Out of all of the Phantom's I have heard thus far, Crawford is the best by far! Not one really had the subtlety that he had in his performance. He knew when to sing loudly and when to sing more quietly and seductively.
Gerard. Definitely. He just has the voice that I would expect the Phantom to have. And his expressions in the 2004 movie= definite yes for Gerard for me!
I encourage everyone to watch this and fill out the accompanying survey: The Phantom of the Opera Comparisons - Michael Crawford (OCR) vs. Gerard Butler (2004Mov.)
There's no doubt that Michael Crawford is the far superior singer to Gerard Butler. They give the song a different feel, and for me MC's version would be much more likely to hypnotize and draw in young Christine in a way I just can't see GB's doing. Plus, the phantom is supposed to be a father figure, and it always frustrates me to see him cast as someone in his 20s or 30s at most. It just doesn't fit the story, even if the idiotic casting directors think they are trying to draw a younger audience.
