Customer Reviews

The Phantom Of The Opera (1999 Japanese Cast)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alright, this recording is very good--- by Japanese standards. So if you buy it, keep in mind that unless you read Japanese, you won't be able to read any of the lyrics listed in the libretto. Also remember that the Japanese have entirely different conceptions of theatrics than the westerners and europeans, which explains why some songs, such as "Angel of Music" and the title song, feature the english words mixed in with the japanese. And by the way, the Phantom's mask is a rustic silver, rather than white. How's that for unusual?

The recording, of course, is a masterpiece by any standards, and the voices are teriffic. As a big fat theatre dork, I like to impress people with my useless knowledge of these kinds of things, so this has come in handy. Great recording, great voices, music slightly different, (tempos are faster in most parts, but it's still good) et cetera.

My favorite tempo change is right before Christine yells ".....I'll go mad!" (In Japanese, of course) The music gradually gets faster and faster and faster until she yells that. Great stuff, I recommend it to anyone, enjoy.

This cd is very close to being as good as the london cast. There are only 2 things that make the london cast better: Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, they ARE phantom and christine. I will explain the differences between this album and the london album. First, this phantoms voice is MUCH lower that Mr. Crawfords, but he has a beautiful voice. The complete "prologue" is here; there added dance music in "hannible", the rehearsal for "don juan" is missing; the orchestrations and sound quality are far better; all lyrics are in japanese (obviously). This is a very cool cd and worth the price. Buy and enjoy!

This Japanese cast recording is actually to celebrate the 10th anniversary of PHANTOM in Japan and is also the version from The Shiki Theatre(the're the purple, red, yellow, and green squares in the OBI). Im happy to say that this is my favorite Japanese recording out of the other two.Kiyotaka Imai is an excellent Phantom, and even though he's not as good as Yuichiro Yamaguchi(even though they sound alike)he does give a great performance. Rumy Iryo's Christine is wonderful,she sounds like both,the first Japanese Christine(Rioko Nomura)and the second(Kyoko suzuky),This is the only Christine that can make her voice soars,and she does something fantastic with her voice the last 16 seconds of the tittle song,its really great,buy it, you'll enjoy it!!!

Fantastic! The best Phantom recording out there. Yuichiro Yamaguchi's Phantom is incredible. His voice is absolutely breathtaking! The rest of the cast is also very strong. This recording is well worth its cost.

So, being the Phantom Phreak that I am, I had to buy this. Don't be fooled by the other reviews on this item! It's not bad, but it's not great either. The chick that plays Christine is just not cut out for the part. Her voice is so weak! She can't hit the proper notes and she just sounds rather unpleasant. Raoul sounds like a woman. His voice is much too high. And our Phantom? He's not bad. His voice is a lot deeper than most other performers, but it's a nice change. The instruments are average, nothing wow but they sound fine. I would suggest maybe buying forom an amazon seller and not from amazon itself, their price is much too high for this recording. I would definately not spend $50. I got mine brand new through caiman.com, who is still a current amazon seller. Hope this helps!

If you're inclined to buy a Japanese cast recording, go with the 1999 cast. After hearing many rave reviews for the Phantom on this 1992 cast, I had high hopes. I will say that Yuichiro Yamaguchi does a nice job as the Phantom, displaying a greater depth and range of emotions than Michael Crawford. The main problem with this cast is the female lead. This recording's Christine is the WORST of any cast recording I have ever heard. Her voice is very weak, and her attempts at the high notes at the end of the title song is excruciating to listen to. She painfully strains her voice, but to very poor effect. Also, another problem I have with this recording is the sound quality. It's very similar to the Austrian cast CD in that it lacks clarity and sounds deep, like a cassette tape sound.