If you are a die-hard Andrew Lloyd Webber fan like myself, this is an absolute must-have for the permanent collection. I loved every minute of it. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th Birthday Celebration was the night to remember.Sarah Brightman sang beautifully, as she soared into the stratosphere in the "Phantom of the Opera" duet with Antonio Banderas. Donny Osmond offered clean phrasing and vocalism in his selection from "Joseph and the Technicolored Amazing Dreamcoat." Glenn Close brought Hollywood style and charisma to her selections from "Sunset Boulevard." Julian Lloyd Webber brought technical mastery and pitch-perfect intonation to the "Varations for Cello and Orchestra" piece.And then, almost towards the very end, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber himself came out and personally introduced Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to the audience. Dame Kiri, a few moments later, sang the world premiere of his new song, "The Heart is Slow to Learn," intended for the sequel to his magnum opus, "The Phantom of the Opera." Well, it was in a word, stunning. Te Kanawa sang passionately, and with the sincerity a famous classical performer would bring to Wagner or Puccini. Absolutely breathtaking.And then, the entire cast came out to sing "Happy Birthday" to Sir Andrew, with Kiri Te Kanawa and Sarah Brightman soaring above the entire orchestra and chorus. There was no dry eye in the audience.An absolutely wonderful performance!

When I watch a DVD I really like to watch it from start to end without skipping anything.With this presentation I felt like 1 hour was great, a half hour was ok, and another half hour was poor. I'm sure if I owned this DVD I'd always wish to skip by the poorer stuff.I really liked Donny Osmond, Elaine Page, Michael Ball and the various "Cats" songs and the song by Boy Zone.I was greatly irritated that they let Antonio Banderas sing the Phantom. He just does not have the voice for Phantom of the Opera. His Evita song was OK though.There were also a couple of songs by people that I did not recognize that had very bad unmusical voices.Sarah Brightman's voice is good but her facial expressions looked a bit odd.DVD lovers will find the Dolby 5.1 track on the DVD sounds very flat. It feels more like Dolby 2.0 or even Dolby mono at times.So overall I'd give it 7/10. Since the best parts can be found on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and on Cats (both of which I own already) I don't feel compelled to buy this DVD. It is worth watching. However, I'd only recommend buying it if you don't have any of the other Andrew Lloyd Weber DVDs.

Being a diehard musical fan, I instantly fell in love with this video. It has its good an its bad, but overall, the good far outweighs the bad.My favourite part is Michael Ball's striking rendition of "Gethsemane". I don't think anyone else can compare when it comes to the pure vocal talent and emotion he shows while singing that song. He has a tremendous voice and, in my opinion, is the most talented individual to appear in this concert.Another part I greatly enjoyed was Glenn Close's "With One Look". Very whimsically insane, very memorable. Also enjoyable was Antonio Banderas' Che, singing "Oh What a Circus". I didn't enjoy his version of "The Phantom of the Opera" as much, but I'll definitely take him over Michael Crawford any day!Not being a fan of Sarah Brightman's, the only part which I have any serious complains about is the amount of time she was on stage. I think she has a decent voice, and average acting talent - but definitely not enough to warrant how many song she sang during the concert.Overall, I'd highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber's music; or to musical theatre fans in general. 8.5/10

There are not enough superlatives to describe this entertainment event. Antonio Banderas shines on EVITA and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA(with Sarah Brightman no less!). Glenn Glose radiates on SUNSET BOULEVARD songs. Elaine Paige astounds musically. A new group called Boyzone, young men all dressed in white - makes one wonder aloud, when will they take America by storm? Donny Osmond repeats his JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT spectaculars! Kiri Te Kanawa is also a marvel as is Michael Ball (who uplifts the most with his "Love Changes Everything" - which literally had me dancing on my living room floor because of the gospel choir backup). Bonnie Tyler will amaze with her motorcycle rock rouser and Sarah Brightman - as always - is beyond description. Rent buy or borrow (as I did from the Library) this visually and auditory treat...I loved every second. Webber's birthday present is a gift from heaven!