The music of the night under the night sky

The Phantom of the Opera has been seen by more than 140 million people around the world, played in 35 countries and 166 cities, and has won more than 70 theatre awards. It has been staged in some of the most well-known theatres globally from Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End and the Royal Albert Hall, through to the Majestic Theatre on Broadway.

Sydney Harbour is now joining the ranks.

Everyone knows the story of a young soprano opera singer, promoted from the chorus when the lead performer storms out, who becomes fixated on the mysterious masked man living beneath the Paris Opera House. The legend of The Phantom haunts the performers, with many fearing he will exercise his reign of terror on them, inhibiting their ability to perform.

Webber himself has acknowledged the cult-like status The Phantom of the Opera has developed, but has also acknowledged that the musical came about in quite a convoluted fashion.

“It’s a confused book, to put it mildly. It can’t work out what it is exactly, whether it’s a love story, whether it’s a detective story, whether or not it’s some kind of thriller, whether or not it’s some kind of piece of history,” Webber has said in the past, discussing the original book by Gaston Leroux.

With producer Cameron Mackintosh describing the story as a “jolly good plot and rather badly written,” the pair set out to create a production, focusing on love.

Because as Webber has also said in the past, “The Phantom of the Opera is about love. It’s as simple as that”.

Lyricist Richard Stilgoe explained, “There are certain rules for musicals, about things that they have to have in them to make them work, most of which are based on whether it’s going to be daft when people burst into song or not. Because basically, that’s what you have to get over with an audience, is that moment when people start singing.

“So there has to be passion and obsession so that just words aren’t’ enough, so that the song has to star. And The Phantom of the Opera is about one of the great obsessives in history.”

The Phantom of the Opera is, of course, based on a real story. After Leroux spent his inheritance gambling, he became a reporter for L’Echo de Paris, later becoming a writer. The opera house is based on Palais Garnier and the story is based on the rumour that an ancient ghost haunts it.

It was also based on a real event – during Act One of the opera Helle, a fire in the roof melted some wiring, causing a counterweight for the chandelier to crash and injure several people, killing one. And, fun fact, the underground lake does, in fact, exist beneath the opera house.

The Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour production of The Phantom of the Opera opens this weekend with the role of the Phantom – which was originated in Australia by Anthony Warlow – performed by Joshua Robson.

Robson will be joined by Georgina Hopson as Christine and acclaimed West End and Broadway performer Callum Francis as Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny.

The cast has been described by Opera Australia artistic director Lyndon Terracini as phenomenally talented. “These young artists are at the top of their game and in-demand, so it’s really terrific that we’ve been able to secure them,” he said.

For Robson, it’s the biggest role of his career to date.

“I am really beyond words,” he told Limelight magazine. “Even on publicity day I was just trying to get my head around what this whirlwind adventure is going to be like because it is going to go for a hot second and then it will all be over, so I’m just trying to stay as present as possible and lap it up as much as I possibly can.”

Terracini said, “Joshua Robson is a great talent, he’s going to really blow away the audiences, and Georgina will be just spellbinding as Christine and with Callum in the role of Raoul, it really is dream casting, we couldn’t be happier.

“They are all phenomenally talented, the chemistry between Joshua and Georgina was just amazing and I think Callum was born to sing Raoul. Seriously this is going to be the hottest ticket in town this year.”

The hottest ticket indeed. Despite it being one of the longest-running musicals in the world, even The Phantom of the Opera couldn’t stand up to COVID, closing permanently on West End in July.

Now, though, as the world begins to live alongside COVID, the music of the night will resonate once more.

Under the stars with the Harbour Bridge and city skyline as a backdrop, the phenomenon that is The Phantom of the Opera will dazzle, as the spectacular scenes unfold on the floating stage and the expressive songs resound across Sydney Harbour. It truly will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The Phantom of the Opera runs from March 25 to April 24, at Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquarie’s Point. For tickets: opera.org.au