The Phantom of the Opera

They always say you should never go back so I must admit I was a little wary when I was invited to see “The Phantom Of The Opera” for the first time in over twenty years. Since I last worked there in 1989 I have only set foot in Her Majesty’s Theatre twice - and the last time was well over a decade ago. It’s somewhat ironic for a show about an “Opera Ghost” I guess, but as a result of my time working there the building has many ghosts for me and I couldn’t help wondering which ghosts in particular would materialise on this return visit.

As I walked in to the foyer I remembered that the counter on the left was where Graham would sell the merchandise and, of course, on the right was the box office itself where I worked for a couple of years. We had so many staff back then that I could go on forever naming them but I will mention only Rosemary Forbes-Butler (better known to me as Rosie) who is my only enduring friendship from those far off days. The other “ghost” that I recollected was the memory of Michael Aspel, in the foyer, complete with phantomesque cape, as he filmed the intro for a “This Is Your Life”. Indeed I even stood at the back of the balcony as the “surprise” itself was taped – the “victim” being, choreographer, Gillian Lynne. It seemed everywhere I went that different faces and names appeared to me. Jay Brightman (Sarah’s brother) who was an attendant, Theatre Manager Mark Heywood – even Debbie Allen and Gene Anthony Ray (from TV’s “Fame”) who I remember being in the audience with myself on New Years Eve 1987.

So 2008 saw me returning to “the scene of the crime” as it were and revisiting one of my old haunts – OK, that’s enough of the ghost jokes! My last visit had been a charity performance of the show back in the eighties. Everyone connected to the show had done a performance free of charge for charity on a Sunday afternoon. There we all were dressed up in black tie or posh frocks to watch a very special one off performance. We even had celebrities selling the souvenir brochures, for instance Emma Samms – remember her? After the show we retired to the Meridien Hotel for a spectacular party where my afore mentioned colleague Rosie provided the cabaret. I think we may even have partaken of a drink or two! I am reminded of this occasion every day of my working life thanks to a, very kind, colleague who decided to put a photo of me in all my finery on the office wall. So every day I am faced with myself as a teenager…..oh those halcyon days when I had hair!

Of course it’s not really the ghosts of the past that should be on my mind now but the “Opera Ghost” of the present and my thoughts on the show itself twenty years on. All those years ago, when I first saw “phantom”, I had yet to visit Paris – the show’s setting. Now I have become a frequent visitor to the city of lights so I can truly appreciate the design of the show and where Maria Bjornson drew her inspiration. For instance, having seen inside the Paris Opera Garnier, I find how evocative her designs are of the real life locations. Like wise I am far more attuned to art (indeed I had popped into the National Gallery before the show) so when the corps de ballet take to the stage I am instantly reminded, subtly, of the works of Edgar Degas.

In the corners of my mind it‘s the musicals melodrama that has always lingered.. I think as the years pass I have just forgotten all the shows humour, so it was a joy to discover this all over again. At the forefront of the comedy is Carlotta Giudicelli (currently played by Wendy Ferguson), whose diva-like histrionics are a major part of any production of “The Phantom Of The Opera”. However my personal comedy highlight was the theatre managers Monsieurs Firmin and Andre. I should probably single out David Lawrence, who was performing understudy duties (as Firman) , Lawrence’s vocally strong and comic performance gave us all the bumbling and blustering that the part requires and he really made it his own opposite an equally accomplished Sam Hiller. Obviously with any long running show there will be performers who are hard to eclipse – after all everybody has their favourites - but one performer in the current cast more than does this for me. I speak of course of Ramin Karimloo who is currently playing The Phantom. Karimloo’s performance is both sensual and enticing, but also dramatic and terrifying when he needs to be. For the first time I truly understood why Christine Daae was drawn towards the Opera Ghost. Of course having a nice voice helps when you are in a musical and I have to say that Karimloo possesses, possibly, one of the finest voices I have ever heard on the West End stage. I can only hope that we get to hear much more of him and other big roles come his way.

With crowd pleasers like “All I Ask Of You”, “The Music Of The Night” and it’s title track, “The Phantom Of The Opera” cannot fail but to hold its audiences in thrall. My personal favourite from the score would be “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again”, as Christine talks to her late father, the lyrics of which most of us can probably relate to. On viewing the show again I think it may be that the strength of the musical is not these obvious hits however, but the comedy numbers and operatic pastiches that underscore it. It’s a rich score that has high drama, high romance and high camp in equal portion, sure it has it’s subtleties too - but subtle isn’t really what “Phantom” is all about.

All in all I had an evening of high nostalgia. For the names and faces of the past. For a time when “The Phantom Of The Opera” was the biggest thing on the planet. Not least, for a time when I had a full head of hair!

Well my coiffeur may not have gone the distance but Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece certainly has. Whatever it is that has made “Phantom” such a big and enduring hit it certainly casts a potent spell. It was heart warming to see that twenty years on it still gets standing ovations, and the magic of the Opera Ghost continues to enchant theatre goers.

Markus Ritzmann