Search - Phantom of the Opera- Mexican Version :: Fantasma De La Opera - Mexican Version

Overall quite handsome recording of PHANTOM

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 04/06/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This recording of the Mexican production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is actually quite good, though as others have noted, the translation isn't the best and some of the performers seem to have been caught on a bad day.



Juan Navarro is probably one of the best Phantom's I have ever heard, certainly one of the best ever captured on disc (right up there with Peter Hoffmann on the Hamburg recording). His reading of "Musica en la Oscuridad" (Music of the Night) is simply gorgeous. Likewise, Irasema Terrazas is a Christine of stunning range and clarity. Her "Piensa en Mi" (Think of Me) is performed with pananche complete with that devilish final cadenza, and she also ably partners Navarro with an erotically-charged "Point of No Return".



Jose Joel as Raoul annoyingly stays in a pop-style falsetto voice (Raoul can come off as quite prissy and effeminate in the wrong hands, and this is one of those unfortunate times). His duet with Terrazas in "Todo Lo Que Pido de Ti" (All I Ask of You) is quite good in certain parts, though it simply comes down to the fact that Joel doesn't have the correct voice (or approach) to the material.



Other lead roles are taken by Tatiana Marouchtchak as Carlotta, Luis Rene Aguirre as Firmin, Luis Miguel Lombana as Andre, Tere Cabrera as Madame Giry, Javier Cortes as Piangi and Laura Morelos as Meg.



This recording is fairly complete including the Auction Scene, the `Hannibal' rehearsal leading into "Think of Me" and the complete final Lair Scene."

Mexican Broadway's Phantom

Rudy Avila | Lennox, Ca United States | 10/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mexico City has a rich musical culture of which they are very proud of and which stems from Spain's influence in the city. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera was so successful in both the UK and US that it was destined to be equally acclaimed in other parts of the globe. There are German and Japanese productions of this musical and also this Spanish version. It stars Juan Navarro as the Phantom, Irasema Terraza as Christine and pop singer Jose Joel as Raoul Comte De Chagny. This recording is not that bad, but does sound very "affected" and pretentious when taken in its Spanish context. The singers are singing music they are otherwise not accustomed to and I think that overall, they merely gloss over Webber's musical and operatic mixture with more Spanish pop technique. This is not to say this is an awful recording. Irasema Terraza, especially, is a very complex Christine. She sounds more mature than both Sarah Brightman and Emmy Rossum and darker. Her strongest suit is the middle and lower range of her voice. Navarro is a Spanish clone of Michael Crawford and it's evident he was influenced by that particular performance. The music is kept intact and sounds beautiful. It is even better than the Japanese and German versions, whose singers do not commit themselves as passionately to the roles as the singers in this recording."

Very good recording!

lolly | USA | 09/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I really love this cd...and you should, too! If you're a phan, this is for you. I love it more than the Canadian version!

Juan Navarro is a great Phantom.His voice is spectacular and his MOTN is excellent. He has a deeper, richer voice than most Phantoms.

Irasema Terrazas is a wonderful Christine and she sings a mean 'Piensa en Mi' and 'Cuanto Yo Deseo...'.

Jose Joel, however, is just unimpressive. His voice is very 'pop' and I had to try hard not to laugh a little whenever I heard him. He and Irasema, however, do a very nice 'No Pido Mas de Ti/ All I Ask of You'.

Also, the lyrics don't seem to flow as much as I would like in 'The Music of th Night/Musica en la Oscuridad'. But that's just my opinion (watch the French recording on the dvd, it's wonderful and makes perfect sense).

Don't be afraid of this cd just because it's in Spanish and the lyrics aren't translated. Learn some spanish by translating yourself, it's a beautiful language. I'm a student and you won't believe how my Spanish vocabulary has grown because of this cd.

This cd is very near perfect, I only gave it four stars because I would have liked more songs (Angel of Music?! Notes?! A full Masquerade scene?!!!) and because of a poorly casted, toady Raoul. **Has the greatest Point of No Return recording with wonderful lyrics definitely worth the translation time!**"