WhatsOnStage
"Lloyd Webber's music is still glorious and, mainly, timeless."
No musical has left a deeper mark on the West End than The Phantom of the Opera. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s gothic romance opened at His Majesty’s Theatre - then known as Her Majesty’s - in 1986 and has never left, making it the longest-running show in West End history and a rite of passage for anyone who loves musical theatre.
Adapted from Gaston Leroux’s novel, the story plays out in the shadows of the Paris Opera House, where a masked and disfigured musical genius haunts the corridors and the cellars beneath the stage. When he becomes obsessed with Christine, a gifted young soprano, he takes her under his wing as a mysterious Angel of Music, and his fierce, possessive love draws her and her childhood sweetheart Raoul into a tale of longing, jealousy and tragedy.
Why it’s worth the watch
Nearly four decades on, Phantom still does things few other shows attempt. Here is why it remains essential viewing:
- The score. ‘The Music of the Night’, ‘All I Ask of You’, ‘Think of Me’ and the thunderous title song make up one of the most romantic and recognisable scores ever written for the stage.
- The spectacle. The falling chandelier, the candlelit journey across the underground lake and the lavish period design are the stuff of theatre legend.
- The scale. A large cast and a full orchestra give the production a richness that modern shows rarely attempt.
- The home. His Majesty’s Theatre has been Phantom’s home since 1986, and seeing it in the room it was built for is part of the magic.
