The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)

The Phantom of the Opera
Logo
Music	Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics	Charles Hart Richard Stilgoe (additional)
Book	Andrew Lloyd Webber Charles Hart Richard Stilgoe
Basis	1910 book Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux
Productions	1986 London 1988 Broadway, Vienna, Japan Tour #1 1989 Los Angeles, Stockholm, Toronto 1990 Melbourne, Chicago, Hamburg 1991 US Tour #1 1992 US Tour #2 1993 San Francisco, Sydney, Scheveningen, Manchester 1995 Edinburgh, Basel, Singapore, Hong Kong 1996 Australia/New Zealand Tour 1998 UK Tour 1999 Antwerp, Mexico City 2000 2001 Japan Tour #2 , Seoul 2002 Stuttgart, Madrid 2003 Budapest 2004 Cape Town, Pretoria, Shanghai 2005 São Paulo, Tokyo, Essen 2006 Las Vegas, Taipei 2007-2009 Australia/New Zealand/Taipei 2008 Warsaw 2009 Buenos Aires, Seoul 2010
Awards	Oliver Award for Best New Musical Tony Award for Best Musical

The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.

The musical first opened in the West End in 1986, and then on Broadway in 1988. The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Charles Hart and additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was sought after by Lloyd Webber, but Lerner withdrew after writing Masquerade, citing health problems (shortly before dying of cancer.) ^[1][2] The central plot revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius known as "The Phantom of the Opera".

The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most popular, most seen musicals ever and is the longest-running musical in Broadway history (having surpassed Lloyd Webber's Cats in January 2006). It is one of the most successful entertainment projects in history, grossing more than $5 billion worldwide.^[3]

Contents 1 History 2 Original West End and Broadway productions 3 Development 4 Major characters 5 Synopsis 5.1 Prologue 5.2 Act I 5.3 Act II 6 Musical numbers 7 Instrumentation 8 Recordings 9 Sequel 10 Plagiarism 11 Other productions 11.1 Phantom-The Las Vegas Spectacular 12 See also 13 Awards and nominations 14 Notes 15 External links

History

The Phantom of the Opera opened in London's West End in 1986. The production was directed by Hal Prince, choreographed by Gillian Lynne, designed by Maria Björnson, with lighting by Andrew Bridge.^[4]

In 2004, the musical was made into a film, directed by Joel Schumacher, and co-produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

In 2009, the Broadway production marked its nine thousandth performance.^[4]

In March 2010, a musical sequel opened. Its title is Love Never Dies. The opening was delayed from its original date of 26 October 2009.^[5] The first act was staged in 2008 at the Sydmonton Festival at Andrew Lloyd Webber's Hampshire country home.^[6]

Original West End and Broadway productions

Inspired by an earlier musical version of the same story by Ken Hill (see Phantom of the Opera (1976 musical)),^[7] Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera had its first preview on 27 September 1986, and opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in London on 9 October of the same year, starring Michael Crawford as the titular character, Sarah Brightman as Christine, and Steve Barton as Raoul. Phantom is now the second-longest-running West End musical in history, behind Les Miserables^[8] and celebrated its 9,000th performance there on 31 May 2008.^[9]

The musical opened on Broadway, at the Majestic Theatre, on 26 January 1988 and is the longest-running Broadway musical of all time,^[10] breaking the record held by Lloyd Webber's Cats on 9 January 2006, with its 7,486th Broadway performance.^[11] Crawford, Brightman and Barton reprised their respective roles from the London production. George Lee Andrews, who was in the Broadway company when the production opened in 1988, is still in the current cast. He has been playing the role of André since 2000, having played Firmin for the preceding decade. He holds the Guinness World Record for the longest run in the same Broadway show in history. Mary Leigh Stahl (1988–2006) and Richard Warren Pugh (1988 until his death in 2006) are also long-serving cast members.

The musical won both the Olivier Award and Tony Award as the best musical in its debut years on the West End and Broadway. Both the London and New York productions are still running as of 2010. It has been seen in 149 cities in more than 25 countries and played to over 100 million people.^[12] With total worldwide box office takings of over £3.5bn ($5.1bn), Phantom is the highest-grossing entertainment event of all time.^[13] The New York production alone has grossed US $715 million, making it the most financially successful Broadway show in history.^[11] In a sign of its continuing popularity, Phantom ranked second in a 2006 BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals".^[14]

Michael Crawford won a Tony Award in 1988 for his role as the title character, as well as an Olivier Award in 1986.^[15]

Development

Idea

In the winter of 1984, Cameron Mackintosh, the co-producer of Cats and Song and Dance received a phone call. Andrew Lloyd Webber was looking to create a new musical. He was aiming for a romantic piece, but having trouble reining in a worthwhile idea, and, hitting upon the idea of using Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera as a base, and pitched the idea. Cameron and Lloyd Webber screened both the 1925 Lon Chaney and the 1943 Claude Raines versions but neither were able to gain any material that might be useful in making the leap from book to stage. While in New York, Lloyd Webber tracked down a second hand copy of the long out-of-print original Leroux novel, from which his attitude to the material was transformed;

“

I was actually writing something else at the time, and I realized that the reason I was hung up was because I was trying to write a major romantic story, and I had been trying to do that ever since I started my career. Then with the Phantom, it was there!" [16]

”

From there, Lloyd Webber began work developing Phantom of the Opera to fit into musical form.^[16]

Lyricists

Lloyd Webber approached Jim Steinman to write the lyrics because of his "dark obsessive side", but the writer/producer declined in order to fulfil his commitments on a Bonnie Tyler album.^[17] The pair did eventually collaborate on Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation of Whistle Down the Wind.

Alan Jay Lerner was then recruited, but died soon after beginning the project, and none of his contributions remained in the show. Richard Stilgoe, who also wrote the lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express, then wrote lyrics for the production, as well as devising most of the titles for the songs. However, the composer felt that Stilgoe's lyrics were too witty and clever, rather than romantic. Charles Hart, a young and relatively unknown lyricist was invited to rewrite the lyrics, even contributing almost solely to an unplaced tune by Lloyd Webber, which later became "Think of Me". Some of Stilgoe's original contributions are still present in the final version.^[18]

Score

Lloyd Webber's score is sometimes operatic in style but he maintains the form and structure of a musical throughout. The fully-fledged operatic writing is reserved principally for the subsidiary characters such as the theatre managers, Andre and Firmin; their Prima Donna, Carlotta; and principal tenor, Piangi. Fittingly, it is also used to provide the content of the fictional "operas" that are taking place within the show itself, viz., Hannibal, Il Muto, and the Phantom's masterwork, Don Juan Triumphant. Here, Lloyd Webber affectionately pastiches various styles from the grand operas of Meyerbeer through to Mozart and even Gilbert and Sullivan (Coveney, 1999). These pieces are often presented as musical fragments, interrupted by dialogue or action sequences in order to clearly define the musical's "show within a show" format. The musical extracts we hear from the Phantom's opera, "Don Juan Triumphant", during the latter stages of the show, are much more dissonant and modern – suggesting, perhaps, that the phantom is ahead of his time artistically (Snelson, 2004). This is also displayed when The Phantom makes his entrance on the show's title song. Andrew had said himself that the title song was "Rock n' roll merely masquerading as opera". For the characters of Christine, the Phantom, and Raoul, the direct and "natural" style of modern song is used rather than the more decorative aspects of aria; their material provides the musical centre of the piece.

Design

For the costume and set design of the show, Maria Björnson was recruited. She alone designed over 200 costumes, the most spectacular of all shown in the Masquerade sequence. Björnson went into meticulous detail with the sets, visiting the real Paris opera house in which the story is set to gain a feel for what the look of the show should be and grasp the feeling of 1880s theatre.

Direction

Hal Prince, director of such theatrical classics as Cabaret, Candide, Follies, and Webber's Evita was chosen. He proved an excellent choice and worked closely with the crew and cast to get the best possible performances of everyone.

First Preview At Sydmonton

The first act of The Phantom of the Opera was staged at Sydmonton (Andrew Lloyd Webber's home). It starred Colm Wilkinson as the Phantom (who would go on to play the Phantom in the Toronto production from 1989 until 1994), Sarah Brightman as Kristin (the name was eventually changed to Christine) and Clive Carter as Raoul (who would also go on to play Raoul in London in 1994). The lyrics were written by Richard Stilgoe. The preview was very different from the final version of the show. Most of the songs had different names. For example, "Think of Me" was originally "What Has Time Done to Me", and "Notes" was originally "Papers". In addition, the Phantom's mask was changed to a silver mask that covered the eyes and nose instead of the current half-mask, as it obstructed the actor playing the Phantom's vision and obscured his face too completely from the audience. The unmasking sequence was excluded. The preview received mixed reviews. Short clips of the preview performance are featured on disc 2 of the DVD of the 2004 film version.

Major characters

Below is the list of major characters including cast and former cast members of West End, Korea, and Broadway productions^[19]:

• The Phantom of the Opera (tenor/baritone) — Facially deformed since birth, the Phantom is a genius composer, musician and a magician, who hides behind a white mask and is known to the managers and actors as the "Opera Ghost". Note: This character requires two doubles in the performance.

• West End: Steve Harley (1986, sang on a promotional single but never performed on-stage), Michael Crawford (opening cast, 1986-1987), Michael Heath (one performance when Crawford was ill), Steve Barton (London understudy, later Broadway main) Dave Willetts (first replacement), Martin Smith, Peter Karrie, Peter Polycarpou, Ethan Freeman, Mark McKerracher, Grant Norman, Simon Bowman, Peter Cousens, Glyn Kerslake, Mike Sterling, Scott Davies, John Owen-Jones, Earl Carpenter, Matthew Cammelle, Ramin Karimloo, David Shannon (as of December 2009). John Owen-Jones will returned to the role on November 1st, 2010.
• Broadway: Michael Crawford (opening cast, 1988-1989), Timothy Nolen, Chris Groenendaal, Steve Barton, Kevin Gray, Mark Jacoby, Marcus Lovett, Davis Gaines, Thomas James O'Leary, Hugh Panaro, Howard McGillin (holds the record for "Longest Running Phantom in the World" with a total of 2,544 performances at his last in 2009.), John Cudia. Hugh Panaro will return to the role on September 4, 2010.
• Korea: Yoon Young Seok(opening cast), Yang Joon Mo, Hong Gwang Ho

• Christine Daaé† (soprano) — A Swedish chorus girl at the Opera, and the orphaned daughter of a prominent violinist. Although talented, she lacks focus until the Phantom takes her under his wing and teaches her to sing. Note: This character requires two doubles in the performance.

• West End: Sarah Brightman (opening cast, 1986), Claire Moore (original alternate, 1986-1987), Rebecca Caine (replacement alternate, 1987), Maria Kesselman (original understudy, 1986-1987), Jan Hartley-Morris, Jill Washington, Iren Bartok, Shona Lindsay, Lisa Hull, Nikki Ankara, Megan Kelly, Myrra Malmberg,Josie Walker, Meredith Braun, Charlotte Page, Katrina Murphy, Nicky Adams, Deborah Dutcher, Ceilia Graham, Katie Knight-Adams, Rachel Barrell Leila Benn Harris, Robyn North, Sofia Escobar (Understudy), Katie Hall (Understudy), Gina Beck, Tabitha Webb (Current alternate), Sofia Escobar Current principal
• Broadway: Sarah Brightman (opening cast, 1988), Patti Cohenour (original alternate), Rebecca Luker (original understudy), Karen Culliver, Mary D'Arcy, Tracy Shayne, Marie Danvers, Sandra Joseph, Rebecca Pitcher, Adrienne McEwan, Sarah Pfisterer, Lisa Vroman, Jennifer Hope Wills, and Marni Raab. Sarah Jean Ford, from the US touring production, will replace Jennifer on September 4, 2010.
• Korea: Lee Hye Kyung (opening cast), Kim So Hyun, Choi Hyun Ju (Also played the role in Japan)
• Las Vegas Spectacular: Sierra Boggess (original Las Vegas), Elizabeth Loycano (original Las Vegas), Kristi Holden (Current principal), Kristen Hertzenberg (Current alternate)

• Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny (baritone/tenor) — The patron of the Paris Opera and a childhood sweetheart of Christine's, they meet again after he recognises her singing at the Opéra.

• West End: Steve Barton (opening cast, 1986-1987), Michael Ball (first replacement, 1987-1989), Michael Cormick, Robert Meadmore, Mario S. Frangoulis, John Barrowman, Simon Burke, Clive Carter, Simon Bowman, Alasdar Harvey, Mike Sterling, Gardar Thor Cortes, Matthew Cammelle, Robert Finalyson, Niklas Anderson, Ramin Karimloo, Oliver Thornton, David Shannon, Michael Xavier, Alex Rathgeber, John Addison, Simon Bailey, and Will Barratt,
• Broadway: Steve Barton (opening cast, 1988-1989), Davis Gaines, Hugh Panaro, Kevin Gray, Ciarán Sheehan, Brad Little, Gary Mauer, Lawrence Anderson, Jim Weitzer, Michael Shawn Lewis, John Cudia, Tim Martin Gleason (protrayed Raoul in New York, Las Vegas and the US tour with a record performance run of 2600+ combined), and Ryan Silverman (current).
• Korea: Ryu Jung Han (opening cast), Hong Gwang Ho, Jung Sang Yoon

• Carlotta Giudicelli (coloratura soprano) — The Opéra's prima donna who becomes jealous of Christine after her great success.

• West End: Rosemary Ashe (opening cast), Maria Moll, Morgan McLaren, Julia Goss, Sandra Dugdale, Paula Bott, Valda Aviks, Rosemarie Arthars, Jasna Ivir, Margaret Preece, Shan Cothi, An Lauwereins, Nan Christie, Judith Garder Jones, Sally Harrison, Wendy Ferguson, Kate Radmilovic, and Rebecca Lock (current).
• Broadway: Judy Kaye (opening cast), Marilyn Caskey, Elena Jeanne Batman, Patricia Hurd, Elena Jeanne Batman, Leigh Munro, Liz McCartney, Rebecca Eighenberger, Patricia Phillips, and Anne Runolfsson. Patricia Phillips currently plays Carlotta, and is the first African-American to play the role on Broadway.

• Madame Giry (mezzo-soprano) — The Opéra's ballet mistress, and the Phantom's "spokeswoman", who delivers the Phantom's notes to the managers.

• West End: Mary Millar (opening cast), Penelope Mackay, Sally Smith, Patricia Cope, Evette Davis, Heather Jackson, Ann Aldem, Janet Murphy, Liz Robertson, and Annette Yeo. Jackson played the role on and off from 1996 until 2009. Nicky Adams recently returned to Her Majesty's Theatre (having previously played Christine) to portray the role.
• Broadway: Leila Martin (opening cast), Marilyn Caskey, Sally Williams, and Rebecca Judd, and Cristin Hubbard. Martin and Caskey each played the role for close to ten years. Cristin Hubbard recently took over the part from Rebecca Judd.

• Meg Giry (mezzo-soprano) — Madame Giry's daughter, a member of the ballet chorus, and Christine's best friend.

• West End: Janet Devenish (opening cast), Heidi Ann O'Brien, Lindsey Wise, Tori Johns, Emma Harris.
• Broadway: Elisa Heinsohn (opening cast), Catherine Ulissey, Tener Brown, Geralyn Del Corso, Jennifer Dawn Stillings, Joelle Gates, Heather McFadden, Calleigh Aaron, Kara Klein, and Polly Baird. McFadden, who recently returned from maternity leave, currently portrays the role.

• Monsieur Richard Firmin (baritone) — The grouchy manager of the Paris Opera.

• West End: John Savident, Barry James (2008-present)
• Broadway: Nicholas Wyman (1989-1990), George Lee Andrews (1990-2000), Jeff Keller (2000-2005), and David Cryer (current)

• Monsieur Gilles André (baritone) — The artistic albeit flighty manager of the Paris Opera.

• West End: David Firth, Peter Land, Sam Hiller, Gareth Snook (2008-present)
• Broadway: Cris Groenendaal (1989-1990), Jeff Keller (1990-2000), George Lee Andrews (2000-present)

NOTE: As noted above, George Lee Andrews is the only actor in both the London and Broadway productions to have been with the show since it began.

• Ubaldo Piangi (tenor) — The Opéra's leading tenor, Carlotta Giudicelli's lover. In the Hungarian non-replica version of the musical, the character's first name is Umberto instead of Ubaldo.

• West End: Benjamin Lake (2007), Rohan Tickell (current)
• Broadway: Evan Harrington (current)

• Joseph Buquet (baritone/bass) — The Opéra's chief stagehand, who knows something about the Phantom's identity.

• Monsieur Reyer (spoken role) — The Opéra's chief répétiteur, or director. In the West End, Philip Griffiths has been playing this role for close to twenty years, as well as the role of the Auctioneer.

• Monsieur Lefèvre (spoken role) — The previous owner of the Opéra Populaire, who sells the theatre to Firmin and André.^[20]

† Two actresses are used for the role of Christine (rather than just the actress and an understudy), with the second performing the role two shows a week. This is to provide vocal rest, since the role is more vocally demanding than many contemporary singers can handle night after night.

Synopsis

Prologue

At the Paris Opera House in 1911,^[21] an auction is underway. Set pieces from the old theatre are being sold, one of which is a chandelier in pieces (Listed in the musical as "Lot 666"). The auctioneer mentions that the chandelier was involved in the "strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera, a mystery never fully explained." The chandelier illuminates and slowly begins to rise to the rafters of the theatre as the opera house is restored to its original grandeur (Overture).

Act I

At the Paris Opera House in 1881 ^[22] a rehearsal for Hannibal is underway. Monsieur Lefevre, the owner, has sold the theatre to two new managers, Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur André. However, when Carlotta, the resident diva, sings an aria, a backdrop suddenly falls dangerously close to her. Carlotta has dealt with such incidents for several years, and quits, taking Piangi, the tenor, with her. The managers lament having to cancel the show, but Meg, a ballet dancer quickly suggests they consider Christine, a fellow dancer, to replace Carlotta. Christine starts her song ("Think of Me"), impressing the entire company with her voice and making a triumphant debut on opening night.

Raoul, the new patron of the Opera House, is particularly impressed; he remembers Christine from their childhood and immediately goes to find her. Meanwhile, Meg sneaks away and finds Christine outside her dressing room. When questioned, Christine tells Meg that the Angel of Music has been tutoring her in singing and thinks he has been sent from Heaven by her father ("Angel of Music"). The managers bring Raoul to Christine's dressing room, where they reminisce together ("Little Lotte"). He invites her to dinner, ignoring her protests. When Raoul leaves, the Phantom sings to Christine about his displeasure that Raoul is trying to court her ("Angel of Music/The Mirror"). Christine pleads for his forgiveness and begs the Angel to show himself. He complies, revealing himself behind Christine's mirror. The Phantom takes Christine behind the mirror and through a series of underground tunnels to his lair ("The Phantom of the Opera"). He later serenades her ("The Music of the Night") eventually showing her a life-size doll resembling Christine in a wedding gown. The doll then reaches out to grab her, and Christine faints.

The next morning, Christine sees the Phantom, furiously composing ("I Remember..."). Her curiosity gets the better of her, and she pulls back his mask, seeing his deformity, though the audience does not. Furious, the Phantom tries to explain that he only wants to be like everyone else, and that he hopes she will learn to love him in spite of his face ("Stranger than You Dreamt It"). She returns his mask before he returns her to the surface. As the Phantom and Christine sneak back, Joseph Buquet regales the ballet girls with tales of the Opera Ghost ("Magical Lasso"). Madame Giry warns Buquet to exercise restraint.

In the managers' office, Firmin, Andre, Raoul, and Carlotta are puzzled by several cryptic notes received from the "Opera Ghost" and blame each other for them. Madame Giry arrives with another note in which the Phantom tells the managers to give the leading role in the opera Il Muto to Christine, and relegate Carlotta to a silent part ("Notes..."). Fearing the loss of Carlotta and Piangi, the managers promise her that she will keep her leading role ("Prima Donna"). At Il Muto, the show goes well ("Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh"), until the Phantom startles everyone by yelling out that the managers did not keep box five empty. He then furiously tantalizes Carlotta and makes her voice croak like a frog, sending her, humiliated, backstage. The ballet chorus is sent out to entertain the waiting crowd, but the performance is interrupted when the backdrop lifts to reveal the corpse of Joseph Buquet hanging from the rafters. In the ensuing melee, Christine finds Raoul and takes him to the roof.

On the roof, Christine tries to tell Raoul that she has seen the Phantom , but Raoul does not believe her ("Why Have You Brought Me Here?/Raoul, I've Been There"). Raoul promises to love and protect her always ("All I Ask of You"). The two make plans to see each other after the show. After Christine and Raoul head back, the Phantom emerges, having heard the entire conversation. He is heartbroken, and he vows vengeance against Raoul ("All I Ask of You (Reprise)"). Returning to the theater, he sends the mighty chandelier crashing down upon the stage.

Act II

Everyone is in attendance at the masquerade ball ("Masquerade"). The Phantom has not shown himself for six months. Christine and Raoul are now engaged. During the celebration, the Phantom enters, announcing that he has written an opera, and that he expects the managers to produce it ("Why So Silent?"). He also confronts Christine, takes her engagement ring from her and disappearing in a puff of smoke. Raoul tracks down Madame Giry and, convinced that she is hiding something, forces her to tell him what she knows about the Phantom. She recalls visiting a traveling fair years ago and finding "The Living Corpse" locked in a cage—a genius with terrifying deformed face who escaped and was never heard from again.

The Phantom's opera, Don Juan Triumphant, causes chaos and arguments among the managers and actors. Raoul realizes that they can use the opera as a trap to capture the Phantom ("Notes/Twisted Every Way"). Christine is unhappy with the idea, as she does not want the Phantom dead. Tormented by the choice she must make, she flees the room. She visits her father's grave ("Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again"), where the Phantom appears and sings to her, again in the guise of the Angel of Music ("Wandering Child"). Raoul enters and brings Christine back to reality. The two men verbally spar ("Bravo, Monsieur!"), while the Phantom shoots fireballs down at Raoul. The Phantom then declares war upon both of them and launches a final fireball, incinerating the graveyard.

Back at the Opera House, the managers start to show the play ("Don Juan Triumphant"). Christine appears on stage to sing ("The Point of No Return"). During her duet with "Don Juan", Christine realizes she is singing with the Phantom, who gives her a ring and expresses his love. Christine whips off his mask to reveal his misshapen face to everyone, but before the police can intervene, the Phantom drags Christine offstage. Piangi is discovered dead, and a mob sets out to track down the Phantom. Madame Giry locates Raoul and tells him where to find the Phantom, warning him of the Punjab lasso.

Down in the lair, the Phantom has forced Christine to put on the wedding dress ("Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer"), intending to make her his prisoner forever. Raoul arrives, pleading for Christine's safe return. The Phantom admits him to the lair, only to snare him in the Punjab lasso. The Phantom offers Christine an ultimatum: either he will kill Raoul and let Christine go, or she will stay with him and Raoul can go free ("Final Lair"). Christine makes her choice and kisses the Phantom. Stunned by the first real human love he has ever felt, the Phantom sets Raoul and Christine free, asking them to keep his existence a secret. Christine returns the Phantom's ring and leaves with Raoul. The Phantom sobs into the wedding veil Christine has left behind and, as the mob approaches, sings his last line: "It's over now, the music of the night!" He sits in his throne and pulls his cape around him. The mob and Meg arrive, only to find that the Phantom has vanished, leaving behind only his mask.^[20]

Musical numbers

Act One "Prologue" "Overture" "Hannibal" - Carlotta, Piangi, Chorus and Ballet Girls "Think of Me" (Part 1) – Carlotta, Ballet Girls, André and Buquet "Think of Me" (Part 2) - Christine and Raoul "Angel of Music" – Meg and Christine "Little Lotte/The Mirror (Angel of Music)" – Christine, Raoul and Phantom "The Phantom of the Opera" – Phantom and Christine "The Music of the Night" – Phantom "I Remember/Stranger than You Dreamt It" – Christine and Phantom "Magical Lasso" – Buquet, Meg, Madame Giry, and Ballet Girls "Notes/Prima Donna" – Firmin, André, Raoul, Carlotta, Madame Giry, Meg, Piangi, and Phantom "Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh (Il Muto)" – Carlotta and Company "Why Have You Brought Me Here?/Raoul, I've Been There" – Raoul and Christine "All I Ask of You" – Raoul and Christine "All I Ask of You (Reprise)/Chandelier Crash" – Phantom, Raoul, and Christine

Act Two "Entr'acte" "Masquerade/Why So Silent" – Company "Notes II" - Firmin, André, Carlotta, Piangi, Raoul, Christine, Madame Giry, and Phantom "Twisted Every Way" – Christine and Raoul "A Rehearsal for Don Juan Triumphant" - Chorus, Carlotta, Piangi, and Christine "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" – Christine "Wandering Child/Bravo, Monsieur!" – Phantom, Christine, and Raoul "The Point of No Return" – Phantom and Christine "Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer" – Phantom, Christine, Raoul, and Company "Final Lair" – Phantom, Christine, and Raoul

The show is staged with an Orchestra consisting of 27 musicians, which is large by comparison with most recent Broadway musicals. The show uses 18 different types of non-percussion instruments, some replicated (such as seven violins) and multiple percussion instruments. The majority of the orchestra are string instruments, with large woodwind and brass sections; the percussion section is quite small. The show uses both acoustic instruments and synthesisers.

Instrumentation

The Phantom of the Opera requires a larger orchestra than most modern musical theatre works, and includes 27 parts:

Reed I: Flute/Piccolo Reed II: Flute/Clarinet Reed III: Oboe/Cor Anglais Reed IV: Clarinet/Bass Clarinet/Eb Clarinet Reed V: Bassoon

3 Horns 2 Trumpets Trombone Percussion 2 Keyboards: Piano, Synthesizer

Violins I-VII Violas I-II Cellos I-II Double Bass Harp

The Pre-Recorded Track includes an Organ, Synthesizers, Synth Drums, Electric Guitars, and Electric Bass.

In addition to the live orchestra, the show requires a pre-recorded track during the Overture and during much of the title song, when doubles are used on-stage to allow time for the principals to get into place. Another part of the reasoning behind this is to cover the noisy mechanics of the motorised boat and other effects during the Journey to the Lair sequence, that much of the unwanted mechanical noise is not picked up by the actor's microphones. The conductor wears headphones and listens to a click track to keep the orchestra synchronised with the pre-recorded tracks. Most of the Phantom's off-stage voiceovers are pre-recorded, as well as Christine's high note at the end of the title song (E6) due to the stress it can put on the voice when sung many times a week. |} A smaller version of the orchestrations was written that allowed the show to tour at a lower cost - The main changes include the addition of a third Keyboard in leu of the brass section (bar 2 French Horns), the reduction of the Woodwind section down to 3 players and the reduction of the amount of strings used. This smaller arrangement is also used in the Phantom-The Las Vegas Spectacular production.

Recordings

Cast recordings have been made of the London, German, Austrian, Japanese, Mexican, Korean, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Hungarian and Canadian productions.

When the Original London Cast Album was released in CD format in 1987, it became the first album in British musical history to enter the UK albums chart at #1. It has since gone both gold and platinum in Britain and the U.S., selling over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling cast album of all time. The cast recording/soundtrack of the film adaptation was released in 2004.

While never released to the general public, there is a video recording of an early performance of the musical with Michael Crawford, which is only available to certain people involved with the show. Whether or not it will ever be released is unknown.

Sequel

See: Love Never Dies (musical)

Andrew Lloyd Webber has created a sequel, with a book by Lloyd Webber, Glenn Slater, and Ben Elton, and lyrics by Slater.^[23] It is titled Love Never Dies and is loosely adapted from the novel The Phantom of Manhattan, published in 1999 and written by Frederick Forsyth, who had collaborated with Lloyd Webber on the sequel years before. Directed by Jack O'Brien and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell with set and costume designs by Bob Crowley,^[23] Love Never Dies opened at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End on 9 March 2010 with previews from 22 February 2010. It is the first time a musical sequel has been staged in the West End. Love Never Dies was originally scheduled to open on Broadway on 11 November 2010 but Lloyd Webber has had some post operative problems from prostate cancer and has been unable to do any long-haul flight, so the show has been postponed until Spring 2011.^[24] The Australian production will still open as scheduled in 2011.

The musical is set in 1907,^[25] a decade after the end of Phantom.^[25][26] (Note: According to the official announcement, the events occur approximately a decade after the events of The Phantom of the Opera. In reality, however, Lloyd Webber's original show was set in 1881,^[22] meaning that the time period between the two stories amounts to 26 years.) Christine is invited to perform at Phantasma, a new attraction in Coney Island, by an anonymous impresario and, with her husband Raoul and son Gustave in tow, journeys to Brooklyn, unaware that it is the Phantom who has arranged her appearance in the popular beach resort. The musical received mostly negative reviews, some of them quite harsh, and several prominent Broadway producers returned to New York from seeing the show with the same judgment.^[27]

Plagiarism

In interviews promoting Amused to Death, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd claimed that Andrew Lloyd Webber had plagiarized themes from "Echoes" for sections of the musical The Phantom of the Opera; nevertheless, he decided not to file a lawsuit regarding the matter.

Yeah, the beginning of that bloody Phantom song is from Echoes. DAAAA-da-da-da-da-da . I couldn't believe it when I heard it. It's the same time signature - it's 12/8 - and it's the same structure and it's the same notes and it's the same everything. Bastard. It probably is actionable. It really is! But I think that life's too long to bother with suing Andrew fucking Lloyd Webber.^[28]

Waters did, however, add an insulting reference to Webber in the song "It's a Miracle" on the Amused to Death album, with the following lyrics: "We cower in our shelters/ with our hands over our ears/ Lloyd-Webber's awful stuff/ runs for years and years and years/ An earthquake hits the theatre/ but the operetta lingers/ Then the piano lid comes down/ and breaks his fucking fingers/ It's a miracle."^[29]

Other productions

Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera has been translated into several languages and produced in over twenty countries on six continents. With only two exceptions (Hungary, Poland), these productions have all been ”clones”, i.e., they use the original staging, direction, sets and costume concepts.^[30]

• Argentina: The Argentine production premiered on 19 March 2009, starring Argentine Carlos Vittori and Juan Pablo Skrt as the Phantom and Mexican Claudia Cota as Christine at Buenos Aires' Teatro Ópera. It closed on Sunday November 29, 2009 after 194 performances.
• Australia: 1990 – 1998 Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth; 2007 – 2009, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Perth and Adelaide, both starring Anthony Warlow. In the original Australian production, Rob Guest later took over the title role. He played the role for 2,289 performances over seven years, more than any other performer of the role, including Michael Crawford, the original Phantom.^[31] The final leg of the more recent tour (starring Warlow, Ana Marina and Alexander Lewis) was staged in Adelaide and was presented in a world-first arena format, allowing an audience of 5000 people and featuring giant screens on either side of the stage that presented footage shot simultaneously with the performance.
• Austria: The German language production premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 20 December 1988.^[32] starring Alexander Goebel as The Phantom, Luzia Nistler as Christine with Alfred Pfeifer as Raoul.
• Belgium: The Dutch production toured to Belgium. It originally starred Hans Peter Janssens as The Phantom, Susanne Duwe as Christine and Michael Lewis as Raoul.
• Brazil: São Paulo, premiered at Teatro Abril on 22 April 2005, starring Saulo Vasconcelos as the Phantom, Sara Sarres and Kiara Sasso as Christine and Nando Prado as Raoul.
• Canada: The Toronto production of Phantom ran for just over ten years. The Music Box Tour (3rd U.S. National Tour) played dates across Canada in 2006 – 2007 including Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Saskatoon and Ottawa. This production starred Colm Wilkinson as the Phantom, Rebecca Caine as Christine, and Byron Nease as Raoul.
• Canadian International Touring Company: 11 March 1991 – October 1995 toured Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, Hong Kong and Singapore
• China: The Shanghai production played 97 performances at the Shanghai Grand Theatre
• Denmark: Det Ny Theater, Copenhagen (2000–2001, 2003–2004, 2009)
• Germany: There have been three German productions, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Essen. Thomas Schulze played the title role in the Hamburg and Stuttgart productions, Ian Jon Bourg played the title role in Hamburg, Stuttgart and Essen productions, Peter Hofmann played it in Hamburg.
• Hong Kong: First tour – at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre June to October 1995; Second tour – 11 July 2006 to 12 August 2006 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre.
• Hungary: Madách Theatre, Budapest. This production, which began in 2003, features original sets, costumes and direction. It is the first Phantom that has ever been permitted to change the original staging.^[30] The 500th Phantom, held on 20 September 2007 featured 4 sets of casts, interchanging as the show went on. After the curtains rolled down, in a reprise 3 Christines and 4 Phantoms performed the title song once again.
• Japan: Shiki Productions produced the show in 1988, making it the first production performed in a language other than English. It was still running at the Shiki Theater (四季劇場, Shiki-Gekijō^?) in Nagoya as of January 2010^[update].
• Korea: The show starred Young-Seok Yoon as The Phantom, Hye-Kyoung Lee as Christine, Jung-Han Ryu as Raoul. In 2009, the show reopened at Charlotte Theater in Seoul, starring Young-Seok Yoon and Joon-mo Yang as The Phantom, So-hyun Kim and Hyun-ju Choi as Christine, and Kwang-ho Hong and Sang-yoon Jeong as Raoul.
• Mexico: Mexico City, premiered at Centro Cultural Telmex on 16 December 1999, starring Juan Navarro as the Phantom, Irasema Terrazas as Christine and José Joel as Raoul.
• Netherlands: At the Circus Theatre in Scheveningen. More than 1,000 performances (1993–1996) with Henk Poort as the Phantom, Joke de Kruijf as Christine and Peter de Smet as Raoul. Harold Prince said Henk Poort was the best Phantom in the world.
• New Zealand: Auckland
• Poland: Warsaw, premiere took place on 15 March 2008 at Teatr Muzyczny Roma. It features original sets, costumes and direction. Performances are scheduled until at least the end of June 2010.
• Singapore: 1st tour at the Kallang Theatre from 26 February 1995 to 20 May 1995, 2nd tour at the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay from 23 March 2007 to 20 May 2007.^[33]
• South Africa: 2004, Cape Town, The South African State Theatre, Pretoria.
• Spain: Madrid, premiered at Teatro Lope de Vega on 4 September 2002, starring Luis Amando and Juan Carlos Barona alternating as the Phantom, Felicidad Farag and Julia Möller alternating as Christine and Armando Pita as Raoul.
• Sweden: 1989 – 1995, Oscarsteatern, Stockholm. More than 1,000 performances. Starring Mikael Samuelson as the Phantom.
• Switzerland: The musical was performed in both English and German at the Musical Theatre Messe Basel in Switzerland for over a year in 1996 – 1997. Ute Baum played Christine opposite Florian Schneider as the Phantom.
• Taiwan: began on 18 January 2006 at National Theater and Concert Hall (Taiwan) and July 2009 at Taipei Arena, both times with Brad Little as the Phantom.
• United States: Los Angeles (1989–1993), San Francisco (1993–1999)

There is also a U.S. touring company that has been on the road since 1991. The tour will end in November 2010 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood California.

A film version, starring Gerard Butler as the Phantom, Emmy Rossum as Christine, Patrick Wilson as Raoul, and Minnie Driver as Carlotta, was released in December 2004.^[34]

The amateur stage rights are currently available to high schools and colleges only through The Rodgers & Hammerstein Theatre Library.

Phantom-The Las Vegas Spectacular

An edited, 95-minute, intermission-less version of the show, renamed Phantom-The Las Vegas Spectacular opened 24 June 2006 in a theatre built for the show at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. This production, which was directed by original director Harold Prince and choreographer Gillian Lynne, with scenic designs by David Rockwell, features state-of-the art technology and effects, and a $40 million, 80 ft (24 m) diameter theater made to look like the Opéra Garnier in Paris.^[35] The updated effects include a giant version of the infamous chandelier, composed of four separate pieces rigged to fly together and assemble in mid-air during the overture, as well as advanced pyrotechnics and strobe lighting. Almost every song from the original production was left intact (except "The Point of No Return" and "Poor Fool, He Makes Laugh", which were shortened), but the producers saved time by cutting some dialog (such as the ”keep your hand at the level of your eyes” lines), some dance sequences, the twenty-minute intermission, and the scene in which the cast is practicing Don Juan Triumphant to bring the show length down from the original two hours and twenty minutes. The production is modelled more after the film version, with the chandelier crash occurring after "The Point of No Return" instead of after the "All I Ask of You" reprise.^[36]

Due to demanding vocal requirements and to the demanding performance schedule with two evening performances on two days of the week (and 10 performances a week during holidays), the roles of The Phantom, Christine Daaé and Carlotta Guidicelli were double cast in the production. Brent Barrett and Anthony Crivello were cast as the title character, Sierra Boggess and Elizabeth Loyacano were cast as Christine, and Elena Jeanne Batman and Geena Jeffries were cast as Carlotta.^[37][38]

See also

• The Phantom of the Opera
• The Phantom of the Opera (1976 musical)
• Phantom
• The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film)
• Love Never Dies
• List of best-selling albums worldwide

Awards and nominations

1986 Olivier Awards:

• Best Designer – Maria Björnson (Nomination)^[39]
• Best Actor in a Musical – Michael Crawford (Winner)^[40]
• Best New Musical (Winner)^[40]

1988 Tony Awards:^[41]

• Best Musical (Winner)
• Best Leading Actor in a Musical—Michael Crawford (Winner)
• Best Featured Actress in a Musical—Judy Kaye (Winner)
• Best Direction of a Musical—Harold Prince (Winner)
• Best Book of a Musical—Richard Stilgoe, Andrew Lloyd Webber (Nomination)
• Best Original Score—Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe (Nomination)
• Best Scenic Design—Maria Björnson (Winner)
• Best Costume Design—Maria Björnson (Winner)
• Best Lighting Design—Andrew Bridge (Winner)
• Best Choreography—Gillian Lynne (Nomination)

2002 Olivier Awards

• Audience Award for Most Popular Show (Winner)^[40]

Notes

External links

• The Phantom of the Opera at the Internet Broadway Database
• The Phantom of the Opera, an external wiki
• Annual Phantom Masquerade Ball
• The official Phantom of the Opera Website
• Andrew Lloyd Webber's Official Website
• The Phantom of the Opera in Argentina, official website
• The Phantom of the Opera (The Guide to Musical Theatre)

Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical A Chorus Line (1976) · The Comedy of Errors (1977) · Evita (1978) · Songbook (1979) · Sweeney Todd (1980) · Cats (1981) · Poppy (1982) · Blood Brothers (1983) · 42nd Street (1984) · Me and My Girl (1985) · The Phantom of the Opera (1986) · Follies (1987) · Candide (1988) · Return to the Forbidden Planet (1990) · Sunday in the Park with George (1991) · Carmen Jones (1992) · Crazy for You (1993) · City of Angels (1994) · Once on This Island (1995) · Jolson (1996) · Martin Guerre (1997) · Beauty and the Beast (1998) · Kat and the Kings (1999) · Honk! (2000) · Merrily We Roll Along (2001)  · Our House (2003) · Jerry Springer: The Opera (2004) · The Producers (2005) · Billy Elliot (2006) · Caroline, or Change (2007) · Hairspray (2008) · Jersey Boys (2009) · Spring Awakening (2010)

Tony Award for Best Musical A Chorus Line (1976) · Annie (1977) · Ain't Misbehavin' (1978) · Sweeney Todd (1979) · Evita (1980) · 42nd Street (1981) · Nine (1982) · Cats (1983) · La Cage aux Folles (1984) · Big River (1985) · The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1986) · Les Misérables (1987) · The Phantom of the Opera (1988) · Jerome Robbins' Broadway (1989) · City of Angels (1990) · The Will Rogers Follies (1991) · Crazy for You (1992) · Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993) · Passion (1994) · Sunset Boulevard (1995) · Rent (1996) · Titanic (1997) · The Lion King (1998) · Fosse (1999) · Contact (2000) (1949–1975) · (1976–2000) ·

Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals The Likes of Us · Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat · Jesus Christ Superstar · Evita · Tell Me on a Sunday · Cats · Song and Dance · Starlight Express · Cricket · The Phantom of the Opera · Aspects of Love · Sunset Boulevard · By Jeeves · Whistle Down the Wind · The Beautiful Game · The Woman in White · Love Never Dies

The Phantom of the Opera Books The Phantom of the Opera • Phantom • The Canary Trainer • The Phantom of Manhattan Stage adaptations Phantom of the Opera (Ken Hill) • The Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber) • Phantom (Maury Yeston) • Love Never Dies (Andrew Lloyd Webber) Film and television The Phantom of the Opera (1925) • Song at Midnight (1937) • Phantom of the Opera (1943) • The Phantom of 42nd Street (1945) • The Phantom of the Opera (1962) • The Phantom of Hollywood (1974) • Phantom of the Paradise (1974) • Opera (1987) • The Phantom of the Opera (1989) • The Phantom of the Opera (1990) • The Phantom Lover (1995) • The Phantom of the Opera (1998) • Phantom of the Megaplex (2000) • The Phantom of the Opera (2004) Characters Erik • Christine Daaé • Viscount Raoul de Chagny • The Persian • Carlotta • Madame Giry • Meg Giry • Joseph Buquet Songs "Think of Me" • "All I Ask of You" • "Masquerade" • "The Music of the Night" • "The Phantom of the Opera" • "Learn to Be Lonely" Other Gaston Leroux • Andrew Lloyd Webber • Don Juan Triumphant • Punjab lasso • List of adaptations • Return of the Phantom