Pay attention to the recurring musical motif in "The Phantom of the Opera"! ~ Interview with Masayuki Sano, who plays the Phantom of the Opera, and Sae Yamamoto, who plays Christine, from the Shiki Theatre Company's musical "The Phantom of the Opera"

At the public rehearsal held prior to the interview, under the guidance of Yusuke Kitazawa, the directorial supervisor of "The Phantom of the Opera," who also appeared in an interview with Magcal, the rehearsal scene of the play "Hannibal" that appears at the beginning of the story, "Think of Me" sung by Christine, and "The Point of No Return" in which the Phantom of the Opera sings his love for Christine passionately was performed. In the "Hannibal" scene, with careful acting instructions from Kitazawa such as "I want to show a little more irritation and close in," the reporters were also taken aback by the many famous scenes that were performed with overwhelming force just like the real thing.

In a joint interview held after the public rehearsal, among the multiple cast members who participated in the rehearsal, Masayuki Sano, who plays the Phantom of the Opera, and Sae Yamamoto, who plays the heroine Christine Daae, spoke frankly about their enthusiasm for the Yokohama performance of "The Phantom of the Opera" and the highlights of the production while answering questions from reporters.

--Please tell us about the highlights of the first Yokohama performance of "The Phantom of the Opera" and your enthusiasm for it.

Sano: What I'm most looking forward to is playing the Phantom at the Kanagawa Arts Theatre. The highlight of this production is the way composer Andrew Lloyd Webber creates music. I've been working on The Phantom of the Opera for almost 30 years, but I still discover new things. In this performance, I want to express the drama hidden in Lloyd Webber's music.

Yamamoto: I myself live in Kanagawa, and my theater company is based in Yokohama. I'm really looking forward to performing in my hometown of Yokohama. Sano-san has already mentioned the music, so I think the highlight is the costumes. It's far from the audience, so you might not be able to see the details, but the costumes of the ensemble are also very elaborate. The fabric that you can't see under the skirts, and the hats are all different in shape, so I hope you'll check those out too.