Picture: Johan Persson
The Phantom of the Opera continues at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
When it opened in London on 9 October 1986, it was a sensation – 35 years later it’s still sensational. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, back at an immaculate, ornate and invitingly intimate Her Majesty’s Theatre was always everything you would want from a musical and a whole lot more.
It instantly raised the global musical theatre bar, both in terms of its production values but also in its glorious, intricate presentation. Now, in 2021, this new production faces probably the toughest competition the show has ever had with other high value shows competing for customers, but all the signs are that this refreshed production is going to be one of the hottest tickets in town during its current run.
From the minute the languid and apparently derelict chandelier bursts into life – a frightening, demonic ball of light and energy – and flies above a stunned audience it’s obvious you’re in for a special evening. As Christine Daae, Lucy St. Louis, has some truly legendary shoes to fill but if she held any trepidations beforehand about being able to honour the character’s legacy, she can rest fully assured – her vocal range simply immaculate, onstage gravitas belying her young age and her ability to wring emotion from every lyric outstanding.
When I saw Phantom way back in 1987, I went away with a visual memory of the opening number from Act II stamped firmly on my mind. Watching ‘Masquerade’ decades later, its visual impact is again stunning. An iconic moment in musical theatre, it’s surely one of the most impressively costumed set pieces ever and there’s barely enough plaudits possible for the costume department and wardrobe team responsible. Each performance, we’re told, boasts 370 costumes and involves 11 dressers.
If any performer is looking for comfortable night in musical theatre, the role of Phantom isn’t it. It’s a part that clearly strains every sinew, vocally and physically and double Olivier Award nominee, Killian Donnelly, is impeccable, riding the emotional rollercoaster of his role with an assuredness you can only marvel at.
Given the effort required, it’s maybe no wonder the official programme lists no less than three Phantom understudies. When you add into the musical mix, the superbly confident Rhys Whitfield as Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, and the fabulously mischievous Saori Oda revelling in another key role, that of Carlotta Giudicelli, the dramatic and vocal blend is irresistible. Not ignoring the show’s delightful comedic vein, of course.
Among the cast is also Beatrice Penny-Toure, an Andrew Lloyd Webber Arts Ed scholarship graduate, taking on her first professional role as the Princess.
The sets are better than ever – the Phantom perched high above the rooftops on an imposing equine statue, ranting and vowing terrible revenge is another iconic moment. All the numbers that are now firmly embedded into musical theatre history are performed immaculately, dare one say, with due reverence – ‘The Point of No Return’ with the Phantom and Christine being just one highlight amid a whole night of highlights.
If you haven’t seen the show for many years, treat yourself and book a return visit – as the lyric goes, that’s ‘All I ask of You’.
Derek Smith
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