Customer Reviews

The Phantom of the Opera (Original German Cast)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This Music is(as Always) Simply Enchanting,
The Singers are(of course) wonderful and
The Emotion is There...
Though the cast does not include
Michael Crawford(the phantom) Sarah Brightman(Christine) and Steve Barton(Raoul)From the original London and Broadway cast
It Does have...
Peter Hoffman as the phantom
Anna Maria Kaufmann as Christine and
Hartwig Rudolz as Raoul

Peter Hoffman has a beautiful voice as The Phantom, And His Emotion and acting... Splendid! He lrts you know how he feels.
like when he yells "Go Now! Go Now And Leave Me!!" At the end of Das Unterirdische Labyrinth when he lets Christine go you can tell the phantom is heartbroken... also, I like how in the title song in his first solo part he raises the note a little higher.

Anna Marie Kaufmann also has a beautiful voice, like in Denk An Mich she starts out a bit nervous and quiet so that you can tell the difrence between The Rehersal and The Gala.
And at the end of the title song, when Christine starts to vocalize she starts higher than Sarah Brightman did and Ends Higher than Sara Brightman Did!

Hartwig Rudolz makes a dashing Raoul, he sound very similer(in my opinion) to Steve Barton(The Original Raoul in London)
He has very good acting skills and you can hear him use them well in MEHR WILL ICH NICHT VON DIR and DAS UNTERIRDISCHE LABYRINTH.

Ah! The Music! Its Preformed Beautifuly! With Some Added Insterments It Sounds Better Than Ever!
Now, You Should Know... Because Its in German at first it will sound a bit weird, So You Should listen to the London cast a few times...

I Highly recomend

DAS PHANTOM DER OPER
DIE MUSIK DER NACHT
MEHR WILL ICH NICHT VON DIR
MASKENBALL and
DAS UNTERIRDISCHE LABYRINTH

I recommend all this songs,
And I'm A Thirteen Year Old Boy!!
And Some Gratitude Towards Amazon.com is in order
For Having this CD available

Thank You.

Das Phantom der Oper is a great buy for any Phantom fan, moderate or extreme. Prospective buyers (you) are probably most concerned with its comparison to the London cast recording or that of the recent major motion picture. Fear not.
First it must be admitted that the German Phantom and Christine have more talent and depth to their voices than Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. This doesn't necessarily mean, however, that they are "better" at playing these roles. However, the differences in musical ability and voice are very refreshing for long time listeners to the London cast. In many instances, Hoffman (the Phantom) sings with much more power and emotion behind his words. His laugh at the end of Act 1 is chilling. Kaufmann (Christine) hits high notes with an ease not evident in Brightman, and her voice is really quite soothing. Despite these differences, diehard fans of Crawford and Brightman will not be turned off by either of the main performers. Their contrasts are sometimes very subtle-- the German casting was obviously done with the popular London cast in mind. The minor roles in Das Phantom are solid, though Raoul's voice is less of the warm he-man of Steve Barton and little more high pitched. Carlotta, Firmin, Andre, Madame Giry, Meg, etc. are not drastically different from their respective roles in the London cast.
Fans of the movie will not find Gerard Butler or Emmy Rossum in this soundtrack at all. Their is an obvious difference in timbre in the voice of the Phantom, and Christine's voice is more mature and refined. If you like the movie but not the London cast, I can't see any reason why you'd enjoy this version, as it is much more comparable to the London cast than any other I've heard.
If you like the London cast at all, this is a great buy. The quality of sound is perfect, and the performers are completely professional. Fans of the Crawford and Brightman will not be disappointed, but will hopefully find something new and refreshing to obsess over, just as they did with the London Cast.

Nun bist du dem Untergang geweiht, durch das Phantom der Dunkelheit!

***As a final note, i must ask you to please not be turned off by this being in a different language. German is a beautiful, fluid language, and for those of you who speak German, the translations are very accurate and never awkward or clumsy- sounding. Do try this album, all Phans!***

Du allein hast mich von mir gefreit-
Nun endet die Musik der Dunkelheit...

Ah, the beautiful affiliations of 'Phantom'! Although there is myriad cast recordings, "Das Phantom der Oper" has to be ranked in with high eminence. The heart of the cast recording is indeed Anna Maria Kaufmann, who has a voice that seems to echo beautifully and with vocal ranges that allow her to raise her cadenza in "Think of me" higher than Sarah Brightman. Peter Hofmann isn't a terrible Phantom, but there really is nothing special, or even bad for that matter, about him. He sings plainly and at some points a little too harsh for my taste.
However, this is indeed one of the most colorful recordings with a poetic lace of the gorgeous German language in it.
Buy this. :-)

This is a great CD (it's the "highlights" version of the German album, because you can buy the double also). It's interesting to hear the little changes within the Orquestration. As always, orchestra cords sometimes vary a bit, sound is a bit different (but you can only expect to notice this if you're a phantom lover & expert).

The German cast is excelente. Of course, you wont listen to the once-in-a-lifetime cast "Sarah & Michael", but it is also a beautiful recording.

The language it's a bit harder, and can show a bit "less sweeter" if you're nos custumed to listen to the German language. Even though, great pieces as "Think of you" will still have their enchantment.

While listening to this recording you can also imagine the same exact scenes from the London or Brodway production, but with absolut diferent faces and a different concept (inside the same) because of the difference made by a different language.

It really is worth buying. You'll have a great time as a Lloyd Webber & Phantom fan!

I got this cd a while ago. With exception of Carlotta and Christine Daae, (they all sound the same) all the leads have different sounding voices than those on the 1986 London Cast. Peter Hoffman has a teriffic Opera voice, deep and acts the part well. Anne Marie Koffman (I think that is her name) has a great high soprano voice....so high that "Think of Me" (or "Denk an Mich") was raised a step higher, so at the end it is a high C she hits, rather than a B-flat on the London recording. Whatever the actor who played Raoul's name was, he is great too. A few minor differences in the music, like a couple parts where the tempos are different (Prima Donna, The Final Scene). In the title song, there is a piercing whistle not unlike the oven in Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd." I found this amusing.

I find this record very well done, the only thing I don't like about it is that there are no lyrics included in the insert, so I have had to go through the music and phonetically write down all the words, syallable but syllable.

Great record, enjoy it.

I seen that there's been some comfusion, actualy there's 2 different German Recordings, The German cast from Hamburg(Highlights) with Peter Hoffman, and the Austrian Recording(2 disc) set with Alexander Goebel. I much prefer the Austrian Recording, not only because its more complete but because the whole cd fits very nicely, even though the sound it's not very good.If you want to purchase the Austrian cast go the amazon.co.uk. On the other hand The German Cast Recording is also good, Peter Hoffman its a good Phantom, showing at times great acting while singing, but at sometimes it sounds like he's not trying hard enough,like in the tittle song.Anna Maria Kauffman is a nice Christine too, Actually I think Kauffman is the only good reason to buy this cd, so give it a chance is not that expensive as compared to other recordings, you'll be pleased

This wonderful cast-album to the original Hamburg cast of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is a must-own for "Phanatics" as well as musical-theater enthusiasts.

Anna Maria Kaufmann is a beautifully-rendered Christine, with superb deliveries of "Denk an Mich" (Think of Me) and "Konntest du Doch Wieder bei Mir Sein" (Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again). On many occasions Miss Kaufmann sings a few octaves higher than Sarah Brightman did in the role.

Peter Hofmann is a fine Phantom, singing a heartfelt and haunting "Die Musik der Nacht" (The Music of the Night). As Christine's dashing suitor Raoul, Hartwig Rudolz sings a lovely duet with Miss Kaufmann in "Mehr Will ich Nicht von Dir" (All I Ask of You). Rudolz eventually graduated to play the Phantom in the same production.

On the whole, the orchestrations and arrangements are lush (and more fast-paced than on the original London and Canadian cast-albums). Rouding out the impressive cast are Thomas Bayer as Firmin, Thomas Schulze as Andre, Pamela Sanabria as Carlotta, Ruth Hale as Madame Giry, Jeff Martin as Piangi and Dunja Siehl as Meg.

I absolutely love this album!

Beautiful - Highly Recommended

I originally bought this version of the Phantom because I was homesick for Earl Carpenter (the current London Phantom), but now that I've heard Hofmann sing the role I'm very pleased with the CD on its own merits. He has a beautiful voice and his acting is subtle - a trait that I value very highly. A lot actors playing the phantom seem to equate passion with a big mouth and overblown acting - that and cape flipping (Mr. Carpenter can be guilty of a bit too much cape flipping as well - the graveyard scene for example - but he makes up for it in so many other ways.) I especially love the little twist that Hofmann gives the title song - it's probably due to the unique cadences of the German language, but either way, it's a wonderful variation.

And just a word for Crawford, I saw him in New York and in Los Angeles playing the Phantom and I only wish that those performances had been recorded, especially the Los Angeles run - his voice had so much added depth. And, for me, his acting of the role will never be equaled, but I do think that Earl Carpenter is giving him a run for his money by taking the character off in a different direction.

Buy this CD.

I gave this recording 4 stars simply for the orchestra. It's marvelous. Some songs seem faster than the OLC, I agree with other reviewers. But some songs also seem a little slower. There are some differences in the way certain lines are sung, and the title song is different than other recordings I've heard. I can't quite say what it is -- maybe it's just the pace -- but it's superb! I love the simple change in melody with the "And though you turn from me to glance behind" line. I am disappointed with Anna Maria Kaufmann. She has a nice voice but -- how do I say this? -- it's odd. Her vibrato is strange and she seems a tad underpowered at times. I'm not too fond of her Christine. But the worst is Peter Hofmann as the Phantom. He lacks passion and just sounds bored when he sings. He also comes across as rather old, so when he sings he sounds like an old man talking about something entirely uninteresting, like what he ate for breakfast. I do like his, "Ich liebe dich!" ("I love you!") in the Final lair scene, though. I like Carlotta and Piangi a lot. They are energetic and have wonderful, powerful voices.

Of all the versions of Phantom of the Opera I have heard, so far this one is the most opera-like in terms of the singing voices. This helps to really bring out the operatic qualities of the score, moreso than, say, the Canadian or London cast recordings. The orchestrations and arrangements are pretty right on as well, not too overdone or too wimpy. I don't quite understand why the guy playing the Phantom decided to start out his solo in "Das Phantom Der Oper" an octave lower than written. It was an interesting choice, but what exactly was the point? Thankfully, he took it back up the octave for the chorus. Overall he is a good actor but a little more "baritone-ish" than I prefer. Go ahead and give it a shot; at the very least you'll get to learn the Phantom in a new language.