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David Frazier

Andrew Lloyd Webber'sThe Phantom of the Opera is one of the world's most successful musical theatre productions, currently ranked second behind  The Lion King in terms of total box office.  
Premiered in 1986 in London's West End, the musical has played more than 10,000 shows in both New York and London. Runs continue in both cities, with the rest of the world being serviced by two touring programmes. 
With a total box office now estimated at approximately US$6 billion, The Phantom of the Opera has a bigger box office than any film yet made. It has sold more theatre tickets than all six Star Wars films combined, outgrossed The Lord of the Rings, and doubled the take (US$2.8 billion) of the highest grossing film to date, Avatar.
And now Phantom is moving from theatres to arenas.

Hong Kong will get its first taste of Phantom's new stadium staging when the musical returns here for the third time, from December 21 to January 18. Its last two Hong Kong outings, in 1995 and 2006, were both at the Grand Theatre in the Cultural Centre.
This new production will be staged in a specially constructed 4,200-seat theatre environment in the AsiaWorld Expo Arena. The venue can hold many more than 4,200 seats, but it will be converted to emulate an oversized theatre.
The stage will be built from scratch, and will incorporate computer-controlled lighting and set changes. It will be flanked by two huge screens for close-ups and subtitles.
The cast of 32 onstage performers is supplemented by about 130 backstage staff, and an orchestra of 20.

After viewing the new stadium production in Taipei in September, I can say that for the audience outside the first 10 or 20 rows, the experience will not be that intimate. But it is still one of the best and most ornate stage spectacles around. The play is everything it should be. The sets are gorgeous and the immensely popular musical numbers are as entertaining as expected.
The cast is phenomenal. It's anchored by American actor Brad Little, who has been playing the phantom since taking to the role in 1996 on Broadway, and Claire Lyon, a young Australian soprano who ably assumes the part of the heroine, Christine Daaé. "The production is as close as you can get to the original," says Little.
"In many ways, we are a touring museum. The set, props and many of the costumes we're using were created for an Australian production in 1989, after the designs for the original West End production by Maria Björnson, who won all kinds of awards for them. Some of the fabrics we use are no longer produced. This is the kind of production and story where that patina of time adds to the effect."

Webber wrote his version of The Phantom of the Opera in the mid-1980s, basing his script on a 1910 novel by Parisian detective writer Gaston Leroux. It is a classic gothic novel and a parable of human isolation at the dawn of the industrial age.
The story follows a disfigured madman who lives in the labyrinths underneath the Paris Opera House and pursues the love of an actress on the stage above.
In adapting Phantom to the stage, Webber consulted several film versions, notably a 1925 silent horror film starring Lon Chaney. In its day, the scene in which the phantom is unmasked was said to be so horrific it caused some moviegoers to faint. Webber preferred "phantasy" to horror, and wrote his musical as a tragic love story.
The only disappointment at the Taipei performance was the arena's lifeless atmosphere. This is not a trivial matter. For centuries, theatre has been a social event, and in the world evoked by The Phantom of the Opera - late 19th century Paris - it was perhaps the preeminent social outing. So can this sense of occasion be put across in such a large contemporary venue?

Blockbuster musicals have transformed to stadium shows in the past decade, especially for Asian tours. The rig used in the current Phantom show was developed for a staging of The Lion King in Taipei.
The world is full of old theatres with character, and even ghosts. When I met them in Taipei, both Little and Lyon had theatre ghost anecdotes - all second-hand - about actors who had died on stage, or sandbags that went bump in the night.
It was this rich tradition that gave Leroux his inspiration, and that was why he called his story The Phantom of the Opera. "The Phantom of the AsiaWorld Arena" just wouldn't have had the same ring.
 
The Phantom of the Opera, December 21- January 18, AsiaWorld-Arena, Lantau. HK$295-HK$1,195 hkticketing.com. Inquiries: 3606 8828
 


Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera returns

Scenes from The Phantom of the Opera. Photos: Corbis, Xinhua

Many of the intricate costumes were made in 1989.

Brad Little (left) and Claire Lyon play the lead roles.

Brad Little

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After all-conquering runs on stage and screen, The Phantom of the Opera  returns as an arena show


After all-conquering runs on stage and screen, The Phantom of the Opera returns as an arena show.
