For the original West End production, Hal Prince directed and Gillian Lynne provided the musical staging and choreography. Sarah Brightman was cast as Christine and Michael Crawford played the title role of the Phantom. In 1982, “Phantom of the Opera” premiered in London’s West End at Her Majesty’s Theatre and is the story of a beautiful soprano who becomes the obsessed with a mysterious, disfigured musical genius. In collaboration with Charles Hart and with some additional material provided by Richard Stilgoe, Lloyd Webber’s score of “Phantom of the Opera” is operatic in style while maintaining the form of a traditional musical the songs are interspersed with the play’s dialogue.
![plot of the phantom of the opera book plot of the phantom of the opera book](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/73/83/27/7383275e27352d21ce044a5e4bde303c.jpg)
Lloyd Webber had been longing to write a romantic musical and he became inspired by the 1909 “Le Fantome de Opera” book written by French author Gaston Leroux. Lloyd Webber went on to create his first solo production “Cats”, which opened in London in 1981. Unfortunately, the successful Lloyd Webber and Rice partnership ended by the 1980s. By this time, Lloyd Webber and Rice had developed a tradition of composing the words and music first, then recording an album of the music and finally producing the stage play. Their next production was the 1971 “Jesus Christ Superstar” followed by the 1976 “Evita”.
![plot of the phantom of the opera book plot of the phantom of the opera book](https://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/5914455/il_570xN.191812791.jpg)
Their first musical was “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and it was an immediate success. In 1965, Lloyd Webber had started his long collaboration with Tim Rice. He studied at the Royal College of Music to pursue an interest in musical theatre.
![plot of the phantom of the opera book plot of the phantom of the opera book](https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499432809l/35616830.jpg)
Lloyd Webber was a musical prodigy and he played piano, violin, the French horn and began writing his own music at the age 6. He came from a musical family his father William was a composer and organist, his mother Jean was a violinist and pianist, his brother Julian was an accomplished cellist. He has received numerous awards and honors such as seven Tony Awards, three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, the Kennedy Center Honors Award and a British knighthood.Īndrew Lloyd Webber was born in London, England on March 22, 1948. When the story, “Phantom of the Opera” was publish later in book form but it sold very poorly and over the years there were various films and state productions, the most successful were the 1925 silent film adaptation starring Lon Chaney and the 1986 Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical.Ī brief history of Andrew Lloyd Webber and “The Phantom of the Opera”Īndrew Lloyd Webber has created some of the most recognizable Broadway plays from “Evita” to “Cats” to the hugely successful “The Phantom of the Opera”.
PLOT OF THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA BOOK SERIAL
“Le Fantome de Opera”, was originally a French novel written by Gaston Leroux and was first published in serial form in the newspaper Le Gaulois from late 1909 to early 1910.