Score for "Phantom of the Opera"
Score for the silent film, The Phantom of the Opera (1925/29)
2025
approx. duration 60 minutes
Instrumentation
Conductor *
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Piano/Organ (keyboard)
Percussion
2 Violins
Viola
Cello
Double Bass
*necessary for live performance with film
Notes
A new score for the classic silent film of the same name, Peter B. Kay’s Phantom of the Opera is an extensive arrangement of the music tied together with a little of his own music. To help transport audience members to the time of its premiere, Peter focused on music that existed before 1925.
Because this score was created for the Spartanburg Philharmonic’s one-hour “Espresso” chamber music series - where it was performed live along with the movie - Peter also edited the original film down from 94 minutes to 60 minutes to accommodate the time constraint of the performance.
Commissioned by the Spartanburg Philharmonic and premiered October 24, 2025.
Watch:
Featuring Excerpts from Brahms:
(in order of appearance)
Pietro Macagni, Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
Louis Spohr, Overture to Faust
Charles Gounod, Variation du miroir from Faust
Lili Boulanger, Faust et Hélène
Charles Gounod, Danse antique from Faust
W.A. Mozart, Symphony no. 25, I. Allegro con brio
Edward Elgar, Salut d’Amour
Charles Gounod, Finale from Faust
Gaetano Donizetti, Una furtiva lagrima from L’elisir d’amore
Camille Saint-Saëns, Danse macabre
Emilie Mayer, Overture from Faust
Charles Gounod, Ah, je ris de me voir from Faust
Giuseppe Verdi, Dies Irae from Messa da Requiem
Giacomo Puccini, Nessun Dorma from Turandot
Camille Saint-Saëns, Aquarium from Carnival of Animals
Hector Berlioz, Que l’air est from Faust
Hector Berlioz, Ballet Sylphes from Faust
Friedrich von Flotow, M’appari, Tutt’amore from Martha
Giacomo Puccini, In questa reggia from Turandot
Amy Beach, Bal Masque
Camille Saint-Saëns, Danse Bacchanale
Giuseppe Verdi, Act I from Otello
Hector Berlioz, March to the Scaffold from Symphonie Fantastique