Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera

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Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera (1976) is the first musical adaptation of the novel Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. It deals with the hideously disfigured Phantom's amorous obsession with the magnificent, naive singer, Christine.

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[edit] History

Ken Hill’s Phantom of the Opera was the first musical version of The Phantom of the Opera. Ken Hill’s version is often overlooked when it comes to stage versions of the famous Phantom of the Opera tale by Gaston Leroux. Hill's musical is said to have inspired the award-winning Andrew Lloyd Webber musical version of the story, although he never received any formal royalty for it.

Ken Hill's Phantom musical is a unique adaptation of Gaston Leroux's classic novel, dealing with the hideously disfigured Phantom's amorous obsession with the magnificent, naive singer, Christine. Writing creative, original English lyrics to the music of Verdi, Gounod, Offenbach, Mozart, Weber and Donizetti, Hill created a stunning evening of murder, mystery, and song. It is a return to Gaston Leroux’s original story and its long forgotten humour. Hill felt, like Leroux, the Opera Ghost is not merely a "creature of the imagination of the artiste," rather he is a spirit who will touch all those who enter the theatre.

“Enjoy it. It's all fun. Though it has its serious bits. As in life ...” (Ken Hill, 1937-1995)

As Ken Hill rummaged through a junk shop, he picked up a copy of Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera novel and decided on the very same day to produce it as a stage musical in the original form - using the author's vision. He set to work straight away and a few months later it was complete. Apparently, the show started off as a production at Morecambe Pier, but was also first staged when Hill was working as Director of Productions for the Newcastle Playhouse. This first production was produced at the Duke’s Playhouse, Lancaster on July 26, 1976, where it proved to be a hit. It was directed by John Blackmore, designed by Clare Lyth, with musical direction by Gary Yershon. It differed from the later version of Ken Hill’s musical, in having a modern musical score by Ian Armit (who also worked with Hill on his production of The Curse of the Werewolf) in addition to excerpts from the opera "Faust" by Charles Gounod.

The musical was then forgotten about until 1984, when Hill was in much need of a new show. Remembering the success he had with his original version of The Phantom of the Opera, he decided to revive it. This time though, he wanted to add the kind of music that would have been heard at the Paris Opera House in the late nineteenth century. Consequently he discarded the modern score by Ian Armit and wrote original English lyrics that told Gaston Leroux’s tale. By placing them to opera arias by Gounod, Offenbach, Verdi, Weber and Donizetti, he created a musical that reflected the era in which the original novel was written. This updated version of The Phantom of the Opera was produced in a joint production by the Newcastle Playhouse and the Theatre Royal Stratford East, and premiered at the Newcastle Playhouse on April 3, 1984, before shortly moving to the Theatre Royal Stratford East. In between, the show had two very brief runs at the New Tyne Theatre, Newcastle and the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton - neither of those productions did very well. When the show got the Theatre Royal Stratford East, Sarah Brightman, who created the role of Christine in the Lloyd Webber version, was famously asked to perform the role of Christine in the 1984 cast but she turned it down, leaving the role for the opera singer Christina Collier.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, who at the time was married to Brightman, and Cameron Mackintosh attended a performance of Ken Hill’s Phantom of the Opera at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. Prompted by the good reviews, they approached Hill about the possibility of their collaborating on developing a grand scale version of his Phantom in the West End, and offered to produce it. In fact, Hill and Webber were already friends, having worked together earlier on a revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Winchester Theatre. Webber and his producer, Cameron Mackintosh had been highly enthusiastic when they broached Hill about his Phantom of the Opera. But in the end, Webber chose to pursue the musical without Hill.

Ken Hill’s Phantom of the Opera then emerged on the other side of the Atlantic in 1987 for its American premiere in St. Louis at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. This production starred Sal Mistretta as The Phantom - his performance won him the St. Louis Theatre Critics Award. A second US production was mounted in 1988 in San Francisco at the Theatre in the Square, produced by Jonathan Reinis.

The productions of Ken Hill’s Phantom of the Opera in St. Louis and San Francisco was so successful that Hill was asked to mount a national tour of the United States. Jonathan Reinis (who later produced Ken Hill’s The Invisible Man in London) formed Phantom Touring Company Inc. who acted as the producers for the tour, along with Electric Factory Concerts. The tour began in 1989, with musical arrangements and designs by the original Newcastle Playhouse team. It performed for a few years to packed houses all over America, travelling to approximately 110 cities, and grossing a total of $72 million.

In 1991, Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera returned to the United Kingdom where it embarked on a national tour and then transferred to London’s West End. It opened at The Shaftsbury Theatre on December 18, 1991, with a similar cast to the 1984 production - Peter Straker was The Phantom and Christina Collier as Christine. But despite positive reviews, the West End production did poorly at the box office and was forced to close earlier than expected, on April 11, 1992. However, the production was nominated for two Olivier Awards (equivalent of the Broadway Tony Awards) for Best New Musical and Best Director of a Musical, the latter of which placed Ken Hill against Simon Callow and Judi Dench.

A new song was added to the show in 1992, especially for the first Japanese Tour, based upon an aria by Antonin Dvorak. The title of it was "All Of My Dreams Faded Suddenly" and is sung by the character Christine. It replaced "Love Has Flown, Never Returning," but not before the latter had been recorded onto the West End cast recording of Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera. It still remains there, and the newer song was never recorded and released officially.

The official cast recording of the show, was released in 1993 by D Sharp Records. It featured the entire West End (Shaftesbury Theatre) cast, and includes all the songs in the show. It was also later released by two other record labels; Stetson Records (an off-shoot of The Stetson Group), and BMG. The latter versions of the CD were mainly sold in Japan (in Japanese packaging), Australia and New Zealand, on national tours. The CD could no longer be bought commercially, until recently - it is currently being stocked by The Dress Circle musical theatre shop in London.

Since 1992, Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera has toured the world, in countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom. The most recent UK tour took place in 2000/2001 and was produced by Chris Moreno at the Theatre Royal, Lincoln. It has been said that modern productions of Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera tend to place emphasis on the camp side of the show, sometimes poking fun at the Lloyd Webber version.

The most recent production of Ken Hill's Phantom took place in 2004 in Tokyo, Japan running from November 10, 2004 to November 28, 2004. It was produced by Stewart Macpherson who originally produced the West End production in 1991.

[edit] Notes by Ken Hill

“The playing should be real and controlled, stretched to the limits of what is believable, but never beyond. 'Camping' or 'guying' is not permitted. The characters are somewhat thinly drawn, but must be fleshed out with the actor's own personality, and played truthfully. Playing for laughs will destroy the story. The narrative is gripping, and relies heavily on atmosphere and thrills. Where there is comedy in a scene, it should be thrown away deftly, dead-pan, almost as if it were unimportant. Grasping this simple, yet rather delicate style, will be the difference between good and bad theatre, success and failure.”

[edit] Musical Numbers

[edit] Act One

  • Scene One: The Stage And Auditorium Of The Paris Opera House

Under New Management
SONG: 'Welcome Sir I'm So Delighted' (Debienne, Remy, Faust, Mephistopheles, Richard, Raoul, Jammes)

  • Scene Two: The Stage And Auditorium

The First Performance
SONG: 'Accursed All Base Pursuit Of Earthly Pleasure' (Faust)

  • Scene Three: Outside Christine's Dressing Room

A Mysterious Conversation

  • Scene Four: Christine's Dressing Room

An Empty Room
SONG: 'How Dare She' (Raoul)

  • Scene Five: Richard's Office

A Communication From The Ghost
SONG: 'Late Last Night I'm In The Cellars' (The Groom)

  • Scene Six: Outside Richard's Office

An Alternative Explanation

  • Scene Seven: A Churchyard

The Angel Of Music
SONG: 'All Of My Dreams Faded Suddenly' (Christine)
SONG: 'While Floating High Above' (The Phantom)

  • Scene Eight: Outside Carlotta's Dressing Room

A Vocal Problem
SONG: 'She Says She's Got The Nodules' (Faust, Carlotta, Richard, Remy, Jammes, Debienne, Christine)

  • Scene Nine: The Stage And Auditorium

A Farewell Performance
SONG: 'What Do I See' (Christine as Carlotta)

  • Scene Ten: A Corridor Near The Stage

The Ghost's Allowance

  • Scene Eleven: The Roof

The Phantom Of The Opera
SONG: 'To Pain My Heart Selfishly Dooms Me' (The Phantom, Raoul, Christine)

[edit] Act Two

'The Entr'Acte' (Instrumental)

  • Scene One: The Stage And Auditorium

A Master Stroke
SONG: 'Ah! Do I Hear My Lover's Voice?' (Faust, Christine)
SONG: 'No Sign! I See No Sign!' (Debienne, Richard, Raoul, Remy, Dominique, Faust, Jammes, Madam Giry)

  • Scene Two: Christine's Dressing Room

The Entrance To The Underworld

  • Scene Three: The Stage And Auditorium

Box Five

  • Scene Four: The Lake

'The Lake' (Instrumental)
SONG: 'Somewhere Above The Sun Shines Bright' (Christine)

  • Scene Five: The Boiler Room

The Persian's Tale
SONG: 'Born With A Monstrous Countenance' (The Persian)

  • Scene Six: The Bottom Cellar

The Punjab Lasso
SONG: 'In The Shadows, Dim And Dreary' (Raoul, The Persian)

  • Scene Seven: An Underground Room

An Illusion In Iron
SONG: 'What An Awful Way To Perish' (Faust, The Persian, Madam Giry, Richard, Jammes, Raoul)

  • Scene Eight: The Phantom's Chapel

The Final Drama
SONG: 'Ne'er Forsake Me, Here Remain' (The Phantom)
SONG: 'Ne'er Forsake Me, Here Remain (Reprise)' (The Phantom, Christine)
SONG: 'He Will Not Go Without A Friend' (Company)

[edit] Lyrics of the musical

At first Hill made his own songs up, but then later changed them to be similar to the sort of music the people at the setting times of the play would hear; such as including the chords to "The Pearl Stringers" opera in the song "While floating high above". The lyrics are below:


While floating far above

I hear, you speak my name

Your voice, so sweetly calling me

To come to you again.

I stole into your dreams, I touched

Your soul to mine

I gave you music....and soon

You must rest here with me,

Eternally.


The tiny spark you give

Also set my heart aflame...

That all the songs you hear me sing

Are echoes of your name

Our voices blend forever...

Ascending high above

One day I'll fly as high with you

And in Heaven's arms we'll be...

Eternally.


We'll share Paradise!

We'll share Paradise...'


[edit] Related links

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