The musical The Phantom of the Opera is the legendary and world-famous masterpiece of composer Andrew Lloyd-Webber. For almost 30 years, he has not left the stage of world theaters, and now he has finally reached Russia. In 2004, a feature film was shot on a musical. At the heart of the musical history is the book of the French writer Gaston Leroux, "The Phantom of the Opera." Reviews are available in large quantities on the book, on theatrical productions, and on the film. It will be useful to get acquainted with them for those who, before reading a book, watching a movie or attending a play, prefer to find out the opinions of those who have already read everything and watched everything. And for those who are accustomed to form their own opinions about everything first, it will be interesting to compare their impressions with the impressions of other people. Both those and others can be given advice: be sure to read, look and visit. The Phantom of the Opera certainly deserves attention.
Gaston Leroux novel
The novel "Phantom of the Opera" was released in 1910. The author of the writing of the authorâs book was inspired by the world's largest Grand Opera theater in Paris. Leroux had a chance to visit his cellars, where, he claims, a skeleton with a strange skull shape was found. From the workers of the theater, the writer heard a legend about a man who lived in the theater, was ugly and unrequitedly loved one of the artists. They said that he died of love, and now his ghost is wandering around the theater. It was this legend that became the basis for the book. Gaston Leroux claimed that the hero of his novel existed in reality.
The Phantom of the Opera is a book whose reviews are very diverse. Someone writes that the main character is an unhappy person. Others consider him a villain. For some itâs a dark story, for others itâs a romantic one. Therefore, in order to form an opinion about the novel, it is better to read it.
The plot of the musical
The musical events take place in the Grand Opera Theater. The main character is the Phantom of the Opera. But it has nothing to do with otherworldly beings. He is a man ugly in appearance, hiding his face under a mask and living in the cellars of the theater. He is an inventor, composer, artist, magician, in general, a genius in all manifestations. The ghost is in love with the artist Christine, he gives her singing lessons and tries to do everything to make her a star. The main character of the musical The Phantom of the Opera reviews is very different, but most of them boil down to the fact that the Phantom is the most romantic villain, because all the crimes he committed in the theater were committed in the name of love.
The ghost does not show Christine his face, trying to bewitch her voice. But once, out of curiosity, she tears off his mask ... The girl is scared, and the Phantom is furious, he dreamed that she would love him, but now that she saw how terrible it was, it was impossible.
A patron appears at the theater - Viscount Raul. Feelings flare up between him and Christine, but the Phantom goes crazy with jealousy and tries to separate the lovers.
After some time, the Phantom writes the opera Don Giovanni and wants it to be staged in the Grand Opera. Directors do not dare to refuse him. The main role should be played by Christine. Raoul believes this is a chance to catch the Ghost. During the performance, in the guise of Don Juan, the composer himself enters the stage instead of the actor. The idea to catch the Phantom turns out that the Phantom abducts Christine and takes him to his dungeon, he tells her that now she will stay with him forever. Raul manages to find the Ghost's lair, he breaks in there, but falls into a trap. The ghost offers Christine a choice - if she stays with him, he will release the Viscount, if Christine refuses him, then the Viscount will die. To save the groom's life, Christine agrees to stay with the Ghost. But he suddenly lets lovers go, because he cannot make the one he loves so unhappy, the Phantom himself disappears. So ends the musical The Phantom of the Opera. The reviews of Russian-speaking audience who managed to attend a performance in one of the foreign theaters agree that even if you donât know the language in which the musical is performed, you will still understand everything.
The story of the musical
Webber had the idea to write this musical in 1984, when he married the artist Sarah Brightman. The composer wanted to create a large-scale project for his wife, in which she could fully demonstrate her talent and become famous. Sir Webber created the script for the musical himself. The authors of the texts for the Aryans were Richard Stilgow and Charles Hart. The artist of the project is Maria Björnson, it is her idea that the famous chandelier, falling, sweep over the heads of an amazed audience. She is also the author of the Ghost mask.
Thanks to Webber's genius and a well-chosen team, The Phantom of the Opera is the best musical. The review of âThe Phantom of the Operaâ by one of John Simonâs famous critics was not very flattering; Simon criticized music, the libretto and the leading woman. But most reviews have been and remain enthusiastic. The performance received a huge number of awards and won the whole world. Reviews of the musical "Phantom of the Opera" are not only positive. But, in spite of everything, this production broke all records, becoming the highest grossing and long-playing one.
The differences between Webberâs statement and the book
In the book, the Ghost disfigured the whole skull, and the mask covers the whole face, in the musical the mask covers half of the face, because if the mask and the ugly face make-up cover the whole face, it will be impossible to sing. In the novel, the Ghost has a name - Eric, in the musical his name is never mentioned. There is a character in the book like Persian, who was a Ghost friend and helper. In the musical, the role of assistant is assigned to Madame Giri. In the finale of the musical, the Ghost disappears. And in the book, the ending is more tragic - Eric dies from unrequited love. Reviews of the musical "Phantom of the Opera" most often include such epithets as: "magical", "amazing", "bewitching", "goosebumps", "spectacularly" and "this must be seen!"
2004 film
In 2004, the film "The Phantom of the Opera" was shot based on Webber's musical. Reviews of the film are by no means unanimous. The film version in some moments differs from the stage one. All the actors in the film sing themselves. Reviews and reviews of the film âPhantom of the Operaâ are very controversial: someone praises the artists, someone, on the contrary, is not satisfied with their work; some say that the film is boring, and he is far from the stage version, while others believe that the film is perfect. At the same time, all critics call the ghost film The Phantom of the Opera a grandiose chorus. Reviews of admiring viewers are available in much larger quantities than reviews of disappointed.
The story goes on
In March 2010, the premiere of the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera took place, titled Love Never Dies. The sequel is not related to Leroux's novel, since the story told by the writer cannot be continued. According to the creators, Ghost and Christine met again after 10 years. Kristin became a famous singer, married Raul and gave birth to a son, who turns out to be the son of the Ghost. Meg from her best friend turns into an enemy Christine, she is in love with the Ghost, and she is tormented by jealousy. In the finale of the play, Meg shoots Kristin, and she dies in the arms of the Ghost. The sequel did not become as successful as The Phantom of the Opera, and was subjected to harsh criticism, although now the production is successfully going on in Australia.
The Phantom of the Opera in the world
The musical "Phantom of the Opera" was staged in 30 countries. He was already lucky to see and hear more than one hundred million viewers. Throughout the world, the musical The Phantom of the Opera accepts the audienceâs reviews of stunning music, magnificent scenery, beautiful costumes and talented actors.
In the original production, Sarah Brightman played the part of Christine , and the first performer of the role of the Ghost was Michael Crawford. In the 2004 film, the main roles were played by seventeen-year-old Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler. In the 2011 anniversary production, the role of Christine was played by Sierra Bogges, and the role of the Ghost was played by Ramin Karimlu.
The Phantom of the Opera in Russia
In the fall of 2014 in Moscow, at the Palace of Youth, the grand and long-awaited premiere of this world masterpiece took place. The author of the Russian libretto was Aleksey Ivashchenko, who is known to Russian fans of musicals as one of the authors of the musical Nord-Ost.
The performance takes only the first steps on the Russian stage, but today it has been seen and heard by more than 100 thousand spectators, and the performance âThe Phantom of the Operaâ has already received reviews and reviews in huge quantities.
In Russia, the party of Christine is performed by Tamara Kotova and Elena Bakhtiyarova. The role of Raul is performed by the soloist of the Sverdlovsk Musical Comedy Theater Evgeny Zaitsev.
The musical actor Ivan Ozhogin shines in the role of the Ghost, whose unique timbre will not leave anyone indifferent. Fame, as well as the highest theater prize "Golden Mask" brought him the role of Count von Krolok in the musical "Ball of the Vampires" in St. Petersburg. Ivan successfully played the same character in Germany. In addition to the role of the Phantom of the Opera, the artist plays the role of Woland in the production of the St. Petersburg Music Hall, rehearses the role of the main character in the musical âJekyll and Hydeâ, participates in the project of the St. Petersburg Musical Comedy Theater âBroadway Hitsâ, and also performs recitals in Russia and abroad. He is known to the audience as Ernst Lubich and Prince Mdivani in the production of âPaul Negriâ, as Romashov in the musical âNord-Ostâ, as Mancustrap in âCatsâ, and in many other roles. For most Russian music fans, his participation in the musical Phantom of the Opera was a real gift. Reviews say that Ivan Ozhogin is the perfect Ghost.