Growing up in London, musicals tend to be an inevitable part of one’s life. One musical that has always stuck to my heart is ‘The Phantom of The Opera’. Recently, I went to see the show for the third time in Her Majesty’s Theatre and the show was outstanding. The storyline may seem simple, but it does take more thinking than one would've thought.
The basic plot synopsis is; Erik (The Phantom) hides himself in a dungeon beneath the Opera House. He wears a mask over half his face to hide his facial disfigurement. Erik hears Christine Daae sing and falls instantly involve with her, therefore decides to tutor her. Carlotta always takes the main role, but Erik (without being seen) injures her, so she cannot perform. Therefore, Christine is made to sing. Her childhood sweetheart Raoul returns that night and they fall involve.
Erik in all his jealousy, seeks his revenge and orders the opera house into placing Daae as all the main roles. Not many believe Christine that she is tutored by Erik but as more occurrences come about, more start to believe her. In the end, Erik and Raoul fight whilst the Paris opera house goes up in flames (due to the great chandler crashing). Erik threatens to kill Raoul if Christine does not love him instead. If one does not wish to know the end, one might not wish to read on. Christine walks up to Erik and kisses him. Erik is shocked and shouts at Christine and Raoul to leave and they run away. Erik leaves too, never to be seen again.
Erik’s childhood was very hard. He was dis-owned by his parents at a young age and taken in by a circus. The ring leader would abuse him for entertainment and call him the ‘Devil’s child’. Erik couldn’t take it anymore and killed him. Madame Giry (at this time, a teenager) saw that he was helpless and helped him escape. She took him to the dungeon of the opera house and this is how it became his home.
But why is this such a long running show in our modern time? Why does this musical have such an enduring appeal? I think it is because this two hour production raises the big the question on what love really is. The Phantom had never felt any kind of love. Before Christine all he had ever faced was humiliation, hatred and rejection from society. Although he had experienced gentle and kind love from Madame Giry and Christine, his past came back to haunt him and that was expressed in the violence of his actions. As a child he had never gone through any form of reasoning or rationality as he was so badly abused. He had no life skills or social skills therefore could not project his love in a healthy way. However, Raoul and Christine had an unconditional love for each other and this was projected in the song “All I Ask Of You” whilst the heart broken Phantom listened in the background.
Another reason as to why I strongly believe this story means a lot in todays society is because it teaches that there is so much unnecessary judgement in appearance. The Phantom is judged his whole life, he is even thrown out by his own parents. Erik sung; “This face which earns a mother’s fear and loathing.”. The Phantom was a very emotional human with a passion for music and opera. I believe he had a very big heart, but couldn't control himself. Madame Giry recognised that Erik was a heartbroken character with much to give, so she empathised with him and saved his life.
All in all, this musical has always been so easy yet so hard to watch on film and in theatre. The songs are breathtaking and original and the storyline is thrilling. I very much recommend that one goes to see it at least once. It is hard to watch as one sympathises so much with The Phantom, yet one feels that they can’t as he terrorises people, but the more you look into it, it is due to how badly he is misunderstood and mistreated. Appearance should not matter as much as it does. The Phantom of The Opera teaches that there is so much more to a person other than their looks, and that is why I believe it is so important in our time of when ‘looking perfect’ is highlighted everywhere.
Helen Schunemann, Sydenham High School
