Phantom of the Opera 2 - Love Never Dies

Well, with something entirely new, according to Lloyd Webber:

“It has its own idiom, which is probably a development of the original. I don’t regard this as a sequel, I regard this as a completely stand alone piece.

“There are practically no quotes from the original show -none of the main melodies from the original are quoted. It’s a completely new show and I’ve tried to think of it as something which if you hadn’t seen the original Phantom of the Opera, you wouldn’t think twice, you could see it completely as a stand alone piece.”

His director Jack O’ Brien agrees:

“My advice to the entire team was - no one is going to thank us for doing this. We’re playing around with people’s memories, we’re playing around with aspects of their imaginations that are sacrosanct and we better know what we are doing. We better be very considered. The fact that it has had a very long gestation period, speaks very well of it. No one has walked into this without thinking seriously. We cannot be cavalier with this story, because if it doesn’t add up, if it doesn’t make sense, if you don’t believe it, then we’re doubly culpable.”

“I think you’re going to be amazed. This is not necessarily a continuum and it is not necessarily the story you think you want to hear.”

So what evidence did we hear of that this morning?

First we were treated to the orchestra at Her Majesty’s Theatre playing the overture to the piece - Coney Island Waltz. Then Ramin Karimloo performed Till I Hear You Sing, the Phantom’s opening number from the show.

The former, especially, was hugely impressive - a mix of the operatic qualities of the original, mixed with notes of the fairground/vaudeville which are - of course - fitting to the new story’s location on Coney Island. Unusually for Lloyd Webber, we are now going to have to wait to hear the rest of the material until the show opens, as - unlike with previous projects such as the original Phantom - he won’t be pre-releasing a concept album. Internet piracy and changes in the music industry (e.g. a lack of a single’s chart) were given as the reason for this.

What else did we learn? Well, Lloyd Webber sketched out the plot a little. It’s ten years after the end of the original and The Phantom, now known as Mr Y (geddit? mystery..), has relocated to New York’s Coney Island were he has risen to become the head of the fairground. We also know that, as well as Christine, Raoul, Meg and Madame Giry will all return from the original cast.

We also know that the show will not be opening simulataneously in three continents - as was originally suggested. According to Lloyd Webber, “We did have the idea of opening the show simultaneously in three different countries but that really didn’t work because at that time we hadn’t got the cast.”

Meanwhile, we didn’t learn how much the whole thing is going to cost. According to Lloyd Webber he “hasn’t a clue”. “I have no idea - seriously,” he added. “There must be someone in the theatre department who does. It’s not going to be cheap.”

We also found out there is unlikely to be a third part to the story. Lloyd Webber again - “I can’t give away the ending, but I can’t see that the story could possibly continue.”

And, perhaps most excitingly, we learnt from Karimloo that the Phantom will have a new mask - “We’re dealing with some prototypes right now”, he said.

Now, it’s just a case of waiting till March next year to see whether the show is a hit. Although, with kind of brand that Phantom has behind it, you wouldn’t bet against it.

If, in the meantime, you want to know a little more, here’s a Q&A with Lloyd Webber.