‘A beautiful kind of symmetry’: Phantom of the Opera coming to Sydney

When Opera Australia’s production of The Phantom of the Opera kicks off at the Sydney Opera House in September, Australian performer Josh Piterman will be playing the title role, just as he did in London’s West End last year.

After having that production cut short thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Piterman can’t quite believe he now gets the chance to reprise the role.

Josh Piterman will play Phantom in the Phantom of the Opera at the Sydney Opera House from September. Credit: Sam Mooy/SMH

“I’d dreamt about this role since I sang along to Anthony Warlow CDs at the age of 17,” he said. “I was overwhelmed and thrilled when I landed it.”

Piterman was able to perform as Phantom for six months before COVID-19 struck last year, a time he describes as “deeply challenging”.

“I found it immensely difficult to deal with the fact that my dream could be over and I may not have had the opportunity to perform as Phantom ever again,” he said.

The musical, about a terrifying enigma who haunts the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House, will open in the Joan Sutherland Theatre on September 3. It’s yet to be announced who will play Christine Daae, the character who captures the Phantom’s heart.

Piterman, pictured in 2019 in London, had to hang up his Phantom mask when West End theatres closed due to coronavirus.Credit: Andrew Mason

With Opera Australia partnering with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Really Useful Group to present the show, produced by Cameron Mackintosh, it will mark the first time ever that an opera company has put on the much-loved musical.

Taking on the role at the Opera House will be something of a full-circle moment for Piterman: he landed the West End gig after Phantom’s casting director saw a 2019 performance of his at the heritage-listed landmark.

“It’s been a strange couple of years but it’s got a beautiful kind of symmetry and I’m so excited to perform at the venue that gave me the opportunity in the first place,” Piterman said.

Although The Phantom of the Opera showed in Australia in 2007, Piterman promises this new production is nothing like what local audiences have seen. “It’s more naturalistic, more contemporary,” he said. “It keeps the time and place but makes it applicable to a 2021 audience.”

While it’s a new direction for the famous musical, it’ll retain the famous chandelier scene and much of the classic score. It’s been praised in both the UK and US by the likes of the Yorkshire Post and Sunday Express for its special effects.

“I can’t wait to be the gatekeeper that immerses people in another world that they’re so hungry for. The transference of energy that live performances provide is magical and after the past year, I can’t wait to get back to it,” Piterman said.

This production isn’t the only one breathing new life into the struggling arts sector after a rough year: the smash-hit Broadway show Hamilton managed to rake in more than $40 million in ticket sales before its first performance last month.

“Governments would do well to remember that when our industry succeeds it has a flow-on effect on hospitality, tourism, retail and many other sectors,” Piterman said.