document_title: Alexis Sánchez

question_text: how many goals did sanchez score for arsenal

root

text: Alexis Sánchez

text: Club career

text: Cobreloa

text: Born in Tocopilla, Sánchez was product of Cobreloa prolific youth ranks where he was teammate of current Chile national team players such as Charles Aránguiz and Eduardo Vargas.[13] In February 2005, Sánchez was promoted to the senior first team by manager Nelson Acosta.[14][15]

tag: p

text: Sánchez's made his debut against Deportes Temuco in February[16] and scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 victory over Deportes Concepción on 18 March,[17] allowed him play his first Copa Libertadores game against Once Caldas aged 16, which made him one of the youngest players on debut for the tournament.[18]

text: After an impressive season with Cobreloa, Sánchez caught the attention of Italian Serie A club Udinese, which signed him for a £1.7 million fee, on 21 April 2006.[19] Udinese, however, began a maturation project with Sánchez and immediately loaned him to Chilean giants Colo-Colo in a season-long deal.[20]

text: Colo-Colo

text: Sánchez debuted for Colo-Colo on 23 June 2006 in a 1–1 draw with Antofagasta; he scored his first goal on 29 October during the Chilean football derby against Universidad de Chile in a 4–2 win.[21] His good performances allowed him break into the starting lineup after successfully challenging veteran striker Mario Cáceres, so that began partnering Humberto Suazo in the forward position. On 1 November, he scored a brace in a 4–4 league draw against Deportes La Serena.[22] as well as his first continental goal in a 7–2 thrash over Alajuelense from Costa Rica for the Copa Sudamericana.[23] Nevertheless, Colo-Colo was runner-up of that tournament after losing the final against Pachuca of Mexico.[24] On 23 December 2006, Sánchez won his first professional title after being starter in the Torneo Clausura final against Audax Italiano which his team won 3–2.

text: The next season, on 23 March 2007, he scored his first Copa Libertadores goals against Caracas at Cúcuta[25] where he netted a hat-trick to a 4–0 away win.[26] On 12 May, Sánchez scored his first and only one league goal during a 3–1 home win over Santiago Wanderers,[27] key in the race for title with Universidad Católica which Colo-Colo finally reached after beat Palestino 1–0 at Monumental the last matchday. Noteworthy, it meant the club's 26th league title.[28]

text: After Sánchez's impressive FIFA U-20 World Cup (where Chile achieved the third place with José Sulantay as coach), his loan with Colo-Colo expired and on 15 August 2007, he joined Argentina's River Plate on loan from Udinese.[29]

text: Udinese

text: After a successful season in Argentina, Sánchez left South America in July 2008 to join Udinese, where he would meet up with Chilean compatriot Mauricio Isla. Sánchez made his non-competitive debut in a 3–0 win over Bassano and was named the man of match.[30] On 14 September, he played his first Serie A match in a 1–0 loss with Juventus and four days later, he made his European debut against Borussia Dortmund. On 19 October 2008, Sánchez scored his first league goal against Lecce. After this first goal, Sánchez got into a minor slump, in which he took much criticism. The criticism ended after scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute against Bologna in a 1–0 win, being named the man of match.[citation needed]

text: The next season, Sánchez played an important role for Udinese in the Coppa Italia, being a key player in the team that eliminated Milan, assisting Gökhan Inler for the winning goal.[31] In the semi-final second leg, Sánchez was the man of match after playing a successful game against Roma, including scoring his first Coppa Italia goal in the 81st minute. It was not enough, however, as the aggregate score finished 2–1 in favour of Roma.[32] By the end of this year, Sánchez scored a total of 5 goals (4 at the end of tournament) in 32 appearances.

text: On 27 February 2011, Sánchez scored four of his team's seven goals as Udinese comfortably defeated Palermo 7–0, playing only the first 52 minutes of the game. This event meant he broke the record of goals scored by a Chilean player (in a single match) in Serie A,[33] beating the records set by countrymen Marcelo Salas and Iván Zamorano.

text: During his successful season at Udinese, Sánchez and Italian striker Antonio Di Natale became one of the best scoring duos in Serie A; they tallied 39 goals between them, two goals short of the Alessandro Del Piero–David Trezeguet duo that completed 41 goals in the 2007–08 season. In recognition of his achievements, Sánchez was named the world's most promising youngster of the 2011 season by the users of FIFA.com, where users had to choose between Sánchez, Gareth Bale, Javier Pastore, Ganso and Neymar in a poll.[34] Sánchez ranked 56th in the May 2011 edition of Castrol Performance Index and 24th among the forwards.

text: Barcelona

text: On 20 July 2011, Barcelona of the Spanish La Liga confirmed they had agreed to a €26 million fee (including €11.5 million in certain bonuses) with Udinese for the transfer of Sánchez, becoming the first Chilean to play for the club.[35][36][37] "Sánchez is very young," said then-manager Pep Guardiola; "He can play in all three attacking positions, he shows intense defensive skills, he's direct and from what I've been told, he's a very nice kid."[36] The transfer was finalised five days later when he passed a medical and signed a five-year contract.[38][39] "I want to learn from players like Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernández—and I want to help the club win more titles," said Sánchez.[38]

text: Sánchez's debut season for Barcelona was mired with short-term injuries. He made his debut on 14 August 2011 against archrivals Real Madrid in the 2012 Supercopa de España first leg away match, suffering a thigh injury after a challenge by Marcelo.[40] Barcelona won the tie 5–4 on aggregate. He made his return two weeks later as a substitute in the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, won by Barca 2–0. Alexis then started the opening match of La Liga, at home against Villarreal, and scored his first goal in a 5–0 win. A week later, on 10 September, he was stretchered off after 30 minutes following a challenge from Dani Estrada in a domestic league match against Real Sociedad. Sánchez returned on 1 November in an away match against Viktoria Plzeň.[41] On 10 December, he scored Barça's equaliser against Real Madrid in a match they went on to win 1–3 away at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. On 14 February 2012, Sánchez scored the first and second UEFA Champions League goals of his career in Barcelona's 3–1 victory against Bayer Leverkusen.

text: In the 2012–13 campaign, on 2 October 2012 Sánchez scored the first goal for Barcelona in a 0–2 away win against Benfica.[42] On 10 February 2013, then scored his first goal of the Liga season in Barça's 6–1 home win against Getafe.[43] From February onwards, Sánchez scored in matches against Deportivo de La Coruña, Mallorca, Athletic Bilbao, Real Betis, Atlético Madrid and Espanyol to end the season with eight league goals.[44] Barcelona won the league title, ending the season with 100 points.

text: On 26 October 2013, Sánchez scored the winning goal as Barça beat Real Madrid 2–1 at Camp Nou in the first Clásico fixture of the 2013–14 La Liga season.[45] On 5 January 2014, Sánchez scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona in a 4–0 win against Elche.[46] He ended the 2013–14 season with a career-high 21 goals in all competitions,[47] including 19 in La Liga.[48]

text: Arsenal

text: On 10 July 2014, Sánchez signed for Arsenal on a long-term contract for a transfer fee of £31.7 million.[49][50][51] Sánchez was given the squad number 17, previously worn by Nacho Monreal, who took the vacant number 18 instead. In a statement released by the club, Sánchez said that he was "so happy to be joining Arsenal, a club which has a great manager, a fantastic squad of players, huge support around the world and a great stadium in London".[49] Manager Arsène Wenger praised Sánchez, saying that the Chilean international "has consistently produced top-quality performances at the highest level for a number of seasons now and we are all excited to see him integrate into the Arsenal squad."[49] Sánchez made his first appearance for Arsenal on 2 August 2014, as a substitute during a 5–1 win against Benfica in the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament.[52]

text: 2014–15 season

text: Sánchez's first competitive appearance was against Manchester City in the Community Shield, on 10 August, playing in the first half and helping Arsenal to a 3–0 win.[53] On 16 August, he made his Premier League debut against Crystal Palace, assisting Laurent Koscielny's equaliser in a 2–1 home win.[54] He then scored his first goal for Arsenal on 27 August, slotting the ball past Beşiktaş goalkeeper Tolga Zengin in stoppage time of the first half to secure a 1–0 aggregate victory and a spot in the group stage of the 2014–15 Champions League.[55] Following the game, Wenger was full of praise for Sánchez, with the Arsenal manager saying, "He had a good game, not only on the technical side but on the fighting side. He was mobile, dangerous and has shown as well he has great fighting spirit, qualities that will be very important in the Premier League."[2] His first league goal came four days later, netting the opening goal in a 1–1 draw away to newly promoted Leicester City.[56] He then scored his second league goal in as many games against previous season champions Manchester City, demonstrating perfect technique to sidefoot a volley high past goalkeeper Joe Hart in a 2–2 draw at the Emirates Stadium.[57]

text: Sánchez scored his fourth goal for Arsenal, from a free-kick, as the Gunners fell to 2–1 defeat to Southampton in the League Cup.[58] He scored his first goal in the Champions League proper for the Gunners on 1 October, scoring Arsenal's third goal of their 4–1 home win over Galatasaray and also provided assists for two goals by Danny Welbeck.[59] On 18 October, he scored the opening goal and later assisted a late Welbeck equaliser in a 2–2 draw against Hull City at home. The following league fixture saw him scoring a brace against Sunderland after capitalising on errors made by defender Wes Brown and former Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone.[60] On 1 November, Sánchez again scored a brace, this time against Burnley in a 3–0 victory. With that brace, he scored his ninth and tenth goals of the season across all competitions.[61][61] He and Yaya Sanogo scored against Borussia Dortmund in 2–0 win as Arsenal qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League.[62] On 3 December, he scored the winner against Southampton in the 89th minute to give the Gunners a 1–0 win.[63]

text: Sánchez scored the first goal in Arsenal's 2–1 home win over Queens Park Rangers on 26 December and assisted the second goal for Tomáš Rosický; earlier in the same match, Sánchez had a penalty saved by goalkeeper Robert Green after being brought down by Armand Traoré.[64] On 4 January 2015, Sánchez scored and assisted his first ever FA Cup goals as Arsenal knocked out Hull City, the previous season's runners-up in the third round. Sánchez assisted Per Mertesacker and scored in the 82nd minute, being substituted two minutes later by Chuba Akpom.[65] In Arsenal's next Premier League match, against Stoke City, Sánchez was involved in all the three goals as Arsenal beat the Potters 3–0 at the Emirates. He first assisted Laurent Koscielny and then scored two goals of his own. His performance was praised by Thierry Henry, who called him, "Arsenal's best signing of the last six years."[66]

text: On 4 March, Sánchez ended a run of eight games without a goal by scoring Arsenal's second goal as they beat QPR 2–1 at Loftus Road.[67][68] Sánchez scored Arsenal's third goal on 4 April as they beat Liverpool 4–1 at the Emirates and was chosen as the man of the match.[69]

text: On 18 April, Sánchez scored both of Arsenal's goals in the FA Cup semi-final as Arsenal defeated Reading 2–1 after extra time.[70] Eight days later, he was the only Arsenal player named in the PFA Team of the Year.[71] On 4 May, Sánchez scored another brace, this time against Hull City in a 3–1 away win.[72] On 29 May, he was voted as the 2015 PFA Fans' Player of the Year.[73]

text: Sánchez reached his 25th goal of the season in the 2015 FA Cup Final on 30 May with the second goal in a 4–0 defeat of Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium, a long-range strike. Sánchez, who also headed an assist for Theo Walcott's opening goal, became the first Chilean to score in an FA Cup final since Newcastle United's George Robledo in 1952.[74] He capped off his first season by winning Arsenal's Player of the Year award.[75]

text: 2015–16 season

text: Sánchez made his first appearance of the 2015–16 season as a substitute in Arsenal's 2–0 loss to West Ham United on the opening day of the 2015–16 Premier League. The following week, on his first start of the season, Sánchez had a header deflected into the Crystal Palace net by Damien Delaney to give Arsenal a 2–1 win at Selhurst Park. The goal, however, was later credited as an own goal by the Palace defender.[76]

text: On 26 September 2015, Sánchez ended a run of ten Premier League matches without a goal by scoring his first hat-trick for Arsenal in a 5–2 win at Leicester. This made him the first player to score hat-tricks in each of the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga.[77] Sánchez then scored his first Champions League goal of the season a few days later, in a 3–2 loss to Olympiacos, latching onto a Theo Walcott cross to head beyond Olympiacos goalkeeper Roberto.[78] The following league match, the last match before the international break, Sánchez scored for the third match in a row, scoring a brace in the first 20 minutes as Arsenal defeated Manchester United 3–0 home at the Emirates Stadium and moved up to second place in the league.[79] After the international break, Sánchez carried on his fine goalscoring form by netting against Watford at Vicarage Road, through a Mesut Özil assist, in a 3–0 Arsenal win, keeping Arsenal in second-place and grabbing his sixth goal in three Premier League matches for the club.[80][81]

text: Following a brief period on the sidelines due to injury, Sánchez returned to full first-team action on 30 January 2016 in the FA Cup fourth round tie against Burnley, scoring Arsenal's second goal of the game following a low cross from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.[82] Sánchez netted his first Premier League goal since October with a goal against North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, eqaulising for Arsenal in the 76th minute and keeping the Gunners' title challenge alive.[83]

text: During April 2016, Sánchez scored in four consecutive league matches, with goals against Watford, West Ham, Crystal Palace, and a brace against West Bromwich Albion.[84]

text: 2016–17 season

text: When launching their new kit for the 2016–17 season, Arsenal announced that Sánchez will change squad number from 17 to 7, which was vacated by the departing Tomáš Rosický.[85] Sánchez scored his first goal of Arsenal's campaign and grabbed his first assist in Arsenal's 3–1 away win over Watford.[86] Sánchez scored his first Champions League goal of the campaign in a 1–1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain on 13 September 2016, latching onto Alex Iwobi's rebounded shot, to secure Arsenal a point in the French capital.[87][88] Sánchez kept up his spectacular run of form throughout September by netting against Hull, then scoring and grabbing an assist in a 3–0 victory over Chelsea.[89] [90] He scored a brace in a 1–4 win at Sunderland's Stadium of Light, bringing his total to 50 goals in 106 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal. [91][92] On 22 January 2017, Sánchez scored his first penalty for the club (having missed his previous two) against Burnley in an eventual 2–1 win, which put Arsenal into second place in the Premier League standings.[93][94] Sánchez scored his first goal in the season's FA Cup, in a 5–0 quarter-final win over Lincoln City, taking his tally to 21 goals for the season in all competitions.[95] Sánchez scored the winning goal in Arsenal's 2–1 win over Manchester City, to send Arsenal through to their third FA Cup final, in four years.[96][97]

text: On 13 April, Sánchez was included in the six player shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year.[98] He also, in May 2017, won Arsenal's Player of the Season award.[99] Sánchez finished off the season by claiming the man-of-the-match award and scoring Arsenal's opening goal in an eventual 2–1 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final, ensuring that Arsenal secured a record 13th FA Cup and that manager Arsène Wenger won a record 7th FA Cup in the process.[100][101]

text: 2017–18 season

text: Sánchez returned from the 2017 Confederations Cup with an injury, and therefore had to miss the team's victory over Chelsea in the 2017 FA Community Shield and the team's opening 4–3 win over Leicester City. Sánchez' first start of the season came in the 4–0 away defeat to Liverpool.[102] Sánchez' first goal for the team came in Arsenal's 3–1 Europa League victory over German side FC Köln, in which Sánchez picked the ball up outside the penalty area and curled a shot past goalkeeper Timo Horn, to score the Gunner's second goal of the evening. His performance was praised by Arsène Wenger, who said: "I think Sánchez is still running after his best form. He is a fantastic football player but physically he has just come back. But he has it in his locker to do something special, which he did."[103] Sánchez made his first appearance in the season's EFL Cup in Arsenal's 1–0 win over Doncaster Rovers, in which Sánchez grabbed his first assist of the season, by delivering a cross-field pass which Theo Walcott subsequently put past Doncaster goalkeeper, Ian Lawlor.[104]

text: International career

text: Sánchez made his international debut for the Chile national team against New Zealand on 27 April 2006.[105] He was called up by the coach José Sulantay to represent the Chilean under-20 team at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Canada, where they finished third.[105][106]

text: After his participation in the youth championship, Sánchez scored his first senior international goal in a 2–1 loss against Switzerland on 7 September 2007. He scored three times during La Roja's successful 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign and appeared on every match during the tournament finals.[105] He then participated in the 2011 Copa América, scoring once in a 1–1 group stage draw with Uruguay,[107] as Chile reached the quarter-finals. On 15 November 2013, Sánchez scored both goals as Chile beat England 2–0 at Wembley, repeating the achievement of national team legend Marcelo Salas in 1998.[108]

text: 2014 World Cup

text: Sánchez scored four times in Chile's qualification campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[109]

text: On 13 June 2014, Sánchez scored Chile's opening goal of the 2014 World Cup, and provided an assist, in a 3–1 defeat of Australia in Cuiabá.[110] During the round of 16, Sánchez scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw against the hosts Brazil. However, he was one of three Chileans to fail to convert their kicks in the penalty shootout, having his shot saved by Júlio César as Brazil prevailed 3–2.[111]

text: 2015 Copa América

text: Sánchez was a member of Chile's squad as they hosted the 2015 Copa América. He assisted Eduardo Vargas in Chile's 2–0 win over Ecuador in the tournament opener,[112] then scored a header in their final group game, a 5–0 win against Bolivia which sent Chile through as group winners – he and Arturo Vidal were rested by being substituted at half time.[113]

text: Sánchez was named man of the match in Chile's ill-tempered and highly controversial quarter-final win over defending champions Uruguay.[114] In the semi-final against Peru, he created the opening goal for Eduardo Vargas as Chile progressed to the final with a 2–1 victory.[115] On 4 July, Sánchez converted the winning kick in the final as Chile defeated Argentina in a penalty shootout to win their first major title, executing it in the Panenka style.[116]

text: 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification

text: In Chile's first match of 2018 World Cup qualification on 9 October 2015, Sánchez scored in a 2–0 win over Brazil, Chile's first victory against the opponents since 2000.[117] Four days later, he scored twice in a 4–3 win at rivals Peru.[118]

text: Copa América Centenario

text: In June 2016, Sánchez was part of the Chile squad that defended their Copa América title at the Copa América Centenario in the United States. On 14 June, needing a draw to progress to the knockout rounds, Chile fell 1–0 behind to Panama before both Sánchez and Eduardo Vargas scored twice in a 4–2 win in Philadelphia to qualify for the tournament quarter-finals.[119]

text: Four days later, he scored one goal and registered two assists at Levi's Stadium in a 7–0 rout of Mexico, who were previously on a 22-game unbeaten streak.[120] In Chile's 2–0 semi-final victory over Colombia, he became only the second Chilean – after Claudio Bravo – to reach 100 caps. Sánchez was involved in Chile's second goal when his shot rebounded off the inside of the post and across the goal, presenting a tap-in for José Pedro Fuenzalida.[121]

text: In a repeat of the previous Copa América final, Chile faced Argentina. Both teams had a player sent-off before half-time, and after a 0–0 draw, Chile were victorious via penalty kicks (4–2) to retain their title. Sánchez was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.[122]

text: 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

text: In Chile's opening match of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup on 18 June, Sánchez, who had been recovering from an ankle injury, came off the bench to set up Arturo Vidal's opening goal in an eventual 2–0 win over Cameroon.[123] On 22 June 2017, Sánchez became Chile's out-right all-time goalscorer when he scored the opening goal in an eventual 1–1 draw against reigning World Cup champions Germany in his team's second group match of the tournament, overtaking Marcelo Salas with his 38th international goal in 112 appearances, and also equalling Claudio Bravo as his nation's joint top appearance holder in the process.[124][125]

text: Style of play

text: Sánchez is a quick, creative and hard-working player with an eye for goal, who is known in particular for his energy, skill and work-rate on the pitch.[126][127][128] Although naturally right-footed, due to his ability with either foot, he is capable of playing anywhere along the front line, on either flank, or through the centre of the pitch: throughout his career, he has been deployed as a supporting striker, as a winger, as a false-9, and even as an attacking midfielder; he has recently also been used in a more advanced, central role, as a main striker.[129][130][131][132][133] A talented forward, Sánchez is gifted with excellent technical ability, agility, flair and acceleration, which enables him to dribble past opponents with feints in one on one situations, create space, and either score goals himself or set-up his teammates.[126][127][134][135][136][137] Being an accurate striker of the ball, he is also effective from set-pieces.[138]

text: Personal life

text: Sánchez had a statue erected in his honour within his native town of Tocopilla in March 2017.[139]

text: In October 2015, Sánchez was named as a brand ambassador for Huawei.[140] He appeared in an advert to the tune of Blondie's "One Way or Another" for Huawei which made its debut in November 2016.[141]

text: In February 2017, Sánchez signed a sponsorship deal with Pepsi.[142]

text: Career statistics

text: Club

text:
Club
Season
League
Cup
League Cup
Continental[nb 1]
Others[nb 2]
Total

Division
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals

Cobreloa
2005
Primera División
35
3
–
3
0
–
38
3

2006
12
9
–
12
9

Total
47
12
–
3
0
–
50
12

Colo-Colo
2006
Primera División
18
4
–
9
1
–
27
5

2007
14
1
–
7
3
–
21
4

Total
32
5
–
16
4
–
48
9

River Plate
2007–08
Primera División
23
4
–
8
0
–
31
4

Total
23
4
–
8
0
–
31
4

Udinese
2008–09
Serie A
32
3
2
0
–
9
0
–
43
3

2009–10
32
5
4
1
–
36
6

2010–11
31
12
2
0
–
33
12

Total
95
20
8
1
–
9
0
–
112
21

Barcelona
2011–12
La Liga
25
12
7
1
–
6
2
3
0
41
15

2012–13
29
8
6
2
–
9
1
2
0
46
11

2013–14
34
19
9
2
–
9
0
2
0
54
21

Total
88
39
22
5
–
24
3
7
0
141
47

Arsenal
2014–15
Premier League
35
16
6
4
1
1
9
4
1
0
52
25

2015–16
30
13
3
1
1
0
7
3
0
0
41
17

2016–17
38
24
5
3
0
0
8
3
–
51
30

2017–18
6
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
8
2

Total
109
54
14
8
3
1
25
11
1
0
152
74

Career Total
394
134
44
14
3
1
85
18
8
0
534
167

tag: table

text:
Jump up ^ Includes continental competitive competitions, including the Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
Jump up ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FIFA Club World Cup, Supercopa de España, Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup.

tag: ol

text: International

text:
Chile national team

Year
Apps
Goals

2006
5
0

2007
4
1

2008
9
2

2009
9
5

2010
7
4

2011
11
2

2012
8
0

2013
11
8

2014
13
4

2015
14
5

2016
15
5

2017
12
3

Total
118
39

text: Honours

text: Club

text:
Chilean Premiera División: 2006 Clausura, 2007 Apertura
Copa Sudamericana Runner-up: 2006

tag: ul

text: Argentine Primera División: 2008 Clausura

text:
La Liga: 2012–13
Copa del Rey: 2011–12
Supercopa de España: 2011, 2013
UEFA Super Cup: 2011
FIFA Club World Cup: 2011

text:
FA Cup: 2014–15, 2016–17
FA Community Shield: 2014

text: International

text:
Copa América: 2015, 2016
FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up: 2017
FIFA U-20 World Cup Third place: 2007

text: Individual

text:
FIFA Confederations Cup Silver Ball: 2017[151]
Copa América Golden Ball: 2016[152]
Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2016
BBC Goal of the Month: October 2015[153][154]
PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2015[155]
Football Supporters' Federation Player of the Year: 2015[156]
Facebook FA Premier League Player of the Year: 2015[157]
Kids' Choice Awards Favorite UK Footballer: 2015[158]
Arsenal Player of the Season: 2014–15,[75] 2016–17[99]
Premier League PFA Team of the Year: 2014–15
PFA Fans' Premier League Player of the Month: October 2014,[159] October 2015[160][161]
FIFPro World XI 4th team: 2015, 2016, 2017[162][163][164]
Serie A Player of the Month: February 2011[165]


document_title: Love Never Dies (musical)

question_text: who does christine choose in love never dies

question_tokens: who does christine choose in love never dies

text: Love Never Dies (musical)

text: Background[edit]

text:
I really do not believe that you have to have seen Phantom of the Opera to understand Love Never Dies. I really don’t. But I hope if you see them together, if you wanted to see them back-to-back, that what you would get from them – from both of them – is the extension of where the story goes.
“
”

Andrew Lloyd Webber[11]

tag: div

text: Andrew Lloyd Webber first began plans for a sequel to his 1986 hit musical, The Phantom of the Opera, in 1990.[12] Following a conversation with Maria Björnson, the designer of The Phantom of the Opera, Lloyd Webber decided that, were a sequel to come about, it would be set in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. One of his ideas was to have the Phantom live above ground in Manhattan's first penthouse, but he rejected this when he saw a TV documentary about the Coney Island fairground.[12] Lloyd Webber began collaborating with author Frederick Forsyth on the project, but it soon fell apart as Lloyd Webber felt the ideas they were developing would be difficult to adapt for a stage musical. Forsyth went on to publish some of the ideas he had worked on with Lloyd Webber in 1999 as a novel entitled The Phantom of Manhattan.[13]

text: Lloyd Webber returned to the project in 2006, collaborating with a number of writers and directors. However, he still did not feel the ideas he had were adaptable into a piece of musical theatre.[14] Finally, in early 2007, Lloyd Webber approached Ben Elton (who had served as the librettist for Lloyd Webber's The Beautiful Game) to help shape a synopsis for a sequel, based on Lloyd Webber's initial ideas. Elton's treatment of the story focused more on the original characters of The Phantom of the Opera and omitted new characters that Lloyd Webber and Forsyth had developed.[14] Lloyd Webber was pleased with Elton's treatment and began work on the sequel.[13] In March 2007, he announced he would be moving forward with the project.[15]

text: The Daily Mail announced in May 2007 that the sequel would be delayed because Lloyd Webber's six-month-old kitten Otto, a rare-breed Turkish Van, climbed onto Lloyd Webber's Clavinova digital piano and managed to delete the entire score. Lloyd Webber was unable to recover any of it from the instrument, but was eventually able to reconstruct the score.[16][17] In 2008, Lloyd Webber first announced that the sequel would likely be called Phantom: Once Upon Another Time,[18] and the first act was performed at his annual Sydmonton Festival. The Phantom was played by Ramin Karimloo and Raoul was played by Alistair Robbins.[19] However, in September 2008, during the BBC's Birthday in the Park concert celebrating his 60th birthday, Lloyd Webber announced that the title would be Love Never Dies.[20] In other workshop readings, Raoul and Christine were played by Aaron Lazar and Elena Shaddow.[21]

text: On 3 July 2009, Lloyd Webber announced that Karimloo (who had played the Phantom in the West End) and Sierra Boggess (who had originated the role of Christine in Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular) had been cast as the Phantom and Christine and that the role of Meg Giry would be played by Summer Strallen, Madame Giry by Liz Robertson, and Raoul by Joseph Millson.[22][23] I'd Do Anything finalist Niamh Perry was given the role of Fleck.[24]

text: Lloyd Webber originally intended for Love Never Dies to open simultaneously in London, New York, and Shanghai in the autumn of 2009.[21][22][25] By March 2009, he had decided to open the show at London's Adelphi Theatre, followed by Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre (before transferring to Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre in 2010) and Shanghai.[25] The three casts would rehearse simultaneously in London for three months beginning August 2009.[25] Opening dates were soon announced as 26 October 2009 in London, November in Toronto and February 2010 in Shanghai, with a later transfer to Melbourne, Australia.[26] Plans were then announced for a separate Broadway production to run concurrently with the Toronto show if Toronto proved successful.[27] In May, the debut of the London production was delayed until March 2010 due to Lloyd Webber re-orchestrating the score and re-recording the album.[28][29] Technical issues with special effects and an automaton version of Christine, and the casting of multiple simultaneous productions also contributed to the postponement.[22] By October 2009, Shanghai plans had been dropped in favour of an Australian production.[30]

text: On 8 October 2009, Lloyd Webber held a press conference at Her Majesty's Theatre, where the original Phantom has been running since 1986, confirming the casting of Boggess as Christine and Karimloo as the Phantom. Karimloo sang "Til I Hear You Sing" and the instrumental "The Coney Island Waltz" was performed by an orchestra for the journalists, industry insiders, and fans who had assembled for the presentation.[31][32] Lloyd Webber announced that Love Never Dies would begin previews in London on 20 February 2010 and anticipated that the Broadway production would open on 11 November 2010 (this was later postponed[33] and then indefinitely[34] and to date has never come to fruition). Rehearsals began in January 2010.[35][36]

text: Score[edit]

text: As with Phantom, Lloyd Webber's score for Love Never Dies also includes original music in the style of the show's time period to accompany character "performances" taking place within the show itself. Only "Bathing Beauty" survived the post-concept album cuts to be performed on stage.[citation needed]

text: Instead of the operatic passages for fictional "operas", the "stage" music at Phantasma is based on the companion pieces to the Savoy Operas, which were often burlesques and were also sometimes performed at the Opéra Comique. Many of these kinds of burlesques were based on existing French operas. During the Victorian age, nearly every popular opera was turned into a burlesque.[37] The W. S. Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan) operatic burlesque Robert the Devil is a parody of Robert le diable, a romantic grand opera by Meyerbeer, which is mentioned in the prologue to Phantom of the Opera.[citation needed]

text: These pieces were very popular among the lower class, but not commonly seen by more sophisticated opera goers. According to W. J. MacQueen-Pope:

text: Like most burlesques, "Robert the Devil" featured women in scanty costumes and breeches roles. In operas, these were always supporting roles. The pageboy role in the second "opera" within Phantom of the Opera is a breeches role, like the part of Cherubino, the Count's page, in The Marriage of Figaro. However, in burlesques, breeches roles could be main parts.[citation needed]

text: Very little specific information is available for most of these curtain openers. However, the opener for "Pinafore", which had also been performed at the Opéra Comique in 1878, was called "Beauties on the Beach".[39] Meg Giry's grand opening number in Love Never Dies is called "Bathing Beauty".[citation needed]

text: Productions[edit]

text: West End (2010–2011)[edit]

text: The first preview of Love Never Dies was delayed from 20 to 22 February 2010 due to a last-minute brief illness of Boggess and technical demands.[40][41] The show had its official opening on 9 March 2010. It was directed by Jack O'Brien and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, with set and costume designs by Bob Crowley.[6] The cast included Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom, Sierra Boggess as Christine, Joseph Millson as Raoul, Liz Robertson as Madame Giry, Summer Strallen as Meg Giry, and Niamh Perry as Fleck. In April 2010, Lloyd Webber was threatened with a £20,000 fine for illegally painting the Grade II-listed Adelphi Theatre black to promote the show.[42]

text: In December 2010, Lloyd Webber closed the London production for a few days to rework the show after a poor critical response. The musical was reviewed again (at Lloyd Webber's invitation[43]), with critic Henry Hitchings noting that "Some of the most obvious alterations stem from the recruitment of lyricist Charles Hart to adjust the cadences of the original clunky lines written by Glenn Slater." He further pointed out that "There are also lots of bracing directorial touches; the show is credited to Jack O’Brien, but it is new choreographer Bill Deamer and producer Bill Kenwright who have added the zest."[44] The London production closed on 27 August 2011 after a disappointing run of fewer than eighteen months.[45] In 2012, Lloyd Webber stated that although he was, "very, very proud" of the London production, it did not completely work and also said, "something just went slightly wrong; I had cancer just before the production, and it was just that crucial 5% off-beam".[11]

text: The hoped-for Broadway production was announced as delayed to spring 2011.[33] Lloyd Webber also announced that Asian and Canadian productions were planned, although these were subsequently dropped.[13] After the poor reviews and negative reaction from some Phantom fans during previews, an executive producer stated that before its bow on Broadway, the show would likely undergo "some changes".[46] On 1 October 2010 it was announced that the musical would not open on Broadway in Spring 2011.[34] To date, Love Never Dies has not played Broadway.

text: In 2016, five years after the closure of the London production, Paule Constable, the production's lighting designer and member of the original creative team, claimed that working on Love Never Dies almost led her to quit the theatre industry.[47]

text: Australia (2011-2012)[edit]

text: In 2010, Lloyd-Webber announced that the Australian production would open on 21 May 2011 at Melbourne's Regent Theatre. This production, the first outside of the UK, featured brand new direction and design by an Australian creative team, including director Simon Phillips.[48] Ben Lewis and Anna O'Byrne were cast as the leads.[49][50] Before the show's opening, Phillips addressed the negative reaction of fans of Phantom to the London production, stating: "''I think the majority of the noise about Love Never Dies wasn't literary. They didn't care that Andrew was creating a sequel to the original story."[51] However, Love Never Dies is not a sequel to Gaston Leroux's original novel, in which the character of the Phantom dies at the end. Phillips additionally addressed the audience's suspension of disbelief with regard to the plot of Love Never Dies: "The central plot idea is that the Phantom and Christine have slept together. If people don't buy that, then they're never going to come onboard with the show, they're never going to respond to it."[52]

text: Although Lloyd Webber hoped to bring the Melbourne production to Broadway in the future,[53] he told The New York Times that, even with the positive reception of the reworked Melbourne production, a Broadway transfer was probably not realistic. The Melbourne production was filmed on 15 September 2011 and made available on DVD.[54] The recording was originally to be released on DVD and Blu-ray 1 February 2012,[55] but it was later delayed till 29 May 2012 in the United States.[56] In the UK, the DVD was released on 12 March 2012,[57] and in Australia it was released on 8 February 2012. The recorded performance also played in select theatres on 28 February and 7 March 2012.[58] It was then screened again in US cinemas on 23 May 2012.[59] Lloyd Webber stated at the time that, even if a Broadway production did not happen, he felt that he had closed the chapter on the piece, as the filmed version is something he's, "very, very proud of" and it does not really matter to him, "if it comes tomorrow or five years' time".[60][61] The Melbourne production closed on 18 December 2011.

text: The Melbourne production transferred to Sydney's Capitol Theatre with previews beginning 8 January 2012 and officially opened on 12 January 2012.[62] The show concluded its on 1 April 2012.[63] The Courier Mail reported in December 2011 that the show "opened to mixed reviews in Melbourne and has struggled with ticket sales, closing after just seven months. It will play in Sydney just shy of six months before closing for good, despite earlier plans for a Brisbane season in the second half of [2012]".[64]

text: Copenhagen (2012–2013)[edit]

text: Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen, Denmark announced that their production of Love Never Dies would open on 24 October 2012[65] and star Tomas Ambt Kofod and Bo Kristian Jensen as the Phantom and Danish coloratura soprano Louise Fribo as Christine. It featured a new production design by Paul Farnsworth, new stagings by Daniel Bohr, and new choreography by Hayley Franks Høier. Karen Hoffmann, who translated the score of Phantom of the Opera into Danish, also translated this score into Danish. The production closed 21 April 2013.[citation needed]

text: Vienna (2013)[edit]

text: A concert rendition, translated entirely into German, was held in Vienna, Austria, in the Raimund Theater in October 2013. It starred Drew Sarich as the Phantom.[66]

text: Japan (2014)[edit]

text: A Japanese production opened in March 2014[citation needed] at the Nissay Theatre in Tokyo with direction and designs from the original Australian production.[67] It starred Masachika Ichimura and Takeshi Kaga as the Phantom and Megumi Hamada and Ayaka Hirahara as Christine.

text: Germany (2015-)[edit]

text: The German branch of Stage Entertainment announced a production of Love Never Dies from fall 2015 at the Operettenhaus in Hamburg. The show's title was translated literally as "Liebe stirbt nie". The German production was based on the original Australian version.[68]

text: US National Tour (2017)[edit]

text: A touring production is now traveling through North America in the 2017–2018 season.[69] It premiered at the Stanley Theatre in Utica, New York on September 22, 2017.[70] The cast includes Gardar Thor Cortes as The Phantom, Meghan Picerno as Christine Daaé, Karen Mason as Madame Giry, Sean Thompson as Raoul, Mary Michael Patterson as Meg Giry, Katrina Kemp as Fleck, Richard Koons as Squelch, Stephen Petrovich as Gangle and Casey Lyons and Jake Miller sharing the role of Gustave.[70]

text: Synopsis (Original London Version)[edit]

text: Act I[edit]

text: Madame Giry walks alone at night on a desolate pier, reminiscing about an amusement park called Phantasma, Coney Island's former "City of Wonders". The ghost of Miss Fleck, a freak show performer who once worked with Giry at the park, appears out of the darkness ("Prologue"). When Fleck urges Giry to recall the "good old days" and blames her for "what happened", the audience is suddenly transported back in time as the old, tattered billboards are restored, the lights of Phantasma are illuminated, and an assortment of the park's performers appear in a dreamlike sequence ("The Coney Island Waltz/That's the Place That You Ruined, You Fool!").

text: It is now ten years after the events at the Paris Opera House and the setting is Phantasma on Coney Island in New York. An excited group of vacationers arrive, overwhelmed at all that Phantasma has to offer. They speculate about the park's reclusive, masked owner and creator, a wealthy tycoon known only as Mr. Y ("Heaven by the Sea").

text: Meg Giry, Christine Daae's friend from the Opera who was somewhat more intrigued by than afraid of the Phantom in their youth, is now a headlining burlesque performer at Phantasma. Madame Giry, her mother, and the Opera's former ballet mistress is now a business manager and choreographer for the show. Both Meg and her mother are eager to curry favor with their employer to secure their future; as Meg prepares for a performance as "the ooh la la girl", she wonders whether it will please him ("Only for Him/Only for You"). After the show, Madame Giry informs Meg that she has arranged for her to meet an important client, suggesting that Meg has been covertly performing sexual favors for key individuals, in the interest of political and financial expediency for Phantasma.

text: In a dark, private lair in a tower high above the park, the Phantom (now revealed as Phantasma's owner and mastermind) interacts with an automaton that resembles Christine ("The Aerie"). In spite of the years that have passed and his many successes, the Phantom still longs to be reunited with her ("Til I Hear You Sing"). Meg intrudes and presses the Phantom for feedback on her performance, but he is distracted by his thoughts of Christine and dismisses Meg as an annoyance. Madame Giry is irritated that the Phantom still seems to think only of Christine after all that she and Meg have done for him over the years. Giry recounts how she and Meg helped smuggle him out of Paris and to a ship departing from Calais, on which they escaped to America. Ignoring her, the Phantom summons Miss Fleck, who appears with two other freak show performers, Dr. Gangle and Mr. Squelch. The Phantom has them dispatch a letter to Christine, inviting her to come and perform at Phantasma ("Giry confronts The Phantom/Til' I Hear You Sing (Reprise)").

text: Three months later, Christine arrives in New York with her husband Raoul and their son Gustave, where they are greeted by crowds of paparazzi at the dock ("Christine Disembarks"). Remarks from the onlookers suggest that Christine has not performed for some time and Raoul has lost much of their fortune to drinking and a fondness for gambling. The Phantom's trio of freak show performers (Fleck, Gangle, and Squelch) arrive in a strange carriage pulled by a "ghost" horse and whisk Christine and her family away to Coney Island ("Arrival of the Trio/Are You Ready to Begin?").

text: In their rooms, Raoul expresses disgust that their host would send circus freaks to receive them ("What a Dreadful Town!..."). He upsets Gustave by refusing to play with him and storms out to find a bar, leaving Christine to explain his behavior to their son ("Look With Your Heart"). When Gustave goes to bed, the Phantom enters and reveals to a stunned Christine that it was he who summoned her to sing at Phantasma. Initially outraged, Christine eventually succumbs to the memory of a clandestine evening the two shared before she was married. As they recall their one night of passion, it is revealed that Christine was prepared to abandon Raoul for the Phantom, but awoke in the morning to find herself alone. The Phantom explains that he fled out of fear that she would reject him again when she saw his face in the morning light ("Beneath a Moonless Sky"). Both concede that they once thought their love had a chance, but the circumstances of the present day make it impossible ("Once Upon Another Time"). They are startled by a scream from Gustave, who awakens from a nightmare and rushes into the room ("Mother Please, I'm Scared!"). Christine introduces the Phantom as an old friend named Mr. Y, and he promises to show the boy around Phantasma the next day.

text: In the rehearsal studio at Phantasma, Meg is unexpectedly reunited with Christine, who surprises her with the news that she was invited there to sing. Similarly, Raoul encounters Madame Giry and discovers that it was the Phantom who brought them to Coney Island ("Dear Old Friend").

text: Later, the freak show trio takes Gustave to meet the Phantom in the Aerie, where the boy is enthralled by the many curious inventions and creations on display. When Gustave plays a haunting melody of his own composition on the piano, the Phantom is once again reminded of his one night with Christine and he is struck by the possibility that this musically gifted child could actually be his son ("Beautiful"). The Phantom questions Gustave about his talents and passions, finding that they are kindred spirits. Believing that Gustave will be able to see past the surface to what is inside, the Phantom is emboldened to remove the mask that hides his deformity ("The Beauty Underneath"). To his dismay, Gustave is horrified and screams at the sight, but Christine enters just in time to calm the boy. When the Phantom confronts her with his suspicions regarding Gustave's paternity, Christine confesses that the child is indeed his son, prompting the Phantom to vow that all his life's work will henceforth be for Gustave ("The Phantom Confronts Christine"). Unbeknownst to them, Madame Giry has overheard their conversation and is enraged, fearing that everything she and Meg have done for the Phantom over the years has been for nothing, as Gustave will be the sole beneficiary of his wealth and property.

text: Act II[edit]

text: A drunken Raoul is sitting alone in a forlorn bar, contemplating the evolution of his relationship with Christine ("Why Does She Love Me?"). Meg enters and warns him that New York isn't a suitable place for his family, and she urges them to abandon Christine's performance contract and leave that night. Raoul refuses, citing their need for the money; he boasts that he is not afraid of the Phantom, unaware that his rival has since slipped in and replaced the barman behind the counter. When Meg leaves, the Phantom confronts Raoul and intimidates him with veiled remarks that cause him to question his paternity of Gustave. The Phantom also offers Raoul a bet: if Christine fails to perform tonight, the Phantom will pay off all their debts and allow them to leave together, but if she sings the aria he has written for her, Raoul must go back to France alone. Raoul accepts the Phantom's dare and then experiences a moment of panic at what he has done ("Devil Take The Hindmost").

text: Out on the beach, the people are enjoying the last day of the summer season ("Heaven By The Sea (Reprise)"). A hot air balloon lands, carrying the Phantom's trio of freak show performers who announce the evening's entertainment lineup ("Ladies...Gents!/The Coney Island Waltz (Reprise)").

text: That night, Meg performs a comedic burlesque routine about her choice of swimming costume ("Bathing Beauty"). Afterwards, Madame Giry informs her crestfallen daughter that the Phantom was not there to watch her performance and it had all been for nothing ("Mother, Did You Watch?").

text: In her dressing room, Raoul implores Christine to reconsider her decision to sing and asks her to leave with him at once if she still loves him. When Raoul leaves her alone to think, the Phantom enters and tells Christine that Raoul knows his love is not enough, and that she must sing for him once more. When he departs, Christine recalls the fateful night at the Paris Opera House when she had to make the difficult decision between the respectable and comfortable life offered by Raoul and the passionate rush of the Phantom and his music ("Before the Performance").

text: Backstage, Raoul, the Phantom, and Madame Giry each wait anxiously to see whether Christine will flee or sing, while Meg entertains Gustave ("Devil Take The Hindmost (Quartet)").

text: The stage manager calls "Curtain" and Christine takes her place on stage. The orchestra begins to play and, after a moment of pained indecision, Christine succumbs to the Phantom's music and sings his aria for the appreciative crowd. Her performance is watched from the wings by the Phantom and Raoul until Raoul resigns himself to the decision she has made ("Love Never Dies").

text: Afterwards, the Phantom joins an overwhelmed Christine in her dressing room and the two share a rapturous moment ("Ah, Christine!"). Christine finds a letter from Raoul stating that he has left for good and she begins to panic when she realizes that Gustave is missing. The Phantom at first assumes that Raoul has taken the boy, but Miss Fleck reveals that she earlier passed Meg's dressing room and saw a smashed mirror and Meg leaving with a small figure. A worried Madame Giry announces that she knows where they were likely going ("Gustave! Gustave!").

text: On a desolate pier, the Phantom, Christine, and Madame Giry find the distraught Meg seemingly about to drown Gustave in the ocean ("Please Miss Giry, I Want to Go Back!..."). Meg brandishes a gun to make the Phantom finally pay attention to her as she describes the lengths the Girys have gone to over the years to ensure the success of Phantasma, including Meg's offering herself to men in high places to "grease the wheels of [the Phantom's] high-flying deals". The Phantom apologizes for his failure to truly see Meg and her contributions, but when he unthinkingly mentions Christine, Meg becomes enraged and accidentally fires the gun, shooting Christine. The Phantom rushes to Christine and orders Madame Giry to go for help while Meg looks on in stunned horror at what she had done. Christine reveals to Gustave that the Phantom is his real father and she tells the Phantom that her love for him will never die. The Phantom and Christine share a final kiss and she dies in his arms. The Phantom has Meg hold Christine's body as he moves to comfort Gustave, who unmasks him without fear.

text: Synopsis (2011 Australian Version)[edit]

text: Act I[edit]

text: Ten years after the events at the Paris Opera, the Phantom is now a well known tycoon and the mastermind of Phantasma, a Coney Island amusement park. Despite his success, he is tortured by the absence of Christine Daae in his life and longs to hear her sing again ("Til I Hear You Sing"). At Phantasma, a trio of freak show performers (Dr. Gangle, Miss Fleck, and Mr. Squelch) introduce the wonders of Coney Island ("The Coney Island Waltz"). Meg Giry, Christine Daaé's friend from the Paris Opera, has become "The Ooh La La Girl" in The Phantom's vaudeville show, which Madame Giry produces. Meg and the Phantasma cast win the crowd over with their performance ("Only for You"). Madame Giry has read in the newspaper that Christine is coming to New York to sing for Oscar Hammerstein at the opening of his new Manhattan opera house. She expresses concern that Meg has lost the attention of the Phantom and reminisces about how she and Meg smuggled him from Paris, France to New York City ten years ago ("Ten Long Years").

text: Christine, Raoul and their ten-year-old son Gustave arrive in New York and are met by crowds of paparazzi ("Christine Disembarks"). They are greeted by Gangle, Fleck and Squelch, who arrive in a horseless carriage, to take them to Coney Island (“Are You Ready to Begin?”).

text: Raoul is angry at the reception ("What a Dreadful Town!") and upsets Gustave by not playing with him. When Raoul departs in response to an invitation to meet Hammerstein in the hotel bar, Gustave asks Christine why his father seems not to love him. Christine encourages Gustave to look past the surface to try to help him understand ("Look With Your Heart"). When Gustave goes to bed, the Phantom appears on the balcony and Christine faints in shock, having believed him dead. He carries her to a chair, where she awakens and the two recall a night of passion before Christine's wedding, and the Phantom explains why he felt compelled to leave her side afterwards (“Beneath a Moonless Sky”). Moving to the balcony, the pair sadly remember how they once thought their love had a chance of succeeding ("Once Upon Another Time"). The Phantom offers to pay Christine twice Hammerstein's price if she will sing just one song that he has written for her, but Christine refuses. Gustave wakes up screaming from a nightmare and interrupts them ("Mother Please, I'm Scared!") and Christine introduces him to the Phantom for the first time. The Phantom promises to show Gustave all of Phantasma the next day. After Gustave returns to bed, The Phantom threatens to abduct the boy unless Christine agrees to sing for him again. A shaken Christine relents and the Phantom leaves her with the sheet music for the song he has written.

text: In the rehearsal studio for Phantasma, Meg is dismayed and hurt to learn that Christine has been assigned the "leading lady slot" in the show. Raoul encounters Madame Giry and discovers that the Phantom, not Oscar Hammerstein, is the one for whom Christine will be singing ("Dear Old Friend"). Gangle, Fleck and Squelch bring Gustave to the Aerie, where he is greeted by the Phantom. Child prodigy Gustave sings and plays a melody on the piano ("Beautiful") that leads the Phantom to suspect he is Gustave's father ("He plays like me! He's just 10 years old...ten years old"). The Phantom questions Gustave as he shows him around the dark wonders, illusions, and freaks of Phantasma and discovers that they are kindred spirits. He unmasks himself, believing Gustave will accept him, but Gustave screams in horror and flees ("The Beauty Underneath"). Christine comforts Gustave and then asks Meg to take him back to the hotel. When pressed by the Phantom, Christine confesses that Gustave is his son ("The Phantom Confronts Christine"). The Phantom makes Christine promise to never tell Gustave that Raoul is not his real father. Christine gives her word and vows to sing for him once more, and then leaves him alone. Stunned by what has transpired, the Phantom declares that everything he creates and owns will be inherited by Gustave. An eavesdropping Madame Giry becomes enraged at the realization that all she and Meg have done for the Phantom over the years has been for nothing.

text: Act II[edit]

text: In a gloomy bar, Raoul contemplates his relationship with Christine. He is joined by Meg, who tells him she swims each day to wash away the stress of working. She tells Raoul that he must leave with Christine and Gustave and runs out of the bar ("Why Does She Love Me?"). Raoul says he is not afraid of the Phantom. Suddenly, the Phantom reveals himself to Raoul and they make a bet that if Christine sings, the Phantom wins and if she doesn't, Raoul wins. If Raoul wins the bet, the Phantom will pay his debts and Raoul can leave with Christine and Gustave. However, if The Phantom wins, Christine and Gustave will remain in America with him and Raoul must return to Paris alone. The Phantom also leads Raoul to question Gustave's paternity ("Devil Take the Hindmost"). Fleck, Squelch and Gangle appear to advertise Christine's appearance at Phantasma ("Invitation to the Concert"). That night, Meg performs a strip-tease about her choice of swimming costumes ("Bathing Beauty"). She successfully impresses the audience, but Madame Giry reveals to Meg that the Phantom did not watch the performance, saying it was for nothing ("Mother, Did You Watch?").

text: In Christine's dressing room, Gustave helps his mother get ready for the show. Raoul arrives and Christine asks Gustave to wait for his father backstage. Raoul begs Christine not to sing, and to leave New York with him if she really loves him. Christine asks for some time and Raoul leaves. The Phantom enters and tells Christine that Raoul's love is not enough. That she must sing for him and embrace her destiny ("Before The Performance"). Christine recalls the events at the Opera where she had to decide between Raoul and the Phantom. ("Twisted Every Way") Madame Giry, Raoul and the Phantom wonder whether Christine will sing ("Devil Take The Hindmost" (reprise)). The curtain opens on Christine, with Raoul and the Phantom watching from the wings at either side. As the long musical intro comes to its end, Christine makes the decision to sing. Raoul leaves just before Christine finishes to thunderous applause ("Love Never Dies"). Backstage, Christine is greeted lovingly by the Phantom and the two share a kiss. She then finds a letter from Raoul informing her of his departure ("Ah Christine").

text: Suddenly realising that Gustave is missing, Christine recalls that she had asked him to wait backstage for Raoul, but she does not want to believe that Raoul may have taken the boy. Furious, the Phantom vows to kill the "drunken fool," but Squelch informs him that he saw the Vicomte leave alone. The Phantom then suspects Madame Giry, because of her attitude towards him before Christine's number, and proceeds to threaten Giry when she is brought to him by Squelch and Gangle. Madame Giry confesses that she knew about Gustave's true parentage, but denies abducting the boy. Fleck reports that she was passing Meg's dressing room, where she saw that the mirror has shattered, and Meg is now nowhere to be found. Christine fears for her child's life, but Madame Giry assures her that Meg would never hurt Gustave. The Phantom believes he knows where Meg has gone ("Gustave, Gustave").

text: At the pier, Meg prepares to drown Gustave, who cannot swim, when the others arrive to confront her. She reveals to the Phantom that the resources Madame Giry has afforded him came from Meg's working as a prostitute to influential men. She expresses her hurt and resentment that the Phantom never took any notice of her or appreciated her singing and dancing. After sharing her feelings, Meg decides to let Gustave live and releases him. She produces a gun and holds it to her head, intent on ending her misery. The Phantom tries to apologise and console her, but when he unthinkingly mentions Christine's name, Meg becomes agitated once again. When the Phantom tries to take the gun from her, Meg accidentally shoots Christine ("Please Miss Giry, I Want To Go Back").

text: After Madame Giry and Meg are dispatched to find help, Christine reveals to Gustave that the Phantom is his real father and the shocked boy flees ("Look with Your Heart" (Reprise)). Christine tells the Phantom that her love for him will never die, then they share a final kiss and she dies in his arms ("Once Upon Another Time" (Reprise)). Gustave returns with Raoul, who looks on silently and sadly, and Gustave lays his head on his mother's lap. The Phantom surrenders Christine's body to Raoul, then moves to the edge of the pier and collapses to his knees in grief. Gustave goes to the weeping Phantom, who sings to him, and the boy embraces his real father for the first time ("Love Never Dies" (Reprise)). Gustave then removes the Phantom's mask, but does not react as he did before; instead, he gently touches the Phantom's face in an act of acceptance. Gustave and the Phantom gaze at one another as the curtain falls.

text: Characters and original cast[edit]

text: The following is a list of the principal roles and original cast of Love Never Dies.

text:
Character
Original London Cast
Final London Cast
Original Australian Cast
Original Danish Cast
Original Japanese Cast
Original German Cast
Original North American Cast

The Phantom
Ramin Karimloo
(Tam Mutu, alternative)
Ben Lewis
Tomas Ambt Kofod
Bo Kristian Jensen
Masachika Ichimura
Takeshi Kaga
Gadar Thor Cortes
(Mathias Edenborn, alternative)
Gardar Thor Cortes

Christine Daaé
Sierra Boggess
Celia Graham
Anna O'Byrne
Louise Fribo
Megumi Hamada
Ayaka Hirahara
Rachel Anne Moore
(Jazmin Gorsline, alternative)
Meghan Picerno

Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny
Joseph Millson
David Thaxton
Simon Gleeson
Christian Berg
Mario Tashiro
Keita Tachibana
Yngve Gasoy-Rondal
Sean Thompson

Madame Giry
Liz Robertson
(Sally Dexter on the cast recording)
Maria Mercedes
Marianne Mortensen
Ran Ohtori
Tatsuki Kohju
Masha Karell
(temporary replaced by
Maaike Schuurmans)
Karen Mason

Meg Giry
Summer Strallen
Haley Flaherty
Sharon Millerchip
Camille-Cathrine Rommedahl
Mao Ayabuki
Rena Sasamoto
Ina Trabesinger
(later replaced by
Maria-Danaé Bansen)
Mary Michael Patterson

Fleck
Niamh Perry
Tracey Penn
Emma J. Hawkins
Kirsten Norholt
Mizuho Abe
Lauren Barrand
Sandra Maria Germann
Katrina Kemp

Squelch
Adam Pearce
Paul Tabone
Steen Springborg
Tomoaki Tatsumi
Paul Tabone
Richard Koons

Gangle
Jami Reid-Quarrell
Charles Brunton
Dean Vince
Simon Duus
Arata Hino
Jak Allen-Anderson
Stephen Petrovich

Gustave
Jack Blass
Harry Child
Tyler Fagan
Alexander Hockaday
Richard Linnell
Charlie Manton
Kaisun Raj
Edward Bracey
Jack Costello
Daniel Dowling
Connor Fitzgerald
George Littell
Harry Polden
George Cartwright Bush
Trent Heath
Lachlan Kelly
Jack Lyall
Kurtis Papadinis
Oscar Dietz
Carl-Emil Lohmann
Seishiro Kato
Tsukito Matsui
Eru Yamada
Rim Benedikt
Jake Heston Miller
Casey J. Lyons

text: Musical numbers[edit]

text: The Concept Album[edit]

text: The Original Concept Album was released in March 2010. It peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, No. 1 in Greece, No. 8 in New Zealand and No. 15 in Denmark.[71] The musical numbers appear in the following order on the original album.[72]

text:
Disc 1

"Prologue"
"The Coney Island Waltz"
"That's the Place That You Ruined, You Fool!"
"Heaven by the Sea"
"Only for Him/Only for You"
"The Aerie"
"'Til I Hear You Sing"
"Giry Confronts the Phantom/'Til I Hear You Sing (Reprise)"
"Christine Disembarks"
"Arrival of the Trio/"Are You Ready to Begin?"
"What a Dreadful Town!..."
"Look with Your Heart"
"Beneath a Moonless Sky"
"Once Upon Another Time"
"Mother Please, I'm Scared!"
"Dear Old Friend"
"Beautiful"
"The Beauty Underneath"
"The Phantom Confronts Christine"

Disc 2

"Entr'acte"
"Why Does She Love Me?"
"Devil Take the Hindmost"
"Heaven by the Sea (Reprise)"
"Ladies...Gents!/The Coney Island Waltz (Reprise)"
"Bathing Beauty"
"Mother, Did You Watch?"
"Before the Performance"
"Devil Take the Hindmost" (Quartet)
"Love Never Dies"
"Ah, Christine!"
"Gustave! Gustave!"
"Please Miss Giry, I Want to Go Back!..."

text: London[edit]

text: The Original London production opened with all the songs from the Concept Album. However, the show went through several rewrites and many of the songs were rearranged or even removed from the production. Charles Hart, one of the original lyricists from Phantom of the Opera, was brought in to help in the rewrites.[73] These are the musical numbers as they last appeared in the London Production.

text:
Act I

"'Til I Hear You Sing" – The Phantom
"The Coney Island Waltz" – The Orchestra
"Only for You" – Meg Giry, Fleck, Squelch, Gangle and Ensemble
"Ten Long Years" (Duet) – Meg and Madame Giry
"Christine Disembarks" – Raoul, Gustave and Ensemble
"Are You Ready to Begin?" – Fleck, Gangle, Squelch, Raoul, Gustave and Ensemble
"What a Dreadful Town!" – Raoul, Christine and Gustave
"Look with Your Heart" – Christine and Gustave
"Beneath a Moonless Sky" – Christine and The Phantom
"Once Upon Another Time" – Christine and The Phantom
"Mother Please, I'm Scared!" – The Phantom, Gustave and Christine
"Ten Long Years of Yearning" – The Phantom and Christine
"Dear Old Friend" – Meg, Madame Giry, Christine, Raoul, Gustave and Ensemble
"Beautiful" – Gustave, Fleck, Gangle, Squelch and The Phantom
"The Beauty Underneath" – The Phantom and Gustave
"Phantom Confronts Christine" – The Phantom, Christine and Madame Giry

Act II

Entr'acte – The Orchestra
"Why Does She Love Me?" – Raoul, Meg and Ensemble
"Devil Take the Hindmost" – Raoul and The Phantom
"Invitation to the Concert" – Fleck, Gangle, Squelch and Ensemble
"Bathing Beauty" – Meg, Fleck, Gangle, Squelch and Ensemble
"Before the Performance" – Christine, Raoul, Gustave and The Phantom
"Devil Take the Hindmost" (Quartet) – Gustave, Raoul, The Phantom, Madame Giry and Meg
"Love Never Dies" – Christine
"Ah, Christine!" – The Phantom and Christine
"Gustave! Gustave!" – Christine, The Phantom, Madame Giry, Fleck, Gangle and Squelch
"Please Miss Giry, I Want to Go Back" – Gustave and Meg
Finale – The Phantom and Christine
Playout – Orchestra

text: Melbourne and subsequent productions[edit]

text: The Original (reworked) Australian production opened with many of the songs from the reworked London production with new staging. The reworked libretto is the one currently used by subsequent productions (Copenhagen and Tokyo). Staging and musical numbers for the Australian and subsequent productions:

text:
Act I

"'Til I Hear You Sing" (includes "The Aerie") – The Phantom
"The Coney Island Waltz" – Squelch, Fleck, Gangle & Ensemble
"Only for You" – Meg Giry, Ensemble
"Ten Long Years" (Duet) – Meg and Madame Giry
"Christine Disembarks" – Raoul, Gustave and Ensemble
"Are You Ready to Begin?" – Fleck, Gangle, Squelch, Raoul, Gustave and Ensemble
"What a Dreadful Town!" – Raoul, Christine and Gustave
"Look with Your Heart" – Christine and Gustave
"Beneath a Moonless Sky" – Christine and The Phantom
"Once Upon Another Time" – Christine and The Phantom
"Mother Please, I'm Scared!" – The Phantom, Gustave and Christine
"Ten Long Years of Yearning" – The Phantom and Christine
"Dear Old Friend" – Meg, Madame Giry, Christine, Raoul, Gustave and Ensemble
"Beautiful" – Gustave, Fleck, Gangle, Squelch and The Phantom
"The Beauty Underneath" – The Phantom and Gustave
"Phantom Confronts Christine" – The Phantom, Christine and Madame Giry

Act II

Entr'acte – The Orchestra
"Why Does She Love Me?" – Raoul, Meg and Ensemble
"Devil Take the Hindmost" – Raoul and The Phantom
"Invitation to the Concert" – Fleck, Gangle, Squelch and Ensemble
"Bathing Beauty" – Meg, Fleck, Gangle, Squelch and Ensemble
"Mother, Did You See?"  – Meg, Madame Giry
"Before the Performance" – Christine, Raoul, Gustave and The Phantom
"Devil Take the Hindmost" (Reprise) – Gustave, Raoul, The Phantom, Madame Giry and Meg
"Love Never Dies" – Christine
"Ah, Christine!" – The Phantom and Christine
"Gustave! Gustave!" – Christine, The Phantom, Madame Giry, Fleck, Gangle and Squelch
"Please Miss Giry, I Want to Go Back" – Gustave and Meg
"Bathing Beauty" (Reprise) - Meg
Finale – The Phantom and Christine
"Love Never Dies" (Reprise) – The Phantom
Playout – Orchestra

text: Note: The Copenhagen and Tokyo productions have translated the libretto from English to Danish (by Karen Hoffmann) and Japanese (by Ryu Machiko)

text: Recordings[edit]

text: Singles[edit]

text: The first song released to the public was "The Coney Island Waltz", on the musical's official site as part of a Love Never Dies' teaser trailer video in September 2009.[74][75] The teaser trailer combined clips from the 2009 London EPK video of The Phantom of the Opera (featuring Gina Beck, Ramin Karimloo, and Simon Bailey)[76] with black-and-white film footage of immigrants arriving by ship in New York City and shots of Coney Island. The official site later released "The Coney Island Waltz" as a sample track in 2009 and as a complimentary music download for customers pre-ordering the Love Never Dies studio recording album. The music video for "The Coney Island Waltz" is set to archival film footage of Coney Island.

text: "Til I Hear You Sing", sung by Ramin Karimloo, was the first single from the musical and previewed on 20 February 2010 through The Mail on Sunday website.[77] It previewed elsewhere on 22 February 2010.[78] It is a love ballad about the male narrator expressing his longing to hear the voice of his beloved after many years. The promotional music video was an excerpt of Ramin Karimloo's live performance at 8 October 2009 London press launch and made viewable the same day, with Karimloo singing in a blue-lit set while Sierra Boggess sits quietly on a throne. The official music video features Karimloo undisguised in a flat with a backdrop of projector images and floating appearance of Boggess.[77]

text: On 26 January 2010 the title song "Love Never Dies" was first publicly performed at The South Bank Show Awards, sung by Sierra Boggess and accompanied by Lloyd Webber and Louise Hunt on two grand pianos. The show was broadcast on ITV1 on 31 January 2010.[79] The tune is identical to Lloyd Webber's other musical numbers "Our Kind of Love" from The Beautiful Game in 2000 and "The Heart is Slow to Learn", which was intended for a Phantom sequel, sung by Kiri Te Kanawa in 1998 at the Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration.[80][81] "Love Never Dies" also has a very similar melody to Charles Williams' composition "Jealous Lover" from the 1949 British film The Romantic Age. "Jealous Lover" was later retitled "Theme from the Apartment" for the 1960 Billy Wilder film The Apartment.[82][83][84][85][86]

text: Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins was approached by Lloyd Webber to record her version of "Love Never Dies" in late 2009.[87][88] The song appears as the first track on the special edition of Jenkins' album Believe, which was released on 29 March 2010 in the UK. Jenkins performed the song with Lloyd Webber on the ITV1 show Dancing on Ice on 28 February 2010. Lloyd Webber has stated that Jenkins would not fit the score of his musical Love Never Dies because her vocal range is a mezzo-soprano, not a soprano like Sierra Boggess.[22][89]

text: Japanese singer Ayaka Hirahara was chosen to record "Love Never Dies" in Japanese for a bonus track of the soundtrack album's Japanese release.[90][91] "Love Never Dies" was also recorded in Mandarin by Liping Zhang and in Korean by Sumi Jo.[92]

text: Discography[edit]

text: The concept album of Love Never Dies was recorded around 2008–2009, using an 80–90 piece orchestra.[25][93][94] Lloyd Webber did not like the orchestrations in the second act, so he had half the album re-recorded.[95] John Barrowman had originally recorded the part of Raoul on the concept album but was replaced by Joseph Millson, who had been cast as Raoul for the stage production at the time the album was re-orchestrated and re-recorded.[96][97]Sally Dexter, who performed Madame Giry on the album, is replaced by Liz Robertson in the musical. The album was completed in September 2009 and scheduled to be released on 10 March 2010, the day after the show's London opening.[98] Preview sound clips from all tracks on the album became available online on 8 February 2010 at Amazon.co.uk.[99]

text: A cast recording of the original production was released on 8 March 2010 by Polydor Records in the UK and on 9 March 2010 by Decca Records in North America. It debuted at No. 82 on the Billboard 200, No. 1 on the Billboard Cast Album chart, and No. 10 on the UK Albums Chart. It also charted at No. 1 in Greece, No. 14 in Taiwan, No. 8 in New Zealand, and No. 15 in Denmark.[100][101]

text: Albums[edit]

text:
Love Never Dies Deluxe Edition [Original Cast Recording]
Release date: 8 March 2010 (UK), 9 March 2010 (North America)
Number of discs: 2 Audio CDs, 1 DVD-Video
Extras include: "Bonus DVD with interviews and filmed footage and 40 page booklet with full libretto"

text:
Love Never Dies [Original Cast Recording]
Release date: 8 March 2010 (UK), 9 March 2010 (North America)
Number of discs: 2 Audio CDs

text:
Both recordings feature the same 19 tracks on Disc 1 and 13 tracks on Disc 2 with each disc matching an act.
A digital version of the double CD album was also made available on the Love Never Dies official online shop.

text:
Chart (2010)
Peak
position

Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[102]
53

Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[103]
17

European Top 100 Albums (Billboard)[104]
—

German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[105]
73

Greek Albums (IFPI)[106]
1

New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[107]
8

Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[108]
45

UK Albums (OCC)[109]
10

US Billboard 200[104]
82

"—" means the peak position on that chart remains unknown or is not stated
by the source citing the chart.

text:
Love Never Dies: Asian edition
Release date: 30 March 2010 (North America)
Number of discs: 2 Audio CDs
Extras include: 2 bonus tracks, "Love Never Dies" (Mandarin language version) by Liping Zhang and "Love Never Dies" (Korean language version) by Sumi Jo.[92]

text: DVD and Blu-ray[edit]

text: The musical was released in DVD and Blu-ray on 29 May 2012 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment in the United States.[110]

text: Reception[edit]

text: West End[edit]

text: Critics' reaction[edit]

text: After Love Never Dies opened on 9 March 2010 in London, it received mostly negative critical reviews.[7][8] Perhaps the most positive review was Paul Taylor's in The Independent giving the show five stars, and writing, "What is in no doubt is the technical excellence of Jack O'Brien's seamlessly fluent, sumptuous (and sometimes subtle) production, or the splendour of the orchestra which pours forth Lloyd Webber's dark-hued, yearning melodies as if its life depended on them. Special praise should go to the lyrical lavishness of Bob Crowley and Jon Driscoll's designs, with their gilt interiors where the vegetation-imitating contours and giant peacock-plumage of Art Nouveau run rampant, and their ghostly external locations where a brilliantly deployed combination of flowing projection (timed to perfection with emotional/ rhythmic shifts in the music) and solidly presented stage-effects create a dizzying Coney Island of the mind".[111] In stark contrast, Ben Brantley of The New York Times gave it zero stars, calling the production "a big, gaudy new show. And he might as well have a "kick me" sign pasted to his backside. ... This poor sap of a show feels as eager to be walloped as a clown in a carnival dunking booth. Why bother, when from beginning to end, Love Never Dies is its very own spoiler."[112]

text: Other positive reviews included Charles Spencer of The Telegraph, who raved, "this is Lloyd Webber's finest show since the original Phantom, with a score blessed with superbly haunting melodies and a yearning romanticism that sent shivers racing down my spine." He gave the show four stars out of five, but cautioned that "The show may ultimately prove too strange, too dark, too tormented to become a massive popular hit, but I suspect its creepy allure will linger potently in the memory when frothier shows have been long forgotten".[113] Paul Callan of the Daily Express also gave the show four stars, writing that Love Never Dies "is an elegant and clever sequel to Phantom and deserves to have the old Adelphi Theatre filled every night with Lloyd Webber's core, usually middle-class, audiences. It is a great night out."[114]

text: In The Guardian, Michael Billington gave the show three out of five stars, commenting, "There is much to enjoy in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical. The score is one of the composer's most seductive." However, Billington said, "The problems lie within the book ... which lacks the weight to support the imaginative superstructure." He continues, "the staging is a constant source of iridescent pleasure. But, as one of the lyrics reminds us, "diamonds never sparkle bright unless they are set just right". ... With a libretto to match the melodies, this might have been a stunner rather than simply a good night out".[115] Tim Walker of The Sunday Telegraph praised the production for "what are undoubtedly the most impressive special effects to be had in the West End" and said the principals sang "with gusto, charisma and sexiness." Still, he found himself, "yearning after a while for the big showstopper ... but it never came."[116]

text: In The Times, critic Benedict Nightingale gave the show two out of five stars and said, "Where's the menace, the horror, the psychological darkness? For that I recommend a trip to Her Majesty's, not the Adelphi."[117] Another unenthusiastic review appeared in the London Evening Standard, where critic Henry Hitchings wrote that "while Lloyd Webber's music is at times lavishly operatic, the tone is uneven. There are no more than a couple of songs that promise to live in the memory, the duets don’t soar, and the ending is insipid. Admirers of Phantom are likely to be disappointed, and there's not enough here to entice a new generation of fans". Hitchings also commented that the story "is largely predictable—and flimsy. The chief problem is the book. ... It lacks psychological plausibility. Worse, it lacks heart. There's little pathos or emotional tension. There is also scarcely a moment of humour [the] lyrics are prosaic, and the flickers of light relief are merely confusing."[118] Similarly, David Benedict of Variety wrote that the show "wants to be a tragic romance, but it's simply torpid. Only a radical rewrite will give it even the remotest chance of emulating its predecessor."[119]

text: Quentin Letts of The Daily Mail gave the show a negative review, stating that it "is as slow to motor as a lawnmower at spring's first cut". He also criticised the show for lacking in storytelling and romance, stating that it "assumes that we understand the attraction these two dullards [Phantom and Raoul] have for the beautiful Christine. Could she do no better? ... In the end you conclude that she simply seeks out suffering to improve her art." Letts praised the performances and the orchestration but concluded that the show was not a hit: "But if it is a miss, it is ... a noble miss, noble because Lloyd Webber’s increasingly operatic music tries to lift us to a higher plane."[120] Susannah Clapp of The Observer was also critical of the book and called the show "drab" and "about as tension-filled as winding wool." Even the musical numbers, she wrote, "never meld with the visual splendours, never give the effect, which is Lloyd Webber's gift, of the music delivering the scenery."[121] Sam Marlowe of Time Out London gave the show one out of five stars, calling it "ghastly" and "an interminable musical monstrosity". He observes: "With its sickening swirls of video imagery, pointless plot, and protracted, repetitive songs, Love Never Dies ... is punishingly wearisome."[122]

text: Other negative reviews appeared in the Financial Times,[123] Entertainment Weekly,[124] The Arts Desk,[125] and many others.[8]

text: Audience and other assessments[edit]

text: Dave Itzkoff of The New York Times reported on fan reaction: "How is the new Phantom faring with theatergoers who have seen it in previews? Not so well. ... Elsewhere online, 'Love Never Dies' has even spawned a Facebook protest group called 'Love Should Die', which declares in its mission statement: 'We feel strongly that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest musical ... is a completely misguided venture that is a detriment to the story of the original Phantom of the Opera novel and musical of the same name'. … Virtually everything about the show strikes us as illogical, irrational, offensive and—frankly—stupid."[126][127] A barbed reworking of the show's title from Love Never Dies to Paint Never Dries was originated by the London-based theatre bloggers, The West End Whingers.[128][129] It has subsequently been picked up and repeated by a multitude of journalists, both in print and on screen.[117][130][131][132][133]

text: Columnist Barbara Ellen of The Observer ridiculed the pomposity of some of the unfavourable reviews in her column on Sunday 28 March 2010, in a jokey "Open letter to London's famous Adelphi theatre": "Dear Mr Adelphi, Regarding the performance I viewed last week of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom sequel, Love Never Dies, ridiculed as Paint Never Dries. With regret, I must demand my money back; it simply wasn't bad or boring enough. My companions and I paid our money and went along in good faith, expecting a right old disaster. Imagine our disappointment when it was good. The phantom bore an eerie resemblance to Martin Amis sulking after his tiff with Anna Ford, but, sir, this was not enough. A catastrophe we were promised and a catastrophe we expected to see. One concedes that it is not all the production's fault. Negative reviews, the dark art of anti-hype, are a dangerous business. However, do fine feelings pay my babysitter? I feel that I, and several innocent coach parties, were tricked into going to Paint Never Dries, and, against our will, forced to endure an enjoyable evening. I'm sure I speak for many when I say I left your theatre wholly dissatisfied with how incredibly satisfied I felt".[134]

text: Australia[edit]

text: Critics' reaction[edit]

text: The reworked production received mixed reviews during its engagements in Melbourne and Sydney,[64] but was generally better received than in London.

text: Chris Boyd, of The Australian called the musical, "The best thing Lloyd Webber has written in the quarter century since Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies is still a missed opportunity. It toys half-heartedly with domestic melancholia. Christine's wealthy suitor Raoul, 10 years on, is an insecure and possessive husband who uses his wife's talents to pay off his gambling debts. He frets that he cannot deliver to Christine "the rush that music brings", leaving her vulnerable, once more, to her angel of music. Love Never Dies provides several of those rush moments, but doesn't quite connect the starry dots. Musically, there are some riches—a fluttering duet between Meg and Christine for example [the show does not include a duet between Meg and Christine, so it is unclear what Boyd is referring to] —but few surprises." As for Gabriela Tylesova's sets such as, "Coney Island carnival, deco interiors, a shabby bar," he found them, "endlessly fascinating; they're spectacular without being ostentatious. The main feature is an upright metal circle, part Luna Park mouth, part Stargate. Her costumes, too, are gorgeous."[135]

text: Jason Blake of the Sydney Morning Herald said, "Phillips's production steers clear of "chandelier moments", favouring sustained invention, seamless flow and an engulfing sense of nightmare. There's wow factor, of course (a galloping carousel is an early highlight) though quieter scenes are realised with the same attention to detail, particularly the recreation of a Coney Island bar to frame Raoul's saloon song feature (Why Does She Love Me) and his face-off with Mr Y (Devil Take the Hindmost). An inspired, often ravishing production for sure, though of a sequel that doesn't make a strong enough musical or narrative argument for its own existence."[136]

text: In the Daily Express, Mark Shenton commented, "Now under the new leadership of director Simon Phillips, and with a fresh creative team, there is a new vision to the show in Australia and here, at last, is the masterpiece that was always crying to be let out...The new production has a spectacular Gothic theatricality that heightens, deepens and darkens those emotions."[137]

text: Kate Herbert of the Herald Sun gave the show four out of five stars and wrote, "With its vivid design, eccentric characters and mystical imagery, this is a ravishing spectacle that captures the dark mystery of a perilous fairground (circa 1907) and should convert even a die-hard Phantom fan." She also said, "Lloyd Webber's score (conducted skilfully by Guy Simpson) intermittently and elegantly reprises the original Phantom, connecting the two stories" but she did feel that, "several songs, with trite lyrics, lack punch. A bigger problem is the unsatisfying story. There are unnecessary Red Herrings and too many villains."[138]

text: William Yeoman of The West Australian wrote, "With book by Ben Elton and lyrics by Glenn Slater and Charles Hart, Love Never Dies is a curious mixture of gothic romance, vaudeville and verismo, with Lloyd Webber's lush, romantic score spinning like a fairground ride from Puccini to Pulcinella to driving rock to delicate aria as the tragedy unfolds. Under Simon Phillips' unfailingly cogent direction, the cast too manage to transform the most unpromising material, if not into gold then at least into silver."[139]

text: Cameron Woodhead of The Age gave the show three and a half out of five stars and said, "Between Gabriela Tylesova's set and costumes, Nick Schlieper's lighting, and Graeme Murphy's choreography, you’re in for some spectacular stagecraft. After the Phantom pines for Christine and ascends to the gods (’Til I Hear You Sing), the scene breaks into an elaborate circus (Coney Island Waltz). Introduced by a trio of freaks, the amusement swells into a crowd of acrobats and stilt-walkers, fire-twirlers and magicians, with Luna Park-like plastic heads, a portable big-top, and rows of carnies singing from rollercoaster tracks suspended mid-air. It's breathtaking stuff, and not the best of Love Never Dies' dark illusionism. That honor belongs to a scene, deeper into Coney, where transparent obelisks caging eldritch wonders—including a gilded mermaid—rotate across the stage."[140]

text: Rebecca Saffir of Time Out Sydney gave the production two stars, calling the show an "an act of such glorious hubris", "incredibly weak material", and "sentimental, nonsensical, ideologically conservative drivel".[141] Echoing complaints from the London critics, Saffir criticised the plot ("so thin it should be put on a cheeseburger diet") and the inconsistencies between the characters as depicted in the original Phantom and their motivations as presented in Love Never Dies.

text: US Tour[edit]

text: Critics' reaction[edit]

text: Reaction to Love Never Dies during its 2017-18 US Tour has been mixed. Calling it "lively, lavish and way over the top as melodrama", the Detroit Free Press gave the show three out four stars.[142] The Oakland Press considered the musical "hugely uneven", the first act being a "turgid mess" but the second act "far superior" and "more concise".[143] Complaints about the show's plot and characterizations, which have plagued it since the original London premiere, continue to be voiced, with both Orlando Weekly and Orlando Sentinel describing the show and its narrative as "misguided".[144][145]

text: Academic reception[edit]

text: The most extended piece of scholarship on Love Never Dies is by David Chandler in a piece included in The Oxford Handbook to the British Musical. Although opining The Phantom of the Opera, together with Jesus Christ Superstar, to be "at the summit of Lloyd Webber's achievement", Chandler considers Love Never Dies "badly judged" and "one of the oddest sequels in theatrical history, shaped by a peculiar love-hate relationship to its original. On one hand it shores up the position The Phantom of the Opera occupies as Lloyd Webber's central, defining musical; on the other it seems intent, in a rather Freudian way, on displacement, on destroying the authority of the earlier work". Chandler takes issue with the incompatibility of the plot and character motivations expressed in Love Never Dies vis-à-vis those in the original Phantom of the Opera: "As sequel and original are erected on such different imaginative premises they cannot both be true".[146]


document_title: Luxury box

question_text: how much is a box at a football game

question_tokens: how much is a box at a football game

text: Luxury box

text: Luxury box[edit]

text: A luxury box (also referred to as a luxury suite,[4] corporate box, corporate suite, executive box, sky box or a private box) is a special private seating section located within stadiums, arenas and other sporting and entertainment venues. They are typically located in the midsection of a stadium grandstand, usually providing the best views of the event. Some have glass panels that can be opened, in order for the spectators to feel closer to and more immersed in the action of the event.

text: Interior and amenities[edit]

text: The inside of a luxury box typically includes a bar, televisions, a small seating area, and a private bathroom. The boxes are usually catered, with guests enjoying corporate hospitality, with champagne, canapés, shrimp, and sushi being common favorites. The lease to a box usually comes with allocated parking spaces at the venue and access is usually provided with separate entrances, away from the general public gates.

text: Commercial aspects[edit]

text: Luxury boxes are a significant source of revenue for most professional sports teams and venue owners. Since the late 1990s, it has been proven that luxury suites and club seating are lucrative revenue-generating features that made pro sports teams financially successful in order to remain competitive long-term.[5][6][7][8] While originally widespread among North American major pro sports, this trend is also gaining popularity in Europe. For instance, Emirates Stadium's revenue from premium seating and corporate boxes alone is nearly as high as the revenue from Arsenal F.C.'s previous stadium at Highbury.[9]

text: Particularly in North American major professional sports leagues, luxury suite revenue does not have to be shared unlike gate receipts which are split with visiting teams, leading to teams demanding new venues that contain more luxury boxes.[4]

text: Marketing and exclusivity[edit]

text: Most luxury suites are leased by contract on a yearly basis, though some are bought in a manner similar to that for a condominium. These methods usually grant access to the box by the leaseholder or owner for every event held at the venue. A few venues rent them on a per-event basis. Prices vary from US$5,000 up to the millions of dollars depending on the venue and events held there.

text: Some have commented that the rise of the luxury box, along with club seating, has degraded the game-day experience for the average fan, because placement of the boxes has moved the upper decks higher and farther away from the playing surface. Four current venues, Ford Field, Red Bull Arena, Philips Arena, and Levi's Stadium, have addressed these concerns by placing all luxury boxes on one side of the playing surface, which allows the other sides of the venue to have closer sightlines than most modern venues.

text: Single-event rental prices[edit]

text: Luxury boxes that are rented on a single event basis can range from US$500 for low-key events to up to at least US$250,000 for high-end events such as sporting final matches. Also, the location of the box and how many people the box can hold usually makes up the price. Standing room tickets may also be purchased at an additional fee but are usually less money than an actual suite ticket. If a normal box ticket with a seat costs US$500 per ticket then standing room tickets might be around US$250–US$300 per ticket. These tickets will allow more people in a box, but they won't have seats and will have to stand in the box or sit in the lounge area.

text: Average private box rental prices for events vary based on location, matchup and venue. Typical luxury boxes for most events fall within the following price ranges:

text:
Event Type
Cost[10]

Professional baseball
$2,000-$6,000

Professional basketball
$2,000-$6,000

Professional hockey
$2,000-$6,000

NCAA match-ups
$7,000-$25,000

Professional football
$15,000-$30,000

Concerts
$3,000-$10,000

Family events
$500-$1,500

Championship events
$15,000 and up

text: Prevalence[edit]

text: The stadium with the most luxury boxes is the Estadio Monumental "U" in Lima, Peru: with 1,251. The first stadium to contain a luxury box was the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, built in 1965. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway constructed their first luxury boxes (dubbed the "Turn Two Suites") in 1973 as part of the existing motel complex on the grounds. One unique set of luxury boxes is located on the campus of Boston College. The school's main indoor arena, Conte Forum (also known as Kelley Rink for hockey games), is directly attached to its football venue, Alumni Stadium. Some of the luxury boxes in the combined complex overlook both the stadium's playing field and the arena floor. The University of South Dakota later borrowed Boston College's concept when it built the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, which opened in 2016 as the new home for the school's basketball and volleyball teams. Several boxes at the Sports Center allow their users to watch games at both the arena and the attached DakotaDome, home to USD football.[11]

text: Luxury boxes have become a feature of the major professional sports league system in North America. The Palace of Auburn Hills' large number of luxury suites was a pioneer for the building boom of modern-style NBA arenas in the 1990s. The Detroit Pistons played in The Palace from its opening in 1988 through the 2016–17 season, by which time it was one of the NBA's oldest arenas. Nonetheless, The Palace's forward-thinking design contained the amenities that most NBA teams sought in newer arenas. The Pistons are set to move to the new Little Caesars Arena in midtown Detroit for the 2017–18 season, by which time only one of the five other NBA venues that opened in the 1988–89 season was still in use—the Bradley Center, which is slated for replacement in 2018. Three of those five have been demolished (Amway Arena, Charlotte Coliseum, and Miami Arena), and the other, Sleep Train Arena, was replaced in 2016.[5][6][7][8]

text: Top-tier European pro association football teams have moved to new stadiums designed with a large number of luxury boxes, such as Benfica, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and Juventus. Other clubs such as Real Madrid and Manchester United have extensively renovated their existing stadiums to add large numbers of luxury boxes.

text: Use in the NFL[edit]

text: Most notable in their use of luxury boxes is the National Football League. Under the NFL's current revenue sharing agreement, teams must forfeit a large portion of their ticket revenues so that the funds can be redistributed among all the teams, particularly those in smaller markets. However, the luxury boxes, quickly becoming a top source of revenue for the franchises, were exempted from this sharing requirement.

text: Furthermore, the NFL's blackout rule has led stadium operators to sacrifice seating capacity in favor of the luxury boxes, as it makes a sell-out easier with a lower total number of regular seats. Teams have used the threat of relocation to press state and local governments for financial assistance to either build new stadiums or renovate older venues.[4]

text: Club seating[edit]

text: Club seating, club-level seating, or premium seating is a special section of seating in modern sports stadiums and arenas. These may be known by different terms, such as "Legends Suite seats" at Yankee Stadium or "Platinum Club" at the Air Canada Centre.[12][13][14] Club-level seating is open to the elements, as opposed to the entirely enclosed luxury boxes, which gives more of an outdoor impression at roofless and open-roof stadiums and arenas. Club-level seating is typically considered a more exclusive class of seating than elsewhere in the venue, other than the luxury boxes.

text: Club-level seating can either be sold as individual tickets, or marketed on a contract basis (similar to luxury suites) to allow for maximum profit on the part of the venue. This gives club seats more flexibility for individuals and small companies, while luxury boxes can typically only be leased by large corporations willing to pay around $500,000 USD or higher a year.[15] Like luxury suites, club seating generates much higher revenues than regular seating.[1][2]

text: While luxury boxes and personal seat licenses have been around since the 1960s, club-level seating is a recent innovation of the 1990s. The mid-stage is the optimal placement for luxury boxes in order to give them good sightlines to make them attractive for lessees, however only a limited number of luxury boxes can be placed there, as adding too many mid-level boxes will reduce seating capacity and degrade the viewing experience for other parts of the venue. For the area/stadium designer, club-level seating can be implemented in the middle tier at lower cost and less space than having all luxury boxes.

text: Description[edit]

text: Club levels normally provide fans several additional amenities than standard seating. The seats themselves are often wider and more comfortable than regular seats.[16] The club level provides fans with special access to an indoor part of the venue exclusive to fans with special tickets. These areas are air conditioned and allow access to special restaurants, merchandise stands, and lounge areas of the venue that are not otherwise available to standard ticketholders. Concession stands and vendors on the club level also often offer different menus than in other stands to give more of a special feel to the club. These areas are closed off to the rest of the venue, and they usually can only be accessed through the exclusive, private club entrances. Parking and concierge service are often available to club levels.[12] The ratio of toilets to fans is considerably higher in the club level than general seating, avoiding the long washroom lineups that plague regular admission fans.[3]

text: The club level is usually located towards the middle of the stage of seating sections, above the lower deck but below the upper deck. They are usually situated near the luxury boxes, whether right above, right below, or sandwiched between two levels of luxury boxes. Unlike some luxury box levels, most club levels do not wrap entirely around the venue. Some club levels stop at a certain point, giving way to an expansion of the mezzanine, while others give way to lower-class luxury boxes (such as "party suites"). A notable exception to this is Emirates Stadium in London, which has a complete tier of club seating. Some venues such as the MetLife Stadium have luxury suites that are not completely enclosed and come with exposed seats similar to those at club level.[15]