Love Never Dies

It has been announced that Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, 61, has prostate cancer.

The Composer of The Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and numerous other hit musicals has begun treatment for the disease, after being admitted to an unnamed private hospital.

Andrew Lloyd Webber has cleared work commitments from his diary for a month and he is expected to spend the rest of 2009 concentrating on treatment and recovery.

Prostate cancer kills up to 10,000 men in the UK every year.

The Phantom of the Opera was originally a novel written by Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialization in Le Gaulois from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910.

The best known stage and screen adaptations of the novel are probably the 1925 silent film version starring Lon Chaney, Sr and the musical that premiered in 1986.

With music composed by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, The Phantom of the Opera is the second longest-running West End musical in history and the longest-running Broadway musical.

It is estimated that The Phantom of the Opera has been seen by more than 80 million people in 124 cities in 25 countries, and the total worldwide gross is now in excess of $5 billion.

The original cast album of the Phantom of the Opera was the first in British musical history to enter the music charts at number 1. Album sales now exceed forty million worldwide and it is the biggest selling cast album of all time.

There are 130 cast, crew and orchestra members directly involved in each performance.

Source: The official Phantom of the Opera website

On 08 October 2009, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber unveiled his brand new production Love Never Dies at a global launch in London. He explained that this show had been 15 years in the planning, but there were times when he thought it would never be made.

Originally Sir Andrew discussed the plot with author Frederick Forsyth but when he found he could not progress the plot, they gave up but Forsythe did publish a novella called The Phantom of Manhattan.

It was not until Andrew Lloyd Webber was collaborating with British author, playwright, director and comedian Ben Elton on another project that Elton gave him the advice that blew away his writer's block.

Elton suggested that Sir Andrew re-introduce other characters from The Phantom of the Opera instead of trying to create new characters around The Phantom. As a result Christine Daae, Raoul, the Vicompte de Chagney, Madame Giry and her daughter Meg, all return.

Raoul and Christine have married and a new character is introduced in the form of their 10 year old son, Gustave

Ramin Karimloo is currently appearing as The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End but will leave the show on 07 November 2009 in order to prepared for his role in Love Never Dies.

Prior to being given the role of The Phantom, Ramin also played 'Raoul' in the West End production of "The Phantom of the Opera", as well as the role of 'Christine's Father' in Joel Schumacher's film, making him the only actor to play all three of the main men on Christine's' life.

Sierra Bogess will play the part of Christine Daae, which she first performed at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005, having been handpicked for the part by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Hal Prince. In November 2007 she made her Broadway debut in the title role of Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid.

PLEASE NOTE:
Love Never Dies is only currently available to PRE-ORDER through the Amazon UK website.

The album will be released on 10 March 2010 to coincide with the World Premiere on 09 March 2010.

The day starts, the day ends
Time crawls by
Night steals in, pacing the floor
The moments creep
Yet I cant bear to sleep
Till I hear you sing