The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantomede l’Opera by Gaston Leroux.

The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart. Additional lyrics were written by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator, but he withdrew after completing work on a single song, Masquerade, and died shortly thereafter.The central plot revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine Daae, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius.

The Phantom of the Opera opened in the West End in 1986, and on Broadway in 1988. It is the longest-running musical in Broadway history, the second-longest-running West End musical, and arguably the world’s most financially successful single entertainment project to date.

Phantom won the 1986 Olivier Award and the 1988 Tony Award for Best Musical, and Michael Crawford won the 1986 Olivier and 1988 Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical.

The show has been seen in 149 cities in 25 countries, and has played to over 100 million people. With total worldwide box office receipts of over 3.5bn ($5.1bn), Phantom is the highest-grossing entertainment event of all time.The New York production alone has grossed US $715 million, making it the most financially successful Broadway show in history.

Inspired by an earlier musical version of the same story by Ken Hill (see Phantom of the Opera (1976 musical)),Phantom began previews at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End on September 27, 1986 and opened on October 9 under the direction of Hal Prince. It was choreographed by Gillian Lynne and the sets were designed by Maria Bjornson, with lighting by Andrew Bridge.

Michael Crawford starred as the titular character, Sarah Brightman as Christine, and Steve Barton as Raoul. The show is still playing at Her Majesty’s, celebrating its 24th anniversary in October 2010, and celebrated its 10,000th performance at the matinee on 23rd October, 2010; both Andrew Lloyd Webber and the original Phantom, Michael Crawford, were in attendance. It is the second longest-running West End musical in history behind Les Miserables.

An edited production renamed Phantom-The Las Vegas Spectacular opened June 24, 2006 at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a theatre built specifically for the show to resemble the Opera Garnier in Paris.. The production runs 95 minutes, with no intermission, and was created by the original director and choreographer, Harold Prince and Gillian Lynne, with scenic designs by David Rockwell.

The show features updated technology and effects, including advanced pyrotechnics and strobe lighting, and a much-heralded, re-engineered chandelier capable of reassembling in mid-air during the overture while the entire interior of the venue (not merely the stage) magically returns to its 1880s heyday.

In addition to the intermission, almost 45 minutes worth of material was eliminated, including superfluous lines within the libretto, dance sequences, and scenes (such as the Don Juan Triumphant rehearsal) which enhance the Phantom’s back story but are irrelevant to the overall plot.

To assure continuity during a six-day-per-week performance schedule, the roles of The Phantom, Christine Daae and Carlotta Guidicelli were double-cast.Cast recordings have been made of the London, German, Austrian, Japanese, Mexican, Korean, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Hungarian and Canadian productions.

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