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Phantom of the Opera premiered at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End on 9 October 1986, and had its Broadway debut at the Majestic Theatre on 26 January 1988, with Michael Crawford as The Phantom and Sarah Brightman as Christine. It has since won over 70 major theatre awards.
The soaring score includes Music of the Night, All I Ask of You, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, Masquerade and the iconic title overture.
Since opening, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera continues to play to full houses in London and was the longest-running show on Broadway when it closed after 35 years and 13,981 performances in April 2023. Seen by more than 160 million people in 58 territories, 217 cities and 23 languages worldwide, Phantom of the Opera is a cultural phenomenon, widely considered as one of the most spectacular productions of all time and a cornerstone of the entertainment landscape around the world.
Created by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, producer Cameron Mackintosh, director Hal Prince, lyricists Charles Hart with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, choreographer Gillian Lynne, and designer Maria Björnson.
The Phantom of the Opera, a novel by Gaston Leroux, was first published as a series from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910. The novel is partly inspired by historical events at the Paris Opera during the 19th century, and by an apocryphal tale concerning the use of a former ballet pupil's skeleton in Carl Maria von Weber's 1841 production of 'Der Freischüt'z.
Gaston Leroux's novel, The Phantom of the Opera, was first adapted into a silent horror film in the early 20th century. It was directed by Rupert Julian and starred Lon Chaney in the title role of the Phantom. It premiered in New York on 6 September 1925 and then was re-released 4 years later in colour and with sound.
English playwright and director, Ken Hill, first produced a stage musical of The Phantom of the Opera at The Duke’s Playhouse in Lancaster on 26 July 1976.
Ken Hill revived his musical version of The Phantom of the Opera in 1984. Andrew and Cameron Mackintosh attended a performance of this production at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. Andrew and Cameron approached Hill about the possibility of collaborating to develop this adaptation for the West End; however, they eventually decided not to pursue with the project later that year.
In early 1985, whilst Requiem was in rehearsals and due to open at St Thomas' Church in New York in February, Andrew bought a copy of the original English translation of Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. Then, following discussions with Cameron Mackintosh, they decided to produce their own version of the show with Andrew writing the music.
With a vision of writing a new musical, Andrew and Cameron Mackintosh started to explore lyricists for The Phantom of the Opera. Richard Stilgoe was approached and chosen in 1985.
Whilst Andrew was working on Phantom for the Sydmonton Festival, Cameron Mackintosh was busy with another show, Les Misérables. Cameron suggested they ask Maria Björnson to design the set and costumes for Phantom who he knew through working at the RSC.
Andrew approached Hal Prince at the nominee's pre-party for the 39th annual Tony Awards and told him about his new high romance project, The Phantom of the Opera. Hal expressed his interest in directing and they agreed to meet at Sydmonton back in the UK later that month.
On 23 June 1985, Hal Prince heard the first act score of Phantom that included the iconic chandelier moment and the organ overture, the latter of which have not changed to this day.
On 5 July 1985, the first act of The Phantom of the Opera was presented at the 11th Sydmonton Festival. Directed by Dion McHugh, Colm Wilkinson played the 'Phantom', Sarah Brightman played 'Kristin', and Clive Carter played 'Raoul'.
