“The Phantom of the Opera” is a timeless romantic tale firts written as a novel by Gaton Leroux. It has been adapted numerous times for stage and screen and even spawned spin-off and parody novels and even a musical sequel.
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“The Phantom of the Opera” is a timeless, romantic, and haunting musical that almost everyone has heard of before. On Feb. 22, Saint Leo hosted its biannual trip to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, treating students to an evening showing of the thrilling production. This latest adaptation of “Phantom” featured both traditional opera singing and contemporary musical singing, as well as beautiful ballet.
Overall, the show was a well put together version of the well-known story. Some students had prior knowledge of “The Phantom of the Opera” while others went in blind, but it was an understandable story with or without the previous knowledge. The story was cohesive, the set design was amazing, and the dancing was beautiful to watch.
“The Phantom of the Opera” is about the slow abduction of a young girl who meets a man teaching her how to sing in his opera. He sends instructions to the manager of the theatre in favor of allowing the girl, Christine, to sing and be the star of the show. He forces them to leave Box Office Five empty for his viewing of the shows and threatens severe consequences if they rebel against him.
Christine, although at first enthralled with the Phantom and what he can teach her, eventually wants to escape from him as she realizes more about his secrets. Her lover encourages her to escape and is a huge factor in this decision. As the Phantom realizes he’s losing Christine, he begins to wreak more and more havoc in the opera which creates a thrilling and heartbreaking climax at the end of the play.
The stagecraft was something to be admired. The set consisted of a giant room on a rotating circle, with walls that opened up to whichever set they needed for the current scene. Each room and the use of mist and fire for different dramatic moments were artfully done. “The Phantom of the Opera” didn’t win a Tony for best set design for nothing.
Ballet was another part of the show that wasn’t quite the main focus but served as a great visual addition to the singing and acting. They used it both as a background and as a filler.
It seemed as though the general census from the students who attended was positive. Jennifer Fields, a junior criminal justice major, was absolutely enchanted by the performance.
“‘The Phantom of the Opera’ at the Straz Center was delightfully macabre,” said Fields. “The chandelier was its own character as it loomed above the audience. The pyrotechnics added excitement that could only be topped by the sound of the vibrato in Carlotta’s and Christine’s voices. It had everything you could possibly want romance, murder, and ballet. All in all, my friends and I had a ‘Wicked’ good time.”
Last semester, Saint Leo University had another trip to the Straz to see “RENT.” In the past, students have also gone to see “Wicked” and other well-known Broadway gems. These trips to see famous plays are a great way for students to experience the arts and is a great change of pace from other kinds of outings like theme parks and sports events.
Overall, “The Phantom of the Opera” is a beautiful and emotional show that students, both die-hard fans and first-time viewers, enjoyed attending.
