Posted: 9/9/17 at 6:05pm
Yeah, even if Barbour leaves (which I hope he does), I don't want Sierra back for any more anniversary appearances. She's had more than enough chances to shine in the role.
Posted: 9/9/17 at 6:26pm
Sierra had said when she left Phantom in 2015 that she was retiring from the role. I think she only agreed to do Paris because it was a new challenge, the language the characters would actually be speaking, the city the show is set in. I seriously doubt she'll be back unless someone she's close with is cast as the Phantom or Raoul.
Posted: 4/17/20 at 3:56pm
It's on youtube now. I hear her pronouncment of the letter L is rather strange. But her soprano is wonderful.
I do not see the problem with Ramin being cast in classical roles even if he has a mix of the two. His sharpness in the voice is not like described in this (rather old) thread.
Posted: 4/18/20 at 11:58pm
ALW's favorite Christine:
https://postimg.cc/9wMNkn25
I think that Sierra is one of the more talented and imaginative of the many talented young actresses around. Her Instagram account is always busy with video especially interesting if you like cats.
I like her song selection. She can reach back almost ninety years to the lovely Jerome Kern ballad "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and sing a touching rendition of a song that I had never thought much about outside of its Mary Poppins context: "Feed the Birds."
Sierra has her own YouTube channel and she has a large presence there.
You probably won't find her singing this often, since it was a special for election night 2018. Fun and imaginative. I can't vouch for the accent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLsXACQiI1c
Updated On: 4/21/20 at 11:58 PM
Posted: 4/21/20 at 8:57pm
I think when the 25th anniversary dvd first came out most of the people I knew who had seen it were aflutter with this cast being the 'best" cast, but I don't think they ever completely sold me. Having grown up listening to Sarah Brightman, Sierra's soprano just didn't seem as operatic enough to me, especially on songs like All I Ask of You where it seems like a solid musical theater soprano. I just assumed I didn't like her voice, but I actually fell in love with it on the Little Mermaid OBCR so I think she was just slightly miscast in Phantom as far as I'm concerned, and I don't think any of the other Christines I've heard since then, either online or live, have had that same musical theater-ness to their voice.
Ramin I actually did enjoy, but I commented to a friend that he seemed to be outsinging the role of Phantom, as ridiculous as it sounds, though I what I felt is probably what earlier commenters mentioned about him pushing notes sharp and just feeling like he's pushing himself harder than necessary (though his first vocal entrance in the dressing room I thought was thrilling).
I didn't know much of Laurence Connor before this, outside of just registering that he had also done the JCS arena tour (which I thought was fantastic), but one of my friends also mentioned to me after seeing this version that "Christine and Phantom were definitely horny for each other the whole time". She thought didn't make the story as compelling as if Phantom were more of a sympathetic villain, which seemed to align more with a recent Broadway production that she had seen. It's been a while since I saw the show on Broadway, so this version definitely sticks out more in my mind, but I'm assuming that what's been on Broadway is probably close to Hal Prince's original vision? I heard he used to make pretty frequent visits and would give notes or help tighten things up.
Posted: 4/21/20 at 10:12pm
I would be surprised if Andrew Lloyd Weber himself didn't think of Sarah Brightman first when he heard anyone else singing the role. But a lot of emotions there.
Posted: 4/22/20 at 10:55pm
Posted: 4/23/20 at 11:34am
Babe_Williams said: "I like Sierra enough in this role but have always been curious as to why she hasn’t taken off more or branched out more. I think she easily could develop a princess persona a la Laura Osnes, who seems to be constantly working. Anyway, I greatly dislike Ramin’s interpretation of the Phantom and singing style and that is always my huge disappointment with this performance. "
I think that we have a lot of talented young actresses chasing too few roles. Then the few good roles out there for very young women have been awarded to older actresses (Julie Jordan, Eliza Doolittle, Marian Paroo) without especially good box office results.
I wonder if casting directors might hold it against her if Sierra’s most recent credits were very lightweight. Osnes hasn’t been cast in nearly three years. She has kept busy playing princesses and Hallmark heroines, and she may be fine with that, but I think Sierra wants to be on stage.
Posted: 4/28/20 at 9:55pm
The hate is strong with this thread...
I'll say this ...when I hear Sierra's voice, I know EXACTLY who it is and THAT, my friends, is what makes an everlasting singing career.
Not to mention, her voice is the perfect blend of Broadway & classical which makes her the ideal choice for Christine in this pop-Broadway era.
