The Phantom of the Opera: a love story

On By Laura MorganIn Music, Theatre1 Comment

Festive frivolities have played havoc with my body clock, so I find myself wide awake at 6.30am on a Sunday while the beloved snoozes peacefully next door. I like this time of day, especially at the weekend: I like being awake when nobody else is and I like the idea that the day still holds unlimited possibilities. Mostly, I just like that it’s quiet, because on a crowded estate full of kids and drug dealers it’s almost never quiet. Even my typing sounds loud, and each time a car passes outside on the main road I can hear it from a long way away and I have time to wonder who’s in it, and where they might be going at this unlikely hour.

Anyway, being awake when I don’t need to be gives me the chance to write a post which has been percolating for months, or maybe years. I’ve shared my theory about The Phantom of the Opera at dinner parties and seen eyes glaze over and people quietly excuse themselves to go and hide in the bathroom until I’ve finished, so I think it’s only fair to bring it to a wider audience. If you find your attention wandering before I get to the end I suggest you go and read a book instead.

Put simply, the theory is this: the really interesting love story in the musical version of The Phantom of the Opera is not the story of the Phantom and Christine Daaé, but the story of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Brightman. There are some obvious parallels: genius composer with an unprepossessing appearance falls in love with beautiful young singer for whom he holds an unexpected fascination. She is in his power for a while, but ultimately they must part.

When the Phantom discovers that he has a rival for Christime’s affections he laments:

He was bound to love you
When he heard you sing

which I think is about as close to a personal declaration of love from the composer to his leading lady as you can get.

In the original novel there is no suggestion that Christine loves the Phantom; she is frightened of him and desperate to escape his clutches and return to her true love, Raoul. The musical is much more ambiguous – compare and contrast publicity images for an early film adaptation of the book:

Scary phantom

And the stage show:

Sexy phantom

I think that when Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote The Phantom of the Opera what he was really writing was history’s most extravagant love letter. In Love Never Dies, the follow-up, Christine’s love for the phantom is reaffirmed, and we even learn that, contrary to the fairly well established plot of the original, he rejected her the last time around:

The Phantom

And when it was done,
Before the sun could rise
Ashamed of what I was
Afraid to see your eyes.
I stood while you slept
And whispered a goodbye.
And slipped into the dark
Beneath a moonless sky.

Christine

And I loved you,
Yes I loved you.
I’d have followed any where you led.
I woke to swear my love,
And found you gone instead.

But that’s OK, because, ahem, love never dies, you see, so it doesn’t matter that they’re not together any more:

Love never fades
Love never falters
Hearts may get broken
Love endures

So yes, perhaps the Phantom ran away before Christine could tell him she loved him, and well, perhaps Andrew Lloyd Webber met his third wife before he’d strictly moved on from the second one*, but love endures. And if the Phantom and Christine really are Andrew and Sarah then there is something rather beautiful and moving about the revisiting of the story many years later. I don’t want to give away the story of Love Never Dies in case someone bought you tickets for Christmas, but you could, if you were so inclined, read it as a loving goodbye to something important, and if that’s what it is then Lloyd Webber has followed up his expensive and extended love letter to his wife with an equally extended and expensive letter of farewell to her, which is charming, and something that only he would have the chutzpah and the wherewithal to do.

*I read a brilliant story once about Andrew Lloyd Webber introducing his third and current wife, Madeline, to someone and referring to her as “Sarah” throughout the conversation. Apparently she was unfazed by it. I like to think that Sarah was his muse and his inspiration but Madeline is his soul mate so knows she needn’t worry about Sarah. It’s possible I have spent too much time considering the love life of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

New year’s resolutions for 2011

On By Laura MorganIn Navel gazing

Phew, it feels good to ditch that red and green Christmas design and get back to the clean lines and no-nonsense layout of Kubrick. At some point over the weekend I might even do the same to the flat, metaphorically, although today I’m quite enjoying our cosy little tree.

Looking back at last year’s resolutions I am delighted to discover that one of them was to get the boiler fixed, which I did, at great expense and accompanied by a hefty dose of pain. I can’t remember now whether we got it fixed because it broke or just because we knew it needed fixing, but either way it’s a mission accomplished. I also did some good things that I wasn’t expecting to do, like leaving a job without another one to go to, learning how to make sausage rolls, and getting engaged.

But there are still things I need to do. Here are some of them.

  1. I will keep up with my writing course and actually finish the story I’ve been working on for the last year. It’s already the longest thing I’ve ever written, so it would be a shame to ditch it now.
  2. I will not become Bridezilla.
  3. I will find a better form of exercise than bloody Pilates.

Is three enough? I think three is enough.

Advent song for December 24

On By Laura MorganIn Christmas, Music, Reasons to be cheerful2 Comments

When I was deciding how to rank this year’s songs I originally had Cliff at number one and this at number two, until I realised that if I were to make a list of my favourite songs, rather than my favourite Christmas number ones, this would still be near the top, whereas although Mistletoe and Wine is my favourite Christmas song, I’m not sure what merits it has outside of being Christmassy.

In a rare example of the law of increasing returns, this song gets better each time someone covers it. Elvis’s version is better than Willy Nelson’s, and when the Pet Shop Boys got their hands on it they turned it into nothing more or less than the perfect pop song.

I have chosen this video rather than the regular one because it doesn’t have a fat man talking throughout, and because Neil’s leathers are quite becoming. If you are at home, it’s time for a glass of fizzy wine. If you are at work, it’s time to go home. Happy Christmas!

Advent song for December 23

On By Laura MorganIn Christmas, Music2 Comments

I don’t think there’s anything to say about this song that I haven’t already said here: this is the third or fourth time I’ve posted it over the years, so if you’ve been paying close attention, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t be, you’ll already know that this is my favourite Christmas pop video EVER.

It occurs to me, incidentally, that when I said that the Spice Girls were one of two acts with more than one song in the top 24 I was thinking that Cliff also had two entries, with this and Saviour’s Day, whereas in actual fact he is the outright winner because he also appears, at some length, in Band Aid 2.

Anyway, this beats both of those into the dust. Go to fullscreen, turn up the volume, have a mince pie  and a cup of tea (or a sherry, if you’re reading this after midday) and enjoy the wonder that is Mistletoe and Wine, Christmas number one from 1988. The whole video is superb, but everything from 2:25 onwards is pure Cliffmas gold.

I suspect that ardent scholars of chart history will already be able to work out what tomorrow’s song is. To make it even easier here are the ten I rejected, in chronological order:

Mr Blobby, Mr Blobby (1993) – Obviously not.

Michael Jackson, Earth Song (1995) – I love Michael Jackson, but Earth Song is truly terrible and I didn’t want to sully his memory with it.

Spice Girls, Too Much (1997) – It’s a good song, but it’s nowhere near as good as the two I chose, and you can have too much Spice Girls.

Westlife, I Have A Dream (1999) – An insipid cover by an insipid act of one of my least favourite Abba songs.

Bob The Builder, Can We Fix It? (2000) – Oh, come on.

Band Aid 20, Do They Know It’s Christmas? (2004) – This made the original cut over Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, but I couldn’t find a video for it that wasn’t awful, and anyway, two versions in the winning line-up is enough for any song.

Shayne Ward, That’s My Goal (2005) – Never heard of it.

Leona Lewis, A Moment Like This (2006) – I sort of remember this, but it didn’t do anything for me.

Leon Jackson, When You Believe (2007) – Who? Alright, I know who he is, but never was there a more anonymous X Factor winner.

Rage Against The Machine, Killing In The Name (2009) – SIGH. This record was bought by tedious fools the first time around, never mind last year. I admit that X Factor has spoiled the fun of finding out who will be Christmas number one, but this was the least imaginative, least joyous alternative possible.

Of course, since I started we have a thirty-fifth Christmas number one in Matt Cardle with, um, whatever his song is called. For the sake of completeness I can confirm that he would also have been rejected, squeaky-voiced borefest that he is.

Anyway, enough of that. Here’s Cliff:

Advent song for December 22

On By Laura MorganIn Christmas, Music5 Comments

I’m sorry that this is so late; I have been in transit from Dublin since 7.30am and I was too bleary from sleep and nervous about getting home to post a song that early in the morning. But we have made it home for Christmas, and in celebration here is another unChristmassy Christmas number one.

I don’t think it’s the done thing to prefer this 1983 version to Yazoo’s original of the year before, but I do. It’s a one-trick pony of a song alright, but the trick is a good one. I also like how manifestly eighties it sounds, which you wouldn’t think could be possible with an a capella song. And I like the contrast between the blokeiness of the video and the sweetness of the song itself.

 

Advent song for December 21

On By Laura MorganIn Christmas, Music1 Comment

You didn’t really think I preferred the 1989 version, did you? Everything I said about it is true, but it’s still a pale imitation of the original – which, as I said the last time I wrote about it (are you paying attention?) is still the song most guaranteed to get people in pubs singing along at this time of year, despite being 26 years old. And, well, they’re all just so young and gorgeous. Except for Bono, who is only young, and Phil Collins, who is neither.

If tomorrow’s song doesn’t appear, it’ll be because I’m stranded at Dublin airport trying to get home for Christmas. Wish me luck!

Advent song for December 20

On By Laura MorganIn Christmas, Music

There are many things wrong with this video: the faceless Father Christmas; the snowman who isn’t made from snow and chases small children; the terrifying expression on the face of Shakey’s sledging partner; the choice of an eight-year-old girl as the recipient of his kiss under the mistletoe. But it’s all done with such innocent joy that he gets away with it. This is as Christmassy a video as there is, although my once-held belief (based on nothing at all) that it was filmed in Wales is, I think, incorrect. Never did a snow scene scream “studio shot” so loudly.

This was Christmas number one in 1985, which was just before my time as far as listening to the charts goes, which is a shame because I think I would have loved it when I was nine.  But I still like it very much at thirty four.

Advent song for December 19

On By Laura MorganIn Christmas, Music2 Comments

The early 1990s were a bit of a wasteland for me as far as the charts were concerned. I can distinctly remember thinking, aged fourteen, none of these songs has a proper tune any more! And then I stopped listening to chart music anyway, and started listening to the bands that played at Reading and Glastonbury, which at that time were acts who barely bothered the charts at all.

And then in October 1994 I went away to university, and in my excitement and anxiety at being away from home for the first time I started listening to the local radio station, because it reminded me of Capital, which reminded me of home. So I started to listen to chart music again, and for the first time in several years I went out and bought a single, and this was it. I can’t tell you what I like about it musically, although it must have appealed at the time, but whenever I listen to it I can still conjure up that feeling of terrifying freedom that accompanied me through my early weeks at university. Also, I like the fluffy hoods and the Christmas bells that kick in at 3:15.

Advent song for December 18

On By Laura MorganIn Christmas, Music1 Comment

With a week to go until Christmas it’s time for the first of the two acts with more than one song in this year’s advent calendar. Here are the Spice Girls with their first Christmas number one, from 1996, when they were still allowed to act up to their individual Spice personas – we get Scary looking scary, Sporty looking sporty, Baby looking cute, Ginger looking slutty-in-a-good-way (that should have been her nickname) and Posh looking, well, the same as always. I love this video and I love this song, mainly because they are both as perfectly Spice Girls as it ever got.