson, the current (well...) West End Christine.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 8:55pm

Lisa Vroman. I saw her the most out of the three (?) Christines in the San Francisco sit-down. Jennifer Hope Wills was the first Christine I saw on Broadway and she was fantastic.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 9:02pm

Gina Beck.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 10:23pm

Sarah Brightman.

Man, I wish she’d do another show.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 11:13pm

Nobody ever captured the bizarre, other worldly quality of the character quite like Sarah Brightman did - especially when the production first opened in London.  She and Michael Crawford were like two souls from another planet - and I mean that to say - together- utterly extraordinary. Others came later who sang the roles better, but the show would doubtful have become quite the sensation it did if it didn't start with that original pairing.

[blaxx]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 12:26am

Another one for Rebecca Caine. Seen the show so many times and no one has come close. She was perfection.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 1:09am

Kelly Jeanne Grant
Rebecca Caine
Rebecca Pitcher
Megan Picerno

[sparksatmidnight]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 2:46am

I'm biased, but I'll always love Giulia Nadruz

[bawoman]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 3:32am

As far as voice only, I still have to go with Sarah Brightman.

as far as the total package, voice and performance Gina Beck.Most passionate, head strong, sexy version I have seen of the character to date.

[Lot666]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 7:52am

Unfortunately, I never saw Sarah Brightman in the role, but I love her in the original cast recording.

Of the ladies whom I have seen (and there are a lot of them!), Sierra Boggess remains my favorite.

Updated On: 6/29/20 at 07:52 AM

[windowwaving]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 12:18pm

I was floored by Ali Ewoldt's performance as Christine. I've seen various productions, including the Vegas one, and Ali just encapsulates Christine so well. Her voice is pure perfection.

I've also seen Meghan Picerno in Love Never Dies twice and thought to myself "Man, I would love to see her play Christine in POTO" and was so excited to see that she's playing on Broadway now! 

[joevitus]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 12:19pm

QueenAlice said: "Nobody ever captured the bizarre, other worldly quality of the character quite like Sarah Brightman did - especially when the production first opened in London. She and Michael Crawford were like two souls from another planet - and I mean that to say - together- utterly extraordinary. Others came later who sang the roles better, but the show would doubtful have become quite the sensation it did if it didn't start with that original pairing."

I can't think of any performer ever who was as excoriated as Brightman was for her work in Phantom. It's great to read this comment. Do you think she was a good actress, or do you think she was just right (or used correctly by Prince) for the role?

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 12:35pm

Jennifer Hope Wills or Gina Beck

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 12:51pm

The first time I saw Phantom was in London, December 1986.  A matinee.  The matinee performances played by Claire Moore, who was really terrific in the role.  I saw Sarah Brightman in the role the next time I was in London (on business) three months later.  (I still remember paying the then ridiculous scalper's price of 55 Pounds to sit in a very good seat in the dress circle / first balcony).  Sarah Brightman was IMO very good, but she lacked something that Claire Moore had...that spark that says I am this person rather than I am playing this person.  

Moore was also excellent as Ellen in Miss Saigon.  Those are the only two shows I saw her in.

[FlyHigh523]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 12:57pm

Sierra Boggess was amazing. I also saw Kaley Ann Voorhees and was really impressed with her.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 1:07pm

joevitus said: "QueenAlice said: "Nobody ever captured the bizarre, other worldly quality of the character quite like Sarah Brightman did - especially when the production first opened in London. She and Michael Crawford were like two souls from another planet - and I mean that to say - together- utterly extraordinary. Others came later who sang the roles better, but the show would doubtful have become quite the sensation it did if it didn't start with that original pairing."

I can't think of any performer ever who was as excoriated as Brightman was for her work in Phantom. It's great to read this comment. Do you think she was a good actress, or do you think she was just right (or used correctly by Prince) for the role?"

What Brightman and Crawford had together, that I'm not sure anyone else after them quite had in those parts was this sort of feeling like they stepped out of some other time period.  They were like one part melodrama, one part Grand Guignol and one part silent film combined in this excessive and visually (and melodically) gorgeous experience.   There was an energy they helped create that was weird and intoxicating and I think part of the Je ne sais quoi that goes into making any original production a hit.

I can't say Brightman was an especially nuanced actress in Phantom, but it didn't matter. She was the character - she was Webber's muse and that showed in every way. She was very good a few years later in ASPECTS OF LOVE which required more acting.

[ajh]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 1:33pm

After Brightman, the next three Christines in London were phenomenal (Claire Moore, Rebecca Caine -who was the alternate in the West End to Moore but went on to star in Toronto, Jan Hartley-Morris) and haven’t been equalled since until Gina Beck, who was perfection also. Each of those first three Christines brought something unique, specific and entrancing to the role. Rebecca Caine, on the Canadian Cast album, remains head and shoulders above any other Christine on recording.
 

Interesting that in both the West End and Broadway productions, Sarah Brightman’s alternates (Claire Moore and Patti Cohenour respectively) were considered by a huge number of people to be superior. I saw Moore three times and she was magical. Truly one of the greatest voices ever in British musical theatre, and also an amazingly versatile actress, having gone from being Ellen Greene’s replacement in the London Little Shop of  Horrors to Phantom to the original Ellen in Miss Saigon. She was wonderful in both roles. Last seen on stage belting Broadway Baby in the second cast of the National Theatre’s Follies.

Meredith Braun, whose path in the role was unusual in that she was the  principal Christine first and then became the alternate, was also superb, appearing to make distinctly different acting choices from any of her predecessors.
 

Other than Sierra Boggess’s starry turn in the anniversary concert, the only American Christine I saw was Mary Michael Patterson in the Broadway production opposite Norm Lewis. I liked her enormously, possibly a slightly ‘heavier’ operatic sound than we’ve been used to in recent years but beautifully acted.

 

 

Updated On: 7/1/20 at 01:33 PM

[Princeton2]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 1:47pm

For me Sarah Brightman is the pinnacle as she just has this unique other worldliness about her that fits the story so well

Aside Sarah Brightman for me its Gina Beck. She nailed every aspect of the role and her with Ramin Karimloo and Simon Bailey formed a very powerful trio that I've not seen better.

I know she has her fans but I dont get the Sierra Boggess appeal. To me she has a strong voice but doesnt have any light or shade in it and she cant act other than doe eyed

[bawoman]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 2:04pm

To me Sierra has a beautiful voice but I dont care at all for her acting. She hams it up tremendously imo.

[Lot666]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 4:41pm

FlyHigh523 said: "Kaley Ann Voorhees and was really impressed with her."

Yes! She was practically a child when she first joined the Broadway company, which made her perfect for the role, and her voice was fantastic.

 

[Lot666]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 4:42pm

QueenAlice said: "What Brightman and Crawford had together, that I'm not sure anyone else after them quite had in those parts was this sort of feeling like they stepped out of some other time period. They were like one part melodrama, one part Grand Guignol and one part silent film combined in this excessive and visually (and melodically) gorgeous experience. There was an energy they helped create that was weird and intoxicating and I think part of theJe ne sais quoi that goes into making any original production a hit."

Having only heard them on the original cast recording, I really hate you for this description.  I didn't think it possible to regret not seeing them in Phantom any more than I already did.

 

Updated On: 6/29/20 at 04:42 PM

[joevitus]

Posted: 6/29/20 at 4:48pm

Thank you, Queen Alice!