Music Return of "The Phantom of the Opera" to the Musical-Theater Basel
Nadim Naaman (as Phantom) and Georgia Wilkinson (as Christine) in the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera" at the Musical Theater Basel.
Image: Keystone
Ensemble scene in the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Musical Theater Basel.
Image: Keystone
Nadim Naaman (as Phantom) and Georgia Wilkinson (as Christine) in the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera" at the Musical Theater Basel.
Image: Keystone
Ensemble scene in the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Musical Theater Basel.
Image: Keystone
The history of the Musical-Theater Basel once began with Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera". With this very production, the theater operator FBM Entertainment is fighting against the Basel government's plans to close the theater 29 years later.
A few of the not-so-young premiere guests on Thursday evening will probably still have some memories of when Basel tried to establish itself as a musical city on October 12, 1995 with Webber's successful work based on the chilling novel by Gaston Leroux. Among them was certainly Basel tenor Florian Schneider, who sang and played the title role at the time. A good 700 performances were staged within two years before the musical was canceled in 1997.
At the premiere, Schneider was a sought-after interview guest for the numerous TV and radio teams in attendance. He was faced with a new production that didn't really seem particularly new. Nor could it, as the story is unmistakably set in the Paris Opera in the 1930s, when ballet dancers still wore tutus and the singers performed in lavish baroque costumes.
Musically, Webber created a mixture of musical and opera with "The Phantom of the Opera". In it, he reached his compositional limits. And the catchy tunes that the composer had created in "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Cats" or "Evita" are also missing, but this did not harm the international success story.
Captivating love triangle
The tragic love triangle between the sad and evil phantom in the catacombs of the opera, the beautiful opera diva and the aristocratic lover is clearly still captivating, as the short but powerful final applause at the premiere showed. This was certainly also due to the vocal performance of the trio, above all the soprano Georgie Wilkinson as Christine, but also Dougie Carter as Raoul and Nadim Naaman as the Phantom.
In terms of the setting, however, some compromises had to be made in comparison with the original Basel Phantom. In 1995, the Phantom was able to make full use of the stage in a theater that had been built explicitly for this production. 29 years later, some compromises had to be made here, as this is a touring production, but one that can boast a high formal standard.
It remains to be seen whether the new Phantom production can prevail as an argument for the preservation of the musical theater. It has a relatively long run until December 22. The Basel government would like to convert the theater building into an indoor swimming pool. A popular initiative aims to prevent this. This means that the voters will ultimately decide whether "The Phantom of the Opera" will not only be the beginning of the theater's history but also its end.
SDA
