The Phantom of the Opera is a musical based on the novel The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. The music was written in 1986 by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber specifically for the voice of his then wife, singer Sarah Brightman. The lyrics were written by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. During the writing stage, many other rival productions were started, which had not occurred in any other stage show since the early 20th Century. The musical was produced by Cameron Mackintosh and opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, on October 9, 1986, where it still runs as of 2004. The show was taken to Broadway, where it is still running today, and many other cities. The show won a Tony Award for Best Musical, Michael Crawford won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of The Phantom and Judy Kaye won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Carlotta Guidicelli. The show also won Tonys for its sets, costumes, lighting and Director (Hal Prince).

The German language first performance was shown in Austria, in the Theater an der Wien, on December 20, 1988.

A film version was released in December 2004.

Musical Numbers

Act One

• Overture
• Think of Me
• Angel of Music
• Little Lotte
• Angel of Music (The Mirror)
• The Phantom of the Opera
• Music of the Night
• I Remember.../Stranger Than You Dreamt It
• Magical Lasso
• Notes.../Prima Donna
• Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh (Il Muto)
• Why Have You Brought Me Here?/Raoul, I've Been There
• All I Ask of You
• All I Ask of You (Reprise)

Act Two

• Entr'acte
• Masquerade/Why So Silent...
• Notes.../Twisted Every Way
• Wishing You Were Some How Here Again
• Wandering Child.../Bravo Monseiur...
• The Point of No Return
• Down Once More.../Track Down This Murderer
• The Final Lair

Notable Actors

In the role of the Phantom:

• Michael Crawford (Original London and Broadway Cast)
• Colm Wilkinson (Original Toronto/Canadian Cast)
• Peter Hofmann (Original Hamburg Cast)
• Anthony Warlow (Original Melbourne/Australian Cast; at the time the youngest actor to play the role)
• Steve Barton (1990 Broadway production)
• Peter Karrie (London and many international touring productions)
• Sandor Sasvari (Original Hungarian Cast)
• Mikael Samuelson (Original Swedish Cast)
• John Owen Jones (Longest-running London Phantom)
• Alexander Goebel (Original Vienna Cast)
• Dave Willetts (London and UK Tour productions)
• Hugh Panaro (Current Broadway production and 1990 Broadway production as Raoul)

In the role of Christine:

• Sarah Brightman (Original London and Broadway Cast; the part was written for her)
• Rebecca Caine (Original Toronto/Canadian Cast)

In the role of Raoul:

• Steve Barton (Original London and Broadway Cast)

See also

• The Phantom of the Opera
• The Phantom of the Opera (2004 movie)