It's [Not] Over, The Phantom of the Opera!
My love story of the love story and beyond
Prologue
A highlight of this month is New York City’s Broadway Week, which offers sweet buy-one-ticket-get-one-free deals for a number of Broadway shows. Because Phantom of the Opera was the first show to kick off this year’s Broadway Week, Mayor Eric Adams made a special appearance on the evening we went — Labour Day. The core of his short pre-show speech could be summed up his “one simple request” that the Mayor made to the audience: “spend money.”
Like most audience members, we cracked up at the Mayor’s light-hearted remarks and enjoyed the performance. For me, it was the second time I watched Phantom on Broadway this summer alone, my fourth overall Phantom experience on Broadway, and my fifth live Phantom experience overall (counting one in London that I watched as a child).
Little did we know that a mere 11 days later, it was announced that Broadway’s longest-running show will be closing on February 18, shortly after it celebrates its 35th anniversary. Only 5 months until we bid adieu to this much-beloved show that’s arguably been the most cherished hallmark of Broadway? I exclaimed in disbelief upon seeing the news. Friends who are familiar with my diehard Phan-dom texted me, sharing my sentiments as soon as they read the news.
Phantom and Me
I became a Phantom fan when I was around 10 or 11 years old, when I attend my first Sarah Brightman concert. From memory (pun intended), her closing song was the theme song from Phantom of the Opera. It was my first time hearing it, and I was instantly mesmerised by the unforgettable lyrics and melody. There was just something unique about that duet that stood out from all of Sarah Brightman’s other beautifully-performed songs. The intensity of the singers’ emotions as seen on their faces and as heard in their voices, the flawless musical composition throughout, the other-worldly quality, the high-pitched “aaaa’s” that sounded almost like (artistic) screams in the end as the male singer demanded Sarah to “sing for [him]”... Wow! It was mind-blowing. I had to ask my parents about that song, and soon started watching the movie starring Emmy Rossum and recorded versions of the musical. I knew I had to see it in London and New York, and over the years, my dream came true.
In between the years, my love of the love story that Phantom of the Opera portrays grew increasingly. I remember clearly that around 6th grade, when I climbed up and down the staircases at school, my mind was echoing with the Phantom melodies. The enjoyable yet somewhat mundane everyday life of elementary school seemed awfully childish in comparison to Phantom’s musical genius and perfectionism and the complicated romantic relationships among the characters. Around 7th grade, I hosted a school-wide broadcast where I broke down each memorable scene in the musical. In every karaoke session with friends and family, I seemed to always choose the theme song Phantom of the Opera as my opening song despite how demanding it is to sing the song — no matter how much I worked on it, my high notes still felt a bit contrived at times, and I was sometimes out of breath during long, passionate verses I attempted.
At Harvard Law School, I was overjoyed to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s name on Professor Christopher Bavitz’s syllabus. Although Lloyd Webber is in the syllabus as the defendant of a lawsuit we covered in the course (Repp v. Webber), I was still more than grateful to hear Prof. Bavitz’s expert analysis and my classmates’ lively discussion of the case and beyond.
Once I moved to Manhattan post-law school graduation, I have loved how close my office is to the Majestic Theatre — not that I would usually have time after work, of course, nor really the budget. It was more of an aspiration; a symbol, almost, of seeing the Theatre so close to the centre of my life in the Big Apple.
Of course, as I grew up, I increasingly saw problematic elements of Phantom. This article is not intended to downplay the problematic sides of the musical. From a feminist angle, there are lots of cringe-worthy moments. In some sense, the protagonist Christine always followed men, even in her path to accomplish her own musical ambitions — her father, the Phantom/Angel of Music, and her fiancé Raoul. In various parts of the musical, book, and movie alike, the Phantom of the Opera essentially kidnaps her. The Phantom, who is many years older than Christine, fools the naive young girl into believing that he is the Angel of Music that her father promised her. It is left somewhat ambiguous whether he takes advantage of her sexually — we know that the two have produced a child based on the sequel Love Never Dies (though implied as the product of the duo’s passionate consensual sex once upon a moonless night based on their duet in the sequel). Meanwhile, in the Music of the Night choreography sequence, we see sensual movements with Phantom’s hand circling suspiciously around Christine’s bosom. Although usually, he does not seem to touch her breasts explicitly, the audience might find themselves holding their breath as they watch the performance.
The alternative love interest, Christine’s childhood sweetheart Raoul, initially really impressed me with his romantic vows. As I became more mature, though, I find the lyrics very un-feministic as well, e.g. All I Ask of You centers how Raoul provides Christine with a safe shelter; Raoul both guides and guards Christine. There is a presumption that Christine cannot do so herself without a man, which might be somewhat true during that historical period, but it’s somewhat disappointing that all Christine asks of Raoul is for him to essentially “hold me and hide me.” That’s sort of a low bar by modern standards? There is a focus on the notion of freedom in the song, but that freedom ostensibly refers to freedom from being manipulated and used by Phantom. There’s not much mention of asking Raoul to support her artistic endeavours — the sense I get is that after Christine marries the young and charming Viscount, she might give up her musical career to focus on being a good wife to him, but I could be wrong.
Despite these criticisms of Phantom, people have continuously loved Phantom even after so many years, across generations. I’ve always been intrigued by its huge success and popularity. For instance, the young child sitting next to me during the performance this summer was totally mesmerised by the musical despite the complexity and darkness of the themes. During the Entr’acte and after the show, I heard that little boy enthusiastically chatting with his parents about how much he loved the musical. I was over the moon, seeing the same kind of fascination that I once had as a little child myself next to me.
Although not at all even close to being an expert in music, I can tell in each performance which pronunciations of certain words/syllables and which rhythmic beats differ from the original version — my love of the show has led me to observe every detail.
So what exactly is so likable about Phantom? Here are some aspects I personally love every time I watch it.
Needless to say, the chandelier’s performance at the very start is just jaw-hopping. As the overture starts, my heart would always excitedly start beating hard and fast as my eyes avidly follow the chandelier’s every movement upward, no matter how many times I have heard the music. It’s so visually striking and has become part of my soul over the years, dare I say. I like how Lloyd Webber added the auction scene at the start that is not in the novel (see page 436 of his memoir — details in my “Suggested Readings” section below) — that provides a dramatic flashback effect simultaneously as the cast restores the chandelier to its place during the opera house’s glory days. And it sets the mood.
The lyrics are just so beautiful and poetic. I think Phantom’s lyrics probably contributed to my literary love from a young age.
The musical is often touching and, at the very least, emotionally-grabbing: I cried during more than one performances, despite my preexisting familiarity with the plot. Fundamentally, the play is about the growth of a young orphaned girl in pursuit of her musical dreams. Even more fundamentally, it’s about the Phantom’s unrequited love for the girl. For example, the devastated Phantom’s solo after All I Ask of You forms a sharp contrast from the young lovebirds’ sweet song; even though we know he has committed crimes as severe as murder, the Phantom often wins at least some of our sympathy. His face makes him lose by default. As another illustration, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again is just hauntingly beautiful and profoundly sorrowful, complete with the setting and on-point lyrics. It gives me goosebumps no matter how many times I’ve heard it. Andrew Lloyd Webber, in his memoir, admitted that he cried at his own music during the sexual tension-filled The Point of No Return, when the angelic Christine unmasked the pathetic Phantom with the hideous face.
More below, in the analysis section.
A Few Thoughts on Phantom the Musical
For art aficionados and perfectionists at heart, a key theme is perfectionism in the arts. It’s a musical about music and those in the industry — very meta in that sense. To the leisurely audience, watching a musical or an opera or a ballet might just be a casual pastime. To the performers and those serious about the arts, it is a great pursuit involving years of hard work and perseverance.
Love vs lust: when researching for this article, I came across this piece: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/love-vs-lust-an-analysis-of-the-musical-the-phantom-of-the-opera. To summarise, that article essentially argues that Christine’s feeling towards the Phantom is lust, and her feeling towards Raoul is love. I politely disagree. I personally see Christine’s feeling towards Phantom as initially respect — he is a father figure and a “tutor” who trains her to sing progressively more skillfully with his experience. She of course gets mesmerised by his voice, just as he is by her voice, but I believe that the two’s feelings towards each other are based on my point on perfectionism in the arts, although one could argue that Phantom has lust for Christine’s youthful innocence and beauty, especially as someone who has lived in solitary confinement for decades without experiencing love or any form of affection. As to Raoul, it does appear that Christine’s feelings for him seem to be based on their shared childhood history and Christine’s trust in Raoul as her protector (even though she calls Phantom/Angel of Music her “guard and guardian”). Can it be lust? Maybe, as Raoul is portrayed as a the young, charming, wealthy suitor, unlike the physically deformed Phantom whose face alone has scared Christine.
Curiosity is also a big theme of the musical. Christine is young and curious, which has led her to unmask Phantom. Meg’s curiosity has led her to find the Phantom’s mask at the end of the show. Growth is a theme that goes along it.
As a lawyer interested in criminal law, I’m also keen to point out that crime, especially murder, is also a key feature of the play. There’s even a line in the Masquerade song where Raoul sings to Christine “it’s an engagement, not a crime” in a somewhat comedic fashion.
There are conflicts between career and romance (e.g. in the book, Christine is prohibited from dating by the Angel of Music). This kind of parallels my elitism vs. romance analysis in my previous articles:
One of my personal favorites is the parallel between Christine and the Angel of Music/Phantom’s relationship with Sarah Brightman and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s relationship. Like Sarah Brightman, the muse to composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, Christine inspired Phantom to write songs and even the entire new opera based on her voice. All of the four are dedicated to perfecting their arts and music. More complicated in real life, perhaps, is that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Brightman were both married when they met and fell in love. Sarah B became Lloyd Webber’s mistress for some time before their secret marriage (for Andrew, it involved divorcing his first wife, also named Sarah, uncannily perhaps; even more interesting is that Sarah B went on to marry a different Andrew after divorcing Lloyd Webber). Lloyd Webber even admits so in his own memoir. The closest, but obviously more dramatised, parallel in the musical involving some marriage-related complications is perhaps Phantom’s demand for Christine to marry him even though she was already engaged to Raoul, and his evil demand of making her choose between marrying him to spare Raoul's life and not marrying him but having Phantom kill Raoul in front of her eyes — a really twisted ask, in my view, as it essentially tests how much Christine loves Raoul. Sadly, Sarah B cheated with someone none other than the original keyboard player in Phantom the musical, and Sarah B and Lloyd Webber ultimately ended their marriage. Even so, the two seem to be on amiable terms with each other, e.g. the duo’s interview that I link in one of the last sections of this article.
Madame Giry is always dressed in an austere black costume and seldom shows any facial expressions. She is deeply mysterious and seems to know an awful lot about Phantom. I wonder if she might be a former lover of Phantom, as some reviews/articles suggest? She seems to defend and trust Phantom and has secret channels to communicate with him, and she always asks everyone at the Opera House to obey Phantom. That’s rather curious. We might further ask: would Christine become like Madame Giry if she stayed with Phantom?
A character who seems under-analysed in most articles is Christine’s best friend and Madame Giry’s daughter, the ballet girl Meg. She is portrayed as sweet and innocent and loyal to Christine, and the actress portraying her is consistently blonde and shorter than Christine in height. Her most memorable outfit is ballet dress when she sings Angel of Music with Christine. When I initially watched Phantom, I kept wondering if Meg might one day get jealous of the special girl Christine. Not to spoil the sequel too much, but in Love Never Dies, it’s sad that Meg has grown into a pretty different person from that sweet little girl in Phantom.
Is Raoul likable or not? I was initially charmed and touched by his first appearance during Think of Me and Little Lotte. I felt sad for him when Christine said “things have changed!” regarding Phantom shortly after Raoul left her room to change. He seems overall very earnest and in love during All I Ask of You. However, Raoul is portrayed as very jealous and possessive in the book and in Love Never Dies.
When the curtain closes at the end of the show, I like watching the trio (Christine, Phantom, and Raoul) getting along happily, hand in hand. Maybe in an alternate universe, the three could become besties. But that’s just a daydream. Lol.
Phantom loves Christine’s voice; Christine loves Phantom’s voice. Raoul, on the other hand, loves Christine’s face/body more in my view, even though Phantom thought Raoul was bound to be spellbound by Christine because of her voice upon hearing her sing.
Epilogue
Phantom will remain in the West End, albeit with a much smaller orchestra than before. It’s saddening, to say the least, that in a few months time, I can no longer expect to spontaneously see Phantom on my way home from work. The artistic world of Phantom has inspired so many people and has let our musical soul take us where we long to be. The Phantom himself would sing that strange duet once again with Christine, and would sing “it’s over, the music of the night” tragically before disappearing mysteriously into the dramatic darkness.
It will be the end of an era.
Suggested Reading:
Unmasked: A Memoir by Andrew Lloyd Webber himself — Quite an eye-opening book in my view. Given the direct allusion to Phantom of the Opera in the book’s title and the author’s identity, I was very eager to read this autobiography. I especially appreciated reading about Lloyd Webber’s own love stories with the two Sarahs of his life. The part about his pre-Oxford and Oxford interview days early on in the book was interesting too; I won’t spoil much here, but there was something about a cat there. The latter chapters involve detailed descriptions of his process of creating the Phantom musical, e.g. his mental sketches of changes he wanted to make to the original novel (I recommend pages 338-40 in particular), the rough ideas for the songs for each of the crucial scenes, his character portrayal, and beyond. There are also chapters on his other musicals, e.g. Cats and Evita.
The original novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra (The Phantom of the Opera) by Gaston Leroux — I confess that although I’ve been a fan of the musical for years, I only recently skimmed the novel. “Skimmed” as for some reason, I was not as into the novel as the musical or the movie version of the musical (Andrew Lloyd Webber himself called it a “confused book” — it’s unclear if it’s a love story or detective story or some kind of thriller or history, and Lloyd Webber chose to focus on the romance aspects in the musical), but still really worth reading, especially if you are keen to find out the differences between the book and the musical.
The Complete Phantom of the Opera — A pretty good source that includes an overview of the opera house, the novelist, some of the movies, the musical’s costume and makeup designs, as well as loads of photos and libretto.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera Companion — A bit similar to the one above, but a nice read as well.
Broadway’s Most Remarkable Showstoppers — This book has a specific Phantom chapter. A pretty short/quick read.
Note: All of these books are available through the New York Public Library (NYPL) system. That’s how I got hold of them. Indeed, the librarian who helped me check out the requested books turned out to be a big Phantom fan herself!
Suggested Links for Music and Andrew Lloyd Webber Talking:
The original cast at the 1988 Tony Awards
Andrew Lloyd Webber on the history of Phantom
1st post-divorce interview of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Brightman
Sierra Boggess with not one, but FOUR Phantoms
I have some thoughts, apologies if they are not particularly articulate or well-developed.
First, I should say that Phantom is not a major element of my own musical theatre tastes. I hold that as a personal character flaw, because I don’t believe that being a contrarian is inherently a good thing. I think for me, the Phantom/Christine dynamic felt too fraught for me to really get behind, and I suppose as someone with a sociology background, I wish the show had spent just a little more time fleshing out the inhospitable, ableist world that the Phantom lived in, such that he could be driven to murdering people who didn’t do anything to him, multiple times. I will say, though, that I believe that a lot of the music is quite beautiful, and I see the influence of crossing the orchestra with electronic musical elements in one of my favorite musicals, Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812. I am also sad that the show is closing with Emilie Kouatchou in the role of Christine; given the historically significant nature of her casting, I wish her time in the role wasn’t to be cut short.
For the members of the Phan-dom, I think there is some solace in the words of Phantom producer Cameron Mackintosh, who noted that for him, closing a show is as much of an art as opening one. The stark decrease in international tourism post-COVID has caused the finances of the show to take a big hit, and Phantom is expensive to produce. Therefore, Mackintosh believes that it’s better for Phantom to go out strong, with a beautiful swan song, than to fizzle out because they can no longer fill seats. Theatre making is defined by its ephemerality, and I think the decision to close at this juncture demonstrates a respect for the medium and for the labor of those involved in making the production.