Original London Cast - Phantom Of The Opera (Highlights) (CD 1987)

Britain's got talent contestant Hollie Steel sang "Wishing you were somehow here again" from Phantom of The Opera in the final and I wanted to compare her performance with that of an existing commercial release. Sarah Brightman's recording of this song is technically superior, not surprisingly. Hollie Steel struggles a bit with "mattered" and "Shattered" These notes are right at the bottom of Hollie's range. However, Hollie Steel has a more interesting timbre than Sarah Brightman and sings with more passion in the loud parts, yet without excessive vibrato. Hollie Steel wins this comparison because she raises goosebumps but Sarah Brightman doesn't, at least not for me. Unquestionably the music of P.O.T.O. is superb but I am put off by the plot being more sinister than most ghost stories. The song "The Music Of The Night" is particularly disturbing because the Phantom is here seeking to secure Christine's death so that he can have her companionship. Happily the Phantom's plot fails and all seems to end well as far as I can determine from the lyric booklet. In conclusion, I cannot recommend this CD because of the story but I have to admit that the tunes are beautiful, and "Wishing" is an exquisite song hence the high rating.