The Megamusical

5 “The Angel of Music Sings Songs in My Head”: The Phantom of the Opera

225 5“The Angel of Music Sings Songs in My Head” The Phantom of the Opera His face . . . looks like a mild case of albinism, with a few blotches any dermatologist could cure. Michael Feingold, “The Ghosts of Music Past,” Village Voice When [the Phantom’s mask is] at long last removed, it reveals something that looks like an unfinished face-lift, not so much repulsive as improbable. John Peter, “There Is a World Elsewhere,” Sunday Times (London) What is it about this musical with a hero who has a face like melted cheese, and a 1,000-pound chandelier for second lead, that lures audiences in droves, including people who rarely go to the theater? Dinitia Smith, “The Chandelier That Earned $1.5 Billion,” New York Times As much as critics enjoy describing the Phantom’s deformed face in colorful terms, people do not flock to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s megamusical The Phantom of the Opera for this sight. It could be argued that they go to see the chandelier, falling as it does almost on top of the front rows before veering toward the stage to land, but even this is a passing and entirely predictable thrill. They go, critics agree, to experience more pervasive qualities of the show: romance and lovely melodies. The latter quality had been in Lloyd Webber’s work from the first, but the romantic, human, sometimes erotic story was a new feature. He wanted to write a romance, a story of grand emotions and intriguing char- 226 “THE ANGEL OF MUSIC SINGS SONGS IN MY HEAD” acters. This work is a significant turning point in Lloyd Webber’s career, marked both by a mature compositional style and a story with adult themes. For their part, critics generally treated this show more kindly than the two preceding Lloyd Webber shows, Cats (the lack of plot in which seemed to disturb many) and Starlight Express (about which the critics were more justifiably hostile; unlike Cats, it has few redeeming qualities of music or lyrics and even less plot). Pre-opening hype about Phantom promised a gripping story with more intrigue and characterization than its predecessors, and lushly romantic music. In general, critics agreed that the musical fulfilled this promise of a richer, more satisfying evening. Phantom was Lloyd Webber’s first serious-tone book musical since Evita with Tim Rice; for all three of their collaborations, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Evita, Rice had supplied the concept and a detailed book as well as the lyrics. While Cats and Starlight Express had been Lloyd Webber’s ideas, the hands of directors, producers, and set designers can clearly be seen not only in the books, but in the shaping of the concepts. This time, Lloyd Webber stuck close to his source material and to his own vision. He found the original Gaston Leroux novel in a used bookstore, having already been pondering it as a subject for a musical, particularly because another musical version was already running. Its creator, Ken Hill, had asked Lloyd Webber’s new young wife, singer/dancer Sarah Brightman, to play the lead, but her schedule did not allow for it. The story nevertheless drew Lloyd Webber’s attention because it concerned real people in historical, romantic situations—not (as Michael Walsh puts it) the “gods, demigods, cats, and trains” about which he usually wrote.1 It had been difficult for audiences to relate to many of his heroes, including the morally ambiguous Eva Peron and the string of entertaining but nonhuman, unromantic cats and trains. The press often extended these troublesome qualities in his characters to descriptions of him: they depicted him as aloof, distant, and shy about expressing his affection for people, even his new wife. This show, he hoped, would be his romantic declaration, a heartfelt love triangle story that appealed to him not only for its romance in plot but in its overall musical style; he felt it called for a full symphony orchestra and allowed for some complex compositional devices, especially in ensembles. It also allowed him to cast his beautiful wife with her sweet soprano voice as the ingénue Christine. Lloyd Webber began work on Phantom in the fall of 1984 by reassigning some melodies he had thought to use for another work still years in the future, Aspects of Love. He already had some basic ideas about how the book for a Phantom musical should be written, even...