(LAFAYETTE, NJ) -- Skylands Museum of Art's acclaimed debut exhibition, The Phantom of the Opera, concluded on a high note on Saturday, May 3, 2025 when museum goers and guest of honor, French Surrealist painter Anne Bachelier, were wowed during two performances by Satomi Hofmann, Broadway cast member of The Phantom of the Opera who sang in tribute to Bachelier's imaginative illumination of the iconic tale written by Gaston Leroux at the museum's Artist’s Reception.
Surrounded by sculptures and paintings, Broadway’s Hofmann filled the Skylands Museum with song, concluding the highly praised The Phantom of the Opera exhibition with a flourish during the Artist’s Reception, which honored the captivating vision and talent of Bachelier, who created the paintings for her 2009 The Phantom of the Opera book.
Skylands Museum Founder Ailene Fields said, “Satomi’s voice filled our Sanctuary Gallery space, adding a glorious layer to our Phantom exhibition experience. It brought many to tears and was simply outstanding. Satomi’s Broadway talent concluded our first exhibition on a very high note!”
The day’s festivities centered around a meet and greet with Bachelier, a book signing during which she lavishly illustrated each book that she personally inscribed for visitors, plus a fundraising Silent Auction of the last known copies of special editions of her books, including The Phantom of the Opera, The Wizard of Oz, 13 Plus One by Edgar Allan Poe, Alice (in Wonderland), The Life (Bachelier’s biography) and The Princess of Wax.
The Silent Auction was highlighted by the addition of Bachelier’s oil painting created for the event, “Night of the Masks.” Having been so impressed with the dramatic richness of the Museum’s exhibition, Hofmann, who was a member of the cast when The Phantom of the Opera ended its record-breaking run on April 16, 2023 having played 3,642 performances in the roles of Carlotta Giudicelli, Madame Giry and The Confidante, donated two “Fondest Greetings” props used during her performances at the Majestic Theatre.
The grand finale was attended by art and music connoisseurs from the greater New York metropolitan region, including those arriving from New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Some were fans of the iconic The Phantom of the Opera stage performances, some were dedicated followers of great art at large, and some were seeking to learn more about the imaginative aspects of surreal and story-based art uniquely curated at the Skylands Museum. All enjoyed the day filled with the work of creative minds, whether it was expressed in stone, painting, drawing or in dramatic live performance.
“The Museum brings a wide range of story-telling in all its forms to our art community,” said Lisa Burghart, Director of Marketing and Outreach. “Bachelier re-tells classic tales in her singular voice using paints; Fields tells stories as she feels them in stone and bronze; and Hofmann brought the spirit of The Phantom alive in her dramatic song and gesture. It was magical!” added Burghart.
Bachelier was so pleased to see her works so beautifully curated throughout the museum that she decided to gift the Museum with six paintings from the exhibition, The Phantom with Fainted Christine, which was used as the promotional image for the exhibition. The remaining 20 have returned to France with the artist.
Future Skylands Museum events will include cultural experiences with poetry as it relates to artwork, the museum’s expanding sculpture gardens and the loan of work from the permanent collection to other important arts institutions. The non-profit museum is located at 15 Route 15 in Lafayette, NJ USA. The suggested entry donation of $10 per person supports the museum’s expanded hours and cultural programming. To learn more about The Skylands Museum of Art and future exhibitions and events, visit www.skylandsmuseum.org
Satomi Hofmann is a Broadway, television, film, and commercial actress. Credits include M Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin and Law & Order: Organized Crime. Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area, Satomi - who is half Japanese and half German - began her creative pursuits as a classically trained pianist, attending the renowned San Domenico School Virtuoso Program where she trained with classical greats Yehudi Menuhin and Leif Bjaland, among others. During this time, she discovered her additional passions for acting and singing. A few years after graduating from UCLA’s prestigious theater program, she landed the leading lady role opposite original Phantom of The Phantom of the Opera Michael Crawford, and later opposite the legendary David Cassidy, in the Las Vegas spectacular, EFX.
Phantom of the Opera painting by Anne Bachelier, presented to Broadway's Satomi Hofmann, center, with Ailene Fields, founder Skylands Museum on May 3, 2025
Her acting work eventually let her east where she joined the Broadway cast of The Phantom of the Opera, bringing her full circle to the boards Mr. Crawford had graced so many years before. Satomi was a member of the cast when The Phantom of the Opera ended its record-breaking run on April 16, 2023 having played 3,642 performances in the roles of Carlotta Giudicelli, Madame Giry and The Confidante. She continues to bring The Phantom of the Opera to life on tour with No More Talk of Darkness, a concert celebration of Broadway music with fellow Phantom alum (having played the Phantom himself) Jeremy Stolle.
Satomi stars in the short film, The Fast Track Program, for which she was nominated for Best Actress in a Short Film at the 2024 Garden State Film Festival, the 2024 Golden Door Film Festival. And the 2024 Newark Film Festival. She also stars in the upcoming feature film Death on the Brandywine, premiering in May at the Cannes Film Festival. Satomi has been featured in numerous television hits, including Mare of Easttown (HBO MAX), Servant (Apple TV), and FBI: Most Wanted (CBS). She has also appeared in commercials for Bank of America, Smartwater, and Blue Cross Blue Shield, among others. She is a longtime member of Broadway Hearts, a charity that brings interactive music experiences to children and their families in children’s hospitals across the country.
Anne Bachelier is a contemporary French artist and illustrator known for her surreal and fantastical paintings and detailed painting style. Her art frequently centers around classic tales, literature and mythology. Born in Louvigne du Desert, France in 1949, Anne studied and received her degree from the Ecole des Beaux Arts, La Seyne-Sur-Mer between 1966 and 1970. Her work is characterized by a unique blend of dreamlike imagery and detailed brushwork. The artist captivates her audience with compelling, highly imaginative images that are distinct, unique, inventive and immediately recognizable, which evoke feelings simultaneously powerful, peaceful, and protective. This unique otherworldliness, untouched by time or place, engages the viewer in the eternal dance of transformation and regeneration. Bachelier’s 2005 version of Alice in Wonderland has been called the only Alice where the illustrator has enhanced the story. The art of Anne Bachelier is exhibited in museums and private collections throughout Europe and North America and is on permanent exhibition in New York City, New Jersey and New Orleans. Galleries representing her work include Hôtel de Saulx Gallery in Beaune, France and Galerie Vent des Cimes in Grenoble, France as well as Imagine Gallery in England. Anne Bachelier currently lives and works near Grenoble, France.
The Skylands Museum of Art opened in October 2023 and has been gaining recognition as an important venue for American and international 20th and 21st century art focusing on realism and modern surrealism. Complete with a sculpture garden, the museum is a delightful sanctuary where art, nature, mythology and humanity harmonize. The Skylands Museum of Art is home to a permanent collection of over 300 works of sculpture, paintings, illustrations and more. The collection depicts characters both real and imagined from fairy tales, literature, myth and from the artists’ deep personal connections with the world around them.
The gallery rooms are filled with thoughtfully curated examples of approachable surreal and realistic works exploring Fairy Tales, Dragons, Sacred Spaces, the Human Psyche, Faces and Flowers, Baba Yaga (a Ukrainian fairy tale), Eastern vs. Western Animals and Mythology. The museum’s three floors are home to works by noted artists including Anne Bachelier, Brian Branch, Salvador Dali, Ailene Fields, Brian Froud, Leonor Fini, Pablo Picasso, Massimo Rao and many more.
The Skylands Museum of Art is a 501(c)(3) organization, a proud member of ArtPride New Jersey, New Jersey Association of Museums, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council and the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce. The museum is supported in part through the generosity members and visitors whose donations have contributed to their expanded hours and programming. Skylands Museum is a first-time grant recipient, meriting funding made available in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through the State/County Partnership Block Grant Program, as administered by Sussex County Arts and Heritage Council. The Skylands Museum of Art is open to the public each Friday and Saturday from 12:00pm - 4:00pm and is located at 15 Route 15, Lafayette, NJ 07848, USA. A $10 per person donation to support the museum is suggested.
photos courtesy of Skylands Museum of Art
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