Phantom of the Opera

I recorded a documentary on the original London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera a little while back, and just got around to watching it.  It is an interesting behind the scenes look at one of the most popular Broadway shows of all time, with interviews from the original cast and crew.  Phantom was the first real Broadway show that I had ever seen; I was probably 18 or 19 years old, and I went with  my friend Josh and a couple of his friends.  We got all dressed up (Josh even brought me red roses), drove down to the Pantages theater in L.A., and had dinner at some Chinese restaurant before the show.  I remember the feeling I got when the lights went down and the show started.  It was breathtaking; I was hooked.  The show was amazing; I especially loved the scene where the Phantom takes Christine across the stage on a boat.  This is one of the things I love about theater; this is just a simple little boat on wheels rolling across a stage that has a fog machine running, and there are some strategically placed candles, but from the audience it really looks like the boat is on water.  It is easy to believe that they are really in his underground lair beneath the opera house.  It is also easy to sympathize with the Phantom, and I think a lot of audience members (probably mostly women), walk away from the show on his side.

The behind the scenes gossip in the documentary is crazy; there were so many hitches and glitches with the practice runs leading up to the opening that everyone involved thought that the show would tank.  For a little while there was even a rumor that the show had evoked a real phantom in the theater, there were that many things that went wrong.  Thanks to the dedication of the cast and crew, the first show after the previews, which was attended by a number of celebrities and even Princess Diana, was perfect.  Also, considering Sarah Brightman's popularity now (she was the original Christine in the play, and married to Andrew Lloyd Webber at the time), it's interesting to think that at this point in her career, many critics were quick to say that she was not that talented and had only gotten the part because of her marriage to Webber.  Regardless of what critics thought, the audience accepted her then and now.
Alli and I got to go see Phantom (her first time) while we were in London.  It has been playing at Her Majesty's Theater since 1986, even through renovations of the theater in 1992.  It was even more magical the second time, and watching this documentary is making me want to go see it again.  Preferably in London.

Alli, all dressed up, before we went to
Her Majesty's Theater for the show.
She was so little!!

Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman 

at the 1988 Tony Awards singing "The Phantom of the Opera"

Opera and Fashion

vintage opera--social scene

Opera.  Even the word sounds uppercrust, elite, sophisticated.  I believe that the connotations of opera-going today allude to these terms.  It is true that the upper classes enjoyed the opera as a sphere to see and be seen, to gossip, as much or more than they enjoyed the music, but even those in lower socio-economic classes attended.  It was the entertainment and social club of its time.  I do enjoy the thought of a 19th century opera house: the women in there beautiful attire, complete with gloves and jewels.  The men in their finest, every bit as elegant as their partners.  The grandeur of the crystal chandeliers, gold filigree and velvet drapes completes the idyllic atmosphere, and backdrop for the players:  the prima-donna, dancers and orchestra.

Today attending the opera remains an elegant affair, even if its social importance has declined.  It has come to be seen as an acquired taste, inaccessable.  I don't think this attitude will change, but I love the opera and the romance associated with it.  I am not just infatuated with the mystique, but with the genius behind the art-form.  The actual talent displayed.  I am afraid I am not much for popular music because I find that so many performers today are manufactured, but in the opera world, only true talents surface.  I don't mean pop-opera sensations either.

Fortunately, the glamour of the opera is as much alive today as ever. The theatricality of the fashion still inspires designers and opera-goers.  I, for one, certainly hope this continues.

Opera in Literature:

Who can forget the conversations
at the opera in Anna Karenina?

When I think of the ultimate novel
with scenes of social opera going, I think
of this one.

Opera In The Movies:

Audrey Hepburn's opera dress in
Love in the Afternoon  1957.  

Ms. Hepburn seems to be at the opera a lot in her movies!  Here she is again

in Funny Face (1957).  This movie is a really beautiful piece of fluff.  Love the music--

it's not opera, but Gershwin will certainly do.

Vivien Leigh and Sir Laurence Olivier at the opera in That Hamilton Woman (1941).

Phantom of the Opera (2005) 

Opera and Fashion:

Donna Karen opera coat.

Felicity Brown Spring 2012

Felicity Brown Spring 2012

The Best in Opera: (my opinion, of course)

I could easily gush about Maria Callas, Renee fleming, Cecilia Bortolli and on and on...BUT

My personal favorite: Ms. Kathleen Battle.  I fell in
love with her voice in high school; to me, she is
perfection.

One of my favorite albums of Kathleen Battle, here
with Jean-Pierre Rampal (famous flutist).  I love this one
because I used to play flute and I idolize both of these performers.
Seperately they are fantastic, but together they are magic.