Who is Andrew Lloyd Webber?

The Phantom of The Opera, the longest-running show in the history of Broadway, will bid its audiences adieu after 35 years. The show, based on the similarly titled book by Gaston Leroux, premiered on Broadway in 1988 and will be last staged in 2023. On the show’s website, it was announced that “Tickets are currently on sale for performances through January 22nd, 2023, and we expect the final block of tickets to be placed on sale shortly.”

Also Read| The Phantom of the Opera to close; here are top 5 longest-running Broadway shows

Audiences who adore The Phantom of the Opera primarily have three men to thank- the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, the lyricist Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe, who composed the libretto alongside Webber.

Who is Andrew Lloyd Webber?

Andrew Lloyd Webber, 74, the composer of Phantom of The Opera, was born in a family of musicians in London’s Kensington in 1948. Webber’s father was also a composer and his brother, Julian Lloyd Webber, is an internationally renowned cellist.

Webber was 17 when he met Tim Rice, a songwriter. The duo collaborated on the musical, The Likes of Us, which was not staged until 2005. Their next production, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, was a minor success. It received a positive review from The Times. In 1982, he premiered the sing-through musical, Cats, which became the first Broadway show to record more than 7,000 performances.

Also Read| The Phantom of the Opera, longest-running Broadway show, closes in February

In 1988, Phantom of The Opera premiered at the Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End. It crossed Cats in 2006 to become Broadway’s longest-running show. During his career, Webber wrote restaurant reviews, appeared on a number of reality TV shows, and met world leaders like George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin.

Controversy has also followed the composer throughout his career. He has been accused of plagiarising the music of a number of artists throughout his career. Former Pink Floyd bassist, Roger Waters, has accused Webber of plagiarising the opening riff of the band’s hit song, Echoes, in the opening of Phantom of The Opera.