THE BOOK SHELF
BELONGING online study aid
Andrew Lloyd Webber's
'The Phantom of the Opera'
with lyrics by Charles Hart and additions by Richard Stilgoe
Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical tells the story of a disfigured genius who has been outcast from all of society because of his looks. He is outcats by his mother and labeled 'the devil's child' because of his difiguration. He travels around with a gypsy circus getting beaten every day for show. He finally escapes and finds refuge under the Paris Opera House and falls in love with a young soprano singer who is training as a ballerina at the Opera House -Christine Dia.
Christine, however is in love with another man which drives the self named 'phantom' mad. He obsessively tries to find belonging within her love threatening to kill the man she truly loves.
Andrew LLoyd Weber’s The Phantom of the Opera’ show the concept of belonging through the changing of attitudes towards belonging and barriers to belonging. We see the was that belonging can change in the first scene:
The use of transition creates a feeling of mystery and deja vu. This shows us how time can cause attitudes towards belonging to change as well as how things that were once so important can become so insignificant as time passes. This tells us that our attitudes and ideas about belonging will always change depending on our current circumstances and perspective gained over time. The non-diagetic soundtrack generates a sense of fright and almost foreboding through the use of fortissimo chords the instrumentation of the organ and the celeste. This shows that attitudes can change very quickly and unexpectedly and that belonging can occur spontaneously if two people connect with each other without having to try hard. That is the essence of true belonging.
‘The Phantom of the Opera’ shows the concept of belonging in many ways but in the excerpt below it is based upon how preconceived ideas of beauty and normality prevent belonging and cause alienation to occur.
The use of a tracking shot creates a feeling of anxiousness for Christine. This shows us that when people feel exiled they can resort to acting aggressively and hurtfully. The use of the torch in the dark tunnel symbolises that candles are the only source of light in the Phantom’s life because he has subjected himself to darkness to escape torment and persecution. This tells us that without compassion we create madness. We create murderers.
‘The Phantom of the Opera’ portrays the concept of belonging and how it can change through time as well as how time can cause acceptance of where we fit in. This is shown in the excerpt from the end scene below. The Phantom shows that he still loved Christine but he let her go for the sake of her happiness.
The close up shot of the rose emphasises feelings of love and grief. The rose shows us that although many terrible things can happen to a person, they are still capable of love. It tells us that belonging can be as simple as being nice to someone to make them feel included. Good little things matter when all you have experienced is bad things. Belonging can occur no matter what.