Type – Outdoor Spectacular, 40th Anniversary, Musical Opera
If you liked – CATS, West Side Story on Sydney Harbour, Guys & Dolls on Sydney Harbour
The Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbour: A spectacular night of dazzling sets, gorgeous costumes and well-known, stunning music, but without the same magic from previous years
In a poetic turn of weather events, the rain cleared just in time for the red carpet to be rolled out on opening night of Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour. Celebrating 40 years since it premiered on the West End, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera lights up the Sydney harbour once more.
A gothic melodrama set in an early 1930s haunted Parisian opera house, the story follows a love triangle between Christine (ingenue soprano), Raul (childhood friend who falls in love with Christine after seeing her perform in the Paris Opera), and the Phantom (a disfigured, mask-wearing musical genius that haunts the opera house). The Phantom mentors Christine’s singing, grooming her for fame – his ‘Angel of Music’ – whilst writing masterpiece operas for her to star in.
Floating on a barge, the steeply raked outdoor stage is more than double the size of a standard stage and holds 1500 in grandstand seating (take a cushion to sit on). In the open-air format, acoustics, resonance and any sense of intimacy is always sacrificed, connection between orchestra and singer happens through a live-feed video monitor (because the orchestra are completely hidden under the stage), and subtlety goes out the window because everything has to be supersized to reach the audience.
Building on the 2022 Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour production, the original creative team are back with a more embellished and extravagant restaging. Gabriela Tylesova’s costumes sparkle and dazzle with accentuated colours, indulgent and lush, contrasting textures with an equally lavish, grandiose and over the top set. Nick Schlieper’s lighting design uses the costuming colours to build on the spectacle-filled melodrama unfolding. Shelly Lee’s sound design reinforces the location of the settings by creating echoey reverb, particularly for the scenes set on the water and most notably, in Phantom’s arias where the sound gets thrown around the amphitheatre creating an atmospheric, surround sound experience.
Simon Phillips‘ direction leans into the kitsch and the spectacle, utilising the vast and elaborate multi-storey setting. The enormous, curved staircase in the back half of the stage provides a semi-circular alcove where most of the action takes place, which aids in maintaining a true sense of cohesion in such an open and exposed space. Of the chorus, the work demands a classically trained sound, with dance and music theatre trained movement, and this powerful combination of chorus members make an incredibly robust and eurhythmic sound. With a large chorus, tightly choreographed numbers, dazzling costumes and many a stunning ballet vignette sequence, the ensemble carry the intensity of the expansive outdoor staging well.
Led by Guy Simpson (who has worked on Phantom of the opera for 36 years), the 30-strong orchestral ensemble deliver the sweeping, romantic, larger-than-life score, with the sounds of the Phantom’s organ blasting across the waters of the harbour.
Returning to the role after performing it on the West End and in Australian tours, Amy Manford is an exceptional Christine, bringing delicacy and determination as well as stunning vocals to the character. As the love-struck Raul opposite, Jarrod Draper exudes charm and tenderness, his warm tone and musical sensitivity with Manford make their duets a highlight of the evening. In his professional debut with Opera Australia, young baritone Jake Lyle performs the role of Phantom. While vocally beautiful with a rich, lush timbre that is well suited to the role, his embodiment and physical performance don’t embody the dangerous intensity and explosive gravitas needed. It feels an odd choice to put such a green performer and young voice opposite the likes of Manford, I think he will however make a brilliant phantom with a handful more years under his belt.
The supporting cast cleverly embody the play-within-a-play elements; Brent Hill, Martin Crewes and Danielle Belle bring pomp and candour, Jayme Jo Massoud plays the earnest Meg, while Debora Krizak and Giuseppina Grech are delightfully ostentatious and pretentiously theatrical in their comedic roles.
Is The Phantom of the Opera Worth Seeing in Sydney?
While it’s a spectacular night of dazzling sets, gorgeous costumes and well-known, stunning music, I can’t help but feel the magic was missing this year from what makes Sydney Opera on the Harbour so special. Perhaps it’s because it was only four years ago that the same work was presented in the same arena, or maybe it’s just because of the outdated narrative that’s been performed so often.
For such a large-scale production, the creators have to be careful and calculated when selecting the work, to ensure tickets will sell; arts organisations don’t have the security of taking great risks while the viability of the sector is so unstable. Record-breaking box-office sales show that it’s a choice that’s been well received, it’s clearly what today’s audience members want to see, but I do look forward to the day that the Australian arts industry is robust enough that our national opera company can take a risk to present fresh voices and newer, well-known works, and maybe one day even an Australian piece.
Fun facts: Many historic events inspired the spooky story of Phantom of the Opera which tells the tale of the ghost that lived under the Parisian Opera house. The architectural masterpiece has a body of water under it that was reinforced and then built around when the structural foundations were laid in 1862. The French army set up base camp in the unfinished building in 1871 and used the cellars as prison cells until the French retook the city. In 1873 the venue caught fire with two people trapped inside, a ballerina died and her pianist fiancé was disfigured and during an 1896 performance of Helle, one of the chandelier counterweights fell through the ceiling killing a woman in the auditorium. This opera house is filled with spooky history that’s inspired many stories including Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel which Lloyd Webber based his work on.
Tickets and Practical Info for The Phantom of the Opera in Sydney 🎟️
Tickets: https://opera.org.au/productions/the-phantom-of-the-opera-on-sydney-harbour/
Dates: 27 March–3 May 2026
Venue: Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquaries Point, Sydney
Running time: Approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, including one interval.
Recommended for ages 10+: This production contains sudden loud noises, simulated gun shots, themes of violence, pyrotechnics and depictions of hanging.
Cast & Creatives
Director Simon Phillips
Musical Supervisor Guy Simpson
Set & Costume Designer Gabriela Tylesova
Choreographer & Associate Director Simone Sault
Lighting Designer Nick Schlieper
Sound Designer Shelly Lee
Associate Musical Director Dominic Woodhead
Assistant Director Matt Heyward
Assistant Musical Director Kevin Wang
The Phantom Jake Lyle
Christine Daaé Amy Manford
Raoul, Vicomte De Chagny Jarrod Draper
Monsieur Firmin Brent Hill
Monsieur André Martin Crewes
Madame Giry Debora Krizak
Carlotta Giudicelli Giuseppina Grech
Ubaldo Piangi Daniel Belle
Meg Giry Jayme Jo Massoud
Auctioneer Lachlan O’Brien
Jeweller Daniel Tambasco
Monsieur Reyer Lachlan O’Brien
Passarino Raphael Wong
Joseph Buquet Michael Lampard
Hairdresser Andrew Dunne
Don Attilio Darcy Carroll
Confidante Melody Beck
Ensemble/Dance Captain Danielle Evrat
Ensemble
Jessica Bock
Mia Byrnes
Georgia Cosgrove
Mia Coutts
Matt Cranleigh
Zac de Gersigny
Anthony Garcia
Michaela Hodgson
Bianca Hopkins
Catrin Lewis
Josephine Lonergan
Natalie Lui
James MacAlpine
Imogen-Faith Malfitano
Sofia Mancini
Jake Maskill
Madeline McCartney
Ella Nonini
Ryan Ophel
Ellise Pellizzer
Matthew Reardon
Annabelle Rosewarne
Julian Seguna
Anna Stephens
Leon Vitogiannis
Vanessa You
Cathy-Di Zhang
Massimo Zuccara
Swing
Paul Whiteley
Tom Sharah
Rachel Breeze
