Andrew Lloyd Webber - The Royal Albert Hall Celebration (1999)

In 1998 a concert at the Royal Albert Hall celebrated Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th birthday and featured more than two hours of hits from a body of work spanning almost three decades. In this keepsake of a memorable night, star after star steps on to a massive, Eurovision-style set to revisit golden moments in their long association with Britain's most successful composer of musicals. Elaine Paige in big frocks and an even bigger voice delivers "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" and "Memory" with her usual power; Michael Ball and Donny Osmond stretch the last vestiges of boyish charm to the very limits but still sound great; and Boyzone gets the youth vote. Then there are Kiri Te Kanawa, Bonnie Tyler, Tina Arena, and, of course, another encore for brother Julian Lloyd Webber and those Variations on the cello. But the stars are Sir Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Brightman in an outstanding selection from The Phantom of the Opera (probably his best work), Antonio Banderas (who really can sing), and Glenn Close, a stupendous, moving Norma Desmond in songs from Sunset Boulevard. All in all, a deserved celebration for someone who has given so many people a great deal of pleasure, and a treat for musicals fans of all ages. --Piers Ford Amazon.com essential video

 Fabulous renditions of some old and new favorties.
Though not all the songs were performed by the original performers, these were wonderful live rendtions by extremely talented and well known individuals such as Michael Ball, Sara Brightman, Antonio Banderas, and Donnie Osmond among the other greats. Boyzone became one of my favorite unknowns. I have loved this special since it previwed on PBS and see this as a wonderful addition to my DVD collection. March 20, 2008

 Andrew Lloyd Weber tribute
Wow, I ordered this for a friend. It arrived right away and the friend insisted I borrow it and see if I liked it. I enjoyed it immensely. Of course I love all the music of Andrew Lloyd Weber but seeing these fabulous stars perform it was particularly enjoyable. We lent the dvd to another friend, and now I intend to purchase my own copy! Great transaction. February 8, 2008

 A talented writer
I am not a real critic of performing and producing. I was not familiar with many of the performers so I could not say how they compared with other works that they had produced. I appreciated the variety of works, and that is what you would expect from someone who produced Broadway musicals. Some of the music was not the type that I would choose on its own, but I knew that ahead of time from other reviews. Even though it might not have been something I would choose I appreciated everyone's effort. Some performers are past their prime and I can't expect as much from them as when they were younger. Possibly other choices of performers could have been made, but maybe that was not possible on that night at that location. I enjoyed the performance and will enjoy listening to it many times. Some performers were better than others, but that is always the case with entertainers. Some you will like and others you will not. Try to choose those that you do like. I found the performance pleasant and relaxing and isn't that what entertainment is all about? January 27, 2008

 Birthday for Andrew Lloyd Webber
This DVD is an absolute delight, I have watched the DVD many times. Of course I love Webber's music. The songs on this DVD, are the most popular songs from most of his musicals. The cast of singers is fantastic. There is music from Phantom, Super Star, Evita, Joseph, the list goes on and on, most of the songs became hits on their own seperate from the musicals. In a lot of cases the original singer of the popular songs performed the songs on this DVD. Webber did not produce the DVD. He was merely a guest, and of course the singers wished him a happy birthday. If you love Webbers musicals you will love this album. I highly recommend this DVD Andrew Lloyd Webber - The Royal Albert Hall Clebration. I gave this recording five stars and I would have given more if the scale went higher. December 29, 2007

 Great DVD!
The performances on this DVD are absolutely amazing! I only wish there was a CD version as well. November 14, 2007

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