‘Phantom of the Opera’ Closes on Broadway after 35 Years

The Phantom¹ of the Opera closed Sunday night after 35 years on New York City's famous Broadway.

The musical theater show opened on January 26, 1988. It completed nearly 14,000 performances.

The show ended with another performance of its most famous song, The Music of the Night. The performance included many well-known singers and actors who had parts in the show over the years.

The show's creator, Andrew Lloyd Webber, attended the final performance. So did Sarah Brightman, the singer who first played the lead character, Christine. The two came on stage for a final celebration. A video played that honored⁴ those involved in the show who had died. Some attendees drank sparkling⁵ wine as shiny gold and silver paper came down from the show's famous chandelier.

Lloyd Webber dedicated⁷ the final performance to his son, Nick, who recently died after a long illness.

The show is the story of the phantom, a composer with a misshapen face who wears a mask and haunts⁸ the Paris Opera House. He falls in love with Christine, a young singer.

Actors, singers and Broadway producers with close connections to Lloyd Webber were there, too, including Glenn Close and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Lloyd Webber's other musicals include Cats, Jesus Christ² Superstar, Evita, Sunset Boulevard and School of Rock. With Phantom closing, he has only one show playing on Broadway: Bad Cinderella.

The longest-running Broadway show is now Chicago, which opened in 1996.

New York theater experts say many shows had difficulties coming back after Broadway closed for 18 months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some, such as Miranda's Hamilton, returned to full audiences. But other shows, including Phantom, depend heavily on out-of-town visitors. Many tourists have yet to come back to New York City.

The show first played in London in 1986. It has been seen by over 145 million people in 183 cities around the world. In New York City alone, it sold over $1.3 billion in tickets.

The show was supposed to close in February of this year but its run was extended⁹ because of increased interest.

There are still theaters where you can see the show around the world. It is in its 37th year in London. You can also see Phantom in Japan, Greece, Australia, Sweden, Italy, South Korea and the Czech Republic. New productions are also opening in 2024 in Bucharest, Romania and Vienna, Austria.

Emilie Kouatchou played Christine in the final show.

"We get to celebrate at the end of this," she said before the show started. "We get to all come together and drink and laugh and talk about the show and all the highs and lows. It's ending on a big note."

Words in This Story

chandelier–n. a large light fixture¹⁰ with many lights and glass or crystal¹¹ decoration

dedicate⁶ –v. to do something to honor³ the memory of someone else

phantom –n. a ghost

composer –n. a person who writes music

producer –n. a person who organizes the financial support for a creative production such as a film or show

musical –n. a type of theatrical¹² production with mostly signing instead of speaking

audience –n. people who gather to watch a performance

fantasy –n. something made up or not real

1 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。

2 Christ   

n.基督，救世主，耶稣

参考例句：

• I regarded him as the Christ.我把他当作救世主。
• Christ preached that we should love each other.基督在布道中说人们应该互爱。

3 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

4 honored   

adj.光荣的：荣幸的v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I hope to be honored with further orders. 如蒙惠顾，不胜荣幸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is a time-honored custom. 这是一个古老的习俗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 sparkling   

adj.发火花的，闪亮的；灿烂的，活泼的；闪闪发光的，闪烁的；起泡沫的v.闪光，闪耀(sparkle的现在分词)

参考例句：

• the calm and sparkling waters of the lake 平静的波光粼粼的湖水
• Other sparkling wines are often considered the poor relations of champagne. 其他起泡的葡萄酒通常被认为较香槟酒为次。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 dedicate   

vt.献身，致力于，把（时间、精力等）用于

参考例句：

• She vowed to herself that she would dedicate her life to scientific studies.她默默地发誓要献身于科学研究。
• To my father I dedicate this volume in token of affection and gratitude.我谨以此书献给我的父亲，以表示对他的爱戴和感激之情。

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

8 haunts   

v.（鬼魂）出没( haunt的第三人称单数 )；经常出没于；（不快的事情）萦绕于脑际；长期不断地缠扰（某人）

参考例句：

• A headless rider haunts the country lanes. 一个无头骑士常出没于乡间的小路上。
• This is a problem that haunts all of us. 这是一个使我们大家都担忧不已的问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 extended   

adj.延伸的；伸展的；延长的；扩大的v.延伸(extend的过去式和过去分词)；伸展；延长

参考例句：

• an extended lunch hour 延长了的午餐时间
• France has greatly extended its influence in world affairs. 在世界事务中，法国的影响已大大地扩大了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

11 crystal   

n.水晶，水晶饰品，结晶体；最好的玻璃器皿

参考例句：

• It used to be a crystal stream.那曾是条清澈见底的小溪。
• Those fine wine glasses are made of crystal.那些漂亮的酒杯是用水晶做的。

12 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。