After such a brief courtship I am not sure he will grow on me. She is going to help me on and off stage. My swing is Lyndsey, 20, who has hair like a winter sunset. It transpires that I am the object to be pushed and pulled, however.Ī swing is theatrical language for a cast member who has to learn all the male or female parts in order to ‘swing in’ if someone drops out. ‘What fun!’ I exclaim, picturing a scene in a Fragonard painting. He adds that the net worth of the 260 costumes used in the show is £400,000 and that the wigs are made of real hair, costing up to £4,000 each.Ĭhristine, the heroine, who is played by Portuguese soprano Sofia Escobar, sometimes uses four wigs a night.Īfter I have been fitted, I am taken to the stage to meet some of the cast and find my bearings. Phantom is the ultimate in theatrical glamour.’ ‘That gown you are looking at cost £1,200 and the fur is real.

‘All our costumes have been specially made by a couturier,’ Rhys says. Run through: The cast give it their all during rehearsals for the show

Phantom of the opera costume cloak