London’s theatre orchestras are putting their time in isolation to good use.
Last week, the English National Ballet Philharmonic recorded a version of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, and now another West End musical outfit is following suit.
The orchestra of The Phantom of the Opera joined composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in a rousing performance of All I Ask of You from the musical, adding to the video he posted on Twitter two weeks ago.
The musicians recorded their parts individually in their own houses, which were then combined with Lloyd Webber’s own piano performance in a video.
The trombone player even had his own Phantom mask.
Lloyd Webber put a call out to his followers to suggest a song for him to play – the famous Phantom tune was the most popular.
It resulted in him having a play-off with Hamilton composer and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, who played Everything’s Alright from Jesus Christ Superstar. Lloyd Webber then reciprocated with King George III’s You’ll Be Back from Hamilton.
Virtual group performances have become a popular activity for fans of musical theatre in lockdown; Les Misérables supergroup The Barricade Boys this week released a version of Bring Him Home with Alfie Boe.
Lloyd Webber may still be taking requests so have a look through our favourite Lloyd Webber songs here and take your pick.
