I always told my friends that I would be an opera singer in another life, but the funny thing is that I never listen to opera songs. My fascination for this art form began the first time my cousin and I watched the film The Phantom of the Opera (2004). Throughout my entire life, I always considered The Phantom of the Opera to be an opera; however, I discovered that it is classified as just a musical. This did not diminish my love for the music since the structure of the musical is very similar to that of an opera. The song from the musical that I have listened to frequently since 2008 is “Think of Me” by Andrew Lloyd Webber. When I was younger, I thought of it as just a beautiful sounding song, but in 2010 I had the chance to see the musical live. All I need to say is that little fifth grade Fadwa had tears in her eyes the entire time. The words in the song are a thing of beauty, but the element of the song that makes me drift into another world is the instrumental. The intensity and passion of the live performance gave new meaning to the song for me. I pictured scenes of ballroom dances from Disney movies like Beauty and the Beast, and Anastasia. Colors that resemble elegance would flash through my mind like bright golds, and silvers. Even now in 2017, I still see the same colors and can picture people ballroom dancing when I listen to “Think of Me,” or any song from Phantom of the Opera.
