One Lloyd Webber would be happy with

Karl Perigo and Daniela-Rose Cepeda star as The Phantom and Christine in the Napier Operatic Society's production of Phantom of the Opera at the Napier Municipal Theatre.

An old man is among the bidders on curious items dredged from the bowels of the Paris Opera House, 1911.

Then, in dramatic fashion, the scenery slides back to reveal the opera house as it was 30 years before. And so the story begins.

The behind-the-scenes machinations unfold as Christine (Daniela-Rosa Cepeda) wins the lead role in the production of Hannibal above the resident prima donna, the haughty and unintentionally comical Carlotta (Kerry Unsworth), attended by the slightly bumbling yet still captivating lead tenor Piangi (Thomas Barker).

Christine has not let anyone in on her secret, that her natural vocal abilities have been nurtured by a mysterious figure, the Phantom (Karl Perigo).

But when the dashing Raoul (Dion Thorne) declares his interest in her, and the "two old fools" of owners Monsieur Andre (John Newland) and Monsieur Firmin (Peter Austin) fail to follow the Phantom's specific orders regarding "his" opera house, the Phantom's true nature begins to reveal itself.

The live orchestra, ably led by Michael Joel from Wellington, provides a powerful musical background yet also eases back at just the right time to allow the songs to touch the audience, particularly with beautiful renditions of the title song, All I Ask of You and Music of the Night.

Perigo, Cepeda and Thorne are very well cast, Christine's fall into a terrible trap entirely believable, as is Thorne's courageous power play and Perigo's increasingly unhinged musical genius.

The set and special effects also contribute to making this production of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical one I'm sure he would be happy with.

Even if you know how it ends, it is hard not to be enveloped in this mesmerising production.

Phantom of the Opera
Napier Operatic Society
Directed by Gillian Davies
Napier Municipal Theatre, until October 5.