FBM
The world's most successful musical, Phantom of the Opera, is returning to Switzerland after almost 30 years - to the Musical Theater Basel. Andrew Lloyd Webber's most famous musical is also one of the most successful in entertainment history. It is the show that ran continuously on Broadway from 1988 to 2023 - with 14,000 performances. The musical broke all records - and there are some amazing facts about this production.
In 1984, musical author Andrew Lloyd Webber was rummaging through a second-hand bookshop on Fifth Avenue in New York during rehearsals for his Requiem. There he came across a second-hand copy of the novel "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra" by Gaston Leroux, which he bought for just 50 cents. Leroux's story, published in 1910 and set in Paris at the end of the 19th century, immediately fascinated Lloyd Webber. The novel is about a mysterious, disfigured composer who lives in the catacombs of the Paris Opera and falls in love with the very young soprano Christine Daaé. Lloyd Webber saw in this story the potential for an emotionally and musically rich stage work.
The world premiere of the musical took place on October 9, 1986 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. At the time, there were also critical voices. Some critics criticized the alleged lack of originality in Andrew Lloyd Webber's music. However, the musical was extremely well received by the audience: Lloyd Webber's music, which cleverly combines elements of rock, classical opera and musicals, was a worldwide hit. Over 160 million people have now seen The Phantom - in 41 countries, 186 cities and 19 languages. And the musical has won more than 70 major theater awards, including seven Tony Awards and four Olivier Awards.
The production includes 22 scene changes and 120 automated cues (trigger signals). The famous chandelier weighs a ton and falls at a speed of 2.5 meters per second during the show.
166 costumes, 141 headdresses and 130 human hair wigs are used per performance. The skirt of opera diva Carlotta alone weighs 15 kilograms. It takes two hours for the phantom mask with wig and microphones to fit perfectly. It takes half an hour to take it off again.
In every performance, 281 electric candles, ten fog and smoke machines and 1500 liters of liquid nitrogen per week create the right atmosphere on stage.
2,230 meters of fabric are needed for the draped curtains. In addition, there are 226 meters of tassel braid and 250 kilograms of dyed wool, which is woven by hand with 5,000 Indian wooden beads. 27 trucks are needed to transport all the stage parts and props for "Phantom of the Opera".
A sequel entitled "Love Never Dies" premiered in 2010. It tells the further life story of the Phantom, who now lives on Coney Island and misses Christine. The play premiered at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 2010 and has since been performed in various countries, including Australia, Japan, Germany and North America.