A NIGHT AT THE OPERA.
INSPIRED BY ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.
IMAGINE AN ELEVATED DINING EXPERIENCE SET AGAINST THE GRANDEUR OF MELBOURNE TOWN HALL — FROM THE TOWERING CHANDELIERS TO THE MAJESTIC GRAND ROMANTIC ORGAN. STEPPING INTO THIS ICONIC SPACE, WE SOAKED IN ITS HISTORIC CUES, IMMERSING OURSELVES IN A CREATIVE LANDSCAPE WITHOUT LIMITS. NO BRIEF, JUST PURE CREATIVE FREEDOM.
STANDING IN THE MELBOURNE TOWN HALL, AMY VAUGHAN FELT LIKE A KID IN A CANDY SHOP. THE TOWERING CHANDELIERS AND THE GRAND ROMANTIC ORGAN SPARKED A SURGE OF INSPIRATION AND NOSTALGIA, IGNITING HER WILDEST CREATIVITY.
IT WAS LIKE A SCENE OUT OF THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT, WHERE ANYA TAYLOR-JOY SEES THE CHESSBOARD ON THE CEILING. FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T SEEN IT, IT REPRESENTS A VISUALISATION BEFORE IT’S EVEN BEEN ACTUALISED.
THE GRAND ROMANTIC ORGAN IS THE LARGEST OF ITS KIND IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE, WITH 9,592 PIPES, DRUMS, AND WHISTLES SPANNING ACROSS THREE LEVELS.
WITH COMPLETE CREATIVE FREEDOM, AMY VAUGHAN ASKED HERSELF, “WHAT WOULD COMBINE THE PRESENCE OF THE ORGAN AND THE CHANDELIERS?”
CUE INSPIRATION—‘THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.’
LEAVING THE VENUE, THERE WAS NO DOUBT IN AMY VAUGHAN’S MIND THAT TO DO THIS VISION JUSTICE, IT QUITE LITERALLY WOULDN’T BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT JOSH PITERMAN AND AMY MANFORD.
BRINGING A GLOBAL REPUTATION STRAIGHT FROM LONDON’S WEST END, JOSH PITERMAN TOOK ON THE MOST COVETED ROLE AS THE PHANTOM IN THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AT HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE, LONDON, BEFORE MORE RECENTLY GRACING THE STAGE AT THE SONDHEIM THEATRE AS JEAN VALJEAN IN LES MISÉRABLES
AUSTRALIAN OPERA ROYALTY — AMY MANFORD IS BEST KNOWN GLOBALLY FOR HER CAPTIVATING PORTRAYAL OF CHRISTINE DAAÉ IN THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AT HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE, LONDON; ATHENS, GREECE; AND THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE.
THE FINAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE WAS ENGAGING AUSTRALIA’S RENOWNED CHOREOGRAPHER MICHAEL RALPH (CHOREOGRAPHER AND RESIDENT DIRECTOR OF ELVIS: A MUSICAL REVOLUTION AND THE WEDDING SINGER) TO CURATE HIS OWN RENDITION OF ‘MASQUERADE’.
CREATING AN EXPERIENCE THIS AMBITIOUS INVOLVED JUMPING THROUGH SOME NOTABLE HOOPS.
THE MAIN ONE? FINDING SOMEONE WHO WAS NOT ONLY ALLOWED TO PLAY THIS HERITAGE-LISTED INSTRUMENT (THE ORGAN) BUT WAS ALSO WILLING TO LEARN THE PIECE. IT DEMANDS AN EXCEPTIONALLY SKILLED HAND, AND ORGANISTS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY RARE.
AMY VAUGHAN ENGAGED WITH THE CITY OF MELBOURNE’S ‘CURATOR OF MUSIC’ TO FIND SUCH A HAND, AND THE SCENE WAS SET.
IT’S NOT EVERY DAY (UNLESS YOU’VE PURCHASED A TICKET TO HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE IN LONDON) THAT YOU GET TO EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC OF THE PHANTOM UP CLOSE. AS THE PROLOGUE CAME TO A CLOSE, THE CURTAIN SLOWLY OPENED TO THE HAUNTING REVERBERATION OF 9,592 PIPES, DRUMS, AND WHISTLES PLAYING THE ICONIC OVERTURE.
THE EVENING UNFOLDED ACROSS TWO ACTS, EACH INSPIRED BY THE ESSENCE OF THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA’S MOST CELEBRATED SCENES.
APPROACHING A SCORE AS ICONIC AS THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA MEANT PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE BRILLIANCE OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER AND SIR CAMERON MACKINTOSH WITH THE UTMOST RESPECT AND REVERENCE, REQUIRING A HIGH LEVEL OF DELICACY AND THE PERFECT CAST.
FOR US, THIS WAS NOT ABOUT REINVENTING A CLASSIC BUT RATHER CELEBRATING IT.
WE FIRMLY HOLD TO THE BELIEF THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A “COMPLETELY NEW IDEA.” WITHIN THE FOUR WALLS OF A PRIVATE, NON-TICKETED, INVITE-ONLY EVENT, WE ARE EXTRAORDINARILY FORTUNATE TO EXPERIMENT WITH ALL SORTS OF CONTENT, FREE FROM LIMITATIONS.
WE ARE ALL INSPIRED BY THE ARTISTRY THAT CAME BEFORE US, AND IT IS OUR DUTY TO CREDIT AND HONOR THAT LEGACY.
THANK YOU, ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER.
FOOTAGE
CREDITS
CREATIVE DIRECTOR & PRODUCER - AMY VAUGHAN CREATIVE
LEADS - JOSH PITTERMAN, AMY MANFORD, CMC TALENT
CHOREOGRAPHER - MICHAEL RALPH
DANCE CAST - CARTER RICKARD, LAUREN MORFOOT, JAYDEN PRELC, BRITTANY LEE PAGE, ASMARA SOEKOTJO, CALLUM JACK MARSHALL
ORGANIST - JENNIFER CHOI
STRINGS - YENA CHOI, ALY PARTRIDGE, AIDAN FILSHIE
COSTUMING & DRESSER - JOELIE YOUNGER
PRODUCTION - TECHNICAL EVENTS
AUDIO TECHNICIAN - ACORNS RABBITHOLE
LIGHTING TECHNICIAN - HUGHIE HANILY
VENUE - THE MELBOURNE TOWN HALL, SHOWTIME
VIDEOGRAPHY & EDITING - THICK BLACK FRAMES
PHOTOGRAPHY - TOMMY CREATIVE
CLIENT - Wishes to remain annonymous, you know who you are. Thankyou so much.
MUSIC - Prologue, Overture, The Phantom Of The Opera, The Music Of The Night, Masquerade, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again by Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Phantom Of The Opera.
*Please note that AVC does not own the rights to any of the music performed at this event.
Copyright — Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Phantom of the Opera 1986.
We would like to thank our incredible client for encouraging our creativity and their continued support of the arts.