40 Years After the Premiere: Andrew Lloyd Webber Releases Remixed ‘The Phantom of the Opera’

Andrew Lloyd Webber has returned to the original analog tapes recorded at Abbey Road in 1986 and created a new mix of the legendary London recording of the musical “The Phantom of the Opera”. The album, titled “The Phantom of the Opera (The Andrew Lloyd Webber 2026 Mix)”, arrives on the 40th anniversary of the musical’s world premiere in the West End and promises the fullest clarity of the voices of Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman and Steve Barton.

The new version expands from two to three vinyl discs: for the first time, pieces of the score that were cut from the original release due to time constraints return. The album also includes three recordings from the composer’s personal archive — “Andrew’s Phantom Demo”, “Box Five” and “Masquerade Original Demo” — material never heard publicly before. “It was like having the artists back in the studio with me,” Lloyd Webber said of the remixing experience 40 years later.

The announcement was preceded by a theatrical “discovery”: actress Sierra Boggess shared with followers a tape she had “found” in her dressing room — a first listen of Webber’s original demo with Brightman. The first official listen comes this Friday, Sept. 18, with the release of the title track, while the full digital album arrives on Oct. 9, 2026 — exactly 40 years after the London opening night, Oct. 9, 1986.

For collectors, a deluxe 6-LP box set arrives Nov. 20 in just 2,026 hand-numbered copies, priced at $314. Alongside the new mix, the box contains the orchestral score of “Masquerade” — the new immersive version of “Phantom” playing off-Broadway — and the soundtrack of the 2005 film with Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum. Inside are also marked pages from the first script and scores from the composer’s personal archive, a fold-out poster of the original Broadway production with the cast’s autographs, art prints by Robert Heindel and a letter from the “Phantom of the Opera” himself. Pre-orders have begun for “Box Five” club members on the composer’s official website.

“The Phantom of the Opera”, with music by Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart and book by Richard Stilgoe, opened in London on Oct. 9, 1986 and on Broadway on Jan. 26, 1988, where it stayed 35 years until April 16, 2023 — the longest-running musical in Broadway history, winner of seven Tony Awards.

Source: Playbill — https://playbill.com/article/andrew-lloyd-webber-will-release-special-vinyl-set-including-masquerade-orchestral-score-remastered-obc-recording-more