Phantom of the Opera

Way back, in the 70s - a time without computer, portable phones etc. - we were about the first people in our street to have a color TV. Yes, it was the marvel of the whole neighborhood! Every time it was on, people would stop before our front window and look inside, to watch the magic. Can you even imagine so?

So put yourself into this frame of mind to envision what magic I felt when I first heard the sond 'Phantom of the Opera' and saw a trailer on Top Pop. Top Pop was a music program for youngsters on the Dutch TV, but we had an antenna on our roof that was strong enough to pick up those signals (hey, we could even watch BBC when the wind sat right). This song and also the images of a boat floating on a river, made my mind wonder what was the story behind it.

It all seemed so wonderful, a young woman being carried away by a masked man and then that lovely music...

Little did I know at that time (late seventies) that this was going to become one of the most celebrated musical shows of our age.

But life went on and I forgot about the song and the mystery. Only much later, at the end of the 1980s I learned about the muscial Phantom of the Opera and wished I could see it, if only once. But way back then, we did not go every year to London (the Eurostar did not exist yet) and I had to save up money to be able to pay for a trip to New York with my sister.

There, in November 1992, we saw Phantom for the first time. Of course, it was not with the original British cast (featuring Sarah Brightman as Christine and Michael Crawford as Phantom) but anyway the whole performance was well done and fascinating. I believe I kept singing the songs all of the following night!

And when we told our mother about this wonderful experience, also she wanted to see the show, so in the coming years (travelling became easier and easier, and with both my sister and I working money kept coming in as well) we saw performances in London ('94, '97, '99, '01 and '03), the Dutch version in Scheveningen ('95) and Antwerpen ('99). We saw various Phantoms and various Christines, but I'm sure the best ever (beside the orignial cast) were Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess.

About this time, last year, I got a mail from the Really Useful Group (I've been getting their newsletter for a long time) and learned there still were tickets available for the 25th Anniversary Concert of Phantom in the Royal Albert Hall. Of course we knew of it, but at first we had said we wouldn't go as we had just done a big trip in summer and also had paid for the renovation of our bathroom.

But then the opportunity arose, and in a whim we decided to try and buy those tickets (we got them, only they were 250 £ a person - but what a view on the stage!), bought expensive tickets for Eurostar (you can only get cheap ones if you book 3 months in advance) and needed to book a hotel for two nights.

It was our best weekend ever! For starters, the weather was gorgeous for a October 1st. The temperature rose up to 30° C in London... We had a great Saturday afternoon in the capital and then on Sunday we went to the anniversary performance. They brought the entire stage production of Phantom, but then adapted to the Albert Hall. Here are a couple of images:

The night ended with a speech by Andrew Lloyd-Webber and then the original cast (at least, those who were still alive) came on stage, with Michael Ball and Sarah Brightman, and a selection of singers who had sung the part of Phantom, amond which John Owen Jones.

I will never forget this weekend, and hope to be able to see the next anniversary performance as well,