I did this instead of sleeping... 0:04 Michael Crawford 0:36 Dave Willetts 1:06 Masachika Ichimura 1:36 Mikael Samuelsson 2:00 Alexander Goebel 2:15 Colm Wilkinson 2:41 Cris Groenendaal 3:10 Ethan Freeman 3:40 Steve Barton 4:14 Eiji Akutagawa 4:43 Anthony Warlow 5:13 Peter Hoffmann 5:47 Franc D'Ambrosio 6:11 Yuichiro Yamaguchi 6:40 Kevin Gray 7:12 Davis Gaines 7:42 Mark Jacoby 8:11 Ernst Dieter Suttheimer 8:50 Peter Karrie 9:21 Thomas Schulze 9:57 Marcus Lovett 10:26 Henk Poort 10:52 Ben Cramer 11:20 Mark McKerracher 11:50 Thomas James O'Leary 12:18 Brad Little 12:51 Ian Jon Bourg 13:25 Laird Mackintosh 13:53 Hugh Panaro 14:23 Hans Peter Janssens 14:52 Scott Davies 15:20 Saulo Vasconcelos 15:49 Howard McGillin 16:17 Paul Stanley 16:48 Flemming Enevold 17:12 Ted Keegan 17:40 John Owen Jones 18:11 Juan Carlos Barona 18:36 Luis Armando 19:00 Earl Carpenter 19:28 Sandor Sasvari 19:56 Attila Csengeri 20:21 Gary Mauer 20:50 Matthew Cammelle 21:20 Stephen R. Buntrock 21:47 Peter Lockyer 22:15 Thomas Borchert 22:46 John Cudia 23:15 Anthony Crivello 23:45 Brent Barrett 24:14 Simon Pryce 24:43 Ramin Karimloo 25:18 Andrew Varela 25:45 David Shannon 26:18 Tim Martin Gleason 26:49 Jeremy Stolle 27:19 Paul A. Schaefer 27:47 Jonathan Roxmouth 28:18 Greg Mills 28:47 Peter Joback 29:17 Jeremy Secomb 29:41 Mark Campbell 30:09 David Arnsperger 30:37 Geronimo Rauch 30:59 Cooper Grodin 31:31 Norm Lewis 32:01 Ivan Ozhogin 32:30 Nicky Wuchinger 32:57 James Barbour 33:25 Ben Forster 33:51 Derrik Davis 34:21 Gerard Butler
Why oh why isn't anybody mentioning Mr. Ichimura (1:07 ) ?! He may be singing in Japanese, but his tone and emotional interpretation matches Michael Crawford! Stunning sound ...
My personal favorites are 1) Ramin Karimloo (his 25th anniversary performance was phenomenal) 2) Norm Lewis 3) Michael Crawford *gerard butler gets some credit cause he’s the first person I saw as the Phantom in full, although he’s not my favorite Phantom in general*
People like to hate on Gerard, but without him I would never know of this masterpiece. Okay maybe without the movie, but his performance is what hooked me.
@@GriziDaWiz You're right... I don't understand why some people hate him. Gerard is very cool as the Phantom. And he was the only one who made me cry about the tragedy of the phantom . Such amazing acting!
25:06 I love Ramin's note hold. He holds it long too! I love Ramin. The others are great too, but I personally love Ramin. ALL OF THESE PHANTOMS HOLD SO MUCH EMOTION!!!
The best thing about these videos is that they include all languages, or at least all that there are recordings available from. Thank you, from the bottom of my most shattered soul (after watching POTO).
Ernst Dieter Suttheimer will remain my favorite, because the line is altered in the Austrian version and he sings it on point. The line was changed to: You alone have freed me from myself. And this is just tragic :')... I' m not crying, you are.
This line is admittedly my favorite part of the musical. Other than “Music of the Night” my favorite song, it’s my absolute favorite ending. Just the buildup to the note, the emotion in every syllable, the instruments in the background (as a musician, to me it always makes me lose my mind and dream), and the acting. It’s most certainly a grand finale, worthy of this amazing musical. Thank you for making this video, for introducing such talent.
Same here.... As a musician I totally love the last minutes of PotO and the line is also my favorite... "You alone can make my song take flight..." the ultimate love confession....
I can only imagine what it's going to be like hearing those final words when the Broadway production closes in February. Breaks my heart its ending its run after 35 YEARS.
I'll say alot of these guys did FANTASTIC! Personally though I like Butler, he was definitely the best in my opinion and him yelling some lyrics made me really feel for how distraught and saddened he was because sometimes you just need to yell
Hold my feet to the fire - JOJ, Ramin, Michael C, Hugh... I prefer the rawness of JOJ over everything. Ramin's tone blends the best out of all. Michael is the original and laid down the path for others... Hugh is like Michael reincarnated in my weird opinion.
The first one pretty much blows all of them out of the water...do you hear that crack in his voice..you alone CAN make my song take flight? No one can beat Michael Crawford as far as the emotions he put into the Phantom. His remains the blueprint of how every actor/singer should play him.
My main problem with Gerard Butler is the fact that he probably had numerous takes to try and get that note. He will also have his vocals smoothed over to ensure it was film worthy. Like props to him for actually singing. But he cannot even begin to be compared to people like Ramin and Colm and JOJ, because he simply would not be in their league if they had a 'sing off'. For me Ramin is my favourite due to the emotional aspect of his performance
Broadway singers also practice their voice a lot before performances/ concerts. 😆I don't think you have a problem with Gerard Butler, you're just too obsessed with Ramin Karimloo. 😂
I don't blame him, Gerard even said in an interview he felt like didn't have the ability to sing these, he just doesn't have the complete range to match the stage versions and poor directing by Joel Schumacher
I've seen the Phantom with more than 30 performers. I see it every single year from 1987 till 2024 in London and I've also seen it in Broadway and Canada and some European tours. If I had to choose 6 favorite phantoms those would be: Dave Willets, Michael Crawford, Peter Karrie, John Owen Jones, Ramin Karimloo and Colm Wilkinson. But I need to tell you that I have never, not ever, seen audience reactions warmer and more enthusiastic as in the performances of Michael Crawford and Dave Willets (who was the second Phantom after Michael Crawford).
I personally believe Butler did an amazing performance just because when it comes to Movie Musicals it's typical for some reason that the actual cast will not be chosen (don't quote me on that) and I just believe he did amazing at conveying the emotions of the Phantom in his singing
I love Ramin to pieces, but there are so many Phantoms with amazing powerhouse, gutwrenching vocals who are so underrated. My top two underrated phantoms are Hugh Panaro at 13:53 and Jonathan Roxmouth at 27:47. I saw Jonathan live, and his voice brought me to tears.
So uh here is my fav phantoms!! 1.Gerard Butler Do you here that pain in there?😥 He is such a good singer!!!First phantom ive watched and love him😘💓 2.Ben Lewis Beautiful,voice.Great actor.Love it when he did Love Never Dies in 2012💓😘💐😭 3.Ramin Kaminloo! Great voice.Very handsome.His show in 25th Was peanhomenal!I love him too!💕😍😘 4.Michael Crawford!(Alpha*Bows*) Great singging.Love when he did the show with Sarah Brightman.Specctacular!!! I respect the other phantoms too!.Hope you all may do a show once again!💕💓 Also,Stay safe everyone!Stay at home to stop the spread of Covid-19!!Love u all phantom and Christines!💓💓💐💐💕💕 💓💓💓💓
Michael Crawford’s voice is the one I grew up hearing on CD. I did see the 2004 film adaptation as well as one of the touring companies. But I never saw it on Broadway.
Kevin Gray's portrayal has my heart. He was such a passionate performer, and I love most the Phantoms who have interesting voices... him, Michael Crawford, Peter Karrie, Peter Joback, Hugh Panaro, and Ramin (the cry in his voice is so great.)
I'm really happy to see Jonathan Roxmouth on here! I saw him back in 2019 during the World Tour and he has since been my favourite Phantom! His voice is just on a whole other level for me!
For me it’s Thomas Borchert. 22:16 The way he hits that last note expertly and holds it out and finishes it perfectly is exceptional. Plus the power in his voice.😳
Thank you for the amazing compilation. Thank you for having the outstanding opera tenor voice of Peter Hofmann in it. He's my favourite. Followed by Michael Crawford and JOJ.
I have also seen Ted Keegan this year February 2, 2020 and he was fantastic! I came all the way from England to New York and managed to see phantom on Broadway. Dream off my bucket list.
I'll say it once, I'll say it a thousand times, I NEED Jeremy Stole to officially play the phantom, as far as I know, I believe he is still primarily the understudy for broadway, and I was blessed when I went to see the production back in 2012 and I just so happened to see him in the title role instead of Hugh Panaro ( Not to say I wouldn't have loved Hugh because I adore his voice, but I am just mentioning that for a timeline of when I went) but my god, Jeremy Stole is one of my favorites to ever play the phantom!
michael crawford still rules with Ramin a very close second.....! both are magical.....seen this show 37 times in four countries. THE ABSOLUTE BEST SHOW.....!
What I love about Mauer is the peaceful quality he puts in the final note. For everyone else there’s a longing lament. Mauer seems to have reached acceptance of his grief and is like: onto the next endeavor. That’s the Phantom.
thank you for sharing this. I got to see Thomas James Oleary the first time I saw the show and loved him I think the second time it was when Howard McGillian was playing him? (not 100% sure) If it was him, he played the phantom a bit more manic than romantic which I thought was more true to the original character in the book.
I like how at 2:17 Colm Wilkinson is almost shouting ‘you alone can make my song take flight’ at us as if to emphasise that all the Phantom wants is Christine and someone to love him. It’s also interesting to hear this in other languages further sealing my love for this beautiful show!
That’s how I feel about most of his songs in the movie. For someone who’s never really sung before, he wasn’t all that bad... until he starts using his “THIS IS SPARTA” voice.
For someone that saw the original in London back in 1987, and has seen several in London, New York, DC, Miami and San Francisco since, no one has ever come close to Michael Crawford. He basically created the role, and everyone else followed his lead. Yes, they incorporated their own individual styles to the music and movements, but the emotion one hears within the lyrics combined with Lloyd Webber's score are essential to what the Phantom is trying to convey. The Phantom is often heard being the scenes, and when he is on stage his voice must match his presence. Crawford's singing style is soft and tender, yet menacing. He uses hypnotically melodious tones that seamlessly capture the Phantom's pain and longing for Christine, and anger for the world for having to hide. Michael Crawford not only understood that, but brought it alive on stage every single night.
Thomas James O'Leary was my first Phantom and was phenomenal. I love when there is not just power but real heartbreak too. Gérard Butler did a great, great job. I also loved the tone of Marc McKarrester. I think that is his last name. So sorry....John Owen Jones, wow!
Meus favoritos são Davis Gaines, Brad Little, Hugh Panaro, Gary Mauer, Thomas Borchert, John Cudia, Ian Jon Bourg, Michael Crawford. ... mas todos são ótimos!
They're all amazing, IMO. I don't care much for 'so and so is the best' or 'Crawford is the best because he was the first.' I know people are going to have their biases, but for me, there's no one 'best' Phantom. They're all amazing. I feel the same way about Judas and Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar (except I'm not a big fan of Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson), there's no one 'best'. Being the first to play a role doesn't automatically make you the best (as my fellow Whovians will tell you, although Hartnell is just one of the many incredible actors to play The Doctor). Yes, there's the whole legacy thing, but at the end of the day, it's best to just enjoy every Phantom equally.
