Elizabeth Evangelou, Regina Fojas, & Bryan Nevarez [Oral: A– Written: A– –JMS]
For our project, we decided to analyze the content of “The Phantom of the Opera.” To begin, here is a background of the characters and the story of the show. “The Phantom of the Opera” musical takes place at the Paris Opera House in 1870. The plot is centered on a love triangle between Christine Daae, The Phantom and Raoul, the Viscount of Chagny.
Christine, the main female character, is the orphaned daughter of Father Daae, a famous
violinist at the time. After Christine’s father dies, she is put into the care of Madame Giry who is charge of the chorus at the opera house. While at the opera house, Christine is visited by voice that she calls her Angel of Music. This voice belongs to the Phantom of the Opera, the disfigured genius who composes all of the scores and stories at the opera house. No one sees the Phantom except Madame Giry, who is the only person who receives his secret letters and music scores. Christine thinks this Angel of Music is the gift her father promised to send her after he passed away. The Angel of Music is supposed to protect Christine, so she surrenders herself to this voice she hears it. The Angel of Music teaches Christine how to sing and later on she becomes the most
popularsoprano at the opera house. During this time, the opera house changes patrons and managers. Raoul the Viscount of Chagny becomes the new patron. He also happens to be Christine’s childhood friend. The two instantly fall in love with each other, which makes the Phantom of the Opera jealous.
After gala night at the opera house, the Phantom takes Christine down to his chambers and promises only to release her if she wears a ring symbolizing her commitment to him. Christine becomes worried, but takes the ring and the Phantom lets her go. Christine then tells her story to Raoul who ensures Christine that he will do anything to protect her from the Phantom. Christine becomes torn between her two suitors: the Phantom and Raoul. However, as much as she loves the Phantom, her heart belongs to Raoul. The two eventually are engaged, which enrages the Phantom. He begins to terrorize the opera, killing anybody in his way of Christine or her career. At the premiere of Don Juan Triumphant, the Phantom kidnaps Christine and takes her down to his cellars. At thesame time, Raoul has gathered the police to capture the Phantom at the right moment. Before he gives orders, Raoul goes down to the cellars alone to save Christine. However, hefalls into a trap while the
Phantom makes Christine choose between him and Raoul. The Phantom accuses Christine of being unable to love him because of his deformity. Christine argues that it is his soul that she is afraid and no longer his face. He gives Christine a compromise: he will kill Raoul and let her go or she must stay with him and he will free Raoul. Christine then kisses the Phantom who is surprised and saddened by her choice. He pulls away from Christine and tells Raoul that he will let them both go. He demands that they forget him and the events that just took place. As Christine and Raoul escape by a small boat, the Phantom breaks all of his mirrors in anger and sorrow and disappears through one of them. All that is left of him is his mask, which remains as a symbol of eternal, but unrequited love, before the police arrive.
Though this ending is the lovely, heartfelt ending, it is not the original ending of the story. In fact,the ending has been changed many times over the years. In the original novel “Le Fantome de l’Opera,” written by Gaston Leroux in 1910, it was reported in newspapers that the Phantom died of a broken heart. In the silent film from 1925 staring Lon Chaney, the Phantom drowns in a river after a long chase seen involving a mob. The musical and the 2004 film version both contain the ending above ending. What is the reason for all these different endings? The answer lies in the historical background.
Gaston Leroux was a French journalist-turned-novelist and when he originally wrote “the Phantom
of the Opera,” it was published serially before it was published as a novel. This original publication received terrible reviews. The story of a horrible ugly phantom kidnapping a beautiful young girl and terrorizing an opera house was simply not something people in France wanted to read during the early 1900s. Because Leroux was a journalist in France, he wrote for the common people in French. Unfortunately, his target audience did not enjoy his work. In fact, “the Phantom of the Opera” is rarely included on lists of Leroux’s works. If one searches “The Phantom of the Opera,” his name is mentioned, but not the other way around.
The story remained unappealing to the masses until the Roaring Twenties when Lon Chaney, a famous silent-film star known as the “Man with a Thousand Faces,” took the title role as the Phantom in the 1925 silent film. Lon Chaney was partly responsible for the new appeal of the story. He fit perfectly into the role of the Phantom, as he often played disfigured social outcasts, such as his portrayal of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. A review from the Motion Picture Magazine specifically states that “Lon Chaney play[ed] the Phantom with a real emotional honesty,” which undoubtedly made the film more appealing. The other reason for the film’s success was that film was still a new invention at the time and people greatly enjoyed films that had monsters and action, both of which are in “The Phantom of the Opera.” The 1920s was also the time period of the artistic movement called Expressionism. The movies that emerged from this movement were characterized by “stylization, dark shadows, dramatic chiaroscuro lighting, [and] grotesque characters” (Dirks). The movement began in Europe, but America’s interest in watching foreign films led to the popularity of Bram Stoker’s Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horrors and Fritz Land’s Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler. Several changes to the 1925 “Phantom” film are reflective of the audiences’ preference for dark, monstrous stories and creatures. For one thing, this film contains the most horrid of all the phantoms and he is a hideous monster with little human characteristics. He lives in the catacombs, which are underground cemeteries. In other versions, the Phantom lives in the cellars of the opera house and does not live amongst the dead. Furthermore, audiences’ appeal to action-filled movies was the catalyst for the alternate ending of the silent film. Movie viewers at the time did not want to see the Phantom die of heartache, which was too dramatic and sappy.
In 1976, Ken Hill created the first musical version of “the Phantom of the Opera.” His score included music from Mozart, Verdi, and Donizetti with English lyrics. The show received positive reviews, however, it did not become a success until Andrew Lloyd Webber collaborated with Hill.
In 1986, Webber turned the story into a musical with an original score and it is currently the longest running musical
on Broadway with over nine thousand performances. The musical featured Michael Crawford as the Phantom and Sarah Brightman as Christine. In this adaptation, the Phantom was much more human and much less disfigured than the one from 1925, mainly because society’s standards had changed, and people wanted to empathize more with the Phantom, rather than hating him outright. The only w ay for that to be achieved was to make the Phantom more human. The musical received great reviews, such as this one from the New York Times, which sites the show’s ability to “shower the audience with fantasy and fun”(Rich) as one of the reasons for its success. The musical is still popular today due to its traditional score, impressive visual sets (subterranean lake, never ending mists, crashing chandelier, etc.), and its classical story of unrequited love and romantic drama.
Schumacher created a film version of “the Phantom of the Opera” based on Webber’s musical in 2004. It starred Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, and Patrick Wilson, and it happens to be the version of the story that the three of us watched. Though based on the highly successful musical, the movie received unfavorable reviews. As a review from the New York Times states, the show “lacke[ed] both authentic romance and the thrill of a memorable spectacle.” Though the musical idea worked onstage, it did not have the same effect when performed in front of a camera.
There are four main themes in “the Phantom of the Opera.” First is the “struggle of an individual to express creativity in a world that rejects his passion for life.” The phantom is an outcast of society, shunned from civilization because of an inborn physical deformity on his face, yet he possesses a musical brilliance in creating musical art forms, particularly operas. This theme is reminiscent to that of other notable literary pieces such as the Gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and the seminal fairy tale Beauty and the Beast because of their central focus on how hideously deformed creatures have the ability to give and receive love if given the opportunity; however, these tragic figures often become villains due to the lack of affection in their lives, and once they do encounter that love interest that fills up the void in their withered hearts, they resolve to protect it all costs as seen by examining the Phantom’s character and actions. This theme can be seen in the song “Music in the Night,” which can be heard at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HWNKDmlnnQ.
The second theme is physical appearance v. the person beneath “the Mask.” The importance of outward appearance
in past, present, and future societal constructions reflects and exposes the inherent superficiality humans possess, often ignoring the fact that “true” beauty exists within the individual, past the corporeal facade, and beyond the physical realm. In, addition, this theme demonstrates the human tendency to “mask” ourselves by creating an artificial and even psychological disguise to cover dark, secretive, embarrassing traits that are purposely hidden. This theme can also be seen in the song “Music in the Night.”
Third is the theme of the torments of unrequited love and its detrimental effects. The crux of the conflict in the novel from the musical of the story deals with one of the harshest and truest realities one may face in life: Rejection. From a sociological standpoint, humans generally are driven by instinct to belong to someone or something. This possessive inclination of feeling accepted by peers pervades humans whether consciously or sub-consciously. Hence, the audience sympathizes with the ostracized Phantom and his denied acceptance and, most importantly, love. Another conclusion drawn from the Phantom’s story based on this theme shows how unrequited love can lead men and women alike to inconceivably drastic measures. For evidence of this theme, listen to the song “I Remember/ Stranger than You Dreamt It,” which can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTCbyJMubc8.
The final main theme is that of the allure, mystery, and comfort of night and darkness. The phantom embraces the dark rooms, passageways, and shadows of the Paris Opera House as his sanctuary, a haven that provides him solace and respite from the outside world he is not a part of. Therefore, the night and darkness protect the phantom from the harmful and damaging scorn of society. Moreover, the night and darkness symbolize the places, whether physical or psychological, that enables one to feel comfortable in one’s own skin. This theme can be found in the song “Learn to be Lonely,” which can be heard at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLse7g_Nfuo.
Essentially, “the Phantom of the Opera” deals with three universal morals. These morals are “True” love protects, saves,and
pacifies; “The beauty or darkness of the human soul should not be measured by outward appearances or deformities”; and the duality within mankind (good vs. evil, light vs. darkness, etc.) is an uncompromising, unchangeable reality. The last scene in “the Phantom” touches upon each of these three morals. Christine is given a ultimatum by the Phantom: either she joins him for a lifetime and spares the life of her true lover, Raoul, or she refuses to stay with the Phantom and Raoul dies. Both options lead to a loss. But Christine’s love for Raoul forces her to sacrifice the rationale to preserve her own happiness for the sake of her lover’s and she chooses to be with the Phantom. The kiss Christine gives to the Phantom is the single most significant gesture the Phantom has ever experienced which compels him to rescind the terms of the ultimatum and is compelled to free both Christine and Raoul. That the Phantom is willing to let Christine and Raoul go emphasizes the point that the darkness of the superficial does not dictate darkness in the soul. The Phantom’s kind gesture shows the beauty of his soul. The Phantom also embodies the third moral. Though he is able to be sympathetic towards Raoul and Christine and let them go, he still has the darkness in him that compelled him to kidnap Christine, threaten Raoul, and terrorize the opera house. Christine also personifies the third moral. She is painfully naïve when she listens to the “Angel of Music.” However, she shows her astuteness when she is able to see past the Phantom’s face to his horribly twisted and tormented soul.
Despite these themes and morals that exist in “the Phantom of the Opera,” the three of us each have our own reaction to the show and our own theories to explain why it is a timeless classic. Regina feels that “The 1925 film adaptation depicts a monstrous creature. The 1986 musical version shows a disfigured, but more humanized character that has emotions. The Phantom’s face may have changed, but the story is eternal.” Elizabeth agrees with Lon Chaney in that the allure of
“thePhantom” comes from “the timeless theme of a horrible disfigured figure that is still capable of love and ‘self-sacrifice,’ which also exists in works such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Frankenstein, and Beauty and the Beast. Also, the common language used in the show makes it easy for audiences to understand what is happening without the benefit of prior knowledge.” Bryan believes that “the Phantom has endured this long because of its message of love. Even though critics today may be cynical of love, people still want to believe that love conquers all.”
Works Cited
Brescia, Joe. “Longest-Running Show on Broadways is Usher at “Phantom” Theater.” The New York Times 11 Oct. 2009.
Dirks, Tim. “Film History of the 1920s.” Film Site: The History of Film AMC, 1996. 1 Dec. 2009<http://www.filmsite.org/20sintro2.html>.
Dumenil, Lynn. The Modern Temper: American Culture and Society in the 1920’s. New York: Hill & Wang, 1995.
“Gaston Leroux.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 27 Nov. 2009.<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/337038/Gaston-Leroux>.
Leroux, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. New York: New American Library, 2001.
Rev. of “The Phantom of the Opera” starring Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin. Motion Picture Magazine Dec. 1925.
Revel, Jean-Francois. “The Anti-American Obsession.” New Criterion Oct. 2003: 12.
Rich, Frank. “Stage: “Phantom of the Opera”” The New York Times 27 Jan. 1988.
Scott, A. O. “Back With A Vengeance: The Music of the Night.” The New York Times 22 Dec. 2004.
Tyler, Dana. “‘The Phantom of the Opera’ Makes Broadway History.” WCBS TV. 8 Jan. 2006.
