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Phantom of the opera4/5/2023 Is the love triangle convincing? Not entirely. Much has been made of the decision to scale back the orchestra (previously the biggest in the West End) from 27 performers down to 14 I don’t have the original set-up as a point of comparison, of course, but the score still feels suitably epic. ![]() Her character is hardly an empowered heroine, yet the actress makes her vital and engaging Donnelly, meanwhile, makes a nuanced Phantom, despite the part’s cartoonish trappings. This is the West End at its crowd-pleasing best, buoyed by a standout turn from St Louis as Christine, who flits effortlessly through the show’s many musical styles. Second act opener Masquerade is especially dazzling, while that gondola journey down into the depths, lit by hundreds of candles that emerge from the darkness, makes an unforgettable set piece. And yet one question kept haunting me, like a disembodied voice terrorising a theatre: surely a show doesn’t run for 35 years on the West End without good reason? What were my grounds for this aversion? None, really, aside from the vague notion that Phantom, with its massive light fixtures, made-up operas and dry ice, is the most Andrew Lloyd Webber of Andrew Lloyd Webbers, and therefore something to be endured, not enjoyed. The Phantom of the Opera is a production that I’ve spent years avoiding as assiduously as I’d dodge, well, a creepy man in a half-mask trying to make me take a haunted gondola ride down to his sewer because he just, like, really wants me to listen to the songs he’s written. ![]() Chess? You had me at “music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA.” Blood Brothers? It’s an anti-Thatcher parable showcasing Scouse accents of varying quality - extremely On Brand (I am yet to meet anyone outside my Merseyside secondary school who also had to study it as part of GCSE English).Īll of those musicals name-checked above are edging towards (or in the case of Chess, happily exist within) the realm of the uncool, but I have always written off one West End show as too kitsch even for my own dubious tastes. Les Misérables? Sobbed through it more times than I can remember (it’s a downward spiral from I Dreamed a Dream, which arrives… about 15 minutes into a near three-hour marathon). New West End Company BRANDPOST | PAID CONTENTĮre’s an embarrassing secret: I love nothing more than an 80s mega-musical with a synthesiser-heavy soundtrack.Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation BRANDPOST | PAID CONTENT.This venue has additional Covid-19 safety measures in place to ensure the health and well-being of the staff, performances, and guests. We recommend that you wear a mask while inside this venue. ![]() The Phantom of the Opera London show is the theatrical depiction of the American silent horror film The Phantom of the Opera (1925), which was adapted from the novel 'Le Fantôme de l'Opéra' (1911), written by the eminent French author Gaston Leroux. The deformed Phantom wants to make the woman he loves into a star, and will do whatever it takes, including murder, in order to keep her on the stage. The story centres on the feared, disfigured Phantom, who feels deeply ashamed of his appearance, yet he has fallen in love with the irresistibly charming, flawlessly beautiful Christine Daaé, his protegee. Book your The Phantom of the Opera tickets at today and witness the magic for yourself. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s mesmerising score along with jaw-dropping scenery and breathtaking special effects, combine to bring this tragic love story to life each night. This multi-award winning musical continues to captivate audiences at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End, after more than 12,000 performances. For decades, The Phantom of the Opera has enchanted millions of people all over the globe.
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