What made this Andrew Lloyd Webber musical such a smash hit?<\/p>
The probable answer is that a whole host of crucially important factors, each brilliant in their own right, converged to create an iconic piece of musical theatre that has captured the imaginations of millions.<\/p>\n
The music, the lyrics, the costume and set design, the plot and theme, and the quality of the three leads left audiences enthralled.<\/p>
Caught between obession and love?<\/h3>\n
It\u2019s impossible to briefly summarise its central themes, but we\u2019ll make an awkward attempt.<\/p>\n
The Phantom<\/em> is set in the Paris Op\u00e9ra House in 1881, and its heroine, Christine, is caught between the pull of two opposite forces.<\/p>\n The first, dark and mysterious, is embodied by the Phantom. He has tutored Christine in her vocal performances whilst never revealing himself to her in person.<\/p>\n She calls him her \u201cAngel of Music\u201d. In one of the musical\u2019s most popular songs, \u201cMusic of the Night\u201d, the Phantom implores Christine:<\/p>\n Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour<\/p>\n Grasp it, sense it…<\/p>\n Turn your face away from the garish light of day<\/p>\n Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light…<\/p>\n And listen to the music of the night<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The second force is embodied in Raoul, a childhood friend who has recently become the patron of the Op\u00e9ra in which she stars.<\/p>\n He falls in love with Christine, and she falls in love with him – despite the magnetism of the Phantom.<\/p>\n Raoul is the figure who pulls our star towards the light, and in \u201cAll I ask of You\u201d, he promises to save her from the night:<\/p>\n No more talk of darkness…<\/p>\n Let daylight dry your tears…<\/p>\n Let me be your shelter<\/p>\n Let me be your light<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This contrast, constituting just one central theme in the musical, explores the conflict between the dark and unrestrained passions of obession, seduction, jealously and revenge on the one hand; and the promise of a less possessive, more tempered and, conceivably, more enduring type of love on the other.<\/p>\n In the song, \u201cThe Phantom of the Opera\u201d, here sung by Nicole Scherzinger, Christine meets the Phantom in person for the first time, and he takes her down into his lair beneath the Op\u00e9ra House.<\/p>\n It is here that she is spellbound by the allure of her mysterious \u201cAngel of Music\u201d, and it is with this song that the battle for her love (and soul?) begins.<\/p>\n It would be unfair to compare Scherzinger with a Sarah Brightman or Sierra Boggess, but her performance here is certainly deserving of praise and merit (she achieves something very, very<\/em> few can).<\/p>\n And, of course, her Phantoms are simply spectacular.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/albertonrecord.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2019\/05\/Capture-9.jpg\")
My power over you grows stronger yet<\/h3>\n