The full cast for the new Australian production of Phantom of the Opera has been revealed almost 35 years to the day since the beloved musical opened in London's West End and went on to sweep the world .
This will be the first time it will play at the Sydney Opera House, opening on September 3 before making its way to Arts Centre Melbourne from November 14.
The new names will be Perth's Amy Manford, who will make her Australian theatre debut as Christine Daaé and Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, to be played by musical theatre star Blake Bowden. As previously announced, The Phantom will be played by Josh Piterman.
"The chemistry between Josh and Amy as the Phantom and Christine, is electric, and together with Blake as the aristocratic Raoul, they lead an extraordinary cast. They're all wonderful performers whom I know fans are going to absolutely love. Trust me, it will be worth the wait", said Opera Australia artistic director Lyndon Terracini.
Starring alongside the leads will be Australian musical theatre stalwart David Whitney, playing shrewd theatre manager Monsieur Firmin, and experienced musical and opera performer Andy Morton as the newly appointed theatre manager Monsieur Andre.
Soprano Giuseppina Grech will play the role of diva Carlotta Guidicelli, seasoned musical theatre performer Jayde Westaby will be ballet mistress Madame Giry, Italian opera singer Ubaldo Piangi will be played by classical crossover artist Paul Tabone and newcomer Mietta White will play young ballerina Meg Giry.
Josh Piterman recently scored a huge personal triumph with an impressive West End debut when won the \coveted role of the Phantom in the 2018 London production.
He is an seasoned musical theatre performer and classical crossover artist who has been working consistently on Australian and UK stages over the past 15 years.
His previous credits include being a part of international pop opera group The Ten Tenors, Tony in the 2010 Australian production of West Side Story, Bustopher Jones/Gus/Growltiger in the 2015-16 Australian season of Cats, Corny Collins in the UK tour of Hairspray and Gerry Goffin in the 2017-18 Australian tour of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
Amy Manford has had an exciting start to her career after graduating from WAAPA and making her way to London. She did a masters degree at the Royal College of Music while landing her first role on the West End cast as the Christine alternate in the original London production of Phantom in 2017.
During her time in London, she also had the privilege of performing for Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.
Blake Bowden has starred on many Australian stages. His most acclaimed performance to date was leading the cast in the Australian production of The Book of Mormon in the lead role of Elder Price, which also garnered him a Helpmann Award nomination for best male actor in a musical in 2019.
He has also starred in productions including Fiddler on the Roof, South Pacific, Sweeney Todd, West Side Story and The Boy From Oz Arena Spectacular with Hugh Jackman.
This spectacular new staging of the Phantom by Cameron Mackintosh premiered with a record-breaking sell out tour of the UK followed by a seven-year tour of the US, which grossed almost $530 million and thrilled critics and audiences alike.
Australia is now only the third country to see it. With a cast and orchestra of 65, it will be one of the largest musicals the country has ever seen.
As well as thrilling audiences with a score including the hit songs The Music of the Night, All I Ask of You and Masquerade, this version of the Phantom will be a feast for the eyes, with Maria Bjrnson's original costumes, stunning new staging and scenic design and many special effects, most notably a spectacular new realisation of the show's chandelier. The director will be Seth Sklar-Heyn.
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