Roy Budd’s Score For The Phantom of the Opera to Premiere This October
One of the last pieces renowned British composer Roy Budd was working on before his tragic death in 1993 was a brand new score for Rubert Julian’s 1925 horror masterpiece The Phantom of the Opera, which was based on the Gaston Leroux novel of the same name. However, a brain hemorrhage took the life of Budd at age 46, a few weeks before his symphonic endeavor was to premiere at the Barbican with him acting as conductor for a live orchestra during a screening of the film. Now, 24 years later, Budd’s score will finally be performed on Sunday, October 8th at the London Coliseum for a one-off world premiere event. Tickets for the event can be found here.
In 1994, Ray Harryhausen stated, “Roy’s score for The Phantom is exceptional. It enhances the pantomime of the original classic of Lon Chaney no end. I’m sure Chaney himself would be very pleased.”
Budd’s score can be heard on a limited collector’s edition DVD of the film, which you can find on Amazon.
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