The Phantom of the Opera: West End premiere on 9 October 1986

Forty years ago, on 9 October 1986, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera was first performed at Her Majesty's Theatre in London's West End. The production was directed by Harold Prince, with Cameron Mackintosh as producer.

It was based on the novel by Gaston Leroux, which was serialised from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910. The book drew in part on events at the Paris Opera in the 19th century.

Early versions

The story was staged and filmed long before Webber's version. In the early 20th century the novel was first adapted for the screen: Rupert Julian's silent horror film starring Lon Chaney in the lead role was released in New York on 6 September 1925, and four years later it was reissued in colour and with sound. In 1976 Ken Hill staged a stage musical based on the novel at the Duke's Playhouse theatre in Lancaster; in 1984 Webber and Mackintosh saw the revived version and discussed working with Hill, but decided to make their own show.

In 1985 Webber bought the original English translation of the novel and, after conversations with Mackintosh, decided to release his own version; he wrote the music himself. The lyrics were written by Charles Hart, additional lyrics prepared by Richard Stilgoe, the sets and costumes created by Maria Björnson, and the choreography by Gillian Lynne.

On 23 June 1985 Harold Prince heard the music of the first act, including the chandelier scene and the organ overture. On 5 July 1985 the first act was presented at the 11th Sydmonton Festival.

The score includes, among others, "The Music of the Night", "All I Ask of You", "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" and "Masquerade".

A long life on stage

On Broadway the musical was first shown on 26 January 1988 at the Majestic Theatre, with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman in the lead roles. The show received more than 70 major theatre awards, and by its closing in April 2023 it was the longest-running on Broadway: 35 years and 13,981 performances. It was seen by more than 160 million people in 58 territories, 217 cities and in 23 languages.

Image: Dietmar Rabich CC BY-SA 4.0 · License

Translation editor: Ловушкин А.