The Phantom of the Opera

Event information

The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 silent film adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel of the same title directed by Rupert Julian. The film featured Lon Chaney in the title role as the masked and facially deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to force the management to make the woman he loves a star. It is most famous for Lon Chaney's intentionally horrific, self-applied make-up, which was kept a studio secret until the film's première.

The soundtrack to the film will be a live organ improvisation by David Bednall. David is recognized as one of the leading choral composers of his generation. He studied for a PhD in Composition with Professor John Pickard at the University of Bristol and is published by Choral Music Publishing, OUP, Boosey and Hawkes, Faber, and Novello. He is Choral Director at Clifton Cathedral, an Organist of St John The Evangelist, Bath, Director of Bristol Bach Choir, Bristol Chamber Choir and Chew Valley Choral Society alongside an extensive freelance career. He studied with Dr Naji Hakim and David Briggs and was Assistant Organist at Wells Cathedral and Sub Organist at Bristol Cathedral.

So, come along to imagine that you are in the Paris Opera House, sit back in your seats, relax and let David's music take you into the gothic world of the Phantom!