Kathryn Llewellyn reviewing a performance of The Phantom of The Opera, at Cardiff Millennium Centre,

on 22^nd December 2012.

Please note: spoilers!

Prepared with packets of sweets and chocolate bites, the audience settled into their seats, chatting amongst themselves. As the last few audience members squeezed past the knees of the people already in their seats and sat down, the theatre was buzzing with excitement. The glossy souvenir programmes became harder to see as the lights dimmed, and the audience quietened ready for the curtains to part.

The cast features Earl Carpenter as The Phantom and Katie Hall as Christine. Both starred in the 25^th Anniversary tour of Les Miserables, Earl as Javert and Katie as Cosette. Katie was a boot camp contestant on BBC1’s show I’d Do Anything, and was cast as Christine at Her Majesty’s Theatre immediately after leaving the show.

The Phantom of the Opera became the longest running show on Broadway in 2006, and after celebrating twenty five years in 2011 with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Cameron Mackintosh has produced a new version of the show. The tour began in March 2012 and has three more locations to visit. It will be in Southampton from 23^rd January – 16^th February, in Liverpool from 20^th February – 9^th March, and Birmingham from 13^th March – 4^th May. I went to see it in the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, on the 22^nd December. It felt very Christmassy, settling down in a theatre to watch a show just before Christmas Eve.

Set in an old auction house, the first scene was eerily dim and mysterious, the set draped in dusty white sheets. Something was hanging from the ceiling, in front of the stage. Another sheet was whisked off to reveal a low hanging chandelier as it was introduced. With a bang, sparks shot into the air, and the iconic first chords filled the theatre as the still-sparking chandelier was lifted to the roof. The music was rich and exciting, performed live by a small orchestra, filling the theatre and practically vibrating through the seats.

As is suggested in the name, the show is set in an opera, and so the cast all have to be extremely powerful and technically talented. Every note was hit perfectly, and the blend of voices in the harmonies and the overlapping melodies synonymous to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s style of music sounded even better when hearing it live. Sometimes it was difficult to pick out individual lines from the collection of voices, though that may have had something to do with the fact we were sat as far from the stage as possible, although this did give us a good view of everything going on on-stage.

The most exciting and impressive thing for me was the incredibly clever set and the technical complexity of the stage. Every now and then the wall of a room would split and revolve, revealing another separate room behind it. The candles in the Phantom’s lair looked as though they were actually floating, and the steps leading down to the lair slid out from one of the revolving walls, timed perfectly with the actor’s footsteps. The set changes were very smooth and impressive, though I found myself silently pleading with them to be careful and not to fall.

Impressively, the members of the cast who were hanged on stage actually were on stage. There was no change of scene or switch with a dummy, which gave the show a realistic feel and an edge of danger. The whole show had a spooky theme, revolving around the idea of ghosts and haunting. The smashing of the chandelier was explosive and jumpy, and the phantom’s bodiless voice floating through the theatre was almost enough to send shivers down spines.

Act two started with the masquerade ball, which is one of my favourite songs from the show, and another clever set change revealed an elaborate set of mirrors, which really created the scene of the ball and provided the perfect backdrop for the decorative costumes and sharp, well-timed choreography.

I have never been sure whether or not I like the Phantom. He is misunderstood and lonely, though he is a murderer. However, Earl Carpenter’s emotional performance, especially towards the end of the show when he was crying on his knees, really pulled on my heart strings.

The end of the show was as mysterious as the start. Another clever stage trick left the audience wondering how on earth the Phantom could have vanished into a chair, leaving nothing but an empty black cloth and the Phantom’s mask picked out by a single spotlight.

Overall the show was a great success. It was colourful and exciting, and this remake of a classic musical was both modern and in keeping with the traditions of the show, widely enjoyed all around the world.