The Phantom of the Opera is a musical genius with a deformed face he hides behind a mask. He poses as the opera ghost to the managers and actors of the opera, and as the Angel of Music to Christine. Christine Daae is a Swedish chorus girl whose now deceased father was a famous violinist. She becomes the phantom's protege as he teaches her to sing. Raoul is a new patron of the opera who was Christine's childhood friend. Carlotta is the opera's lead soprano and her husband, Piangi is the opera's leading tenor. Madame Giry is the opera's ballet maistress and the person the phantom chooses to deliver his notes. Christine's friend Meg Giry, Madame Giry's daughter, is in the ballet. Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur Andre are the new opera managers, and Joseph Buquet is the chief stagehand.
Hired after Andrew Lloyd Webber's first lyricist, Andrew Jay Lerner died, Richard Stilgoe's lyrics were not romantic enough for Webber. Charles Hart was hired to rewrite them. Had all of Richard Stilgoe's witty, clever lyrics remained, the show may have been a comedy. But Andrew Lloyd Webber saw The Phantom of the Opera as a gothic horror with elements of drama, only a little comedy and a lot of romance. Most of all The Phantom of the Opera is a love story, Andrew Lloyd Webber's music reflects this.
The Phantom of the Opera musical opened in London in October of 1986 starring Michael Crawford as the Phantom, Sarah Brightman as Christine, and Steve Barton as Raoul. The Broadway production in New York opened in January of 1988 with the same leads. In spite of bad reviews, it won the Olivier Award and the Tony Award for best musical debut in London and New York. The Phantom of the Opera is the longest running Broadway musical in history.
The Phantom of the Opera with music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe was directed by Hal Prince and choreographed by Gillian Lynne. The orchestra was conducted by the musical supervisor David Caddick and costumes and scenes were designed by Marie Bjornson.
The Phantom of the Opera has been translated and produced in many other countries with most productions using the original staging, set and costume ideas. It has played on 6 continents, and Andrew Lloyd Webber is planning a sequel. Box offices around the world have taken in over $3.2 billion dollars with the Broadway production taking in $600 million.