From a production of Phantom of the Opera in Argentina (photo: Matias Galan, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14957069)

Andrew Lloyd Webber online

HOT’s music critic Brian Hick has been watching the Andrew Lloyd Webber productions on a Friday evening.

One of the unexpected pleasures of the lock-down has been the plethora of music from the back catalogues. More than this, it has given us unfamiliar versions of works which we probably know much better from commercial film versions.

Andrew Lloyd Weber has been running a weekly series of his musicals under the title The Shows Must Go On, which started with Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, in the 1999 version with Donny Osmond in the lead. The conceit of the school assembly works remarkably well and the tongue-in-cheek approach avoids the sentimentality which lurks close to the surface.

Sally and I first saw this in a circus tent at the Edinburgh Festival in the early 1970s, and it is as good as ever.

On Good Friday we were, appropriately, watching Jesus Christ Superstar. This was a recording of the arena production a few years ago which I suspect came over better on the TV than in the arena – having been to the O2 for an Andre Rieu concert and given up as even with binoculars we couldn’t make out who was playing!

The choreography for JCS was stunning, the singing fine, and the video background compelling. My only slight concern was that, unlike earlier versions, it came across as far more aggressive and violent, with a Jesus almost permanently worried or angry. The score allows for this and maybe it reflects the time of the staging rather than the original writing.

Phantom at the Albert Hall

The following week moved us from Bible to 19th century horror with The Phantom of the Opera recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in 2011. It was the 25th anniversary event and the recording has a wonderful ending when they bring on singers involved with the production over the years including members of the original cast.

A decision was made early on to make this a fully staged version rather than a concert, though designing for the Royal Albert Hall was a daunting task, as the space is not an easy one into which to translate a proscenium show. The outcome was spectacular, with some of the finest use of video projection I have encountered.

This took us, possibly inevitably, to Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom which was broadcast in the Australian production from 2011. Again production values and singing were very high and the score was more enjoyable than I had expected, given the fact that it was one of the few Lloyd Webber works that had proved to be less than successful. If anything it has more good melodies than Phantom with a lot of waltz numbers and hints of Lehar.

The real problem is the plot, which is slow at the best of times and leads to one of the most drawn-out attempts at tear-jerking finales I can think of. Perhaps Andrew Lloyd Webber should have listened to the omens as, when the work was just about finished, his kitten walked across the digital keyboard and managed to press the ‘delete all’ button – which it duly did – and he had to start from scratch again.

However, we still have Evita to come among other delights, and I gather we are promised By Jeeves, one of the composer’s favourites though it only lasted a month when first staged in 1975. Maybe it’s time for a reassessment?

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