The Really Useful Group announced today, September 2, 2022, that a new special Global Edition Album of The Phantom of the Opera has been released today by Universal Records.
The Phantom of the Opera Global Edition is a streaming release made up of eight discs including complete cast recordings in seven languages: Korean (2009), Polish (2008), Hungarian (2003), Mexican Spanish (2000), German (1990), Swedish (1989) and Japanese (1988). Each of these albums were released at the time of recording, but are now presented together on one album, digitally for the first time.
In addition to the complete soundtracks, Disc One of the Special Edition is a 15-track highlights compilation, which includes the new 2022 West End cast recording of The Phantom of the Opera title track performed by Killian Donnelly and Lucy St. Louis at The Platinum Party in the Palace to honor Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
This album represents over 30 years of The Phantom of the Opera’s iconic history - from the Japanese recording made in 1988, to the new London track released in 2022.
Since opening in 1986, The Phantom of the Opera has been one of the most spectacular and successful productions in history, playing to over 145 million people in 183 cities in 17 languages. The Phantom of the Opera has run for over 30 years in the West End and on Broadway. It is Broadway’s longest running show and has received over 70 major theatre awards, including seven Tony Awards and four Olivier awards.
Since the show premiered, the demand for local language tracks and albums has been huge. From today, this new The Phantom of the Opera Global Edition will be available globally on all major streaming platforms, allowing fans to enjoy the album in their native language or explore the iconic music in new ways.
The launch of the Global Edition comes as RUG creates a new joint venture with Antonio Banderas to create new, high quality Spanish language productions for hispanic audiences, and the first Mandarin language version of The Phantom of the Opera, presented by SMG Live, will open in China in 2023. This version will be co-created by the producers of The Phantom of the Opera World Tour, RUG and TROIKA ENTERTAINMENT. Dates and venues to be announced in due course.