The Phantom of the Opera

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 music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart. Additional lyrics were written by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator, but he withdrew after completing work on a single song, Masquerade, and died shortly thereafter. The central plot revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius.

The Phantom of the Opera opened in the West End in 1986, and on Broadway in 1988. It is the longest-running musical in Broadway history, the second-longest-running West End musical, and arguably the world's most financially successful single entertainment project to date.

Phantom won the 1986 Olivier Award and the 1988 Tony Award for Best Musical, and Michael Crawford won the 1986 Olivier and 1988 Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical. The show has been seen in 149 cities in 25 countries, and has played to over 100 million people. With total worldwide box office receipts of over £3.5bn ($5.1bn), Phantom is the highest-grossing entertainment event of all time. The New York production alone has grossed US $715 million, making it the most financially successful Broadway show in history.

Synopsis

Prologue. At the Paris Opéra in 1911, an auction of old props and items is underway. Lot 665, purchased by Viscount Raoul de Chagny, is a music box topped with a monkey; he eyes it fondly, noting that its details appear exactly as they were described to him. Lot 666 is a shattered chandelier which, the auctioneer says, has a connection to "the strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera...a mystery never fully explained." As the chandelier illuminates, reassembles itself, and slowly rises over the audience to its old position in the rafters, the years roll back and the theatre returns to its 1880s grandeur. ("Overture")

Act I

Thirty years earlier, as Carlotta, the Opéra's resident soprano prima donna, rehearses for that evening's performance, a backdrop collapses without warning. "The Phantom! He's here!" the excited cast members whisper. The Opera's new owners, Firmin and André, try to downplay the incident, but Carlotta refuses to continue and storms offstage. Madame Giry, the Opéra's ballet mistress tells Firmin and André that Christine Daaé, a Swedish chorus girl and orphaned daughter of a prominent violinist, has been "well taught", and could sing Carlotta's role. Rather than cancel the performance, the owners reluctantly audition Christine, and to their surprise, she is equal to the challenge. ("Think of Me")

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