The new book hits shelves | Weber Autobiography: Genius and Ecstasy Behind the Mask: The Music Master Reveals the Mysterious World Behind the Stage

Cover news reporter Wang Hui

"The Phantom of the Theatre", "The Phantom of the Theatre", which has been performed in London for 2900 consecutive performances and 1567 consecutive performances on Broadway, and "Cats", which is classic and often performed, are all written by one person, he is the musical theater master Andrew Lloyd Webber. The classic songs in the play, such as "Memories" and "Argentina Don't Cry for Me", have been sung all over the world and have endured for a long time.

At the 72nd Tony Awards ceremony, Andrew Lloyd Weber was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, a trophy that is the best reward for the talent of the artistic master who has worked for most of his life in the musical theater career.

As the most high-profile musical theater master of the contemporary era, Weber's name has long been familiar to domestic audiences, since his masterpiece "Cat" was first introduced to China in 2003, "Phantom of the Theatre", "Evita", "Sunday Love", "Rock School" have been staged one after another, setting off a boom in performances and hot topics.

In March 2018, Andrew Lloyd Webber celebrated his 70th birthday with a summary of his artistic life, releasing an Autobiography in English that recalls his upbringing and exciting career, spanning his childhood to the night of the premiere of Phantom of the Theatre in 1986. In March 2021, after three years of polishing, the Chinese edition of his autobiography officially met with Chinese readers. In the book, Weber, who has taken off the heavy "mask", tells his legendary experience.

Born into an artistic family, he revealed his talent for drama from an early age

Andrew Lloyd Weber was born into a musical family, and his grandfather participated in the church choir training when he was young, planting the family's artistic genes. His father was a composer who served as Dean of the London Conservatory of Music and Professor of Composition at the Royal College of Music. This "academic" professor had a profound influence on Andrew's musical taste. Weber's mother, who opened a well-known piano school in London, described his mother as a "first-class children's piano teacher". His father supported his artistic pursuits and life choices, and his mother was a "tiger mother" who looked forward to Jackie Chan. There is also a family member, who is his leader in entering the theater circle, and even more his spiritual guide, which is the aunt who has acted in dramas and is closest to him, "Aunt Vivian".

In addition, his younger brother, who later became a cellist, and his younger brother's classmate, Pianist John Lear, who won the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition Prize, added a lot of color to Andrew's childhood.

Not only that, London's rich theatrical life has allowed Andrew's theatrical talent to be fully displayed. The family's habit of regularly visiting the Palladium Theatre in London made him fall in love with stage performances, and he personally built a toy theater and, together with his brother, curated many performances for this "theatre". In this way, with a good artistic environment and innate talent, Andrew Lloyd Weber developed a passion for theater in his childhood, and then entered the musical theater career that he loved all his life.

The rebellion of adolescence: suicide attempts, dropping out of school!

The path of genius is not smooth, and Weber, who grew up in an enviable family, also has his own pressures and troubles, and even has suicidal thoughts.

At home, he could not meet his mother's expectations for his artistic achievements; after entering the campus, he was younger than other students when he entered the school and did not fit in; he was admitted to the Oxford University School of History, but he could not give up his love of music, indulged in artistic creation and was forced to leave the school; the "army phobia" inherited from his father made him disgracefully end his military training career by suicide (attempt) ...

In the end, the rebellious young man made the most crucial decision in his life: to drop out of Oxford University and devote himself to musical theatre writing.

Weber was fortunate because he had been clear about the direction of his life since he was a child: at the age of 12, he had his first musical that he composed and successfully staged; during his time at school, he met the lyricist Tim Rice, and the two later co-created the "blockbuster" musical Joseph and the Magic Dress. Although his decision to drop out of school was seen by his family as a "self-destructive future", his love of musical theater made him determined to move forward and never looked back.

From "Cats" to "Phantom of the Theatre", as in the old days

In the memoirs, from "Joseph and the Magic Dress" to "The Superstar of the Ages", from "Evita" to "Sunday Love", from "Cats" to "The Phantom of the Theater"... Readers can see the creation process of a musical, not only a simple songwriting, story selection, script writing, song arrangement, actor casting, rehearsal, recording, costumes, choreography, lighting, sound, and even suitable for the performance of the theater, negotiating copyright, etc. There are also detailed introductions, everything has a careful creation and selection, and finally it is perfectly presented on the stage.

The composer, who has created countless classics, tells readers how "Memories" that touched countless heartstrings was written; what kind of casting process Elaine Peggy, who played the first version of Mrs. Perón's "Evita"; and what kind of situation was conceived in the worldwide singing "Argentina Don't Cry for Me". In addition, the book also includes the first draft of "Phantom of the Theater", which makes people can't help but sigh that this classic work is actually completed in one go, almost indistinguishable from what is presented on the stage today. Every beautiful moment imprinted on the hearts of musical theater fans is in the author's narration, as if it were the past.

The people who made Weber work together to make a wonderful life

Immersed in the art world for most of his life, Sir Lloyd Weber's memoirs are also an important review of the history of British and American musical theater, showing not only glamorous successes, but also frustrating failures.

In the book, the biggest names in the theater and music world have appeared. Renowned musical theatre director Harold Prince, film and theatre producer Robert Stegerwood, lyricist Tim Rice, musical theatre producer and Weber's "golden partner" Cameron McKintosh, Royal Shakespeare Theatre veteran theatre director Trevor Nunn, tenor Domingo, conductor Lorraine Maazel... There are also a number of actors active on the stage of contemporary musical theater, and even pop music stars, haunting the words and lines, vividly showing the colorful life of the showbiz.

Careers are booming, and personal feelings are also bumpy and wonderful. Three marriages and emotional entanglements with Sarah Brightman are also included in the author's book: his first wife had just turned 18 when he married him; about Sarah Brightman, the dancer Arlene Phillips's prophecy: "A girl is destined to change your life", which eventually became a reality; and the current wife Madeleine. Is his best helper in his career. These vivid characters, together with Weber, perform a wonderful dramatic life.

A box office miracle, a double legend of art and business

Andrew Lloyd Weber is the most visible in the industry because his work is not only artistically fascinating, but also a commercial success that is difficult to surpass. Cats performed 21 times in London's West End and on Broadway in New York for 18 consecutive years, and Phantom of the Theatre celebrated its 30th birthday in London in 2016, breaking the record for Cats and becoming the longest-running play on Broadway, having been performed in 166 theatres around the world and is still performed worldwide.

He has won numerous awards for his works, and according to statistics, he has won a total of 8 Tony Awards, 4 Grammy Awards, 7 Oliver Awards, 1 Golden Globe Award, 1 Oscar, 2 International Emmy Awards, The World Culture Award under The Takamatsu Palace, the Richard Rogers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Theatre, the "Basca" (British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Word Creators) Membership Award, the Kennedy Art Center Honor Award, and other awards, and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 Tony Awards ceremony.

His company is a large cultural performance group, with popular music and theatrical works IP including all his works. He owns seven theatres under his name, including the Palladium Theatre in London, which inspired his childhood interest in theatre. Childhood dreams shine into reality, and children's games transform into every starry night.

The English title of this autobiography, drawing on the iconic elements of Weber's masterpiece "The Phantom of the Theatre", hits the hearts of musical theater lovers with the phrase Unmasked (taking off the mask), making people wonder if the phantom behind the mask is his inner hidden self.

Fei Xiang, a Chinese star who starred in Weber's musicals, wrote: "Reading Sir Weber's autobiography feels like attending a feast, subverting all imaginations and reaching the highest peak on the world stage. The self-proclaimed perfectionist master of musical theatre took off his mask to reveal the mysterious world behind himself and even behind the stage.

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