Posted on by liisi
Yesterday, I had a chance to see a piece, “The Phantom of the Opera” at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, UK. I have seen this incredible piece as a Hollywood movie and it was wonderful to see it in the theatre by an outstanding cast. I was a bit afraid, since I had this vision of how it should sound.Well, I have to say it was everything I hoped. I enjoyed a lot the way both Cristine aka Sofia Escobar and The Phantom aka Earl Carpenter sang their piece. It gets through your bones and completely takes you over. I didn’t get the best seats – the theatre was completely booked, but the power still reached every corner of the theatre. I feel like the songs never get old and still touch the soul of everyone who has a passion so strong towards something, be it music, person, a job, that it covers every second of your existence. It shows how terrible it is to be alone and how impossible is to get out of the trap of obsession. I don’t think the opera was very happy-ending and I always feel for the Phantom.

At the same time, the story is about how one needs a teacher to excel – in this point of view it is not much different from Karate Kid :). A good teacher can spot the brilliance in you and help it shine.

Love the story. Got to find the original book now and read it. And if you ever get to London and Phantom is on, I recommend :).

 

Little Wikipedia knowledge:
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra by Gaston Leroux. The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe.

The central plot revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius. The Phantom of the Opera opened in the West End in 1986, celebrating its 25th anniversary in October 2011; and on Broadway in 1988.
It won the 1986 Olivier Award and the 1988 Tony Award for Best Musical, and Michael Crawford (in the title role) won the 1986 Olivier and 1988 Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical. It is the longest-running Broadway show by a wide margin, the second longest-running West End musical, and the third longest-running West End show overall.
With total worldwide box office receipts of over $5.1 billion (£3.5 billion),[9] including a Broadway gross of US $800 million, Phantom is the highest-grossing entertainment event of all time and the most financially successful theatrical show in history. It had been seen by over 130 million people in 145 cities in 27 countries by 2011, the most successful entertainment project in history.[4]