by Daisy
There are quite a few things that I have a deep passion about: zombies, Spiderman/superheroes, Queen, sleeping in, but nothing is as deep as my love for The Phantom of the Opera. I could watch the musical over and over and over again and never get bored of it! You would hate watching it with me because I’d deliver every line, vocalize every song, and get so into it, you’d be fed up and done with me.
The Phantom of the Opera was written by French novelist, Gaston Leroux, whose work on Phantom was first published in 1909. Yeah! It’s that old! Many adaptations have been made since then, including my favorite, the musical written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Its dark beauty and musical genius will resonate within your soul, and soon enough you’ll find you’ve developed an attachment to the Phantom as I did. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry; every emotion will play across your face.
I don’t want to give out any spoilers, so I’ll try and be as vague as I possibly can without giving away too many details. Our story begins with young dancer, Christine Daaé, a beautiful vocalist who was raised in an opera house, orphaned as a little girl due to her late father's illness. Growing up she was tutored by an “angel of music” that her father said would come to guide her. Her goal was to further her music career with her outstanding singing ability.
Throughout our little story you meet many colorful characters like Carlotta, Meg, Madame Giry, Raoul, and my favorite, the comedic duo, André and Firmin. The most important character in my opinion would be The Phantom, Erik. He is our “angel of music” and Christine’s teacher. You can immediately tell that our opera ghost is madly in love with her, but so is Raoul, Christine's childhood friend. And that’s your main story plot right there, a scandalous love triangle centered around our little songbird.
SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU DON’T WANT THE ENDING RUINED, SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH.
Personally, I think Christine should have been with The Phantom. He did nothing but give and give his heart and soul to her, which is evident when he sings his “All I Ask Of You” reprise, and she does nothing but runs around with Raoul. I feel so heartbroken for Erik. If someone was all about music, sang to me, and was that devoted I would pick him in a heartbeat, but alas, The Phantom is merely a character in Webber's musical design. Granted, he may be a murderer, but you could work through that! Couples therapy maybe? All I’m saying is, The Phantom deserves love too, and I really wish Christine would have chosen him instead of Raoul who was arrogant and pretentious.
SPOILER OVER.
