Phantom of the Opera

During our vacation, Tina and I saw “Phantom of the Opera” in New York City.  It was the second time we’ve seen this outstanding program.  I recommend it to everyone.

Andrew Lloyd Weber is a genius!  It is hard to believe how he can create so many so amazing new songs when people have been creating songs for centuries.   Here are my favorites (in no particular order) from “The Phantom”.

• The Phantom of the Opera
• The Music of the Night
• That’s All I Ask of You
• Masquerade
• The Point of No Return

You can find the lyrics at http://www.metrolyrics.com/phantom-of-the-opera-lyrics.html, but you want to hear the haunting music.

Different people see different themes in “Phantom of the Opera”.  When I ask women what the movie is about, they almost invariably say that it is a movie about a girl torn between two loves.  Men give a much broader range of responses.

But few people see the movie the way I do.  Most people describe the Phantom as a monster or terrible person.

I think the Phantom was a wonderful person!  He was bright, motivated and compassionate.  But society rejected him because of his disfigurement, eventually turning him into a bitter person who used his capabilities destructively.  But even so embittered, he eventually sacrificed for the woman he loved.

To me, “The Phantom of the Opera” is a great story of how we (society) can cruelly and stupidly waste human potential.  I perceive the human race as renewable because we can create new humans.  However, the human second is a non-renewable precious resource.  We need to find ways to maximize utilization of each human second, by educating, encouraging and inspiring humans to perform at their best.