THE Phantom of THE Opera is a story considered one of the best Broadway Films of the nineteenth century. The musical film originally written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, presents the dark romantic musical story that awed the audience. The musical story is a combination of mysterious, seductive atmosphere full of tragedy, comedy and adventure. The phantom of the opera is a story revolving around Christine, a young girl raised in the Paris opera house after her father dies.
Living in the opera house, she heard voices that guided her and taught her how to sing beautifully. Everything goes well until Raoul arrives and fall in love with Christine. The ghost voice in the opera house is Erik. Erik becomes jealous of Raoul because of his love for Christine. Jealousy reveals the hidden character of Erik when he kidnaps Christine but only allows her to leave after she promised to wear his ring.
THE Phantom of THE Opera, directed by Gaston Leroux, the mysterious opera ghost seems to be a complex character. Even though the opera ghost is portrayed as someone ugly with evil thoughts, we can find some positive features through his actions. The story portrays the character phantom as someone likable. The story presents illustrates the different characteristics of the main characters, Phantom. Initially, Phantom is portrayed as a vulnerable person attracting sympathy. However, some of his flaws make readers view him differently. Throughout the story, the scenes present Raoul as a weak character as compared to Erik. Raoul came back to Christine’s life when she has become an opera star despite being friends since childhood.
There are several scenes of love stories, including Erik and Christine sharing a unique bond because of their long-term relationship. Christine and Erik shared passion for music and the secret nature of their relationship suggests their true love. On the other hand, Christine shared a different kind of bond with Raoul because of their childhood upbringing. The different nature of love presented in the story makes the characters complex and leads to the theme of tragedy.
The balancing between exaggerated characters and exciting events that intended to appeal to the emotions of the audience versus tragedy makes the story more interesting. The sensational scenes combined with excessively emotional moment astonish the audience. Like in many tragic stories, the main character in the story exhibit both inspirational strength at the same time possess devastating flaws that led him to commit murder in the name of love. Erick’s tragic flaw is his disfigured face that damages his soul; he tries to pursue his goal of winning Christine through evil means without succeeding.
Gaston Leroux employs symbolism in his story to present his main character calling him the opera because of his deformed face that made him hide from people, in reality, he was not a ghost. The descriptive nature of the story-using symbol makes the story more passionate; the audience can easily connect the theme of tragedy. Throughout the story, music plays a significant role in the story. The musical performance symbolizes the deep expressions of the characters based on their life experiences.
For instance, Erik gives Christine his music, which to him is the most intimate gift of all. Christine’s voice attracts her childhood friend Raoul, who remembers her and eventually fall in love with her. Although Andrew Lloyd Webber musical version of the story was simple, Gaston Leroux constructed a tale that could be interpreted in numerous ways by the audience. THE Phantom of THE Opera by Leroux portrays an unsolved seductive atmosphere full of tragedy, comedy and adventure that resonated with many audiences.
