Lloyd Webber's latest show

Cats, Evita, Starlight Express and Phantom Of The Opera are among the most successful musicals in theatrical history.

But this Saturday, Andrew Lloyd Webber will raise the curtain on his biggest blockbuster - the astonishing collection of art that has been his life's passion.

For the first time, the public will be able to see the array of masterpieces that Lord Lloyd-Webber described as "the only thing I really spend money on."

As he is worth an estimated £450 million, the 58-year-old composer's collection is considered one of the finest in private hands on the planet. Even the most cautious estimate would price it at £100 million.

In advance of tonight's private view and this Saturday's public opening at the Royal Academy, Lord Lloyd-Webber and his wife Madeleine made a private visit to inspect his collection in its new temporary home.

With about 300 paintings, pieces of sculpture, ceramics and other objects (including a piano) on show, the entire exhibition is spread out over 11 of the academy's galleries.

"It looks amazing," said Lord Lloyd-Webber. "This is exciting for me because I can see the whole lot together. Not all of the collection is normally at one place at one time."

The exhibition includes an £18 million Picasso and a £10 million Canaletto - both bought through his art foundation - as well as one of the finest pieces by Sir Joshua Reynolds. But the vast bulk of the personal collection concentrates on high Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite art. Lloyd Webber became obsessed with the period after making trips to the Tate museum when he was still a Westminster schoolboy.

Yesterday, he practically broke into a run as he buzzed around the empty Royal Academy, pointing out just a few of his favourites.

He paused under Burne-Jones's The Fall Of Lucifer and said: "This is extraordinary, look, it is almost two-dimensional Cubism." At The Orphan, a portrait of Kathleen Newton by James Jacques Joseph Tissot, he said: "She looks like the Angel of Death in autumn. This was a very controversial painting at the time because people thought she was going to commit suicide."