As the build up to the official opening of Love Never Dies gathers pace, Andrew Lloyd Webber has been on TV promoting the new Phantom musical with not one but two soprano Divas over the weekend. On Friday Night with Jonathan Ross he accompanied Sierra Boggess, the leading lady from the Adelphi Theatre London where previews are currently underway. Sierra sang the title track “Love Never Dies” beautifully again, and then on ITV’s “Dancing On Ice” show, Lord Webber played the piano again but this time with acclaimed classical soprano Katherine Jenkins singing her own unique interpretation of the now more familiar “Love Never Dies” song.
The performance was also interpreted visually by none other than Ice dance superstars Torvill and Dean.
Well here it is, Sierra Boggess singing the theme song to Love Never Dies at the last ever ITV South Bank Show Awards on Sunday Night, January 31st accompanied by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Louise Hunt on two grand pianos.
So what did you think?
I was struck by the performance style of Sierra Boggess being reminiscent of the Sarah Brightman who was Andrew Lloyd Webber’s inspiration for the original Phantom of The Opera. The flourishing crescendo of that operetta style is a bit much for my taste just for a few moments but I did recognise a great show tune in there which will have a strong emotional appeal when seen live at the theatre in just a few weeks tine when Love Never Dies opens in London. I did actually start humming the tune the next day after only having heard it once.
According to an interview published in the Telegraph last month, Ramin Karimloo star of The Phantom of The Opera and Love Never Dies said he believed the Phantom showed clear signs of the condition known as Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a form of autism. Sufferers often have difficulties with communication and social relationships.
According to Ramin Karimloo, who joined the London production of Phantom of The Opera two years ago, the autistic spectrum and asperger’s in particular could explain the Phantom’s eccentric traits, his musical genius and his difficulty with social interactions which led him to hide away beneath the Paris Opera House for all those years.
It’s an interesting theory, which could also help to bring better public understanding of the increasing common condition of autistic spectrum symptoms but it seems to me that Ramin Karimloo is completely ignoring the effect of the Phantom’s facial disfigurement and hence the mask in the story which is set two centuries ago. But never mind,
“I saw a documentary on Asperger’s syndrome and it made a lot of sense to me,”
said Karimloo.
Ramin Karimloo was born in Iran and has been central to the launch of Love Never Dies, the long awaited Phantom story continuation which Andrew Lloyd Webber says “is not a sequel”
Love Never Dies with Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess opens in London in March 2010 at the Adelphi Theatre, and then later around the world.
At the Love Never Dies press launch yesterday, Ramin Karimloo sang the song ‘Til I Hear You Sing Once More’ while Sierra Boggess sat on her golden throne, silently.
Andrew LLoyd Webber, Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess at the Love Never Dies press launch
Love Never Dies – Till I Hear You Sing Once More – Lyrics by Glenn Slater
The day starts, the day ends
Time crawls by
Night steals in, pacing the floor
The moments creep,
Yet I can’t bear to sleep
Till I hear you sing
And weeks pass, and months pass
Seasons fly
Still you don’t walk through the door
And in a haze
I count the silent days
Till I hear you sing once more.
And sometimes at night time
I dream that you are there
But wake holding nothing but the empty air
And years come, and years go
Time runs dry
Still I ache down to the core
My broken soul
Can’t be alive and whole
Till I hear you sing once more
And music, your music
It teases at my ear
I turn and it fades away and you’re not here
Let hopes pass, let dreams pass
Let them die
Without you, what are they for?
I’ll always feel
No more than halfway real
Till I hear you sing once more
The Official launch press conference for Love Never Dies takes place today October 8th at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s Haymarket, the home of the Phantom of The Opera for the past 23 years. Love Never Dies has been regarded as a risky venture by some, since it will be the first ever West End musical sequel, while others say that it doesn’t matter whether it’s a sequel or not, as long as it’s a great musical.
Andrew LLoyd Weber makes the important launching speech and the big stars who have been workshopping the show, Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess perform excerpts from the new score.
Songs expected to be included in the Love Never Dies score are
The Heart Is Slow To Learn
Fortune Teller
Love Never Dies will begin previews at the Adelphi Theatre in February 2010.
Love Never Dies is the title for the sequel to The Phantom of The Opera, the popular West End and Broadway musical which has been running continuously at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London since 1986. Phantom of the Opera theatre breaks have been the upmarket choice for hundreds of thousands of couples wanting a special night out with spectacular effects, operetta style music, a full orchestra and a holiday break in London never to forget.
Love Never Dies Theatre Breaks
Soon it will be possible to relive Phantom of The Opera theatre breaks without seeing the same musical all over again, because a new musical called Love Never Dies, and set in New York is due to open in London and other cities imminently.
The Phantom himself sent me an email :
“Ladies and Gentlemen, At 11 o’clock on the eighth day of October 2009, I will be making an announcement of global importance. Should my commands be ignored, a disaster beyond your imagination will occur. Amor Numquam Moritur. Your Obedient Servant, The Phantom”
Love Never Dies – The Musical
Love Never Dies the musical is set in 1907, ten years after the conclusion of the original Phantom Of The Opera story. The Phantom himslef escaped to New York in the US with Madame and Meg Giry. There he worked as a magician and entertainer on Coney Island. He builds a new opera house and convinces Christine Daae, now a huge star in her own right, to sing for him once again.
Love Never Dies the musical has lyrics by Glenn Slater, is directed by Jack O’Brien and designed by Bob Crowley, with choreography by Jerry Mitchell and lighting by Paule Constable.
The launch day announcement on October 8th is expected to confirm rumours that the Love Never Dies will have a world premiere opening at London’s Adelphi Theatre in March 2010, following lengthy previews. Casting is expected to include Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom, American Sierra Boggess as Christine, and Summer Strallen as Meg Giry. Well those are the rumours, but with rehearsals well under way at a big location outside of London, it’s also just possible that the opening of Love Never Dies will be brought foreward in time for the December January peak theatre season.
