THE HIT musical Sunset Boulevard and the British actor Ralph Fiennes picked up a string of Broadway's Tony awards in New York yesterday.

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical won seven awards, more than any other show, including one for best musical. Glenn Close, who plays its heroine Norma Desmond, was named best actress in a musical.

It is the fourth time that Sir Andrew's musicals have swept the board at the ceremony. Remarkably, Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Evita also all won seven awards in 1988, 1981 and 1980 respectively.

Sir Andrew said yesterday: "I am absolutely delighted with the awards. It's much more than we had hoped for. Obviously, the production is very much a team effort and everybody is thrilled."

For Fiennes, currently playing Hamlet, last night's Tony was some consolation after he missed winning the Oscar for which he was tipped for his performance in the film Schindler's List. The 32-year-old actor first interpreted Hamlet at the Hackney Empire, north London, in March, and it opened on Broadway last month to rave reviews. At yesterday's ceremony, Fiennes paid particular tribute to the production's director, Jonathan Kent.

Fiennes continues as Hamlet in New York until the end of July, when he begins work on his next film, The English Patient, in Italy.

Sunset Boulevard, adapted from a 1950s Hollywood film starring Gloria Swanson, is the tale of an ageing film star and her young lover. The show ran into controversy when Faye Dunaway left the Los Angeles production in rehearsal, apparently because her singing was not good enough. But with Glenn Close in the leading role, the musical has been hugely popular on Broadway.

The American actor George Hearn, who plays Miss Desmond's adoring butler, was named best featured actor in a musical. The show also took Tonys for its score, book-of-the-musical, set design by John Napier and lighting by Andrew Bridge.

Capitalising on its success in London and New York, Sunset Boulevard opens in Germany this December and then goes to Canada and Australia. Several other British productions received nominations for awards. The National Theatre had 10, for Arcadia and Indiscretions and the actress Helen Mirren was nominated for her role in A Month in the Country.

One of the few musical awards not to go to Sir Andrew's show, the best director accolade, went instead to Hal Prince, who directed another epic production, Show Boat.

The ceremony, held appropriately enough on the lavish Sunset Boulevard set at the Minskoff Theatre, also included the lifetime achievement award, which went to Carol Channing, the veteran actress.