If you know even a little bit about Phantom of the Opera, then you know that a lot of it takes part in the dark, isolated basement of an opera house. It seems oddly fitting then to be talking to two of the performers at the heart of the production in a dark but lush recess in the depths of the Arts Centre.

Josh Piterman and Amy Manford are visiting Melbourne ahead of the iconic production beginning its Melbourne season. The pair play the Phantom and Christine respectively, and are on a brief break from the sold-out Sydney run. Theirs is a new version of the long-running production, the original of which first opened in London’s West End in 1986. It retains all the key elements, in particular the soundtrack, but the sets, the visual effects and the choreography have been reimagined and revitalised.

Josh Piterman as The Phantom and Amy Manford as Christine in Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Phantom Of The Opera, presented by Opera Australia.Credit:Daniel Boud

The story itself, however, remains unchanged – but that doesn’t mean the characters have stayed the same. There’s room in between the lyrics, in the movement across a stage, in how a line is delivered, that allows the actors to put their own read of the character into the performance.

At the heart of the story is the push and pull between the core trio – Christine, the singer that the Phantom coaches into stardom, Raoul, her childhood friend turned wealthy suitor, and the Phantom himself, a shadowy figure who lurks around the edges of the opera house, casting a malevolent presence.

“What I believe brings people back and back and back to see this show so much, and for so many years, is because every interpretation is different,” says Piterman. For a character like the Phantom, this is essential. On paper, he is despicable – a blackmailing murderer who is obsessed with a young, vulnerable singer. But if the story were black and white, if the Phantom came across as a clear-cut villain, the show wouldn’t have lasted this long.

Manford has played Christine in three different productions – in London, in Greece, and now in her home country of Australia. For her, each version of Christine has been slightly different, has been building up strength. “It’s just been really interesting to rediscover Christine in this way. She’s a lot more strong,” she reflects. “I think what’s really cool about this production is Christine makes all of her own choices. It’s not her blindly following the Phantom into the lair – she makes the choice to follow him. She’s inquisitive. She’s interested in seeing who this person is and what life he’s built underneath the Opera House. And she knows what she’s doing.”

Josh Piterman as The Phantom and Amy Manford as Christine in Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Phantom Of The Opera, presented by Opera Australia.Credit:Daniel Boud

For Piterman, this is his second time playing the Phantom – his first run was cut short by COVID six months in to a two year contract – and his core interpretation has remained consistent. In preparing for the role he asked himself what the nucleus for this character was. “For me, it’s abandonment.” This allowed him to think through the different ways this could manifest in the Phantom, tracing back his actions to a broken core. “Not to say that his malicious acts, his acts of violence, his murderous acts, should get the tick of approval,” Piterman clarifies. “But there’s a place where it comes from that digs deep into our own human psyche of being unlovable.”

Little changes can have big ripples in how the character is viewed by the audience. In an early scene, where Christine and the Phantom are alone in his lair, Piterman plays the scene much more like a music lesson than other versions. He frets around the space, moving Manford into different spots, his intonation making it clear that his only focus is on making sure she gets the music right. He explains it’s because, for the character, Christine’s singing, when done perfectly, calms him – makes him forget his pain and loneliness. “I always saw it as a lesson,” he says. “I think there’s a little bit more eroticism in the London staging.”

“Sometimes it [the London staging] could be a little bit creepy,” Manford adds. “Not to say it still wasn’t interesting and beautiful. It’s just of the time – it’s just how the production was.”

The pair had a brief overlap on the West End production. Piterman started just as Manford wrapped up, but “I got called back about two months later as an emergency Christine because basically in London there’s like a billion past Christines running round,” she laughs. At the end of the six shows together, “I said to Josh, I feel like for some reason we’re going to do this again. And he was like, yeah, so do I. And then here we are.”

For Piterman, who grew up in Melbourne, the upcoming season has particular significance. He points to the fact that Phantom first premiered in Australia in Melbourne in 1990, but that for him, performing in his hometown is something he can’t wait to do. “It’s the show and role I love the most with the people I love the most. It may be the only time in my life I get to say that.”

The Phantom of the Opera is on at Arts Centre Melbourne starting from November 4.

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