On the evening of August 27, the Shanghai Grand Theater was packed with seats. Two generations of Christian actors from "The Phantom of the Opera" sang the famous song "Think of me" on the same stage, and the theater was flooded with waves of applause. The legendary classic music

On the evening of August 27, the Shanghai Grand Theater was packed with seats. Two generations of Christian actors from "The Phantom of the Opera" sang the famous song "Think of Me" on the same stage, and the theater was flooded with waves of applause.

The legendary classic musical "The Phantom of the Opera", produced by Shanghai Radio and Television Station and operated nationwide by Shanghai Musical Theater Center, will be performed in Shanghai for 48 days starting from August 27.

's original "Phantom" tour in China faithfully reproduces the classic version produced by Cameron Mackintosh and the British Real Good Group in 1986 and continues to this day. In 2 hours and 40 minutes, there was an average scenery change every 5 minutes, more than 230 sets of colorful costumes, 1:1 replicas of 19th-century style exquisite props, and a crystal chandelier composed of 6,000 beads... it was full of brilliance. The stage brings an extremely gorgeous sensory shock to the audience, and is praised by the audience as the "ceiling of musical theater aesthetics".

The cast of the original "Phantom" is also well-established, and the core creative team has continued its long-standing "golden configuration." Executive director Rainer Freed has been working on the cast of "The Phantom of the Opera" for 30 years and has participated in multiple international tours and the production of the Chinese version of "The Phantom of the Opera"; music supervisor Christine Bloch and executive choreographer Dany Berry has been working on the crew for 36 years and can be regarded as "veteran" figures.

In December 2004, the original English version of "Phantom of the Theater" landed in China for the first time and performed 100 times in Shanghai. The box office revenue broke the performance record of foreign original musicals in Shanghai and became the enlightenment work for countless people to get into contact with musicals. From 2013 to 2015, the show visited Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing one after another. The venues were sold out and it was hard to get a ticket.

It was exactly 20 years ago that Marnie Raab started her new journey on the musical stage as Christine on the stage in Shanghai. The Chinese audience witnessed her first step towards success. .

When the curtain came down on the first performance of "The Phantom of the Opera" in Shanghai, Shanghai Media and Entertainment Group conducted a special planning: two generations of "little c" Marnie Raab and Grace Roberts presented the audience with a "lifetime performance" "Only this time" returned to the stage and sang one of the most famous songs in the show "Think of Me" together. Two generations of actors have completed the inheritance on the same stage and will interpret the 37-year charm of Phantom at their best.

In this performance, half of the actors are returning from the original international tour, and actors from thousands of Broadway shows have joined the show. At the same time, there are also new actors who have emerged from the rigorous selection process, injecting fresh vitality into the play, making it more varied and watchable.

The Phantom, played by Jonathan Losmov, makes the audience more empathetic with his steady vocal output and unique vulnerability. The Viscount played by Matt Lissey is a "solid and warm presence"; Grace Roberts, played by Kristen Day, is a newcomer to join the team for the first time, but she gives the audience the same satisfaction as the old card. Full of surprises, "It's very stable, the voice is ethereal and melodious, and it's Christine's voice that is persuasive."

Twenty years ago, "Phantom" entered from Shanghai, planting a seed for the booming development of China's musical market. Phantom IP not only accompanied the actors, but also accompanied the growth of a generation of audiences. Twenty years later, in 2024, "Phantom" will move from Shanghai to the whole country. As the last stop of this China tour, "The Phantom of the Opera" will be performed at the Guangzhou Grand Theater from January 7 to 26, 2025.

text | reporter He Jing

picture | provided by the organizer