Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: A spectacular chandelier is as crucial to “The Phantom of the Opera” as the man behind the mask or Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Music of the Night.” So when the touring company now at the Benedum Center was redesigned for the next generation of phanatics, the company went big and with a nod to the original.
5 comments:
I've never ever seen The Phantom of the Opera and I've always wanted to experience it. And hearing about their updates really excites me because the designers seem to keep a lot for the same elements for the die hard phantom fans. However, because of the new technology we have, it's seems to have a lot of updated machinery and set pieces that will blow the minds of the audience. And from my friends who have seen this before, they express to me how the chandelier is one of their favorite parts of the show. They said that they had no idea why the chandelier was in it's place until it moved over the audience and everyone was in "ah". Since it's coming to Pittsburgh, maybe I'll be able to see it for myself soon. But if I don't I know I'll still have time to see it. It doesn't seem like the show is going away anytime soon.
I've seen many recorded versions of the phantom of the opera as well as the movie and through every production it has made its rising motion as if bringing you back to a memory. The rising of the chandelier has become so much of a symbol that it is hard to believe that they aren't doing it. I think it adds so much to the show for a couple reasons. One is that it serves as a strong way of conveying the past events vs current events. Without the chandelier transitioning from a crashed state to a hung state it would be hard to tell if we are some place or truest a different time. It also serves as a way to exemplify the grand and powerful nature of the opera during this time period as well as the actions of the phantom. You can think of the chandelier as everything that was beautiful at the opera. Once the chandelier has fallen so has the structure of everyone's lives at the Opera.
I've seen many recorded versions of the phantom of the opera as well as the movie and through every production it has made its rising motion as if bringing you back to a memory. The rising of the chandelier has become so much of a symbol that it is exciting to see what they will be doing with it. I think it adds so much to the show for a couple reasons. One is that it serves as a strong way of conveying the past events vs current events. Without the chandelier transitioning from a crashed state to a hung state it would be hard to tell if we are some place or truest a different time. It also serves as a way to exemplify the grand and powerful nature of the opera during this time period as well as the actions of the phantom. You can think of the chandelier as everything that was beautiful at the opera. Once the chandelier has fallen so has the structure of everyone's lives at the Opera.
I have never seen Phantom but I certainly have read a lot about it (and listened to the music). The one thing that has always stood out to me is how technically demanding it is. And it was first produced at a time when not all those demands could be met, but they found a way. Now, with modern theater technologies, those demands can be met tenfold...but they haven't been. I always have heard people complain about how outdated phantom is. When shows as old as phantom are put on now, they are completely revamped, but that is because they are revivals. Phantom has never closed and therefore can't have a revival so how can they redo the show? Les Mis did it with their 25th anniversary edition and now phantom follows suit. The new chandelier sounds awesome and I can only imagine what else the production team has in store. Phantom is all about theater magic and with so much more theater magic with modern technology, the theater magic can be so much more magical.
Though I haven’t seen Phantom of the Opera live, I have watched the movie and the 25th anniversary version. Both times, it is very evident that the chandelier is important in the beginning—but it began to fade into the background for me to the point where I didn’t remember it was there at the end of the show. I hope that with the redesign and larger scale, it will be a more prominent fixture throughout the entire production. Additionally, I am very glad they are keeping the original costume designs, as their grand scale and incredible handiwork and detail is something that I loved about Phantom of the Opera. Though I don’t love the show itself, I am glad that they are exploring other options with the design of the stage, because there are so many possibilities in the research that they have done into the Paris stage. I really think it fits in the Benedum Center, because the scale and grandeur of the building very closely reflects the design of the set and the scale of the new chandelier. I look forward to hearing more opinions about the show as more people experience it.
Post a Comment