Brent Barrett, Elizabeth Welch to Star in PHANTOM OF THE OPERA in Germany This Fall

BroadwayWorld has learned that Broadway and Vegas star Brent Barrett will reprise the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, beginning November 12 at Germany's Stage Metronom Theater in Oberhausen.

Joining him will be Elizabeth Welch, who appeared in the Broadway production, as Christine Daaé, and Max Niemeyer (who was last seen in the Hamburg production of PHANTOM) as 'Raoul'.

Since his Broadway debut as Tony in WEST SIDE STORY, Brent Barrett has starred in productions such as ANNIE GET YOUR GUN and GRAND HOTEL in New York. He was nominated for an Olivier Award for the classic KISS ME, KATE in the West End. Brent is a founding member and producer of the group The Broadway Tenors. In addition to recordings of BRIGADOON and GRAND HOTEL, Barrett has released three solo albums: CHRISTMAS MORNINGS, THE ALAN JAY LERNER ALBUM and THE KANDER AND EBB ALBUM. Barrett was the premiere 'Phantom' in PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas and played for packed houses for two years. Most recently, Barrett appeared as 'Billy Flynn' in Broadway's CHICAGO. On the big screen, Barrett has appeared in the movie version of the musical THE PRODUCERS and has appeared in the TV series ALL MY CHILDREN and HERCULES.

Elizabeth Welch comes directly from Broadway to Oberhausen. There, she played the role of Christine Daaé, a role she reprised on tour in the U.S. She has also played 'Cosette' in LES MISERABLES, 'Belle' in Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, 'Maria' in WEST SIDE STORY, and 'Anna' in THE KING AND I. Welch began her career in opera and spent a lot of time in Germany and Austria, where she appeared as 'Susanna' in THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, as 'Feodora' in DER OPERNBALL, and as 'Adina' in L'ELISIR D'AMORE. Two more of Elizabeth's favorite roles were 'Despina' in COSI FAN TUTTE and 'Olympia' in THE TALES OF HOFFMANN.

In theatre school in Hamburg, Max Niemeyer participated in numerous theater and musical productions. He later appeared as a swing with MOZART! - THE MUSICAL in Hamburg and in DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES in Stuttgart and in Hamburg, where he took over the role of 'Alfred' in alternation. He then toured Germany as a soloist with Musical Fieber. Niemeyer has starred onstage in REBECCA, RUDOLF - AFFAIRE MAYERLING, ICH WAR NOCH NIEMALS IN NEW YORK, MUSICAL CHRISTMAS, MUSICAL FOREVER 2 and ELISABETH. As part of the Vienna Festival, he took over the role of Product Manager for the world premiere of the opera JOIN! He also participated in a run of Purcell's THE FAIRY QUEEN (N. Harnoncourt) at the Styriarte Festival and played the role of 'Old Shatterhand' in THE TREASURE OF SILVER LAKE at the Austrian Karl May Festival in Winzendorf. He returned to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA as a swing last summer in Hamburg.

THE CAST:

The Phantom - Brent Barrett
Christine Daaé - Elizabeth Welch
The Phantom alternately - Nicky Wuchinger
Christine Daaé alternately - Daniela Braun
Raoul de Chagny Vicomte - Max Niemeyer
Carlotta Giudicelli - Susan Gouthro
Monsieur André - Guido Gottenbos
Monsieur Firmin - Anton Rattinger
Ubaldo Piangi - Raymond Sepe
Madame Giry - Michaela Christl
Meg Giry - Ilenia Azzato

The ensemble (in alphabetical order): Kerstin Bauer, Eva Maria Bender, Gabriele Ceriotti, Enrique Corona, Giulia Cresci, Joana Estebanell-Milian, Marco Fahrland-Jadue, Juliette Fehrenbach, Joelle Gates, Christina Gibbs, Yukina Hasebe, Tobias yoke, Eline de Jong, Marcel Jonker, Elena Lucas Mark Luykx, Annemarijn Maandag, Vasilios Manis, Katharina Meissner, Miki Nakamura, Lemuel Pitts, Esther Puzak, Una Reynolds, Joan Ribalta, Marc floppy, Joseph Stewart, Anastasia Stojko, Christian Theodoridis, Milan van Weelden, Elpiniki Zervou, Dietmar Ziegler, and Andrew Zubchevskyi.

Photo Credit: Stage Entertainment