After a long absence, the successful musical is running again in Vienna’s Raimund Theater from March 15th – with a chandelier in a leading role
Around 1990, the Viennese version of “Phantom of the Opera” was a crowd puller. Now the piece returns to the stage (Photo: VBW / Deen van Meer)
What will the audience soon see here? The answer to this question still requires a lot of imagination, as the simply dressed dancers are missing the entire stage set when attending rehearsals. Colorful floor markings and black metal frames serve as stage set placeholders as orientation.
Only an old-fashioned candlestick drizzled with wax and a large music stand indicate what this is all about: the return of the successful musical “The Phantom of the Opera” to the stage of the capital. After more than 20 years of absence, the play will premiere in a new production on March 15th at the Raimund Theater and will then run until December 31st.
The drama is based on a novel by Gaston Leroux and the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber turned it into a musical in the 1980s. At the center is the talented choir girl Christine. Her wonderful singing captivates the Phantom, who lives in the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera.
This “Phantom” – a musical genius whose disfigured face is partially covered with a mask – does not shy away from murder in order to make his chosen one the star of the house. Christine’s childhood sweetheart Raoul and the opera house’s huge chandelier also play important roles.
The premiere of the new production is eagerly awaited, as the musical scene is still raving about the German-language premiere, which ran very successfully in Vienna from 1988 to 1993 and made Alexander Goebel, among others, a musical star.
Not an easy inheritance, then, that the United Theaters in Vienna are competing here. There were also rumors on social media that the 2024 edition would skimp on pomp and flamboyance and that the chandelier might not have much significance. The version by British musical and theater producer Cameron Mackintosh has been on tour in the USA, England and Australia for years, so it is well known. But Seth Sklar-Heyn, director of the Vienna production, reassures.
The American-born artist has been working on the “Phantom of the Opera” for over 20 years. “We have now found a permanent home in Vienna – hopefully for several years,” he explains on the sidelines of the rehearsal. “This allows us to think even bigger and better.”
Bigger and better, all well and good, but what about the chandelier? “The core of the production is of course given, but we are expanding everything further. The Raimund Theater also offers the luxury of a large live orchestra. And of course the chandelier plays a key role.”
What is so fascinating about “Phantom of the Opera” that it is one of the most successful musicals of all time? “I don’t really understand why this piece in particular captivates so many people so much,” says Sklar-Heyn.
“Maybe it’s just the tragic love story that the audience can relate to. Andrew Lloyd Webber has translated it into a fantastic musical. The catchy melodies trigger the same emotions all over the world.”
And, very important: Because the “Phantom” operates in an opera house, the audience itself becomes part of it. “I can’t fully explain the fascination despite years of employment. “I just love telling this story,” says the Phantom Man with a smile. The new production contains gentle text adaptations. In close consultation with the cast, Sklar-Heyn modernized individual passages. “Don’t worry, nothing has become too modern,” he promises.
It is his first German-language work. “I love the sound of the language. “So many passages sound more dramatic and urgent in German, which fits perfectly with what we want to tell on stage,” says the director enthusiastically.
Who now with their own eyes If you want to see whether and how the chandelier falls, you have to hurry. Advance ticket sales are already going very successfully. Vienna’s love for the “Phantom of the Opera” apparently shows no signs of rusting, even after all these years.