One Man Phantom of the Opera

[igenlode]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vRHgxviZJk

Apparently this was an Internet sensation nine or ten years ago; it's a little bit 'dog walking on its hind legs' for me (the impressive thing is not how well he can sing Christine/Phantom, but that he can sing both roles at all, even if neither is really comfortable), but half the entertainment lies in watching the 'greyed-out' characters reacting to the performance of the currently-featured singer. He does a doe-eyed Christine and a supremely arrogant Phantom (I get the feeling Nick Pitera is not an E/C shipper!)

Raoul spends most of the performance looking worried (and occasionally exchanging a confused glance with Christine), but in fact Nick's voice probably suits this role best -- he's a little lacking in the low notes, but that's less important than when playing the Phantom, while the singer can let his natural light voice ring without needing to go into falsetto.

Perhaps it's unsurprising that he also makes a pretty good Marius in his "One-Man Les Mis" compilation...

Comments

[darlingdeathbird]

Wow, I watched it and he is incredible! I can see why it was a sensation. Yeah, I noticed he was really good at staying in character and reacting even while the character wasn't singing. I think you're probably right, though: Raoul is the best fit for him. And actually, so funny that you bring up Marius. I know of a Raoul (Reece Holland) who also played Marius (and sounds amazing in both roles). And actually, he plays the March Hare in Adventures in Wonderland, the show I'm cosplaying from. You would NEVER think it's him, until sometimes when they're singing he is suddenly belting it. I noticed they were always trying to be careful about who was harmonizing what, because Hatter is a tenor (probably), Hare is a lyric baritone, and his voice is so strong, it's like balloons tied to rocks if they give Hare the low notes. So they tend to give him the higher notes. I am totally prattling, sorry. XD

[igenlode]

I've no idea what the actual vocal ranges for the roles of Marius and Raoul consist of: both characters fit the Tenor Boy type, but I have a feeling Raoul is usually classed as a baritone to the Phantom's rock tenor. Probably at least partly because of 'the tenor is the glamorous one' image ;-p

The only sheet music I have for singing purposes is for the various solo numbers, and of course Raoul's only solo is "All I ask of You", which doesn't have any outstanding technical challenges in either direction so far as range is concerned -- interpretation is another matter. (As with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", which is within the average child's vocal range, but very rarely within their ability to deliver...) I've no idea what the requirements for the role in the ensemble parts are; given the existence of Piangi in the mix, I'd guess that Raoul probably *isn't* expected to deliver any very high notes. It's certainly not a role that requires any very powerful low notes, however, and I think the Phantom's is.

(Oddly enough I did come across a stray recording of Steve Barton singing the Phantom's part, and while I didn't think I was capable of recognising any individual singing voices I did end up with a weird subliminal reaction of 'why is Raoul singing this?' ;-)

I tend to bracket Raoul and Marius together in fanfic terms because they both generally get the short straw so far as shipping/bashing of characters are concerned, being seen as the boring option :-(
(I've seen at least one comedy crossover that explicitly picked up on this to amusing effect!)