BWW Preview: LOVE NEVER DIES Comes to Germany with Gardar Thor Cortes and Rachel Anne Moore, This Fall

The Phantom of the Opera is not only the longest running musical in Broadway history, but also one of the most successful shows internationally. In 2010, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber premiered a sequel of the musical London's West End with such stars as Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo. LOVE NEVER DIES, which has since successfully played in Australia (where it was filmed and released on DVD), Denmark and Japan, and will tour in the US in 2017, is now coming to the stage in Germany. Following the celebrated success of the return of Phantom of The Opera last year, Stage Entertainment will produce the fascinating sequel this fall. The show will begin preview at the Stage Operettenhaus in in Hamburg on October 8, with an official opening set for October 16.

The production will feature a dream cast of internationally renowned actors and singers, including Gardar Thor Cortes and Rachel Anne Moore as the principle characters, Phantom and Christine.

"I first heard Gardar Thor Cortes when he performed 'Til I Hear You Sing' at Elaine Paige's concert at Royal Albert Hall. His performances stopped the show and he received thunderous applause from the audience, "Andrew Lloyd Webber raves. "I am looking forward to see him play the part of the Phantom in Hamburg's production of LOVE NEVER DIES."

"Such praise from Andrew is a big honor," so the Icelandic tenor, who already enchanted audiences at Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall. Newsweek called the internationally celebrated tenor "Icelands top musician combining the Voice of Pavarotti with the looks of Brad Pitt".

Gardar Thor Cortes grew up in the very musical family, his mother is a pianist, his father a well-known tenor as well as conductor at and co-founder of the Opera Reykjavik. Gardar first appeared on TV at the tender age of 13 in a German Christmas mini-series, but he never pursued a pure acting career. His passion was and remains music. His voice is extremely versatile and he can sing everything from opera to oratorio, musical and pop music. But he is partial to classical music and first and foremost, opera.

"With Rachel Anne Moore we found another fantastic opera voice, who perfectly fits the grown-up Christine", so the excited casting director of Stage Entertainment Ralf Schaedler.

"I am very proud to be able to take on one of the most well-known characters in the world of musical theater," so the American singer. "The part of Christine in LOVE NEVER DIES is vocally very challenging. I'm looking forward to the collaboration with my new Phantom, Gardar. So far I only know him from his CD that I have on a shelf at home, but that will change soon. We get pretty close on stage."

Rachel Anne Moore was born in the USA and studied Opera at the Indiana University, where she graduated in 2007. She continued her training at the University of Tennessee and she graduated with the Masters in Opera Performance in 2010. She has since performed with many opera companies across the country. She first came to Germany in 2013 to play Carlotta in The Phantom of the Opera in Hamburg, where she can still be seen until rehearsals for LOVE NEVER DIES begin.

The cast of LOVE NEVER DIES will also feature Yngve Gasoy Romdal (Raoul), Masha Karell (Madame Giry), Ina Trabesinger (Meg Giry). Mathias Edenborn and Jazmin Gorsline will be the alternating Phantom and Christine, performing two nights a week.

The ensemble includes Marie-Therese Anselm, Alex Avenell, Bianca Benjamin, Pieter Casteleyn, Connor Collins, Tyler Donahue, CJ Field, Holly Hylton, Mami Iwai, Heidi Karlsson, Björn Klein, Anastasia Kutina, Chiara Ludemann, Andrea Marchetti, Robert David Marx, Sean McFadden, Robert Meyer, Leisha Mollyneaux, Dörte Niedermeier, Georg Prohazka, Martin Rönnebeck, Jessie Roggemann, Lucina Scarpolini, Thomas Schreier, Ulrich Talle and Stef van Gelder.

LOVE NEVER DIES is set ten years after The Phantom of the Opera. Christine Daaé is now a world-famous soprano and married to her Raoul, whom she shares a son with. She is thrilled when she receives an offer to travel to New York and perform at the renowned Metropolitan Opera (in previous productions a new attraction in Coney Island), unaware that it was the Phantom who arranged this appearance.