All I Ask of You

“All I Ask of You” is a song from the 1986 English musical The Phantom of the Opera, between characters Christine Daaé and Raoul, originally played on stage by Sarah Brightman and Steve Barton, respectively. It was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and solely produced by Lloyd Webber. An operatic pop piece, its lyrics serve as dialogue between the two characters and discuss themes such as commitment and romance. Like Lloyd Webber’s song “The Music of the Night”, “All I Ask of You” was compared to the music found in Giacomo Puccini’s 1910 opera La fanciulla del West.
Critically, the song has generally been regarded as one of the finest cuts made for The Phantom of the Opera. It was released as a single by Polydor Records on 26 September 1986 on 7-inch and 12-inch, performed by Brightman and Cliff Richard. The song achieved commercial success in several territories, including in Ireland and South Africa, where it topped the charts and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number three. It was later certified Silver in the latter country for shipments of 250,000 copies. “All I Ask of You” has been covered by multiple artists, including The Shadows, Lloyd Webber’s brother Julian, Elaine Paige, and Jackie Evancho. Susan Boyle and Donny Osmond, Josh Groban and Kelly Clarkson, and Marina Prior and Mark Vincent have also continued with duet versions of the song. A notable cover of “All I Ask of You” was recorded by Barbra Streisand for her studio album Till I Loved You (1988). It was released as the record’s second single on 15 December 1988 by Columbia Records. It was generally noted as a standout track on Till I Loved You and was commercially successful, entering the charts in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and on the United States’ Adult “All I Ask of You” was written and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, while Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe provided the lyrics for the track. It was created specifically for the 1986 English musical The Phantom of the Opera, which was developed by Lloyd Webber and served as a live adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel of the same name. It is performed by characters Christine Daaé and Raoul, where the former protests and asks for love of the latter. The song appears towards the end of Act I, immediately after it is revealed that the two characters “have met again and felt a sexual attraction”.The single version of “All I Ask of You” is performed by Cliff Richard and Sarah Brightman, although Richard’s vocals are replaced by Steve Barton’s during the musical production and its accompanying inclusion on the live album. In the early 2000s, Lloyd Webber was sued by the estate of Giacomo Puccini for similarities between the former’s song “The Music of the Night” (1986), also from The Phantom of the Opera, and a melody titled “Quello che tacete” which was used in Puccini’s 1910 opera La fanciulla del West. The matter was settled out of court between the two parties soon after the lawsuit was revealed. However, author John Snelson, who wrote a biography on Lloyd Webber in 2009, further compared “All I Ask of You” to the same aforementioned melody, citing similar “motivic connections” and “operatic and emotional cross-references” as his evidence. Polydor, an English-based record label, first released “All I Ask of You” as a single on 26 September 1986. It was distributed in several formats. The 7-inch single features the track plus B-side “The Phantom of the Opera Overture (Act II)”, which is performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The 12-inch version features the same two aforementioned songs, but it includes a second B-side “Only You”, which was featured in Lloyd Webber’s 1984 musical Starlight Express. Along with its placement as the 13th track on the album for The Phantom of the Opera, a reprise of “All I Ask of You” follows on the track listing. During the reprise, lead character the Phantom, voiced by Michael Crawford, provides vocals. esides the accompanying live album to the musical, Richard and Brightman’s version of “All I Ask of You” was not featured on any compilation album or greatest hits album until Richard released Private Collection: 1979–1988 in November 1988. Brightman did not include “All I Ask of You” on any albums either until her compilation titled The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection was released in the United States in 1997.