All they ask of you is...

The Phantom of the Opera orchestra had a nice surprise for Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Composer-impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber never expected his little ‘try-out’ to become so huge. Webber, who is in isolation like the rest of us, decided to play ‘All I ask of you’ from the spectacular Phantom of the Opera musical on his home piano after asking his followers which ALW number they would like him to play.

Now, this is not the real story. He tweeted this video (which has more than four million views now by the way) and in response to this, every, we mean, every member of the Phantom orchestra decided to give their composer a virtual surprise — “to show their support and respect for Andrew”, as they put it. All of them recorded a performance of ‘All I Ask Of You’ in their homes with their preferred instruments, collated it and ‘presented’ it to Webber on YouTube, who wrote he was incredibly touched by the gesture.

Watch the video for the warmth and solidarity that emanates from it; watch it also for the trombonist who decided to play with the Phantom mask on. Watch it for its ending where the video sends out a message: “Stay safe, that’s all we ask of you – with love from all of the Phantom Orchestra”.

And watch it because one day, we, like they certainly do, hope the Phantom can return to haunt West End again and a thickly-packed audience can ooooh in unison.

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