Phantom of the Opera has been on my to do list for quite some time now and tonight I finally got the chance to go. The musical has been around for what seems like forever and has been at its current venue, Her Majesty’s Theatre Haymarket, for just about 20 years.

The Phantom tells the story of a mysterious masked man who haunts a particular opera house. He has been secretly teaching a chorus member, Christine, to sing and finds himself falling in love with her. She however is in love with another man. Of course, this is not good news for anyone.

The musical is pretty magnificent but you have to admit its had a long time to iron out the wrinkles so to speak. The setting is gorgeous with an incredible amount of detail going into the sets and the stage decorations. We were sitting about 5 rows from the front and we really felt we were in the thick of the action including the swinging chandelier which came very close to wiping out several of the cast members (intended I’m sure.) In fact, I felt very creeped out at times by the haunting feel of the show. The costumes are beautiful with the masquerade scene being particularly striking.

Performance wise the singing and acting was superb combined with a great orchestra. I am constantly amazed by the performers who do this day in day out and who still manage to give a performance that is fresh and full of energy.

All in all it combined to deliver something truly entertaining though the subject matter is a little too dark and tragic for my liking.