Music of the Night (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Music of the Night" is a song from the musical The Phantom of the Opera
. The music was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber
with lyrics by Charles Hart
.
Initially made famous by Michael Crawford
, the actor who originated the role of the Phantom both in the West End
and on Broadway
, the popular song has sold millions of copies worldwide and has been translated into many different languages. The Really Useful Group filmed a video starring Crawford and Sarah Brightman
(who did not sing), which featured the original lyrics to the song. Crawford later recorded the song as duet with Barbra Streisand
for her album "Back to Broadway
" (1993).
In the musical, it is sung after the Phantom
lures Christine Daaé
down to his lair beneath the Opera House. He seduces Christine with "his music" of the night, his voice putting her into a type of trance. He sings of his unspoken love for her and urges her to forget the world and life she knew before. The Phantom leads Christine around his lair, eventually pulling back a curtain to reveal a life-size doll of Christine dressed in a wedding gown, causing her to faint. The Phantom then carries Christine to a bed, where he lays her down and goes on to write his music.
Sarah Brightman declared at the London's Royal Albert Hall
Concert in 1997, that the song was originally written by Andrew Lloyd Webber for her, the first time he met her. That version had different lyrics and was called "Married Man". The lyrics were later rewritten and the song was added into The Phantom of the Opera. After her run as the original Christine, she began using the song in her solo concerts.
A year before The Phantom Of The Opera even opened at Her Majesty's Theatre
, the original version of the song was performed at Andrew Lloyd Webber's own theatre at Sydmonton, along with the first drafts of the show. The audience were a specially gathered group of Webber's acquaintances. The Phantom was played by Colm Wilkinson
, who sang "The Music Of The Night" in Act One. As Charles Hart
had not yet become involved in writing the song, in places the lyrics were very different from the ones used in the three variations of the song.
One version of "The Music of the Night", as performed by Sarah Brightman, has alternate lyrics, as well as an alternate ending, replacing the line "To the power of the music that I write," with "To the harmony which dreams alone can write".
's 1910 opera La Fanciulla del West
(The Girl of the Golden West), Webber has been accused of plagiarism by several individuals. Following the success of Phantom, the Puccini estate filed suit against Webber accusing him of plagiarism, but the suit was settled out of court and details were not released to the public.
and Charlie White
used the song, when ice dancing
at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and won a silver medal.
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
. The music was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
with lyrics by Charles Hart
Charles Hart (lyricist)
Charles Hart is a British lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for re-writing the lyrics to, and contributing to the book of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical The Phantom of the Opera. He also co-wrote the lyrics to Lloyd Webber's 1989 musical Aspects of Love...
.
Initially made famous by Michael Crawford
Michael Crawford
Michael Crawford OBE is an English actor and singer. He has garnered great critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his career, which covers radio, television, film, and stagework on both London's West End and on Broadway in New York City...
, the actor who originated the role of the Phantom both in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, the popular song has sold millions of copies worldwide and has been translated into many different languages. The Really Useful Group filmed a video starring Crawford and Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
(who did not sing), which featured the original lyrics to the song. Crawford later recorded the song as duet with Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
for her album "Back to Broadway
Back to Broadway
Back to Broadway is the twenty-sixth studio album by Barbra Streisand, released in 1993. The album is Streisand's second collection of songs from Broadway musicals, after 1985's The Broadway Album, and peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 189,000 copies in that week, and has been...
" (1993).
In the musical, it is sung after the Phantom
Erik, the Phantom of the Opera
Erik is the titular character in Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera. He is also the antagonist of many film adaptations of the novel, notably the 1925 film adaptation starring Lon Chaney, Sr., and Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End musical....
lures Christine Daaé
Christine Daaé
Christine Daaé is the main female character in Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera , the young singer with whom the main character Erik, the Phantom of the Opera falls in love.- Character history :...
down to his lair beneath the Opera House. He seduces Christine with "his music" of the night, his voice putting her into a type of trance. He sings of his unspoken love for her and urges her to forget the world and life she knew before. The Phantom leads Christine around his lair, eventually pulling back a curtain to reveal a life-size doll of Christine dressed in a wedding gown, causing her to faint. The Phantom then carries Christine to a bed, where he lays her down and goes on to write his music.
Sarah Brightman declared at the London's Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
Concert in 1997, that the song was originally written by Andrew Lloyd Webber for her, the first time he met her. That version had different lyrics and was called "Married Man". The lyrics were later rewritten and the song was added into The Phantom of the Opera. After her run as the original Christine, she began using the song in her solo concerts.
A year before The Phantom Of The Opera even opened at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
, the original version of the song was performed at Andrew Lloyd Webber's own theatre at Sydmonton, along with the first drafts of the show. The audience were a specially gathered group of Webber's acquaintances. The Phantom was played by Colm Wilkinson
Colm Wilkinson
Colm Wilkinson is an Irish tenor, best known for originating the role of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables and for playing the title role in The Phantom of the Opera .Due to his association with these musicals, he reprised the role of...
, who sang "The Music Of The Night" in Act One. As Charles Hart
Charles Hart (lyricist)
Charles Hart is a British lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for re-writing the lyrics to, and contributing to the book of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical The Phantom of the Opera. He also co-wrote the lyrics to Lloyd Webber's 1989 musical Aspects of Love...
had not yet become involved in writing the song, in places the lyrics were very different from the ones used in the three variations of the song.
One version of "The Music of the Night", as performed by Sarah Brightman, has alternate lyrics, as well as an alternate ending, replacing the line "To the power of the music that I write," with "To the harmony which dreams alone can write".
Puccini controversy
Because of very noticeable similarities between the song and a recurring melody in Giacomo PucciniGiacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's 1910 opera La Fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. Its highly-publicised premiere occurred in New York City in 1910...
(The Girl of the Golden West), Webber has been accused of plagiarism by several individuals. Following the success of Phantom, the Puccini estate filed suit against Webber accusing him of plagiarism, but the suit was settled out of court and details were not released to the public.
Legacy
Meryl DavisMeryl Davis
Meryl Davis is an American ice dancer. With partner Charlie White, she is the 2011 World champion, 2010 Olympic silver medalist, the 2010 World silver medalist, a two-time Grand Prix Final champion, two-time Four Continents champion and three-time U.S...
and Charlie White
Charlie White
Charlie White is a Los Angeles-based artist.White received his BFA in 1994 from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and received his MFA from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California, in 1998...
used the song, when ice dancing
Ice dancing
Ice dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976....
at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and won a silver medal.