So producing the Canberra premiere is a huge undertaking for the ACT's Free-Rain Theatre Company and its artistic director, Anne Somes.

''We needed to think big,'' she says.

''I'm not afraid of a challenge - this is probably the biggest one I've ever faced.''

The budget for the pro-am production is high - ''quite a few six figures'', Somes says - and there's a cast of 42. Most are Canberra actors but it is headed by Michael Cormick - who played Raoul in the London production for 2½ years - as the Phantom and Julie Lea Goodwin as Christine, the role in which she made her professional debut six years ago. The 27-piece orchestra will be conducted by Ian McLean and the production is being directed by David Harmon whose credits including being resident director on Opera Australia's production of A Little Night Music. Harmon hadn't seen the show - ''I knew there was a chandelier involved,'' he says - but believes his approach will be untainted by preconceived notions while still ensuring the production appeals to those seeing their first Phantom or their 40th.

As with any production, a lot of the work goes on well before it opens. Head of design, Cate Clelland, and costume co-ordinator, Fiona Leach, have been busy for months, leading dedicated teams of set builders, designers, costume makers and other workers.

Clelland was teaching in Papua New Guinea when she made her directorial and costume design debut and for a production of Trial by Jury.

''I could sew,'' she says - her mother was a dressmaker and her family owned a soft-furnishing business.

The stage bug bit hard and back in Australia in 1984 she undertook a degree in theatre and in 1988 came to Canberra, where she has lectured at the Australian National Theatre and directed and designed costumes for many productions.

The set for Phantom, she says, is ''conceptually very simple'' with a significant feature being two staircases. She's using the fly tower to bring in backdrops for the mini-operas and wants to give the production a 19th-century atmosphere with the Paris Opera dominated by the mysterious Phantom, even when he's not on stage.

''The Phantom is a magician, he knows all the tricks,'' she says. And speaking of tricks, there are plenty of them in the show - including fog, snow, pyrotechnics, a trick mirror and a moving boat. The last two large props, among others, are being rented from Miranda Musical Society in Sydney, which is putting on its own Phantom later in the year.

Leach began helping out in theatre in 2000 when one of her children was cast in a production of Oliver!

''They asked would I help with costumes,'' she says. ''I wasn't sure I could and they asked, 'Can you sew a straight line?' Yes, I could.''

Since then she's worked backstage on nearly 50 shows. Phantom is one of the biggest.

''Normally I use my car to move the costumes. This time, they've got a truck coming in.''

With a large cast and three mini-operas within the show, it isn't surprising that more than 200 costumes will be needed and they've been sourced from a wide range of locations. Some have been bought - the men's suits are from Spurling in Belconnen - some found in op shops (including a Duntroon uniform that has been decorated with braid) or via the internet, still others borrowed from private collections including their own. There's a story behind many of them - a gold and black number came from the State Opera of South Australia's production of the opera Julius Caesar, for example. But three-quarters of the costumes have been made for this production by the 12 people - 11 women and one man - on the sewing team.

Leach is designing and making many of the costumes including the Masquerade sequence which features lots of purple, red, gold and black.

Adellene Fitzsimmons, 17, is the youngest member of the team - and the least experienced.

''I couldn't sew to save myself,'' the year 11 Radford College student says.

''They had me cutting out patterns and sewing bones on skeleton costumes.''

But within days she she had picked up skills and says she's having a lot of fun doing this as well as helping paint the sets and performing in the show's opera chorus. Despite a severe aversion to velvet, she also modelled some of the outfits for our photographer.

Among them is a satin dress Clelland made for a production of The Taming of the Shrew with detachable pieces on the chest and sleeve (Petruchio ripped them off during a speech). They're attached with the decidedly non-period Velcro, but as she says, it only matters how things look on stage.

Then there are the accessories. Fourteen wigs have been ordered from Lacey Costume Wigs in New York but some items have been sourced closer to home - and much more cheaply.

Clelland says, ''The $2 shops have the best collection of masks at the moment.''

The costume jewellery has been lent by the male sewer, Wayne Crossley, who has built up the collection of rings, necklaces and other items over two decades and wears it when performing in his drag alter ego, Misty Meanor. The most expensive item is a Swarovski crystal mask in the shape of a butterfly worth $600.

And there's a lot more involved in bringing The Phantom of the Opera to the stage - the make-up beneath the Phantom's mask, for example, and, of course, the chandelier. But the creators want to keep some of their secrets for audiences to discover in the theatre.

■ The Phantom of the Opera is on at the Canberra Theatre from August 9 to 22. Tickets $42.40-$81.75. Bookings: 6275 2700 or via the Canberra Theatre website