“Phantom Of The Opera” has been performed many times over the years, but you’ve never heard it quite like the rock ‘n’ roll treatment Nightwish singer Floor Jansen gave it. The rockstar soprano performed the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic on the Dutch television show Beste Zangers with Dutch musical leading man Henk Poort. The pair showed off some ridiculous vocal firepower on the classic number, as well as an intense chemistry that made the performance a must-watch.
The Beste Zangers band turned it up to 11 for the song, giving it a dramatic power metal arrangement. Jansen and Poort absolutely went to town on the song, with both singers being total beasts on the mic, and using their acting skills to make it seem like you were watching the most rockin’ musical ever. The contrast of Jansen’s sweet soprano and Poort’s monstrous baritone really made it seem like the song was written just for them.
The duet attracted 24 million views, making it the second most popular performance in the history of the long-running reality show, Beste Zangers. Fans loved to hear what Jansen and Poort laid down on the song, adding comments such as “The voices, the music, the chemistry, and the audience reaction make this the best performance on this show ever” and “OK, everybody is talking about how awesome the singing was but man, the expressions between the two! They completely sold me on the storytelling.”
Jansen and Poort have made a number of appearances on the show, with several of them hitting multi-million view counts. Another popular Beste Zangers performance from Jansen was her take on Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s ballad “Shallow”, which really showed off the rock frontwoman’s range and versatility as a singer.
The viral success of Jansen’s duet with Poort on “Phantom Of The Opera” inspired her band members. After seeing the reaction to the duet on Beste Zangers, Nightwish decided to bring the song back into their set for the first time in 17 years. As a result, the Finnish symphonic metal six-piece performed “Phantom Of The Opera” at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Holland on November 27, 2022. The group invited Poort to reprise his hit duet with Jansen at the show, which was captured for a DVD release. The band played the song as the second-to-last song in their setlist on the night.