Las Vegas Weekly

August 26, 2008 · 1:03 PM

1,000 Phantom shows is cause for celebration

By Robin Leach

Phantom cast photo.

Photo: Kirvan Doak

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Phantom -- Las Vegas Spectacular at the Venetian. Last night they hit another milestone celebrating their 1,000th breathtaking performance. The Las Vegas production of the worldwide favorite, which has been haunting the Venetian resort for two years, is enjoying enduring success that very few others have achieved. It was featured on the 2008 season of American Idol and named one of Las Vegas’ Top 10 shows in 2007 and the No. 1 show when it debuted in 2006.

You know me now with my thirst for fun facts and figures, so here are the Phantom’s secrets: After 1,000 performances, the phantom has spent 1,000 hours in the make-up chair, which calculates to more than 41 days; the delicate ingénue Christine Daaé has had a total of 11,000 costume changes to date; actor-singer Ubaldo Piangi has belted out 2,000 high Cs, the ultimate note for any tenor; over 3,802 hours have been spent maintaining the other star of the show: the one-ton, 15-foot tall, 16-foot wide chandelier that falls to the audience nightly; the crew has executed 14,000 elaborate set changes to create the 13 separate locations on stage each night; every night Christine Daaé shares two kisses with the phantom and three with the charming Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, which adds up to 5,000 kisses since opening night!

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