Entr'Acte: Act Two / Six Months Later Lyrics - Phantom of the Opera, The

Song Overview

Review & Highlights

This Entr’Acte resets the chessboard. House lights fade, pit snaps to attention, and a bright, brassy medley storms in to remind us where we’ve been and hint where we’re headed. On record, Entr’Acte: Act Two - Six Months Later clocks in at a tidy 2:40, a burst of overture-energy that greases the rails for the masquerade that follows. The managers’ brief spoken “party” exchange keeps it human, but the real narrator here is the orchestra. If you’re chasing the lyrics, there aren’t many; if you’re chasing the story, the horns have you covered. The title and artist pairing stay simple and clear: David Firth, John Savident, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s company setting the table, not stealing the meal. Key takeaways: it’s a curtain-lift, a memory reel, and a mood swap in one; the lyrics are incidental, the pulse is the point; and the scene-change is baked into the music itself.

Verse 1

The “verse” is really a fanfare of familiar motives from Act I, stitched to a bright New Year sheen. You can hear phrases bloom and vanish like lanterns on a river - never long enough to settle, always enough to jog memory.

Chorus

The big singable hook is instrumental: a martial swing that feels like victory laps for the box-office, not the lovers. It’s the show telling you, kindly, “buckle up.”

Exchange/Bridge

We drop from pit to office: “Monsieur Firmin — Monsieur André.” Champagne in hand, they toast “the prologue to a bright new year,” and slip in a line about that “Phantom fellow” not being around. It’s banter as foreshadowing; the orchestra smirks behind them.

Final Build

The medley tightens, tempi nudge forward, and the cadence holds you at the stairhead of the next scene. The last chord doesn’t so much land as open a door marked MASQUERADE.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The function is in the title. Six months have passed, and this pocket overture tells you that without exposition. It’s a ceremonial palate cleanser - shine the chandelier, dust the masks, pretend the past is past.

[Instrumental medley]

That little stage direction is a promise: the band will recap the emotional headlines of Act I, then pivot you toward Act II’s social whirl. No aria required.

The mood begins in relief. Managers toast, crowds sparkle, the music wears party colors. You hear order restored - until you don’t.

“Dear André, what a splendid party!” / “The prologue to a bright new year!”

Their clipped rhythm rides over a knowing orchestra. It’s optimism set to a metronome, which is to say: temporary.

As an Entr’acte, it’s a genre piece: the classic musical-theatre reset, here with Webber’s plush strings and gilded brass. The rhythm scoops up Act I earworms and repackages them with a brighter snare and a quicker heel-turn toward the staircase to come.

“Here’s to us”

That clink is the last time anyone feels safe for long. You can almost hear the Red Death checking his cufflinks.

The emotional arc is clean: relief, denial, momentum. A little triumphalism in the mix, then a sly half-smile in the lower winds that says, “He’s not done.”

“I must say all the same, that it’s a shame that Phantom fellow isn’t here!”

And with that, the comedy clicks into place. The audience knows the joke; the characters don’t. The orchestra keeps the secret.

Message

The message isn’t philosophical, it’s practical: time jumped, tension cooled, masks on. This is story maintenance disguised as celebration.

Emotional tone

Starts buoyant, turns anticipatory. The pulse says party; the harmonies shade in “but wait.”

Production

On record, the OLC Entr’Acte is tight and glossy, with Michael Reed’s baton favoring clarity and forward motion. Webber’s orchestration with David Cullen blends velvet strings and pointed brass, letting the percussion write exclamation points.

Instrumentation

Pit orchestra core: strings for sweep, brass for dazzle, woodwinds for wink, percussion for pageantry. Harp glints, then you’re back in the crowd.

Creation history

Act II’s jump-cut to a masquerade demanded a musical handoff that could sell six months in under three minutes. The Entr’Acte does it the old-fashioned way - reprise, refract, accelerate - then clears the stage for the grand staircase.

Key Facts

• Artist: David Firth, John Savident, and the Original 1986 London Cast
• Producer: Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Composer: Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Release Date (album): February 9, 1987
• Premiere of musical: October 9, 1986 - London
• Genre: Musical theatre - orchestral medley
• Instruments: Pit orchestra - strings, brass, woodwinds, harp, percussion
• Label: Polydor (licence from The Really Useful Group Ltd.)
• Mood: Triumphant to anticipatory
• Length: 2:40
• Track #: 15
• Language: English, with spoken interjections by the managers
• Album: The Phantom of the Opera - Original 1986 London Cast (2xCD) and Highlights edition
• Music style: Medley of Act I leitmotifs with brisk march accents
• © Copyrights: 1987 The Really Useful Group Ltd., under exclusive licence to Polydor Limited

Questions and Answers

What is Entr’Acte: Act Two - Six Months Later meant to do in the show?

It compresses six months of story time into a brisk recap-and-reset, stitching familiar Act I motifs together before the Masquerade sequence sweeps on.

Are there many lyrics in this track?

Hardly any. It’s an instrumental medley with a short managers’ toast that sets the “bright new year” mood before the party erupts.

Where does this appear on the Original London Cast album?

It’s Track 15, the hinge between Act I fallout and Act II spectacle.

How long is the recording, and who released it?

About 2:40. The album was released via The Really Useful Group under licence to Polydor.

Did the Phantom cast recordings find chart or certification success?

Yes. The OLC album reached UK No. 1 for three weeks in February 1987 and has been certified multi-platinum in both the UK and US.

Awards and Chart Positions

The Original London production premiered October 9, 1986 and won the 1986 Olivier Award for Best New Musical. The Original London Cast album, released February 9, 1987, hit No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart for three weeks and has achieved multi-platinum certifications in the UK and US, with both the full 2xCD and the Highlights edition recognized by the RIAA across the years.

How to Sing Entr’Acte: Act Two - Six Months Later?

Trick question: you don’t, mostly. This is pit-driven. But if you’re covering the managers’ lines, keep diction crisp and tempo-forward so you sit cleanly on the orchestral grid.

1. Vocal range and placement: Light baritone speaking range; keep resonance forward so it rides over brass without forcing.
2. Breath and pacing: Short, buoyant phrases. Breathe on commas, not ideas, to preserve the cork-pop energy of a toast.
3. Tempo feel: Around the recorded 2:40 total, the internal feel is a bright two. Lock with snare and basses rather than chasing melody lines.
4. Cues: Leave space after “Here’s to us” so the downbeat lands cleanly; let the pit take the lead into Masquerade.