This blog post analyzes the genre characteristics of the musical film ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, focusing on how it combines a thriller narrative with the backstage musical format to simultaneously establish the emotions of romance and the tension of horror.
The 2004 film “The Phantom of the Opera” is an adaptation of the musical, featuring the music of world-renowned musical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in its original form. The original novel and the musical based on it are already excessively well-known, having been evaluated as one of the world’s most renowned musical works. While a globally famous musical doesn’t necessarily guarantee box office success, this film achieved a relatively stable level of completion in both its narrative and visual aspects. Particularly notable is how it departs from the bright, cheerful atmosphere typically seen in musical films, instead combining tragic undertones with thriller conventions to create a significantly more tense impression. This naturally raises the question: where does this effect truly originate?
Of course, “The Phantom of the Opera” isn’t the only musical work to adopt a thriller format. For instance, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “Jekyll & Hyde” (primarily encountered on the musical stage), and ‘Chicago’ also incorporate thriller elements. However, the “The Phantom of the Opera” discussed here distinguishes itself by particularly emphasizing these thriller conventions.
Examining the narrative, the story begins in the Paris Opera House of the 1860s. During rehearsals for the new opera “Hannibal,” a sudden accident occurs where the stage machinery collapses. People whisper that The Phantom of the Opera is responsible. The enraged prima donna Carlotta leaves the theater, refusing to perform until safety is assured. Meg Giry, the ballet director’s daughter and Christine’s best friend, recommends Christine as the new leading lady. Having secretly taken lessons from an unknown figure, Christine achieves tremendous success on the opera stage.
Raoul, a patron of the Opera House who attended the performance, instantly recognizes her as his childhood sweetheart and invites her to dinner. Left alone briefly, Christine follows the Phantom—dressed in a tailcoat, half his face concealed by a white mask—who emerges from behind a mirror, disappearing into the labyrinthine Parisian sewers. In the darkness of the underground world, where the distinction between day and night is blurred, the Phantom sings to Christine, promising to teach her his music. He leaves a note demanding that Christine be cast as the lead in the new opera the theater is preparing in a few days.
When theater owners Firmin and Andre refuse, the Phantom murders a stagehand during the performance, plunging the stage into chaos. Overhearing Christine and Raoul’s conversation as they flee to the rooftops to escape him, the Phantom, consumed by jealousy, resolves to take revenge and drops the chandelier onto the stage. Amid the brief lull in the commotion, Christine and Raoul secretly become engaged. However, the Phantom reappears during the masquerade ball, demanding that his opera, “The Triumph of Don Juan,” be staged for the opera house’s reopening performance.
Raoul sees this as an opportunity to capture the Phantom. At the climax of the opera, Christine removes Don Juan’s mask, revealing the Phantom’s identity. However, he immediately kidnaps Christine to his underground lair. Raoul, aided by Madame Giry, locates the Phantom’s hideout but is captured in a moment of carelessness. The Phantom threatens to kill Raoul unless Christine stays with him forever. But Christine, understanding his pure soul, approaches him and kisses him. Moved, the Phantom releases Raoul and vanishes, leaving only his white mask behind.
Now we must examine the conventions of the musical. First, in terms of characters, the musical centers a figure who functions as a musical man intimate with the audience. This character seduces partners through energy, elegance, and rhythm, tends to be refined by women, and simultaneously forms conflict with a femme fatale character. Furthermore, the conclusion unifies the performer or lover within the narrative into a single unit of musical and romantic energy through song and dance.
Structurally, the characteristics of the backstage musical are prominent. This format, developed in the 1930s, centers the story around stage performers as characters, focusing on the performance and romance. Performance and story are clearly separated, with actors shifting between stage performance and everyday narrative to reveal changes in attitude. Lavish dance sequences and dynamic filmmaking techniques are actively employed. Since the stage show itself determines characters and conflicts, narrative tension or complexity tends to be relatively low.
Within these conventions of musical characters and storytelling, “The Phantom of the Opera” stands out as a musical film where Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music serves as its greatest draw. While adopting the operetta format, which unfolds solely through music without dialogue, it stimulates the audience’s emotions through melodies so popular they can be easily hummed by anyone. The Phantom, having kidnapped Christine, rows her to his underground lair while singing “The Phantom of the Opera.” This song, combined with the majestic pipe organ accompaniment, creates an atmosphere of extreme tension. Christine’s soaring high notes, sung as if intoxicated by the Phantom’s demand to sing later in the piece, always deliver a powerful emotional impact.
Numerous other masterpieces are scattered throughout the production, including “Think of Me,” showcasing Christine’s crystalline voice; “The Music of the Night,” featuring the Phantom’s impressive high baritone; and “All I Ask of You,” sung by Raoul and Christine together on the rooftop. Notably, “The Music of the Night” is famously known as a birthday gift Andrew Lloyd Webber composed for his wife, Sarah Brightman, who played Christine. This mirrors how the Phantom makes Christine sing his music, as Webber himself presented his music to the world through his wife.
Meanwhile, defining the thriller genre, it refers to films or dramas produced with the intent to stimulate the audience’s fear psychology. This includes mystery films and crime films, and in some cases, even spy films or adventure films. The narrative unfolds by delaying the resolution of the problem, continuously maintaining the audience’s interest and gradually heightening the suspense. Though originating in film, the thriller genre is utilized across various media including theater, broadcasting, and novels. Broadly speaking, it falls under the category of suspense drama, closely related to horror plays, crime dramas, detective stories, and the like. Viewed through this definition, the film’s narrative adopts the thriller form while focusing on the tragic protagonist.
As mentioned earlier, this film uniquely blends two genres. One is the musical genre, and the other is the narrative structure combined with the thriller genre. The overall narrative structure adopts the form of a thriller, and the combination of these two seemingly incompatible genres creates a synergy effect. By adopting the thriller format, the audience’s primary focus centers on questions like: What actions will the Phantom take? What choices and movements will Christine make between the Phantom and Raoul? And how will Raoul rescue Christine from the Phantom’s grasp?
Amidst this tense situation, the protagonists express their emotions and predicaments through song, further heightening the play’s immersion. In other words, narratively, it provides the audience with sustained tension through the thriller form while remaining true to its essential musical genre by placing the protagonists’ songs front and center. This combination is precisely the result of effectively blending the genre strengths demonstrated by “The Phantom of the Opera.”
