The Phantom of the Opera's 25th Anniversary Extravaganza at the Royal Albert Hall, on 2nd October 2011
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(Review by Fiona Lister)
The Royal Albert Hall provided the most romantic, enchanting, gothic setting for Lord Lloyd Webber’s lavish 25th Anniversary production of 'The Phantom of The Opera'. Three sell-out performances were staged, culminating in a grand finale on Sunday 2nd October 2011.
With a quick adjustment of his mask and a sweep of his cape, the beady-eyed Phantom emerged from the shadows to hunt Christine...
Starring Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine Daaé, the spectacular star-studded show was beamed live by satellite to cinemas and theatres all over the world.
Phantom first opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1986 (where the original production still resides). The critics were ruthless; the London Sunday Times drama critic had the audacity to brand Phantom as being 'Masked balls'. Nevertheless, this didn't deter a discerning public into flocking to see the show; everyone was curious to watch Michael Crawford sing with ex-Hot Gossip girl Sarah Brightman, who possesses a unique soprano coloratura voice. Let's not forget that Michael Crawford had made his name gracing the nation's television screens each week as the somewhat comedic simpleton character Frank Spencer in 'Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em' - a role incidentally that Norman Wisdom had turned down. Although initially an unlikely musical partnership, both Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman became the most celebrated musical stars in history and their careers sky-rocketed.
The story of The Phantom of the Opera is based on the original novel ‘Le Fantôme de l’Opéra’ by Gaston Leroux. Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber also wrote a book from which the story unfolded. In the production there are additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe and by Charles Hart.
Joining in the Phantom’s Birthday celebrations were celebrities including Stephen Fry, Claire Sweeney, Matt Lucas (who has been playing the role of Thénardier in ‘Les Misérables’), Gloria Hunniford and Steven Webb (musical star of recent West End hit show ‘Betwixt!’). The after show party was held at London’s Natural History Museum.
Unlike the 25th Anniversary of Les Misérables which was produced as a concert at London’s O2 Arena, Producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh staged Phantom as a lavish one-off tributary show with a supporting cast and orchestra of over two-hundred. Directed by Laurence Connor (with original direction by Harold Prince) this was the highlight of the theatrical year! The Royal Albert Hall’s Victoriana, gothic surroundings with its glorious organ, red-plush seating and resident spirit provided the perfect phantasmal setting for the Phantom’s dark hideaway.
The Royal Albert Hall was opened by Queen Victoria in 1871 and since that time world famous composers including Rachmaninov, Wagner, Verdi and Elgar have celebrated their work on the platform. This majestic concert hall provided the perfect venue for such an exquisite and well-known score.
Inspired by the late award-winning designer Maria Björnson's original production design, the Royal Albert Hall was cleverly transformed into the opulent Paris Opera House, reminding me of detailed descriptions of the brightly lit auditorium of the Variétés in Emile Zola’s brilliant fin-de-siècle novel ‘Nana’ (written at a time when gas-jets were used to light everything from the cut-glass chandeliers to the footlights). Maria was incredibly dedicated to her work and analysed every detail of the Phantom’s surroundings, including exploring backstage at the lavish Palais Garnier Opera House where the Phantom originated. The Palais Garnier was founded by Louis XIV in 1669 and built on the orders of Napoleon III. The then as yet unknown architect Charles Garnier won the competition for the project and despite the 1870 war, the fall of the Empire and the Commune, this vast, magnificent decorous building took fifteen years to complete and opened in 1875, four years after the opening of The Royal Albert Hall.
Through Maria’s vision Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group successfully created the magic of the Phantom’s bewitching candlelit underworld. The stage set with opulent gold cherubs and heavy velvet drapes worked brilliantly in this magical Grade I listed building. Set Designer, Matt Kinley, magnified Maria’s vision. What the creative team achieved was theatrical dynamite or “theatrical alchemy” as Cameron Mackintosh describes it. Together with Andrew Bridge (Lighting – Original Production & Royal Albert Hall), Patrick Woodroffe (Lighting, Royal Albert Hall) and Jon Driscoll (Projection Design, Royal Albert Hall) they re-created the majesty and splendour of the Phantom’s secret world beyond the mirror, underneath the Opera House and across the misty lake (cue lots of dry ice) to his dark hypogeous candlelit lair. Incidentally, this is not the first time that Cameron Mackintosh has staged such a glorious anniversary show in the Royal Albert Hall. Indeed, the 10th Anniversary of Les Misérables celebrated its birthday there.
Just before the show, in the VIP lounge and Moët & Chandon Champagne Bar, everyone buzzed with anticipation. Romance and mystery were in the air! Phantom fans donning ghoulish signature masks were dotted around the room. Champagne corks popped and spirits were certainly high. The audience made their way into the Royal Albert Hall’s dramatic bright crimson auditorium. The beaming usherettes directed me and my companion through the Arena to the middle of the front row. Theatre-goers in evening dress poured into the grand tier and circle; warmly lit Loggia boxes filled with decorously clad ladies and gentlemen who, bathed in the yellow glow of light, kissed one another on both cheeks before glancing around at the audience to try and pinpoint friends and the great Lord himself. The hum of voices was punctuated by the clicking sound of Loggia doors opening and closing to reveal a new face. The famous chandelier which is meant to crash to the ground was situated precariously above row H from which later in the show the white dazzling fizz of a pyrotechnic firework display startled the enraptured audience.
The Royal Albert Hall was filled to capacity. The hubbub of voices grew louder and someone wearing bright emerald green waved across the tier to a friend. The orchestra began tuning their instruments; the trill of what sounded like a flute and the twang of a violin joined in the chorus. The lights began dimming, excited chatter quietened and after the first dramatic scene, the orchestra under the direction of Anthony Inglis, struck up the famous ‘Phantom of The Opera’ score which rang out its heady haunting tune in the ghostly Victorian setting. The sound design by Mick Potter and Martin Levan was inspirational and the Musical Supervisor was Stephen Brooker.
Ramin Karimloo who has just finished his run as the Phantom in ‘Love Never Dies’ (sequel to ‘The Phantom of the Opera’) cut a sinister, dashing figure as the freakish oddity behind the mask. Hearing him sing ‘The Music of the Night’ was truly haunting and his performance was spellbinding, particularly towards the end of the show when in a pique of jealousy, he tries to outwit Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny (played brilliantly by Hadley Fraser) by attempting to commit a crime of passion with a noose, prompting a desperate Christine to passionately kiss the Phantom in order to save her lover’s life. There was a horrific scene when Christine rips off the Phantom’s mask to reveal the most gnarled, grisly deformities. Congratulations must be given to Christopher Tucker (Mr Karimloo’s make-up artist) and Head of Wigs, Katie Dear.
Ramin Karimloo has an interesting history with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s work, which began in 2003 when he played the part of Raoul (Vicomte de Chagny) in The Phantom Of The Opera. During that time he also appeared in Cameron Mackintosh's Les Misérables concert as Marius, and in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar concert. He changed character yet again in 2004, appearing as Enjolras in Les Misérables. One year later he was playing the role of Christopher Scott in Miss Saigon (UK National Tour). However, it was in 2007 that Karimloo starred in his most dramatic role as the famous Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre, where for two years he became the resident masked freak. Karimloo also played this role in The Phantom of the Opera's 21st Anniversary and went on to receive the Theatregoers' Choice Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Takeover Role.
Sierra Boggess, American theatre actress and soprano singer, was captivating as Christine Daaé. The first time Ms Boggess played the role of Christine was in Phantom — The Las Vegas Spectacular in Las Vegas in June 2006. In February 2010 to March 2011 Boggess starred as Christine Daaé in the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera (Love Never Dies) in the West End at the Adelphi Theatre. Boggess left the cast on March 5, 2011 and was replaced by Celia Graham. In 2010 she was nominated in the BroadwayWorld UK Awards for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for Love Never Dies and in 2011 was nominated for the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers Choice Awards for Best Actress in a Musical: Love Never Dies. During that same year she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical: Love Never Dies.
There were fantastic supporting roles from Kiera Duffy (Carlotta Giudicelli), Barry James (Monsieur Firmin), Gareth Snook (Monsieur André), Liz Robertson (Madame Giry), Wynne Evans (Ubaldo Piangi) and Sergei Polunin (Slave Master (Hannibal)/Shepherd (Il Muto). Above all Hadley Fraser played romantic hero Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, with such verve and passion that no wonder Christine’s head was turned.
Once the Phantom had retreated a victorious Andrew Lloyd Webber emerged triumphant from behind the shadow of the stage curtains. The audience rose to their feet; the cheering and rejoicing was unforgettable. The Phantom himself looked momentarily stunned by his rapturous audience who clapped so loudly that your eardrums crackled. Wearing a striking cobalt blue shirt and with a moderate whiff of impresario, the musical genius was clearly overjoyed; his brown eyes twinkled and his purposeful gaze darted over the extraordinary sea of faces with complete calm and authority.
The clapping began to fade and Lloyd Webber made his incredibly moving speech. When he was five years old his mother took him to the Royal Albert Hall for a promenade concert where he first thought he’d heard Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony. Back then he would never have envisaged one day standing on that platform with his own show all those years later. Lloyd Webber turned to Cameron Mackintosh and thanked him for “an extraordinary production”, whence he paid an emotional tribute to Maria Björnson without who “it would never have happened” and described how her vision coloured the whole production. Sadly, Maria died tragically early and it was such a shame she could not have seen her work in bloom today. In a moving tribute to the designer Andrew Lloyd Webber went on to say: “I hope we’ve honoured her spirit in every way”. Everyone cheered and the volume rose considerably. Lloyd Webber went on to honour Director Harold Prince’s involvement in the show. Hal was unable to join the celebrations due to being in New York with the New York Broadway Company, but was certainly part of the night via satellite as the show was broadcast live around the world. Andrew then announced the original London creative team who accompanied Sir Cameron Mackintosh. Gillian Lynne (Musical Staging & Choreography – Original Stage Production & Royal Albert Hall) made her appearance. Ms Lynne was then joined by the creative team from the Royal Albert Hall. The cast and orchestra were all congratulated. The original London company took to the stage and the original Phantom, Michael Crawford, hot-footed it over from the London Palladium where he is currently appearing in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ to take his bow. This was an extremely emotionally charged night for Mr Crawford since he had originated the role and the show was a huge tribute to his work. Crawford’s eyes filled tears. The audience went wild….. and then the moment everyone had waited for arrived, when Sarah Brightman, the ‘Angel of Music’, was reunited with her ex-husband Andrew Lloyd Webber on stage. Wearing a long white flowing gown the original Christine Daaé made her grand entrance and sang The Phantom of The Opera. Everyone fell silent. There wasn’t so much as the sound of a sweet wrapper or the crunching of a Matchmaker.
The grand finale was a moment I will always remember. Ramin Karimloo looked triumphant and carried Sierra Boggess off stage. Cameron Mackintosh was jubilant and even attempted to join in the singing. The Mackintosh vision for adding colour and drama heightened an already illustrious production.
I left the auditorium with my party on that warm October night knowing that what we’d all just experienced was a remarkable testament to the sensational work of such an accomplished composer. The Phantom of the Opera’s 25th Anniversary is a night I will never forget. Happy Birthday Phantom! 25 Years Young. See you at the 30th Anniversary!
I’m not going to spoil everything by describing the show any further, but what I will say is that you simply must order the live recording (out on DVD and Blu-ray, on 14th November) to experience this sensational tribute to Lord Lloyd Webber’s most revered musical. CLICK HERE to order. The Phantom of the Opera has been staged in 145 cities across twenty-seven countries and its box office sales eclipse Avatar, Titanic and Star Wars.
Original Production showing at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
