Triumphant return of 'The Phantom of the Opera'

A masquerade ball scene from the musical “The Phantom of the Opera,” which opens up the show's second act / Courtesy of S&CO

By Kwon Mee-yoo

• Published Dec 15, 2019 5:35 PM KST
• Updated Dec 15, 2019 5:53 PM KST

By Kwon Mee-yoo

BUSAN ― The most famed, mysterious and captivating masked figure in musical theater, also known as "The Phantom of the Opera," has returned to Korea.

A new touring production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical raised its curtain last Friday at the Dream Theater in the southern port city of Busan, where it will run through Feb. 9 before traveling to Seoul and Daegu next year.

"The Phantom" is considered a game changer in the Korean musical theater industry, which doubled the size of the market when it premiered in Korea back in 2001.

Associate director Rainer Fried, who directed previous productions of "The Phantom" in Korea, feels confident because of Koreans' endless love for the show.

"I am proud of this production of 'The Phantom of the Opera' and especially proud to bring it to Busan for the first time," Fried said. "There's something about the show that resonates particularly with Korean emotions. I think that just keeps bringing Korean audiences back."

The house was packed with some 1,800 exuberant audience members, who joined the journey to the Paris Opera House in 1881 where the dominant and enigmatic Phantom of the Opera lives and ballerina Christine Daae rises to stardom as a soprano with teachings from the Phantom.

Jonathan Roxmouth, who took the titular role of the mysterious figure behind the mask, brought an unprecedented delicacy to the role. His deep, majestic voice filled the theater when he belted out powerful songs, but he also can softly sing his love for music and Christine in "The Music of the Night."

Claire Lyon, who reprises the role of the talented young soprano Christine seven years after the 2012 tour production in Korea, added depth to the ingenious character who develops significantly during the show. Lyon's portrayal of Christine shines even more in the second act, when she becomes an enthralling diva in play-within-a-play "Don Juan Triumphant," but clandestinely falters as she realizes the Phantom is disguised as her onstage counterpart.

The secret behind the chandelier

The chandelier is one of the most famous and iconic theatrical props in "The Phantom." It takes the audience back to the 19th century opera house as it appears in the opening scene as up for auction and ascends to the ceiling as the scene changes.

Then it catches audience members' eyes once again in the final scene of the first act where the Phantom, enraged by the secret engagement of Christine and Raoul de Chagny, patron of the Paris Opera House and Christine's childhood sweetheart, destroys the theater's chandelier during the show as a warning.

The impactful fall is in fact a combination of masterful direction and development of theatrical technology.

Alistair Kilbee, technical director of "The Phantom," gave a brief explanation on this production's chandelier after demonstrating the acclaimed chandelier crash scene in front of a group of journalists, Saturday.

"The proscenium arch and the chandelier mechanism has been re-engineered for this production," Kilbee said of how the chandelier is now suspended by two arms off the main proscenium arch, instead of the ceiling, 12.5 meters above the front row.

"This design was introduced in an attempt to reduce the roof loading above the auditorium and transfers the weight back down to the floor. In this way, we've been able to take Phantom to the venues that were not able to stage 'The Phantom of the Opera' due to the roof structure," he said.

The chandelier's fall is achieved by manipulating sets of pulleys and the steel cables make the lighting fixture fly in an arc from the celling to the stage toward Christine and Raoul.

Kilbee unveiled that the internal frame of the chandelier is made of aluminum and the decorations are in vacuum-formed materials to make the prop lighter. With over 6,000 beads, current version of the chandelier has updated all lighting to LED lamps for longer life and easier management.

Fried added that the idea behind the new concept for this production is to be more independent from the individual technical circumstances of each venue the show travels to.

"So we came up with this solution and it works very well. The chandelier is still as magnificent and fast as it always was," Fried said.

This technical version of "The Phantom" has been staged in Manila, the Philippines and Dubai, the United Arab Emirates before coming to Korea and Fried is satisfied with the upgraded production.

"When we first put the show together in Manila in the beginning of this year, with all the technical upgrades, we were all nervous. And when we saw the show during rehearsals, we said 'This is the Phantom of the Opera. It's exactly what we would expect and there's nothing missing,'" Fried said.

Along with the change of the chandelier structure, another scene was also changed as the Phantom cannot hide behind the sculpture on top of the proscenium arch during "All I Ask of You," a love duet between Christine and Raoul. Now instead the sculpture is located upstage and moves toward the audience as the Phantom emerges behind it.

"We found that almost more powerful as we now can see the Phantom looming behind the angel closer as the unit moves downstage," Fried said. "And because of the work of our amazing light designer, it still looks like it is floating in the air. We are very happy with how it works ― it looks dangerous and daunting."

However, Fried believes in the power of the original production of "The Phantom," untouched for over 30 years, and clearly said that no musical arrangements will be made.

"Those music and arrangements written by Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of the main reasons for people around the world to come see the show. We are not going to touch it. It is beautiful and there is no need to," Fried said.

He also paid tribute to the original director Harold Prince, who passed away in last July, referring him as the architectural genius of the show.

"There is a memorial for Hal at Broadway's Majestic Theater Monday to remember Hal and what he did for theater and how he changed our lives, including yours. Hal is the reason why we are here all together.”