Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, moves the story to Coney Island ten years later, and its score runs from “‘Til I Hear You Sing” through “Devil Take the Hindmost” to the soaring title song. The song list differs slightly between the original London production and the reworked Australian version that was filmed.
Lloyd Webber wrote the music, Glenn Slater the lyrics, and the book is credited to Lloyd Webber, Ben Elton, Frederick Forsyth and Slater, loosely drawing on Forsyth’s novel The Phantom of Manhattan. Charles Hart, a lyricist on the original Phantom, later added new lyrics during rewrites. This guide follows the Australian production, filmed in Melbourne in 2011, because most fans know that version. For the bigger picture, start with our Phantom of the Opera vs Love Never Dies comparison. Spoiler warning: we discuss the ending below.
What are the songs in Love Never Dies, in order?
Here is the running order of the Australian production, which later productions and the US tour used. Instrumental tracks such as the Entr’acte and Playout are left out.
| Act | Song | Sung by |
|---|---|---|
| I | Prologue / ‘Til I Hear You Sing | The Phantom |
| I | The Coney Island Waltz | Squelch, Fleck, Gangle, ensemble |
| I | Only for You | Meg, ensemble |
| I | Ten Long Years | Meg, Madame Giry |
| I | Christine Disembarks / Are You Ready to Begin? | Raoul, Gustave, Christine, the trio |
| I | What a Dreadful Town! | Raoul, Christine, Gustave |
| I | Look with Your Heart | Christine, Gustave |
| I | Beneath a Moonless Sky | Christine, the Phantom |
| I | Once Upon Another Time | Christine, the Phantom |
| I | Mother Please, I’m Scared! | The Phantom, Gustave, Christine |
| I | Dear Old Friend | Meg, Madame Giry, Christine, Raoul, Gustave |
| I | Beautiful / The Beauty Underneath | Gustave, the Phantom |
| II | Why Does She Love Me? | Raoul, Meg |
| II | Devil Take the Hindmost | Raoul, the Phantom |
| II | Bathing Beauty / Mother, Did You Watch? | Meg, Madame Giry |
| II | Before the Performance / Devil Take the Hindmost (Quartet) | Christine, Raoul, the Phantom, Madame Giry, Meg, Gustave |
| II | Love Never Dies | Christine |
| II | Ah, Christine! / Gustave! Gustave! | The Phantom, Christine, company |
| II | Please Miss Giry, I Want to Go Back / Finale | Meg, Gustave, the Phantom, Christine, Madame Giry |
What happens in Act One’s songs?
Ten years after Paris he is the secret owner of Phantasma, a Coney Island pleasure park, and in “‘Til I Hear You Sing” he admits that success means nothing without Christine’s voice. His opening plea sets the stakes: “’til I hear you sing once more.”
Then the fairground bursts into color. “The Coney Island Waltz” introduces the Phantom’s trio of freak-show performers, Gangle, Fleck and Squelch, and “Only for You” shows Meg Giry, now the park’s “Ooh La La Girl,” working hard for an audience of one who never seems to look. In “Ten Long Years,” her mother reveals that the Girys smuggled the Phantom out of Paris, and that their loyalty has gone unrewarded.
Christine arrives with her husband, Raoul, and their ten-year-old son, Gustave, to sing for Oscar Hammerstein. Raoul grumbles, and Christine comforts Gustave with “Look with Your Heart,” a gentle lesson in seeing past appearances that pays off in the final scene. Then the Phantom appears on her balcony. “Beneath a Moonless Sky” is the show’s most daring number, a duet in which the two recall a night of passion before her wedding, and “Once Upon Another Time” lets them grieve what might have been.
The rest of Act One turns on Gustave. In “Beautiful,” the boy plays a melody on the piano that makes the Phantom suspect he is the father, and “The Beauty Underneath” sends the Phantom’s hopes soaring until he unmasks and Gustave screams. Christine then confirms the truth. If you know the original score well, our Phantom of the Opera songs explained guide shows where these themes began.
What is Devil Take the Hindmost about?
“Devil Take the Hindmost” is the Act Two showdown between the Phantom and Raoul. It opens in a gloomy bar, where a drunk Raoul, buried in debt, has just boasted that he is not afraid of anyone. The barman turns out to be the Phantom. He plants doubts about who fathered Gustave and then offers a wager: if Christine refuses to sing the Phantom’s song that night, he will pay off Raoul’s debts and let the family leave; if she sings, Raoul goes back to France alone.
Musically it is a tightly coiled duet, two men trading the same driving line as the stakes climb. The tune returns later as a backstage quartet, with Raoul, the Phantom, Madame Giry and Meg each waiting to see whether Christine will flee or sing. We compare two takes on the number in two versions of Devil Take the Hindmost, and you can watch the filmed staging in Devil Take the Hindmost from the 2012 film.
Want to play these songs yourself? Lloyd Webber’s sweeping ballads, from “‘Til I Hear You Sing” to the title song, are a rewarding way to practice rich chords and big romantic melodies at the keyboard. Try Pianoforall.
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What does the title song Love Never Dies reveal?
“Love Never Dies” is the aria the Phantom has written for Christine, and the climax of the whole wager. After a long orchestral introduction, she decides to sing, while Raoul and the Phantom watch from opposite wings. Just before the final notes, Raoul leaves. In singing it, Christine tells both men what she has chosen.
Before she walks out, “Before the Performance” sends her back in memory to the night at the Paris Opera when she had to choose between Raoul and the Phantom. In the Australian version she sings a line from the first musical there, the clearest musical callback in the score. The ending follows quickly. Gustave goes missing, and on the pier a desperate Meg, who has sacrificed everything for the Phantom’s attention, accidentally shoots Christine. Before she dies, Christine tells Gustave the Phantom is his real father, and in the final moments the boy removes the Phantom’s mask without fear.
How did the songs change between versions?
The London production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on 9 March 2010, directed by Jack O’Brien and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell (Andrew Lloyd Webber). After a tough critical reception, Lloyd Webber briefly closed the show in November 2010 to rework it, with Charles Hart rewriting lyrics. The Australian production, directed by Simon Phillips, opened in Melbourne in May 2011 and became the version used by later productions.
- Charles Hart wrote new lyrics for several numbers, including “Devil Take the Hindmost,” “Dear Old Friend” and “The Beauty Underneath.”
- Melbourne folds “The Aerie” into “‘Til I Hear You Sing” and retitles the search scene “The Streets of Coney Island.”
- The endings differ: in London, Gustave unmasks the Phantom right after Christine dies; in Melbourne, the Phantom first gives her body to a returning Raoul.
Was Love Never Dies ever on Broadway?
No. A Broadway transfer was planned for spring 2011, but in October 2010 the producers announced it would not go ahead, and the show has never played Broadway. American audiences got their chance on tour instead. A North American tour of the Phantom-sequel, directed by Simon Phillips, began with performances in Utica in September 2017 and officially opened in Detroit on October 25, 2017 (Playbill). It closed in Austin in December 2018.
The original London production closed in August 2011. For everything else in the franchise, head to our Phantom of the Opera complete fan guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous song in Love Never Dies?
The title song, “Love Never Dies,” and the Phantom’s opening ballad, “‘Til I Hear You Sing,” are the best-known numbers. “‘Til I Hear You Sing” was the show’s calling card, while the title song is Christine’s climactic aria. Many fans also love “Devil Take the Hindmost” and “Beneath a Moonless Sky.”
Who sings Devil Take the Hindmost?
The Phantom and Raoul sing “Devil Take the Hindmost” in Act Two, when the Phantom offers Raoul a wager over whether Christine will sing that night. A later reprise turns it into a backstage ensemble for Raoul, the Phantom, Madame Giry and Meg as everyone waits to learn what Christine will do.
Is Love Never Dies a sequel to Phantom of the Opera?
Yes. Love Never Dies is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to his 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera. It is set about ten years later on Coney Island, where the Phantom runs a pleasure park, and brings back Christine, Raoul, Meg and Madame Giry. It is not a sequel to Gaston Leroux’s original novel.
Was Love Never Dies on Broadway?
No. A Broadway production was announced and then dropped in October 2010, and Love Never Dies has never opened on Broadway. The reworked Australian version did tour North America from 2017 to 2018, starting in Utica, New York, and opening officially in Detroit before closing in Austin, Texas.
Where can I watch Love Never Dies?
The Australian production was filmed in Melbourne in September 2011 and released on DVD and Blu-ray in 2012, with cinema screenings that year. Lloyd Webber also streamed it for a limited time on his YouTube channel in 2020. Check current home video and streaming listings in your region, because availability changes.
