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Reviews on the Musical, The Phantom of the Opera

“There’s no longer any reason to see this show anywhere else -- unless they make them all like this. Which would be impossible”"The orchestra is full, lush and Broadway-size.”“These are all Broadway actors with no intention of compromising their craft just because they are in Vegas.”

Chicago Tribune

“I love the phantom of the opera! Luckily they return to Singapore, if not I am going to miss this splendid production since it first debut in Singapore in 1995 at that time I was only 10 yrs old. I heard of these musical when i was in primary school, and is a dream come true for me as I waited for yrs for them to return. Even though I have seen the musical but I simply just can't get it out of my head. I really hope that the Phantom opera will return to Singapore to perform again in future. I'm certainly to attend=)”

Cindy- Singapore

“On Saturday we went to see Phantom for the first time. It definitely won't be the last!! What an emotional experience. The staging was immaculate and quite literally breathtaking. As the chandelier began to make its ascent in Act 1, my 19 year old son and I both gasped. It set the trend for the remainder of the show. The theatre itself oozed atmosphere and we were treated to surprise after surprise. The talented cast squeezed every bit of drama from the score and script. The line between grand opera and musical was very fine. The finale was reminiscent of Rigoletto or Onegin and every bit as moving. Thank you to all concerned for such a wonderful performance!!”

Susan Morrison - Glasgow

“Oh my god I am so in love with the show I went and saw the show again and this time I was sitting right under the chandelier it was so good. I love the Phantom of the Opera”

Pats - London

This was the first time I had ever seen the show live. It was the U.S Tour. The show was at the princess of Wales theatre in Toronto. Even though it wasn’t in this huge Broadway theatre I thought it was the most amazing thing i have ever seen in my life. I cried right when i walked into the theatre. Being there was a dream come true for me and i will never forget it. John Cudia (the phantom) and Marni Rabb (christine) were amazing individually and together. The chemistry, acting, singing, everything was amazing!!

Alexandra Davitksy- Toronto

Personal Reflections

Having recently watched the musical, The Phantom of the Opera at the Esplanade, I decided to write about it as I realized that without globalization, I probably would not have had the opportunity to have experienced the magnificent musical or maybe not be able to understand it. The reason being that the musical would probably not have been performed in Singapore if it was not for globalization. The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a disfigured musical genius who haunts the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House, waging a reign of terror over its occupants after the woman that he falls in love with has another admirer, Raoul, who was also her childhood sweetheart. The Phantom's fury at her betrayal becomes murderous. He hatches a plot to win her back and in a dramatic and tense climax Christine is forced to choose between Raoul and the Phantom - her Angel of Music.

The longest-running show in Broadway history, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s, The Phantom of the Opera has indeed reached another unprecedented milestone as it is the first Broadway show ever to reach 8,000 performances and a worldwide audience of over 80 million people. The reviews that I have included show that they were made by people from various countries around the world having had the opportunity to experience the musical in their own countries. This goes to show that globalization allows people in different countries to experience such performances now that these performances are able to be performed overseas. Previously, similar performances would only have been performed locally, mostly in New York and London, two countries where most of such musicals originated from. Thus, the performance will only available for a limited number of people, mainly the locals. Furthermore, the musical is performed in English, which is fast becoming the global language.

Besides the Phantom of the Opera there are other musicals and performances that are performed on a global level. One example is the all too well known, CATS. Since its opening in London in 1981, CATS has been presented in over twenty countries and in about two hundred and fifty cities, including such diverse destinations as Buenos Aires, Seoul , Helsinki and even in Singapore .Within two and half years of the London opening there were productions in New York, Tokyo, Budapest and Vienna, and the first tour of the US had hit the road. Other performances and musicals that are performed on a global level include Oliver Twist and STORM. These too are performed in English.Thus, more people can enjoy these musicals and performances.

However, some people argue that these musicals and performances lead to the loss of culture and identity as different cultures are becoming more westernized and tend to neglect their similar local forms of entertainment. For example, in the past such as in countries like Singapore, it is common for people to watch Chinese Opera that are put up beneath their blocks. However, as performances and musicals such as the Phantom of the Opera are being performed, many Singaporeans would rather attend these than Chinese Operas. This is especially the case among the younger generation. They would rather go to the Esplanade with their friends to watch performances and musicals such as the Phantom of the Opera. Moreover, the fact that these performances are in English would mean that they are able to watch them with their non-Chinese speaking counterparts. It is an undeniable fact that the younger generations in Singapore speak more English as compared to their local languages. Therefore, naturally many of them would rather go for performances and musicals that are in English in contrast to those that are in their local languages, in this case in Chinese.

With the increasing popularity of such musicals and performances, it is no wonder that certain cultures are making an attempt to make similar musicals and performances. In the past, Wayang kulit, where hand-crafted leather puppets depict epic stories of the gods in shadow play and a traditional Gamelan orchestra would accompany the story-telling was a popular form of entertainment especially among the Malays. However, this is not the case any longer. Rarely do people watch the Wayang kulit now; instead, they would rather watch Malay musicals and performance that are similar to the western versions. For example, towards the end of last year, many Malays bought tickets to watch Puteri Gunung Ledang (The Legend of the Princess on Ledang Hill) which was held at the Esplanade on the 24th,25th and 26th of November. Some of them did not manage to do so as tickets were sold out very quickly, thus showing how popular it was.

The aim of the musical, Puteri Gunung Ledang was to produce a uniquely South East Asian stage musical that is directly inspired by Puteri Gunung Ledang the film. This is Malaysia's first attempt to stage its very own West End scale production. It was structured along the lines of a traditional Broadway or West End musical with scenes of spoken dramatic dialogue, punctuated with songs highlighting the emotional moments and dance sequences adding spectacle and excitement to the narrative which is a well-known Malay legend. Another feature of globalization that can be seen through these musicals is that people of different races, not only the Malays are given the opportunity to act in them. This is an increasingly common feature in global musicals and performances. For example, there are non-Malays who act in Puteri Gunung Ledang. Both its lead actor and actress were not Malays, namely, Tiara Jacquelina as Gusti Puteri Retno Dumilah and Stephen Rahman-Hughes as Hang Tuah.

Thus, in my opinion, the impact of globalization on performances and musicals does have its advantages and disadvantages. However, one should not neglect local forms of entertainment with the increasing influence of western performances and musicals. At the same time, the mixture of elements from different cultures into such performances do indeed make them much more interesting.

Signing off,
Warda
Cultural Expert:)