- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- The Phantom of the Opera is the most lavish of the many Andrew Lloyd Webber productions and could be viewed as the pinnacle of his success.
The Phantom of the Opera (Original London Cast) (1987): Like Les Misèrables, The Phantom of the Opera was originally a French novel, as written by Gaston Leroux in the early 20th Century; the story is set in the historic Paris Opéra House. The story of a deformed musical genius who mysteriously becomes the mentor to a young female singer has been adapted into a movie on several occasions, most famously the silent horror film The Phantom of the Opera (1925) starring Lon Chaney, known as “The Man of a Thousand Faces”. The Phantom of the Opera is the most lavish of the many Andrew Lloyd Webber productions and could be viewed as the pinnacle of his success. My recollection is that Phantom was the first Broadway show to have general ticket prices above $100, although we paid a little less when we saw Phantom, since the view of part of the stage from our seats was blocked by a column.
This album called The Phantom of the Opera is from the production in London’s West End that opened in 1986, starring Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. The Phantom of the Opera opened on Broadway in 1988 and, other than a hiatus of about 18 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, continues to have performances to this day. The Phantom of the Opera is the longest-running musical in Broadway history and ranks #2 in London. The musical was made into a film in 2004 also called The Phantom of the Opera.