an attractive musical version of the famous story, Czech premiere
The origins of the musical PHANTOM by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit go back further than those of the more famous The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, specifically to the early 1980s. Producer Ken Hill came up with the idea for a musical adaptation of Leroux’s novel, and Kopit and Yeston began working on it. In 1984, however, Andrew Lloyd Webber announced that he was working on his own version, and his famous title straddling the border between musical and opera came into being with the support of a strong production team including Cameron Mackintosh. The premiere of PHANTOM in Houston was not finally to take place until 1991, five years after the premiere of Lloyd Webber’s work in London. It has been performed regularly around the world since that time.
The novel The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l’Opéra) was written by Gaston Leroux and first published in 1909 as a serial in the newspaper Le Gaulois. It was published in book form in 1910. Leroux claimed that the story, in which a talented young singer must decide between compassion for one man and love for another, was based on real events, such as the existence of secret catacombs beneath the Opéra Garnier and the legend of the “mysterious man with a mask”. The novel, like its several stage adaptations, combines Gothic horror with a romantic story and a detective story.
The American version of the famous story about the disfigured genius who lives hidden from the world in the bowels of the Paris Opera House and falls unhappily in love with the soprano Christine focuses more on the psychological aspect of the characters and is therefore often thought of as better than Lloyd Webber’s adaptation. This adaptation gives the audience the chance of better understanding the familiar characters, while certainly not being deprived of beautiful melodies. After all, the audience in Brno already knows Maury Yeston as the author of other popular titles (TITANIC, Nine and Grand Hotel).
Let’s take this opportunity of experiencing the extraordinary story of the Phantom as we’ve never known it before! Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit have produced a touching version of the famous legend with captivating music and wonderful melodies that will absorb us in a musical full of emotion, love and hope. We are presenting the Czech premiere of PHANTOM at the Music Theatre as directed by Stanislav Moša.
