Love Never Dies preview

By Kyla Manenti

The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most successful entertainment projects in history by multi-award winning composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Now, 23 years after the celebrated show opened in London's West End, he is launching a new production

Love Never Dies is set in 1907, 10 years after the original Phantom and sees our famous anti-hero living on Coney Island which, at the time, was a thriving, fun-park holiday destination hosting a multitude of 'freak shows'. As a brilliant composer, musician and magician, our disfigured Phantom has found the ideal hideaway from his past amidst the bright lights and queer sights of Coney.

Speaking at the press launch last week, Andrew Lloyd Webber said he'd felt The Phantom had 'unfinished business' but added 'I don't regard this as a sequel. I regard this as a completely stand-alone piece.'

Love Never Dies will feature many of the original characters including The Phantom, played by Ramin Karimloo (currently playing The Phantom in the West End original), Christine, played by Sierra Boggess (starred in Phantom - the Las Vegas Spectacular) and Madame Giry, played by Summer Strallen.

Strallen previously starred as Maria in the West End's The Sound Of Music, making the move from fiction to reality after portraying a striving thesp in Hollyoaks.

Cast members remain tight-lipped about the plot, but we can tell you that, as the title would suggest, The Phantom is still pining for Christine, who is living a new life with old flame Raoul.

In a sneak preview, Karimloo performed 'Til I hear you sing, a powerful and moving piece exploring his anguish over Christine's absence.

While the score is completely new, there are some musical motifs taken from The Phantom of the Opera, and the style remains very much in keeping with the prequel's score: Viennese waltzes, spine-tingling arias and deep, mournful melodies, all with an operatic quality.

The long-awaited show will have its World Premiere in London at the Adelphi Theatre on Tuesday 9 March 2010.

Tickets on sale now at www.loveneverdies.com