Interview - Lara Martins (The Phantom of the Opera)

'Usually in opera you do eight or ten performances and then it's finished and you move on. So in that sense this is very, very different.'

For 6 years, Lara Martins has been playing the role of spurned soprano Carlotta Giudicelli in the phenomenally popular West End mega musical The Phantom of the Opera. In the final few weeks before she passes on the mantle, Martins takes some time to chat to me about her career, her transition from opera to musical theatre, and why she has stayed with the role of Carlotta for so long.

Lara Martins
Photo credit - Anna Paganini
Hailing from Portugal, Lara Martins began her career as an opera singer, training at Guildhall School of Music and Drama before joining the young artists’ programme at France's Centre National d'Insertion Professionnelle des Artistes Lyriques. 'I played various roles in various productions all over Europe and did lots of travelling,' Martins recalls. 'I never really thought about going down the musical theatre route, but my agent at the time contacted me and said the casting team from The Phantom of the Opera would like to invite me for an audition, for Carlotta. I thought that could be interesting, so I went along, and I got the role, and so I decided to give it a go!'

It must be a dream scenario for any performer wanting to transition into the musical theatre world, to be cast in one of the most iconic and longevous musicals ever. 'It's a timeless show, you know' Martins tells me. 'It's been on stage for 32 years, and in terms of the visual part of it, it's still quite stunning. Everybody that goes to see The Phantom of the Opera loves it. The costumes, the set, the stage, it's absolutely magical!'

Many may know Carlotta and her partner Ubaldo Piangi as simply comedy relief characters, to juxtapose the tumultuous love triangle of ingenue Christine, her childhood friend turned sweetheart Raoul, and the mysterious Phantom, but after getting to know her character for more than half a decade, Martins has other ideas. 'She's very, very comical, but it's quite interesting, dramatically she has a lot of shades. She's feisty, she's stroppy, she's a strong character, but she's actually quite vulnerable as well'.

Lara Martins backstage at Her Majesty's Theatre
Photo credit - Danny Kaan
For Martins, this vulnerability is vital to her portrayal of Carlotta. 'I always think of Carlotta as someone that really had to fight to be where she is. She had to build her career. Maybe she was from a deprived background but she was very talented and she had to do many things to get where she is'. Martins channels all of this into her portrayal of Carlotta, who is seen to be quite villainous towards her rival Christine, openly mocking and disparaging her throughout the musical. 'Her role is being threatened by a ballet girl, her status as the prima donna is being threatened by a ballet girl!' Martins explains, feigning incredulity. 'This is quite major in an opera house in the 19th century.'

It's clear that Lara Martins has a lot of sympathy for the pushy leading lady she plays on stage. I am reminded of The Phantom of the Opera's controversial sequel, Love Never Dies, which sought to further humanise the titular character, and explore the dynamics of several of the original musical's major players 10 years later. Notably, Carlotta does not make an appearance. 'I think she's probably dead by that time, or something happened to her, an accident in the theatre, who knows' Martins speculates. As bleak as that is, I agree that Carlotta does seem a bit cursed, especially as her life unravels rather dramatically in the second act. 'Exactly,' Martins concurs solemnly. 'I feel like the Phantom has done something to her.'

On that rather grim note, I'm hesitant to ask my next question: does Martins see any similarities between Carlotta and herself, besides their joint background in opera? 'In a way I feel like I have that strength like Carlotta,' she replies 'but obviously we are very different I think. I don't see myself as a real life diva!'

Lara Martins as Carlotta in The Phantom of the Opera
Photo credit - Johan Persson
But diva or not, what's it like for a singer with a background in opera to transition to musical theatre, I wonder. 'It's a completely different kind of art form isn't it?' She tells me. 'I mean everything. Vocally, the way people work, and the demands on the voice are completely different for musical theatre'. Therefore, I have to ask, what it is about The Phantom of the Opera which keeps her coming back for more? 'Over all these years I still felt I could always bring something new to the character, and I was having fun doing it, so why not stay?'

Martins now holds the title of the West End's longest running Carlotta, but all things must come to an end, and this September she'll take her final bow at London's Her Majesty's Theatre.

But does this mean Lara Martins will be saying goodbye to the glitzy musical theatre of the West End too, I ask? She certainly hopes not. 'All these years I've been becoming more and more interested in the musical theatre world and there's definitely more roles that I would love to go and try. Obviously the more classical, legit musicals, but also, who knows... there is always new material being written. There are loads of thing I would like to try.'