This Friday, legions of fans of The Phantom of the Opera will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the classic show.

The Phantom of the Opera, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, played its West End opening night on 9 October 1986, making it the third longest-running West End show behind The Mousetrap and Les Misérables.

With a sweeping score and timeless tragic story, the show has captivated fans across the globe, but perhaps none more so than Peter Cavanna, who has seen Phantom over 160 times, flown to Athens for the show and written hundreds of seat reviews on SeatPlan for His Majesty's Theatre.

In honour of the 40th anniversary, Peter revealed his own personal history with The Phantom of the Opera, which is itself a love story fit for the stage.

With Peter and Phantom, it was love at first listen. After sending away for a cast recording, Peter said, "I wore out my double cassette of the cast recording and I had imagined it in my mind long before I ever saw it.

"Still, to this day, if I hear the score, I might be more likely to go back to what I imagined it looked like than to what it actually does look like on the London stage."

After hearing the love story of The Phantom of the Opera, Peter decided to try and write his own love story: "During my first few visits, I optimistically booked two seats, hoping that I might find a date. The date never appeared, but it didn’t matter. I only had eyes for what was happening onstage."

While Peter may not have found romantic love during his first few trips to see The Phantom of the Opera, he did find something else irreplaceable: community. It's no secret that musical theatre breeds obsessive fan bases, which allow passionate people to connect with others over their shared interests.

This was very much the case for Peter, who said, "Phantom didn’t bring me the date I hoped for, but it introduced me to a community of ‘Phans’ who meet online and in person.

"It creates an eclectic group, so it’s not people who are necessarily my age, my gender, my religion, my viewpoint. They’re all different, but Phantom brings them together.’ The community gives people somewhere they can express their enthusiasm."

"My love for it is now woven into my friendships and memories."

While forming close bonds with his new "Phamily", Peter also found himself falling in deeper in love with the musical itself, specifically with the London production at His Majesty's Theatre. He says, "The London production embraces the Victorian stagecraft of that particular theatre. So trap doors and special effects and magic mirrors and pyrotechnics. I think the London production- you can't really better that. That is its home."

This Victorian stage craft is part of what drew Peter to the musical in the first place.: "I like melodrama- things that are not quite realistic, the old Victorian style theatre which is not supposed to be real. It's supposed to be fantasy, people behave slightly larger than life. Because I like melodrama, it hits me in all the right places. I think that's probably what got me hooked on it."

While many of us have had obsessions with a piece of art, be that a musical, film or book, some may struggle to understand how the same musical can still feel fresh and exciting after seeing it 160 times. However, according to Peter "every performance feels different. A new actor, reaction or delivery can transform a familiar scene. I know exactly where the story is heading, but the best performances can still make me briefly forget everything I know."

This was especially true for Tim Howar's performance, who Peter described as the one actor that made him doubt the ending of the musical, despite having seen it hundreds of times. "His Phantom was so ‘dangerous’ that I briefly believed the story might end differently. ‘For one moment, I really believed that the story would be changed. That’s a phenomenal thing for an actor to do. His performance made such an impression on me that I flew to Athens to see him again."

Peter's story is a clear example of just how much a piece of musical theatre, or any piece of art, can impact a person's life.

"It is very much a blessing to have found something in life that you really like. I'm very aware of how blessed I am, that I found something that I like and I can go and enjoy it again and again."

As a musical that boasts such spectacular special effects, where you choose to sit can really make a difference to your Phantom experience. As with most shows, the middle of the stalls or the front of the Royal Circle tend to be the best seats for the combination of special effects and ability to see intricate acting details, however these also tend to be the most expensive.

When it comes to seating at The Phantom of the Opera, Peter gives the following advice: "My personal favourite is the front row of the stalls, for every acting detail, but first-timers should choose the Royal Circle for the full spectacle."

Regardless of where you sit, you're sure to be captured by the magic of Phantom, a musical which emphasises heightened emotions, dramatic storytelling and an epic story of love and loss.

Peter's advice for first-time Phantom viewers? "Allow yourself to become completely absorbed in it. It’s just an extraordinary experience in London that you’ll simply never forget.

"One of the lines in Act 2 is 'let the spectacle astound you' and that’s what The Phantom of the Opera has been doing for 40 years."

For more things Phantom, check out our list of 40 facts about The Phantom of the Opera.