Beneath the Mask

The combination of Jane Austen's story, Bernard J Taylor's music and the singing of Peter Karrie (Darcy) and Claire Moore (Elizabeth Bennet) makes this a great CD.

The score - with songs ranging from the lighthearted and humorous to the powerful and moving - easily lives up to the standard set by "Wuthering Heights" and previous recordings and before long you find the songs going round and round in your head.

Peter Karrie reaches and holds top notes with ease, and Claire Moore is similarly outstanding. Her and Peter's solos and duets are the highlights of the CD. Peter's singing on "I Need to Know" is quite sublime (reminding me of the brilliance of his Phantom), and he is joined by a superb Claire. Their performance of the title song is matchless

The rest of the cast deserves high praise too, and all the songs are greatly enjoyable. Gay Soper makes a wonderful Mrs Bennet, and Janet Mooney and James Staddon are also excellent; I can't really single anyone out for praise as they really are all equally good.

If I had to make a criticism, it would be that, as the leads, Darcy and Elizabeth should have one or two more songs. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this recording, not just because it stars two top Phantom cast members but because fans of Phantom usually enjoy the best other musicals too - and this is one of them.