Why I Reacted To This Song
That’s a hard endorsement to argue with and thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber, this song is exactly why.
Original by Artist
About This Song
“The Music of the Night” is the centerpiece ballad of The Phantom of the Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical based on Gaston Leroux’s novel. Sung by the Phantom as he leads Christine down to his lair beneath the opera house, it’s built to seduce and unsettle in the same breath. It remains one of the most recognizable pieces in musical theatre.
First Impressions
The melody alone does most of the work, but it’s the performance that sells it. Michael Crawford is by far the best Phantom to take on the role; his voice carries the whole seduction of the scene.
My Reaction
For a show that’s been performed as many times as Phantom has, that kind of praise from someone who watched Broadway night after night isn’t handed out lightly, and this song is why it holds up. Michael Crawford’s Phantom is magnetic in a way that’s never quite been matched since and Sarah Brightman opposite him is just as essential. Nobody has ever played a deer caught in the headlights better than she did as Christine; that mix of fear and fascination on her face is half the reason the scene works at all.
Rating
84/100