They say there is nothing new under the sun and perhaps that’s true however the aforementioned doesn’t change the fact that there are still many firsts to be accomplished. “The Phantom of the Opera” was a novel written by Gaston Leroux in the early 19th century. Since its publication the story has seen many incarnations in the form of films, a television mini-series and perhaps most famously as a Broadway musical. The story centers on a young soprano who unwittingly has become the target of obsession by a murderous, disfigured genius who lives beneath the Paris Opera House. In 2005 a film adaptation starring Gerard Butler (as the Phantom) and Emmy Rossum (as Christine) was released and that’s where South Florida singer Kyaunnee Richardson’s own obsession with The Phantom of the Opera begins.

Growing up in a family of gospel singers Kyaunnee was surrounded by music throughout her entire life, her parent’s love of the musical arts is where Kyaunnee as a child was first introduced to the haunting score of Phantom; by a cassette player being placed at the head of her bed. However it wasn’t until watching the 2005 film version with her school choir and when she and her dad went to see a performance at the The Broward Center for the Performing Arts (mind you during the threat of Hurricane Wilma) that the story of the phantom resonated deeply with her.

Kyaunnee could not have foreseen how those fateful days at the Broward Center and at the Muvico Theater (now a Cinemark) would change the course of her life and her professional career as a singer. After discovering she had the range to be an opera singer (as some young singers do by constantly being told their voice is too powerful or loud for the choir) she began to train in the hopes of pursuing a career as a professional opera singer and she has not looked back since. Performing for the South Florida Symphony Orchestra’s production of Porgy and Bess as Clara and most recently as Frasquita in Opera Orlando’s production of Carmen Kyaunnee has been working consistently ever since making the decision to pursue her passions. With all her success thus far and the immense love and appreciation for opera she’s grown to have throughout the years she has never forgotten her first real love, Phantom.

There isn’t a version of the story she’s not familiar with, she’s seen almost all of them; from the 1925 film version starring Lon Chaney to the more romanticized Broadway adaptation by Andrew Lloyd Webber. She owns several soundtracks and cast recordings and has sung along to and practiced the role of Christine in preparation for the day the opportunity would present itself where she would play her.

The thing that really struck her the most and the reason why the musical in particular has left such an indelible impression on her though, rests in particular with the Phantom himself (Erik). The isolation and the desire to be noticed by the one he loves and feeling there is no place for you in this world where you truly fit in are the core tenants in the character that really spoke to her. Growing up Kyaunnee felt like that weird kid who preferred practicing her music for hours on end alone in the choral rooms to hanging out with friends after school. At one point she felt like such an outcast that she stopped eating in the school cafeteria entirely and decided to focus all her attention on singing.

It isn’t until we find our tribe that we start to feel as if we are not alone in this world because there are others who share our same passions and that’s why discovering something you love to do always leads to finding people you will love. Until that day comes though we have the work of artists who share their own struggles through their stories that serve to inspire us to create our own works of art through our own shared gifts and talents. For Kyaunnee that such work was Phantom and as an opera singer it has been her dream to star in the musical adaptation on Broadway. In fact it was the musical that led to her discovery of opera and hence her love and passion for the art form. One of Kyaunnee’s lifelong dreams since seeing the 2004 film has been to play the role of Christine on Broadway and this is where the firsts comes in, by playing Christine Daaé on Broadway she would officially become the first African-American to portray the character.

In speaking with her about her passion for the show she stated that “playing the role of Christine on Broadway would be my way of saying thank you for inspiring me to discover my love and passion for opera and for setting me on this fateful path I’m on.” As the first African-American to play Christine on Broadway she would also be setting firsts in the same way as Dorothy Dandrige did in Carmen Jones as the first African-American actress to be nominated for an Oscar for a leading role or as Marian Anderson did by being the first African-American woman ever to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.

Perhaps there may be nothing new under the sun but there certainly is a first when it comes to the catacombs that lie beneath the Paris Opera House. Help us get the message to Broadway and the producers of The Phantom of the Opera that it’s time to feature an African-American Christine and that the singer/actress to play her is the immensely talented and ‘Phantom’ passionate Kyaunnee Richardson.

On a side note I also asked Kyaunnee should they revise the show to include a Soprano Phantom and a Baritone love interest would she be keen on playing the Phantom and her answer was an emphatic YES!