The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

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The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

Directed by Nick Morris

Laurence Connor (stage direction)

Produced by Cameron Mackintosh

Dione Orrom

Brett Sullivan

Story by Gaston Leroux

Based on The Phantom of the Opera

by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Charles Hart

Richard Stilgoe

Starring Ramin Karimloo

Sierra Boggess

Hadley Fraser

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Editing by Lawrence Huck

Nick Morris

Studio Really Useful Films

Distributed by Universal Pictures

Release dates • 2 October 2011

Running time 160 minutes[1]

Country United Kingdom

Language English

The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall is a 2011 British film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera, which in turn was based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera, three special performances were filmed at the Royal Albert Hall, the third of which was screened live worldwide on October 2, 2011. For further releases, footage from all three performances was edited together.

Contents

[hide]

• 1 Production

o 1.1 Idea

o 1.2 Royal Albert Hall

o 1.3 Live Streaming

• 2 Synopsis

o 2.1 Prologue

o 2.2 Act I

o 2.3 Act II

o 2.4 Grand Finale

• 3 Cast

• 4 References

• 5 External links

Production[edit]

Idea[edit]

To mark the extraordinary milestone of 25 years, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh planned a special 3-day production to take place at London's Royal Albert Hall in October 2011. Designer Matt Kinley initially planned to hold a concert-style production not unlike the Les Misérables 25th Anniversary concert at the O2 Arena, but Mackintosh made it clear the show would be fully staged, as both he and Webber felt it would not work unless it was the whole show. As a result, the event was planned as a full show in the Royal Albert Hall.

Royal Albert Hall[edit]

Designing the staged show at the Royal Albert Hall was a daunting task, as the space (or lack of) was not an easy one to translate a proscenium show into. As a concert hall rather than a theatre, many of the show's elements (such as the chandelier) had to be toned down and simplified; the Royal Albert Hall was simply not capable of accepting a show the size of The Phantom of the Opera (which is already notorious for being very difficult to stage), or at least not the full original. The balconies of the hall were used to build uprights to form an opera house proscenium with boxes on each side. The orchestra was elevated on a platform and backed by a gauze which projected the opera sets via LEDs.

Live Streaming[edit]

Tickets for the three performances sold out within five hours of going on sale. In order to enable more people to see the production, the final performance was relayed live to cinemas around the world via Fathom Events. The production was subsequently released on DVD and Blu-ray. It has also recently been released with the musical's sequel, Love Never Dies.

Synopsis[edit]

Prologue[edit]

At the fictional Opera Populaire (based on the Paris Opéra House) in 1905, an auction of old theatre props is underway. Lot 665, purchased by the elderly Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, is a music box in the shape of a monkey; it is familiar to him, and he speaks of a mysterious "she" - that the details of the strange little music box appear "exactly as she said." Lot 666 is a shattered chandelier that is claimed by the auctioneer to have been related to "the strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera, a mystery never fully explained," having appeared in some great disaster in years past. As the chandelier - which has been replaced, in part, with new electric wiring - is uncovered, it illuminates as the years roll back and the Opéra returns to its 1880s' grandeur ("Overture").

Act I[edit]

It is now 1881. 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 anxious cast members whisper. The Opera's new owners, Firmin and André, try to downplay the incident, but Carlotta refuses to continue and storms offstage. Meg Giry, the daughter of the Opéra's ballet mistress Madame Giry, 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. With cancellation of the performance their only alternative, the owners reluctantly audition Christine, and to their surprise she is equal to the challenge ("Think of Me").

Backstage after her triumphant début, Christine confesses to Meg that she knows her mysterious teacher only as an invisible "Angel of Music" ("Angel of Music"). The new patron, Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, finds Christine, his old childhood playmate, in her dressing room ("Little Lotte"). Christine reminds Raoul about the "Angel of Music" stories that her late father used to tell them, and confides that the Angel has been visiting her and given her her astonishing voice. Raoul good-naturedly accepts her revelation, taking it in stride, and he invites her to dinner, clearly hearkening back to - and desiring to continue - their childhood friendship. Christine, to his puzzlement, is not as willing, claiming that her Angel is a stern taskmaster and that he will not be pleased by her absence. Raoul exits, still intending to take Christine to dinner, and a jealous Phantom materializes in Christine's mirror in the guise of The Angel of Music ("The Mirror/Angel of Music (Reprise)"). Christine begs him to reveal himself. The Phantom obliges, then guides her into a ghostly underground realm ("The Phantom of the Opera"). They cross a subterranean lake to his secret lair beneath the Opéra house. He then explains that he has chosen Christine to sing his music and serenades her ("The Music of the Night"). Overwhelmed, Christine faints and the Phantom carries her to a bed and expresses his adoration

...