There, he becomes a wealthy entrepreneur, building the Manhattan Opera House and luring his Phantom love Christine, now a famous diva, to perform there. Narrated by a dying Madame Giry, the ballet mistress of the Paris Opera House in The Phantom of the Opera, it tells the story of how The Phantom left Paris after the events of the original story and fled to New York City. The Phantom of Manhattan novel is set in New York City in the early 1900s and filled with famous characters of the day including Irving Berlin and Teddy Roosevelt. Although Lloyd Webber indicates on his website that he was unhappy with some of the plotting of the novel, his collaboration with Forsyth seems ongoing. After the composer dropped the project in 1999, Forsyth released the story as a novel, The Phantom of Manhattan.

The plot for the sequel was developed with Frederick Forsyth, author of many books including The Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File.

In fact, at a 50th birthday celebration concert for Lloyd Webber at Royal Albert Hall, a song from that project, 'The Heart Is Slow to Learn,' was performed by opera diva Kiri Te Kanawa. Lloyd Webber had previously announced that a sequel was in the works for the show, which premiered in London in 1986. Although few details were revealed, he did say that the long-gestating show will be set in New York City. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber announced in a video message on his website March 9 that he will definitely write a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, the longest-running show in Broadway history.

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