The Phantom is back - but Christine’s the star

With Phantom of the Opera, the most successful musical in West End history still playing in London after 23 years, Andrew Lloyd Webber's much-trumpeted sequel, Love Never Dies, had much to live up to when it finally opened last night. Fans of the original - or "phans" as they call themselves - have expressed their horror at what they see as a travesty. Would the critics be won over? The answer is yes, just.

The general consensus is that the music is better than the plot - the libretto or "book" receiving tough treatment from several reviewers. As for the stars, Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom has a wonderful voice but is deemed to lack stage presence, while soprano Sierra Boggess as Christine could do no wrong.

Love Never Dies is set 10 years after Phantom of the Opera. The Phantom has been resurrected as Mr Y and is running a Coney Island amusement park. Christine, unaware of his true identity, is persuaded to return from Paris, with her husband and son in tow, to sing for the mystery impresario.

Not only does he turn out to be the Phantom - but it is also revealed that he and Christine shared a night of passion in Paris ten years earlier and her son might indeed be his, not her husband Raoul's.

As Charles Spencer of the Daily Telegraph points out, Love Never Dies not only has to live up the high standard set by Phantom, but it marks a return to Gothic gloom and doom after a run of much more light-hearted musical comedies, such as Hairspray, Sister Act and, most recently, Legally Blonde.

"Will West End audiences relish two-and-a half hours of dark Gothic imaginings, seething passion, and in the final scene, sudden violent death?" asks Spencer. With Lloyd Webber's name attached to it, yes, probably.

WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING:Paul Taylor, the Independent: "Ramin Karimloo may not be a physically imposing enough presence as the Phantom, but his marvellously supple voice can run the gamut from a seductive guttural whisper to the full blare of frustrated passion... Looking gorgeous in a range of stylish period-outfits, Sierra Boggess's Christine boasts a voice that can pool and purl quietly and then knock you dead with her towering rendition of the climactic title number."

Michael Billington, the Guardian: "There is much to enjoy... The problems lie within the book, chiefly credited to Lloyd Webber himself and Ben Elton, which lacks the weight to support the imaginative superstructure... As one of the lyrics reminds us, "diamonds never sparkle bright unless they are set just right". Although Lloyd Webber's score is full of gems, in the end a musical is only as good as its book. With a libretto to match the melodies, this might have been a stunner rather than simply a good night out."

Ben Brantley, New York Times: "If you don't know the first 'Phantom' you will be very confused; if you do know the first 'Phantom' you will also be very confused."

Charles Spencer, the Daily Telegraph: "The show may ultimately prove too strange, too dark, too tormented to become a massive popular hit, but I suspect its creepy allure will linger potently in the memory when frothier shows have been long forgotten."

Benedict Nightingale, the Times: "This Phantom is not the phantom we knew. The 'poisoned gargoyle who burns in hell' has clearly taken an anger management course in New York." ·