Rosemary Ashe

A disfigured musical genius, hidden away in the Paris Opera House, terrorises the opera company for the unwitting benefit of a young protégée whom he trains and loves. The 25th anniversary of the first public performance of Phantom of the Opera was celebrated with a grand performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

This made-for-television documentary tells the story of the creation of the world's most successful musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera.

When young Candide's marriage offer to a baron's daughter backfires, the naïve student of optimism is hurled into an eye-opening journey around the globe, discovering the horrors of existence at every step. Turning Voltaire’s Candide, a stinging blast against tyranny and feigned moralising, into toe-wiggling musical theatre is a crazy idea. Bernstein revised his operetta countless times before settling on the final version. The Grange Festival’s 2018 semi-staged production commemorates the composer’s 100th birthday.

A historical adaptation of John Gay's 18th Century ballad opera, exuberantly performed for BBC television.