Phantom of the Opera

In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came...

In 1986, Andrew Lloyd Webber's masterpiece, a wild and major romantic fantasy based on the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux, opened in the West End. Audiences immediately took to the epic rock opera, and The tortured Phantom, played by Michael Crawford, captivated theatre-goers for the first time in this timeless tale of an ostracised misfit falling for a chorus girl.

Over three decades later, Phantom is still running at Her Majesty's Theatre. An era-defining classic, with a beloved campy electric hair-metal synth vibe, it has evolved into one of the West End's most successful shows. Due to a continually high production values supporting breath-taking theatrical effects, it has stayed the distance, enthralling an estimated 140 million visitors. Nearly twice the size of the British population!

As well as garnering 11 Olivier Awards throughout the years, Phantom has also received international accolades including seven Tony Awards on Broadway, and five Mo Awards in Australia. Whether you're a returning Phan already aware of the thrilling events to come, or a Phantom innocent like Christine, there is always something for everyone in the opera-meets-fairy tale-spectacular!

The Paris Opera 1881.

Hidden in tunnels deep below the Paris Opera, there lies a mysterious deformed musical genius who stalks the halls and terrorises the company. Grotesquely deformed, his face half covered by his famous mask, his only happiness comes from his obsessive night time tutoring of the beautiful, orphaned chorus girl Christine Daae. Unseen, he teaches the young soprano to sing 'The Music of the Night.' Under the tutelage of her invisible 'Angel of Music', Christine blossoms, and steps out of the chorus and into the spotlight.

When Christine becomes engaged to another man, the Phantom is driven mad with jealousy and will stop at nothing to possess her, even murder. And so begins a tantalizing tale of forbidden love and supernatural adventure that will keep you in its clutches long after the last bar.

Did you know?

Could the Phantom more than just a myth? Gaston Leroux's book is based on popular theories about the eerie Palais Garnier (The Paris Opera), some of which include a fatal, but unexplained accident with a lavish chandelier in 1896, and the story of a grand and well stocked lake said to lie deep in its foundations...