Love Never Dies: In Concert – London Palladium ★★★★★

By The Recs SCD - Steve Coats-Dennis 2 hours ago

‘Love Never Dies’ – ‘Til We Hear You Sing Once More

Most shows would not survive the cutting critical verdict the hilarious and much-missed theatre bloggers, The West End Whingers, bestowed on Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to the iconic Phantom of the Opera: “Paint Never Dries.” And yet, sixteen long years on, the show has a fresh coat and is playing five sold-out nights in London’s West End with Darren Bell and Cuffe & Taylor’s In Concert presentation at the Palladium. For a show whose central storyline is about revisiting its past, could there be a more intriguing revival?

A recap of the plot, as conjured by the combined efforts of Lloyd Webber, Ben Elton, Glen Slater, and Frederick Forsyth: The Phantom has fled the Paris Opera House, with the help of Madam Giry, escaped to Coney Island, opened a creepy circus, and still can’t get over his ‘ex’. We’ve all been there. Ten years later, he’s clinging on to that doomed love like an early 20th-century Adele. 

He sets in play a plan to lure Miss High Note herself, Christine Daaé, to New York for a musical minefield of seduction, secrets and spectacularly questionable decisions, hoping to win her back. However, she has in tow her boozy, broody husband Raoul and – dun dun dunnnn! – her 10-year-old kid, who seems to have been raised on a diet of The Phantom of The Opera OST. Stand down, Jessica Fletcher – we know where this one is going…

Love Never Dies‘ reception when launched was mixed, to say the least. It had pitchfork-wielding haters to rival the Parisienne mob from its glorious progenitor. And it had fervent devotees, whose passion for the sequel could match the (fictional) composer’s loins for his soprano. 

Looking back, it’s not hard to see what didn’t hit the mark. Did The Phantom Of The Opera need a sequel? Absolutely not. Did LND match the legacy of the original? No. In fact, by transferring the coercive control from the Phantom to Raoul, it robs the first work of its hard-fought-for conclusion. It wastes the eponymous character’s emotional and bittersweet realisation that love cannot be compelled. And generally crowns Christine as the Daaé-lusion Queen of Bad Choices.

But what Love Never Dies has in spades, what the true beauty underneath, are some of the most disarming, swoonful songs to grace the West End in years. They ooze, they ache, they luxuriate. Everything is drenched in yearning. Why just be sad when you can be devastated in a minor key with a full orchestral accompaniment? Its extravagance is the definition of theatrical. Webber, always the king of the crescendo, leaves restraint in the wings and sends those soaring melodies through Frank Matcham’s ornate Palladium ceiling.

Which is why Love Never Dies In Concert is a triumphant return. Placing greater emphasis on the score, deftly directed by Shaun Kerrison, it plays to the musical’s strength and masks some of its narrative flaws. And what a stellar cast they have assembled. 

Choosing one of our finest leading men, Jamie Muscato, bringing his rich, powerful baritone with dreamy upper extension to the Phantom, is a great call. As the perfect Gothic leading man, he invests his trademark intensity, swirling emotional undercurrents, duality, and complexity. He’s everything you want a Phantom to be. His impassioned ‘Til I Hear You Sing set the tone for a truly expectation-busting evening.

Superlative soprano Celinde Schoenmaker‘s chemistry with Muscato is charged with enough electricity to power the whole of Coney Island. Given that Christine Daaé is a world-class singer, Schoenmaker more than convinces, investing the show’s titular aria Love Never Dies with melodramatic fervour. A gorgeous touch: as she performs, she is flanked on either side of the stage by the Phantom and Raoul in the Palladium boxes, mirroring the original Paris Opera House. 

Even though Madame Giry has never been much more than a singing Mrs Danvers, that redoubtable doyenne of British musical theatre Mazz Murray, serves a feast of frustrated dreams with a side of embittered venom. George Blagden sings beautifully in the thankless pity-party role of Raoul. But it’s Courtney Stapleton‘s brittle, convincing disintegration from Ooh La La Girl to OMG Meg that finally fires up Meg Giry, proving there is more than one type of rollercoaster in Phantasma, City of Wonders.

With a 27-piece orchestra and boosted by an additional choir, Love Never Dies In Concert offers sumptuous music of the night rarely found in the current West End. While the sequel may never be the equal, this Phan-tastic concert production is an excellent reminder there is so much life in the old Opera Ghost if you look with your heart.

Music to die for! ★★★★★ 5 stars

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