'Love Never Dies' on YouTube - and what I thought of it (at end)

Just a reminder for anyone else who's enjoying the current event of Andrew Lloyd Webber's putting on of theatrical performances of his musicals on YouTube - available to watch for just 48 hours every week-end in the U.K. during current lock-down restrictions. 
Following the utterly marvellous 'Superstar' of a fortnight ago, and a most impressive 'Phantom' last w/e - performed in the Royal Albert Hall as a 25th year celebration [so 2011?] including a cast of so many extras which no conventional theatre could have held. 
And now today, starting at 7 p.m. [British Summertime] there becomes available a chance to see the sequel to 'Phantom', 'Love Never Dies' a piece I've never heard - not even one single number from it - let alone seen. It didn't have a particularly long West End theatre run, at least not in Lloyd Webber terms, though it has had quite substantial praise from some critics, some even claiming it as being superior to the original 'Phantom'. I'm looking forward to it immensely, as it should also do so to any of the composer's fans to whom it'll also come as something new. I've no idea yet of the cast, though as the production has had A.L.W.'s blessing one can safely assume it's definitely not going to be bad.  

Btw: Also looking forward to a showing of his 'By Jeeves' - possibly next w/e? - a pleasant, light-hearted affair with which I'm now fairly familiar, having an audio-cassette of the complete musical, and then actually getting to see it on stage a few years back - and an under-valued piece of theatre I think [even though when I was there a party of about half-a dozen adults in front of me walked out after half an hour muttering "What rubbiish!"] - with lyrics by no less than Alan Ayckbourn, probably still the world's most prolific and successful living playwright.

But I do hope some of you at least will enjoy 'Love Never Dies' as much as I'm hoping to.

My Verdict.
(Next day) Well, I must say that after having watched it straight through - it's a bit shorter than 'Phantom' - I found it pretty good, and will take the opportunity to watch it again tomorrow as goodness knows when I'll have another chance.
It's filmed from a theatrical performance in Melbourne in 2011 with an Aussie cast, mostly not bad, though I did have concerns about a lack of consistency in projecting the solo voices which is often so low in comparison with the big chorus numbers, that I decided to watch the whole thing with subtitles - a big improvement, especially for Ben Lewis as the Phantom who has the opening song setting the scene, except were it not for being able to read it I wouldn't have had a clue as to what he was warbling about - and, unfortunately, it is a warble to start with, though his voice does get better as the show progresses. Anna O'Byrne is Christine and she's not at all bad throughout.
The story, now in New York and moved on a decade, is very similar to the original, with the Phantom pursuing Christine and trying to persuade her to sing his specially composed song one last time, that song being the show's title - not a very arresting phrase for attracting attention and lodging it in one's memory, but it is the climactic number.
I was impressed by how much entirely new (and attractive) music has been written, having expected that a lot of it would be a re-hash of  melodies already heard in the first part. Though there are  echoes of the original, which we'd only expect (and at least one direct quote), Lloyd Webber manages to keep to the spirit of the first while writing a load of original, richly melodic stuff.    
The audience in this capture was curiously subdued for the most part that it could well have been performed with no audience at all with little difference - only at the start and towards the end did they make their presence felt.

It's a show I'd like to see live, perhaps in a two-day double-bill with the original (which I've only seen the once - though do try to forget the film version!) but this also stands on its own - and, as I say, good enough to make me want to watch it again tomorrow. I'd recommend it - and, btw, it is available to watch globally (presumably for just the same 48 hours that it's available in this country). The shows must go on - and so do the pleasures!