The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
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The Phantom of the Opera is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the novel The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. It was inspired by a different musical version of the same story, by Ken Hill, which Andrew Lloyd Webber saw at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in 1984. The music for Webber's own version was composed specifically for the voice of his then wife, singer Sarah Brightman. The lyrics were written by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. During the writing stage, many other rival productions were started, which had not occurred in any other stage show since the early 20th Century. The musical was produced by Cameron Mackintosh and opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, on October 9, 1986, where it still runs as of 2005. The show was taken to Broadway, where it is still running today, and many other cities. The show won a Tony Award for Best Musical, Michael Crawford won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of The Phantom and Judy Kaye won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Carlotta Guidicelli. The show also won Tonys for its sets, costumes, lighting and Director (Hal Prince). Most stagings, including that of Hal Prince, require lip-syncing to pre-recorded music and employ doubles for cast members, both in selected songs only (such as the title track).
The Phantom of the Opera was part of the major European influence on Broadway in the 80's along with Cameron Mackintosh productions such as Cats, Miss Saigon, and Les Misérables.
The German language first performance was shown in Austria, in the Theater an der Wien, on December 20, 1988.
A film version was released in December 2004.
The Phantom of the Opera holds the record for the highest-grossing entertainment-related event of all time.
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Musical Numbers
Act One
- Overture
- Think of Me
- Angel of Music
- Little Lotte
- Angel of Music (The Mirror)
- The Phantom of the Opera
- Music of the Night
- I Remember.../Stranger Than You Dreamt It
- Magical Lasso
- Notes.../Prima Donna
- Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh (Il Muto)
- Why Have You Brought Me Here?/Raoul, I've Been There
- All I Ask of You
- All I Ask of You (Reprise)
Act Two
- Entr'acte
- Masquerade/Why So Silent...
- Notes.../Twisted Every Way
- Wishing You Were Some How Here Again
- Wandering Child.../Bravo Monseiur...
- We Have All Been Blind
- Don Juan
- The Point of No Return
- Down Once More.../Track Down This Murderer
- The Final Lair
Notable Actors
In the role of the Phantom:
- Michael Crawford (Original London and Broadway Cast)
- Davis Gaines (Broadway, Los Angeles and San Francisco)
- Colm Wilkinson (Original Toronto/Canadian Cast)
- Peter Hofmann (Original Hamburg Cast)
- Anthony Warlow (Original Melbourne/Australian Cast; at the time the youngest actor to play the role)
- Steve Barton (1990 Broadway production)
- Peter Karrie (London and many international touring productions)
- Sandor Sasvari (Original Hungarian Cast)
- Mikael Samuelson (Original Swedish Cast)
- John Owen Jones (Longest-running London Phantom)
- Alexander Goebel (Original Vienna Cast)
- Dave Willetts (London and UK Tour productions)
- Hugh Panaro (Current Broadway production and 1990 Broadway production as Raoul)
- Howard McGillin (Longest running Phantom on Broadway)
In the role of Christine:
- Sarah Brightman (Original London and Broadway Cast; the part was written for her)
- Rebecca Caine (Original Canadian (Toronto) Cast)
- Joke de Kruijf (Original Dutch Cast; and performed in the Vienna and Hamburg Productions)
- Luzia Nisztler (Original Vienna Cast)
In the role of Raoul:
- Steve Barton (Original London and Broadway Casts)
- Bjorn Olsson (First Raoul to sing in more than one language. He performed in Switzerland, Hamburg, Sweden, and Denmark.)
Songs
Masquerade is a song from the musical and movie. In both the theatrical and the movie version, this song is accompanied by impressively choreographed moves from the entire chorus. In both versions, all masquerade goers carry 2 fans, one side gold and the other silver. These fans open, close, flip and twirl with precision unseen in any other musical performance. After a long celebration of drunkenness, the Phantom himself appears in an all-blood red costume with a skull mask. The Phantom delives his opera, Don Juan Triumphant. In addition, the Phantom delivers warnings to many of the Opera's employees before disappearing and Raoul chasing after him.
See also
fr:The Phantom of the Opera it:Il fantasma dell'opera (musical) ja:オペラ座の怪人 sv:The Phantom of the Opera zh:剧院魅影