Rising star Anna Zavelson on making her West End debut in 'The Phantom of the Opera'

Fresh from playing Christine Daaé in the immersive Masquerade, this dazzling soprano is tackling the role in the original London production of Phantom.

At 22 years of age, this talented soprano has already notched up an impressive series of performances in iconic roles including Christine Daaé in New York in Masquerade, the immersive adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, and Clara in The Light in the Piazza. She is now making her West End debut as Christine in the original production of The Phantom of the Opera — truly a full-circle moment for a girl who first saw the show when she was six and dreamt of playing the role.

Tell us how you’re finding being in London and making your West End debut.
I’m loving it. I’ve never been to London before, much less out of North America, so it’s been a whole new experience for me. I feel so privileged to be in a new country and be exploring all of these new things, but I’m not completely on my own because I have this built-in family and friends through the show. It’s been perfect. It’s been magical. I just finished my third week of shows, so I still feel like I’m getting the hang of it, but it’s been fantastic.

How did you get started in musical theatre?
I saw Phantom when I was six. It was the first musical I had ever seen. It came through Austin, Texas, which is where I’m from. From then on, I knew that I wanted to do theatre. Phantom was my favourite show, and the memories attached to it being my first show have made this really special for me. Then I got myself into singing and acting lessons and went to school for theatre. I guess I would be graduating this year, but I’m here.

What was the experience of doing the immersive version of Phantom — Masquerade — like?
Masquerade was so cool, and I encourage anybody who hasn’t seen it to somehow make a trip to New York to see it. I think it is one of the coolest theatre experiences out there right now. It was unlike anything else I’ve done. When we were developing it, we were this group of 40 actors recreating the story together. We could have changed anything. It then evolved into this polished piece of theatre that people see as a feat of technology. But it started with us being theatre kids, throwing things at the wall and doing whatever.

What’s it been like transitioning into the full version of The Phantom of the Opera?
It’s funny because while there are a lot of similarities, they are completely different entities, and the role of Christine is completely different in a way. Who I had created as a character [in Masquerade] and what I had in mind for her is essentially the same, but in Phantom she has more moments. In Masquerade, the entire experience is seen through the Phantom’s lens. A lot of Christine’s moments are tied to the Phantom and to how he views her. It’s been interesting now to divorce Christine from that point of view and put her into a show that is very much about her — her growth and her experience.

What are you learning from working with a West End cast?
I’m learning so much. That’s the joy of theatre to me: every show there’s something to learn. It’s not just doing a job; it’s being in school again. Watching the work ethic of everybody here has been really inspiring. It feels like everything is always fresh and new and we’re telling a story together. Everybody’s voices are so incredible. I feel like I’m just getting to watch everybody and think, “How are you making that sound come out of your mouth?”

What other roles are you looking forward to playing?
I feel crazy getting to say this, but my two dream roles growing up were always Clara in The Light in the Piazza and Christine in Phantom. The fact that I’ve gotten to do both of them already is kind of insane. Now it’s like standing at the top of a mountain and asking, “Where do I go from here?”. I would love to originate something. I’ve been fortunate to be in a few different workshops and get to put my stamp on something. As my confidence grows as a performer and a creator, I want to be able to have a say in what I want my characters to look like. And after this, I’m hopefully going to get a chance to explore Europe for a little bit, because I haven’t done any exploring yet!

Book The Phantom of the Opera tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

This article first appeared in the July 2026 issue of London Theatre Magazine.

Photo credit: Anna Zavelson. Inset: Anna with Jeff Kready in Masquerade. (Photo by Oscar Ouk)