A Double Dose of Webber

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, producer Cameron Mackintosh threw a lavish three-night celebration at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Initially broadcast in cinemas, Laurence Connor’s The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (now on DVD and Blu-Ray, and airing starting this week on PBS) proves to be a much stronger cinematic record of the 1986 musical than Joel Schumacher’s 2005 film adaptation.

Leading the company (which, including the orchestra, numbers 200-members) are Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess, and Hadley Fraser, three singing actors who not only do great justice to the score, but infuse the central love triangle of The Phantom, Christine, and Raoul, with the urgency that the piece needs in order to thrive. While Fraser’s acting can occasionally be a bit on the stiff side, and Karimloo is more sentimental than threatening, there is no denying that the men sing the roles dreamily.

It’s Boggess who provides the most fascinating characterization, not only displaying a gorgeous, crystalline soprano, but ramping up Christine’s youthful naiveté and confusion. She plays the role as a young woman unable to decide who to love, fully realizing that both choices, no matter how entrancing, would likely be a mistake.

Though the reportedly 40,000-bead chandelier disappointingly doesn’t fall at the end of the first act (it merely sparks instead), the colorful, high-definition home release expertly captures the other spectacles of the staging, from Matt Kinley’s massive, environmental set (based on the late Maria Bjornson’s designs), Bjornson’s original, eye-popping costumes, and Andrew Bridge and Patrick Woodroffe’s evocative lighting.

In addition, a perk of the high-definition filming is being able to catch small details that even live audiences couldn’t possibly have seen, like the tears streaming from Karimloo’s eyes during his first act reprise of “All I Ask of You.”

Following the curtain call, a clearly moved Lloyd Webber takes to the stage to introduce his collaborators, original stars Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, a choir, and a host of former Phantoms (including Anthony Warlow and Colm Wilkinson) for reprises of the title number and “Music of the Night.” It’s a crowd-thrilling conclusion to a very special evening.

Few Americans have had the chance to see Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s intriguing continuation of the Phantom story, but that will change on February 28 and March 7, when Fathom Entertainment broadcasts the show’s Australian production in over 500 cinemas (with a DVD Release set for May 7).

After watching Brett Sullivan’s gorgeous film, there’s no question why Lloyd Webber chose Simon Phillips’ grandiose production to capture this show for posterity. Not only does Phillips’ staging feature jaw-dropping set and costume designs by Gabriela Tylesova, but it boasts a cast that, in true operatic fashion, wears its collective emotions on its sleeve.

Over a decade has passed since we last saw the Phantom. The Opera Populaire has mysteriously burned to the ground, and Madame Giry, her daughter Meg, and The Phantom have now relocated to Coney Island, New York, where he became the proprietor of Phantasma, a carnival in which Meg is the main attraction.

Meanwhile, soprano Christine Daae, now world-renowned, and husband Raoul, an alcoholic and gambler, are trapped in a loveless marriage while raising their ten-year-old son Gustave. When the Phantom learns that Christine has been contracted by Oscar Hammerstein I to sing at his opera house, it’s a golden opportunity to reclaim the muse for whom he’s long been pining.

While it can’t be said that the needlessly complicated book (by Ben Elton) — which also contains what might be the single longest death sequence in the Andrew Lloyd Webber canon — makes a completely convincing case for a sequel, the characters in Love Never Dies are somehow more interesting and better defined than before.

Moreover, as The Phantom and Christine, Ben Lewis and Anna O’Byrne ooze sexual chemistry and lusciously perform the material. Maria Mercedes (Madame Giry), Simon Gleeson (Raoul), and Sharon Millerchip (Meg) provide ample support in roles that for the first time have a clear arc and conflict. Lloyd Webber’s score is filled to the brim with engaging, romantic melodies, but is significantly betrayed by Glenn Slater’s banal, exposition-laden, and subtext-free lyrics.

The film itself is so beautifully put together and evocative that, were it not for establishing shots of the proscenium, you’d forget that what you’re watching was taped in a theater and not a sound stage. All musicals should be this lucky.