If you’ve never seen Andrew Lloyd Weber’s The Phantom of the Opera in person, in a theater, you don’t know what you’re missing. Put it on your bucket list, and thank me later. I was so impressed, I went to see it a second time a few years later. I enjoyed it even more, picking up on things I missed the first go-round. I even bought the CD of the original cast recording.
This musical masterpiece has been performed in many big cities all around the world, often in the local language. Audio of many of these productions are available on CD. There’s also a motion picture version available on DVD, with soundtrack on CD. Some of these performances can also be found online. YouTube, for example, has a huge collection.
The cast is, by necessity, different in each venue. As a result, there are many versions of the play available. Real fans of Phantom typically have heard multiple performances by different casts, and have their favorites.
Tonight’s playlist is the Original London Cast Recording (1987), available on CD, starring Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford.
If you’ve never heard this music before, and don’t want to wade through every number in the entire play just now, try these highlights:
• Overture
• Angel Of Music
• The Phantom Of The Opera
• The Music Of The Night
• All I Ask Of You
Prologue: The Stage Of The Paris Opéra, 1905 (1:56)
Overture (3:05)
Think Of Me (4:09)
Angel Of Music (2:21)
Little Lotte/The Mirror (Angel Of Music) (2:49)
The Phantom Of The Opera (5:03)
The Music Of The Night (5:15)
I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It (3:22)
Magical Lasso (1:00)
Notes/Prima Donna (10:57)
Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh (3:07)
Why Have You Brought Me Here/Raoul, I’ve Been There (3:12)
All I Ask Of You (4:15)
All I Ask Of You (Reprise) (3:24)
Entr’acte (3:01)
Masquerade/Why So Silent (6:24)
Notes/Twisted Every Way (9:41)
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again (3:32)
Wandering Child/Bravo, Monsieur (6:25)
The Point Of No Return (5:33)
Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer (11:51)
