He has loved Russian music classics since childhood, said Sir Andrew.
As casting for a British production of "Cats" was on, twenty-five years ago, he had to see a thousand hopefuls. Britons had a public prejudice those days against their own actors-they were sure America alone could offer proper performers for musicals, who would equally excel in singing, dancing and drama acting. After long and trying selection, Sir Andrew found 24 excellent performers and so upset the bias.
Now, an equal number of Russian actors have proved top-notch. Sir Andrew expects his "Cats" to make musicals a full-fledged part of the Russian stage.
As a small boy, Andrew owed his love of Russian music to his father. He had his first sound record-a vinyl affair-made at the age of six, with renditions of pieces from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" and Prokofieff's "Love for Three Oranges". Prokofieff has been his favorite composer since then. He envies his idol for the children's opera, "Pete and the Wolf".
Sir Andrew's two cats, luxurious Blue Russians, bear the Christian names of Prokofieff and Shostakovich-Sergei and Dmitri.
Author of world-renowned musicals-suffice it to name "Jesus Christ Superstar", "The Phantom of the Opera", "The Woman in White" or the good old "Cats", Andrew Lloyd Weber joined the peerage in 1997.
