Phantom Of The Opera - Obsession; The Mask Of Love
Obsession; the Mask of Love
In examining the libretto The Phantom of the Opera, the interactions and attitudes of the characters, and the language used, I will show how the Phantom’s obsession over Christine, although at times destructive, leads to his change from an evil and selfish villain, to a remorseful and compassionate hero. To understand the psyche of the Phantom, one must first have a brief overview of the play.
In 1984 Andrew Lloyd Webber, transformed the original The Phantom of the Opera novel (written in 1911 by Gaston Leroux) into a dialogic, emotional masterpiece. The prologue starts at the end of the story, in an auction in the Paris Opera House, in 1905. Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny is buying a papier-mâché music box, which Christine, his love and Fiancée of his youth had described to him. The auction then transforms back in time twenty-four years and recounts the story of the Phantom of the Opera. A seeming ghost, this disfigured man lived in the dungeons of the opera house. Although he was a musical genius, a scholar, a composer and an architect, his deformities forced him to live in the shadows. The protagonist, Christine, a young ballerina, whose late father had recounted her stories of this angel of music, is taught to sing, by the Phantom.
Through music the Phantom wins the admiration of Christine. Trusted as her guardian angel, he tutors her at night, through two-way mirrors in her room. As the play progresses, with the help of the Phantom, Christine secures a leading role in an opera, and becomes a huge success. In hearing Christine, Raoul recognizes his childhood friend and pursues her. Christine’s singing lessons come with strict rules, and in breaking them by seeing Raoul, the Phantom’s demeanour turns from firm to deadly.
Act two is six months later, where at a masqued party, it is revealed to us that Christine and Raoul are secretly engaged to be married, which enrages the Phantom....
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