'5$0$785*,&$/ :25. %< &KULVWLQH 6 7DQQHU (DVWHUQ 0LFKLJDQ 8QLYHUVLW\ DQG 1LFN 6KHHWV %ULJKDP <RXQJ 8QLYHUVLW\
9
On September 29, 1860, a statement was issued that plans were in the making for a new opera house which would be more “dignified, adequate, and luxurious.” Three months later, a competition was set up for architects to submit their renderings of a new opera house. More than seven hundred designs were submitted. The designs were displayed publicly, and as the competition continued, were gradually reduced to five. The final five were finally debated by Napoleon’s jury. On June 6, 1861, Charles Garnier was officially announced the winner of the competition by Count Walewski, Napoleon’s State Minister.
A BRIEF HISTORY by NICK SHEETS
Work on the opera house went quickly, and by 1869 the rooftop was put in place. However, political turmoil caused the construction to cease momentarily. Napoleon III lost his rule on September 4, 1870, and Louis Jules Trochu became the de-facto president of France until January 22, 1871. The French lost the Franco-Prussian War at this point, but the working-class Parisians, known as “The Commune,” put up a fight against the German victors. The resistance was cut short when, on May 10, 1871, France and Germany signed the Treaty of Frankfurt. The new government, under Adolphe Thiers, feared the Parisian communists could put his power in jeopardy. He violently smothered their resistance, killing from 30,000 to 50,000 people in what has been termed “Bloody Week.” With order now restored, the Paris Opera house resumed construction.
The Opera Garnier’s birth stems out of an attempted assassination of Napoleon III, the ruler of France between 1852 and 1870. On his way to the Paris Opera on January 14, 1858, Felice Orsini, along with his Italian revolutionaries, threw three bombs towards the emperor and his wife. Though the Emperor and his wife were untouched, eight people were killed and fifty-six were injured. This attempt on the emperor’s life, as well as Napoleon’s desire for a cleaner “Romanesque” Paris, prompted the emperor to begin plans for a new opera which would permit him to enter and exit the theatre safely.
While Laroux, the author of The Phantom of the Opera, was taking a tour of the Paris Opera House, he ventured into the catacombs that lay beneath the building. There he found his idea for the Phantom’s Lair.
10
On January 5, 1875, the Paris Opera House opened officially with a gala and an opera. In its program were famous French Grand Opera pieces: “the overtures for La Muette de Portici and Guillaume Tell, the first two acts of La Juivei, the ‘Consecration of the swords’ from Les Huguenots, and an 1866 ballet entitled La Source.” The architecture was so elaborate that most people couldn’t understand what art form Garnier had used. He responded to his critics that the Opera Garnier was After the Opera House was “Napoleon III architecture.” Today, the Opera completed, a tragic accident Garnier houses the Paris School of Dance, occured in 1896. The original and the Paris Opera performs mainly in the Opera Bastille, dedicated on July 13, 1989. chandelier fell on the audience during a performance and killed one person. This gave rise to Laroux’s idea of the Phantom being the one behind the accident in his novel.
11
CLAUDE RAINS 1943 LON CHANEY 1925 HERBERT LOM 1962
MICHAEL CRAWFORD 1986
The Phantom of the Opera is based on the novel with the same name, published by the French author M. Gaston Leroux. A former investigative reporter, Leroux visited the Paris Opera House and studied its history. While imagining it as the romantic setting for his novel, he also included real events from its past. At one time a chandelier had fallen into the audience and during the Paris commune, rebels lived and died there. Many have adapted the story into films, novels, plays, and musicals, but it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t until Andrew Lloyd Webber composed his musical that the story took off and became one of the most popular musicals of all time.
GERARD BUTLER 2004 PRESTON YATES 2013
12
13
Le grand escalier de l 'OpĂŠra Garnier
14
15
by CHRISTINE S. TANNER One of the more interesting techniques Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe employ to provide context for our love story are the inclusion of scenes from three fictional operas. Each of these opera slices provides subplots that color and enrich the larger story of the Phantomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doomed pursuit of his beloved Christine. In order for each of these opera moments to work, all the elements of operatic spectacle must be designed and created as though they were actually producing the operas individually. The elaborate costumes, gorgeous scenery, largerthan-life wigs, dramatic make-up, and special effects create an illusionary world that is pure magic. These three opera slices make The Phantom of the Opera one of the most difficult and demanding musicals to perform and produceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and at the same time, thrilling to watch live.
Hannibal by Chalumeau Hannibal is a grand opera reminiscent of Verdiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Aida. This operatic style demands over-the-top acting, large voices, exotic costumes, and even an elephant. The rehearsal scene in Phantom contains an aria, sung by the diva Carlotta, celebrating Hannibalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soldiersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; safe return from war. The rehearsal is repeatedly interrupted to provide information for the plot. We learn that the opera house has been sold, and a near accident reveals the fear that is permeating the cast and crew of the Opera Populaire.
Il Muto by Albrizzio Some believe Il Muto is Webberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parody of Mozartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Marriage of Figaro, while others refer to it as similar to the earlier comedies of manners by Sheridan and Molière. It is filled with the stereotypical knavery and hanky-panky of the French upper class, common to such librettos. Carlotta performs the leading role as the haughty countess, while Christine is consigned to play a mute pageboy in opposition to a direct request by the Phantom that Christine should play the lead. This casting choice motivates the Phantom to show his power.
Don Juan Triumphant by Phantom Don Juan Triumphant is a rather lascivious piece that illustrates the moral decay and increasingly disturbed mental state of the Phantom. Reminiscent of Don Giovanni by Mozart, the performance is cut short when Christine realizes that WKH RSHUD¡V OHDGLQJ PDQ 3LDQJL KDV EHHQ UHSODFHG E\ WKH 3KDQWRP 
16
17
by CHRISTINE S. TANNER So what makes this story so engaging and enticing? Some have called it a mysterious rags to riches story, some say it’s another Beauty and the Beast tale of forbidden love, while others simply believe it is a tragic melodrama of unrequited love. Surely it is all three and more. The Phantom is thus beast, monster, tragic figure, and lover all rolled into one amazingly complex character. In the original novel, which was followed extensively by Andrew Lloyd Weber, the Phantom’s earliest memory is of rejection by his own mother. Not able to bear looking at his facial deformities, she fashioned a mask that he was forced to wear. Years of censure and heartache led to the creation of this most tragic genius and madman. With his deformities, his intense need for secrecy, and his dark façade, one wonders why the beautiful and talented Christine is drawn to the Phantom. Explanations for this seemingly unnatural attraction range from a traditional “bad boy” magnetism to her youthful innocence of life and men. A more in-depth look at Christine reminds one of how losing a parent can deeply affect a young girl’s psyche, confidence, and ability to move forward in life. Viewed from this perspective, it becomes obvious that Christine is very similar to the Phantom in the sense that she, too, suffers the effects of a damaged childhood. Unlike the Phantom, whose pain is caused by his outward appearance, the focus of Christine’s pain is inward, where she silently suffers the loss of her beloved father. In this sense, Christine becomes the Cinderella of the story: a young, innocent, fatherless child seeking love, acceptance, and a new life. Like Christine, the Phantom also seeks love and acceptance, and his hope lies in enticing Christine into accepting a new life with him. Thus the man with an outward pain hopes to be consoled and healed by the woman filled with inner pain, who in turn hopes to be healed of her inner grief and heartache. Unfortunately for Christine and the Phantom, neither will find the healing they so need in each other. The secret of the Phantom’s tortured and abused childhood has damaged his psyche so deeply that even Christine’s initial positive response to his overtures is not enough for him. Taking her to his subterranean lair, he certainly isn’t an experienced Don Juan, but rather a tortured soul seeking approval and love. And though his magical presence and music sweep Christine away momentarily, he lacks the social graces and character to keep her under his spell.
18
19
Face Value by CHRISTINE S. TANNER
As a sixteen-year-old in St. Louis, Missouri, I remember sitting on my living room floor, reading a book called, Fascinating Womanhood. I accepted at face value that there was a methodology for “making a man like you” and remember writing a list of all the things that I needed to change about myself to become “just that person.” This belief that I would never be acceptable the way I was and that change was imperative proved to be a major factor in undermining my confidence and feelings of well-being. My response was to repress these feelings and hide from the world through my very own “fat mask.” Caramels, Oreos, and cinnamon bears were easy fixes for my pain and very effective in creating my disguise. Watching the Phantom in rehearsals, I began to feel like he had gone down a similar path. He too had his checklist of things he could do to make Christine like him. He needed a tux and a cool cape, hair that was clean and wavy, an amazing singing voice, an original opera, and a striking mask that covered ever so carefully that part of his face that was shocking to look upon. Unfortunately, his unmasking, the removal of his disguise, dashed all hopes for a relationship with Christine and his further checklist was filled with acts of retaliation and elimination. These acts of revenge on others failed to win him the prize in the same way my “fat” disguise disconnected me from my desired success. The Phantom and I both believed that there was some “perfect” state of flawlessness that, if obtained, would make us attractive to those we loved. We also believed that, until then, a disguise could hide our flaws. We were wrong. In fact, the real definition of Biblical perfection is “complete” and NOT flawless. James 1:4 reads; “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” Both the Phantom and I have a few lessons to learn about becoming complete. It isn’t about completing the actions on some list, nor is it disguising who we are. Rather, it’s about revealing our true selves—shaking off the natural man and becoming complete creatures made new through Christ, filled with love for self and others.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
LEARN MORE AT THE 4TH WALL! The 4th Wall is dedicated to providing insider access to the theatrical productions at Brigham Young University. Whether it is insights from the rehearsal room, interesting historical information, interviews with the production team or more, the BYU dramaturgs are working to break down that 4th Wall. http://4thwalldramaturgy.byu.edu/
20