It’s been ten years since that poignant day at the Paris Opera House, Christine has a secret and the Phantom lives on.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-awaited continuation of the story of The Phantom of the Opera has finally arrived in the West End at the Adelphi Theatre and fans have been looking forward to the revival of all the principal characters in a world of new hope and old obsessions.
The story unfolds at the turn of the 20th century in Phantasma, a fabulous showground in Coney Island, New York – home to freaks and entertainers. Bob Crowley’s set and costumes combine the colours and thrills of the fair with the dark longing and macabre mania of the Phantom. A series of projections on layered tabs creates an immersive experience that opens up elaborate illusions of space and dimension, reality and fantasy, past and present.
The Really Useful Group, producers of the show, approached Stage Technologies and Delstar Engineering for the automation system because of their long history of manufacturing and automation for West End shows and beyond. The Stage Technologies group of companies has worked on technical solutions for a number of The Really Useful Group’s productions including the original production of The Phantom of the Opera in 1986 and the show’s first major UK tour in the early 90s. Delstar Engineering built the main travelator and its motorisation in London, followed by a higher-speed chandelier drop system. On the tour, Delstar built all the major items of the set including the touring showdeck, travelator, ball staircase, front and reverse tabs, rising candles, candelabra mechanisms, front proscenium, portcullis, portals, stair trap, dive trap, opera boxes and chandelier mechanism, working alongside the Stage Technologies team. While Andrew Lloyd Webber has been quoted as saying that Love Never Dies is intended to be a standalone show, the years of valuable experience gained by Delstar and Stage Technologies since the original The Phantom of the Opera have been enormously valuable for this follow-on production.
The extensive automation system for Love Never Dies comprises around 60 automated axes and is programmed via the new-series Acrobat∙G6 control desk, with motor control from seven AU:tour quick-install, plug-and-play, touring control racks. After a successful launch at Viva ELVIS™ by Cirque du Soleil® at ARIA Resort & Casino™ in CityCenter, Las Vegas, the eChameleon next generation automation software is making its West End debut in this production.
The artistic ambitions of the show required a number of purpose-built pieces to be designed and manufactured by Stage Technologies, including custom trusses and tracks for the trapeze artists and two wireless stage trucks. The trucks (used to move two set pieces – a tavern counter and Christine’s dressing table) are friction-driven to enable them to cross onto and over the revolves from their stage guidance tracks. As part of the install the Adelphi also contracted the manufacture of a custom-built gallery to improve the theatre facilities; in Love Never Dies it houses approximately 20 Stage Technologies counterweight assists.
The revolve, also controlled by the Acrobat∙G6, provides the essential scenic flow: a doughnut revolve with a centre lift and drop-and-slide traps is used artfully to expose the audience to different angles of both the scenery and the characters, with a smaller one-person revolve providing additional focus.
The aerial choreography is relatively simple: along with the two trapeze acts, there are a modest two point hoists for performer flying, a 4m/s MiniTow winch for a prop flying effect and a BigTow 390 winch that carries a hot air balloon basket and passengers. The real workhorses of the show are the second BT390, used to fly a Martin EvenLED wall in and out of the stage area during every scenery change, and a BT490 that brings in the huge set piece for the “Aerie” scenes. Other axes include rotating light boxes that allow the curved cyclorama to extend all the way to the proscenium for certain scenes. In addition, the AU:tour product family offers the ability to control simple fixed-speed axes; in Love Never Dies this facility is used to automate ascending front-of-stage footlights, used when Christine is performing the title song at a special concert held by the Phantom.
After having made its first appearance with a production of A Midsummer’s Nights Dream by the Royal Shakespeare Company last year, Stage Technologies’ award-winning F:light system was selected by lighting designer Paule Constable to synchronise lighting and automation. F:light enables lighting fixtures to track any piece of scenery under the control of the automation system smoothly and with minimum effort. In Love Never Dies, individual performers and set pieces on the revolve are the key elements to which F:light links moving lights with meticulous precision. F:light is a powerful tool, as demonstrated during the preview period when the speed of the revolve cues was changing frequently. This would normally have caused a major headache for the lighting programmer but using F:light meant nothing had to change; the lights just kept following based on the new speed.
Time will tell if London audiences embrace Love Never Dies as enthusiastically as its much-loved predecessor; it is certainly visually satisfying and Lloyd Webber’s score is diverse, covering rock opera, Vaudeville acts and a traditional aria. The previews have been running since the 20th February with a press night on the 9th March. Love Never Dies is currently due to open on Broadway later this year and in Australia in 2011.
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