The Phantom of the Opera [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Overview

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1911 gothic mystery novel The Phantom of the Opera proved to be at least the composer's second most successful project, behind only Cats, and with the potential to outdo even that blockbuster. The musical opened in London in October 1986 and in New York in January 1988, and both productions were still running (along with many others around the world) when the film version finally premiered in December 2004. Because the same starring performers, Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, moved from the West End to Broadway, there was no original Broadway cast recording, the original London cast album serving to represent both stagings. In line with the success of the show, that album, a double-disc set, was also a hit, selling four million copies in the U.S. alone by 1996, with another four million copies of a single-disc highlights version as well. Although there was also an original Canadian cast album (not to mention foreign-language versions from such countries as Japan and Austria), the movie soundtrack represents the first major re-recording of the score since 1986. Again, Lloyd Webber has opted to issue it in two versions, but this time, the 63-minute single CD is considered the standard release, with the double-disc set billed as the Special Edition version. Even fans of the show and the film may want to stick with the shorter one, however. The two-hour special edition is that rarity, a soundtrack album that actually contains the complete, unedited film soundtrack, including dialogue, incidental background music, and sound effects. This, of course, makes it something of an odd listening experience, especially because there doesn't seem to be any reason why some dialogue is spoken and some is rendered in singsong recitative. Lloyd Webber has written some extra background music here and there, as well as one new song, and that's an oddity, too. Minnie Driver, who plays the prima donna Carlotta, had her singing dubbed by Margaret Preece, but she turns up at the end and, over the closing credits, sings "Learn to Be Lonely," an irrelevant and musically out-of-place song clearly composed just to have a new tune that would be Academy Award eligible. The film's other singers are adequate but no competition to Crawford, Brightman, and their colleagues, and the initial recording remains the one to buy. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	01/12/2018
Label:	Polydor / Verve
UPC:	0602567006206
Rank:	1387

Tracks

1. The Phantom of the Opera~Overture
2. The Phantom of the Opera~Think of Me
3. The Phantom of the Opera~Angel of Music
4. The Phantom of the Opera~The Mirror (Angel Or Music)
5. The Phantom of the Opera~The Phantom Of The Opera
6. The Phantom of the Opera~The Music Of The Night
7. The Phantom of the Opera~Prima Donna
8. The Phantom of the Opera~All I Ask Of You
9. The Phantom of the Opera~All I Ask Of You (Reprise)
10. The Phantom of the Opera~Masquerade
11. The Phantom of the Opera~Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again
12. The Phantom of the Opera~The Point Of No Return
13. The Phantom of the Opera~Down Once More / Track Down This Murderer
14. The Phantom of the Opera~Learn To Be Lonely

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Andrew Lloyd Webber   Primary Artist
Ciaran Hinds   Primary Artist,Vocals
Emmy Rossum   Primary Artist,Vocals
Jennifer Ellison   Primary Artist,Vocals
Patrick Wilson   Primary Artist,Vocals
Miranda Richardson   Primary Artist,Vocals
Minnie Driver   Primary Artist,Vocals
Kevin McNally   Primary Artist,Vocals
Simon Callow   Primary Artist,Vocals
Gerard Butler   Primary Artist,Vocals
Victor McGuire   Primary Artist,Vocals
Paul Brooke   Vocals
Imogen Bain   Vocals
Lee Sellers   Vocals
Halcro Johnston   Vocals
Jesika Cannon   Vocals
Oliver Chopping   Vocals
James Fleet   Vocals
Ramin Karimloo   Vocals
Kevin R. McNally   Vocals
Jose Tirado   Vocals
Laura Hounsom   Vocals
Alison Skilbeck   Vocals
Chris Overton   Vocals
Judith Paris   Vocals
David Langham   Vocals
Madame Giry   Vocals
Peter Manning   Orchestra Leader
London Oratory Choir   Choir/Chorus
Mike Batt   Vocals
Miles Western   Vocals
Lorraine Stewart   Vocals
Margaret Preece   Vocals
Murray Melvin   Vocals
London Oratory Schola Cantorum   Boys Choir,Choir/Chorus
Jonathan D. Ellis   Vocals
Lucy Casson   Vocals
Simon Lee   Conductor

Technical Credits

Mike Ross-Trevor   Audio Engineer,Engineer
Simon Rhodes   Audio Engineer,Engineer
Robin Sellars   Audio Engineer,Mixing,Engineer
Nigel Wright   Audio Production,Mixing,Producer
Andrew Lloyd Webber   Audio Production,Composer,Producer,Liner Notes,Orchestration
Paul Brooke   Cast
Miles Western   Cast
Stuart Andrews   Synthesizer Programming
Ciaran Hinds   Cast
Lee Sellers   Cast
Robert Renga   Engineer,Recording
Halcro Johnston   Cast
Andy Nelson   Mixing,Mixing
Jesika Cannon   Cast
Oliver Chopping   Cast
James Fleet   Cast
Jeff Kanan   Sound Assistant,Studio Assistant
Jason Rankins   Sound Assistant,Studio Assistant
Ramin Karimloo   Cast
Charles Hart   Composer,Lyricist,Librettist
Vincent Cirilli   Editing,Music Editor
Jennifer Ellison   Cast
Kevin R. McNally   Cast
Jose Tirado   Cast
Laura Hounsom   Cast
Alison Skilbeck   Cast
Chris Overton   Cast
Judith Paris   Cast
Andreas K.W. Meyer   Engineer
Denis St. Amand   Engineer,Re-Recording Engineer
M. Batt   Lyricist
Alex Baileu   Photography
Yann McCullough   Editing,Music Editor
Jill McCullough   Dialect Coach
Gabe Sganga   Sound Assistant,Studio Assistant
Craig "Pup" Heath   Engineer,Recording
Patrick Wilson   Cast
Alex Bailey   Photography
Mike Batt   Lyricist,Composer
Aaron Fessel   Sound Assistant,Studio Assistant
Minnie Driver   Cast
Cesar Ramirez   Sound Assistant,Studio Assistant
Aaron Walk   Editing,Music Editor,Sound Assistant,Studio Assistant
Anne Skates   Choir Contractor
Peter Manning   Orchestra Contractor
Sylvia Addison   Orchestra Contractor
Richard Stilgoe   Composer,Lyricist,Librettist
Michael Parnin   Editing,Music Editor
Tim Clark   Editing,Music Editor,Sound Technician
David Cullen   Orchestration
Lorraine Stewart   Cast
Yolanda McCullough   Music Editor
Gerard Butler   Cast
Margaret Preece   Cast
Guy DeVilliers   Music Coordinator
Murray Melvin   Cast
Victor McGuire   Cast
Simon Callow   Cast
Patricia Chandler   Studio Assistant
Paul Chandler   Sound Assistant,Studio Assistant
Dewynters   Design
Lucy Casson   Cast
Anna Behlmer   Mixing
Guy de Villiers   Music Coordinator
Joel Schumacher   Liner Notes
Gaston Leroux   Original Material
Steve Rooke   Engineer,Mastering
Lee McCutcheon   Editing,Music Editor
Imogen Bailey   Cast
Miranda Richardson   Cast
Simon Lee   Music Supervisor
Emmy Rossum   Cast