How was the phantom of the opera received by critics?

Answer 1

It is hard to say which movie or stage-play the questioner means...there are several movies and several TV movies and several musicals and several stage plays of the Phantom of the Opera. I do not want to go through all of them what professional critics had to say for each one.

In 1925 Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera brought fear and women were fainting when his Phantom was unmask in the movie theater.

The hardest criticisms was Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera 2004 that Gerald Butler could not sing..Emmy Rossum show a blank expression and that Patrick Wilson was dull.

Stage-play 1986 the Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's London Phantom of the Opera praise for perfection of following actors and singers Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, Steven Barton and for best actor Micahel Crawford receives a Olivier Award (Best Actor in a Musical), a Tony Award (Best Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role, Musical), an N.Y's Drama Desk Award, and a Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle Award for Distinguished Achievement in Theatre (Lead Performance) for his efforts.

Answer 2

The Phantom of the Opera (original title: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialization in Le Gaulois from November 19, 1909 to January 8, 1910. Initially, the story sold very poorly upon publication in book form and was even out of print several times during the twentieth century, despite the success of its various film and stage adaptations. The most notable of these were the 1925 film depiction and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical. The Phantom of the Opera musical is now the longest running Broadway show in history, and one of the most lucrative entertainment enterprises of all time.

Leroux was born in Paris in the year 1868.

Leroux went to school in Normandy and studied law in Paris, graduating in 1889. He inherited millions of francs and lived wildly until he nearly reached bankruptcy. Then in 1890, he began working as a court reporter and theater critic for L'Écho de Paris. His most important journalism came when he began working as an international correspondent for the Paris newspaper Le Matin. In 1905 he was present at and covered the Russian Revolution.

Tragically, Leroux did not live to see the full triumph of his Opera story, though it is believed he did visit the cinema in Paris to see the Universal film in 1926. He was by then in failing health and died of uraemia on 15 April 1927. He was 59 years old and had written over sixty novels, none of which had made him rich. Today, copies of most are difficult to find aside fromThe Phantom of the Opera and The Mystery of the Yellow Room.

lon-chaney-jr

Lon Chaney stars as Erik, the Phantom, in what is probably his most famous and certainly his most horrifying role. Produced by Universal, the film shot in 1923 and shelved for nearly two years, and was subjected to intensive studio tinkering. While many expected a disaster, the film turned out to be a rousing success. It was both the stepping off point for Chaney's run as a superstar at MGM and the prototype for the horror film cycle at Universalin the 1930s.

Chaney's arrogant pathos anchorsPhantom. He carries the film through its various changes in tone from mystery to romantic spectacle to action-adventure film. It's the villain's agony, his complex mixture of menace and vulnerability. As the Phantom,created such an empathetic villain that it was nearly impossible not to root for him.

Lon Chaney devised his own make-up. The Phantom's makeup was designed to resemble a skull. Lon Chaney attached a strip of fish skin (a thin, translucent material) to his nostrils with spirit gum, pulled it back until he got the tilt he wanted, then attached the other end of the fish skin under his bald cap. For some shots, a wire-and-rubber device was used, and according to cameraman Charles Van Enger it cut into Chaney's nose and caused a good deal of bleeding. Cheeks were built up using a combination of cotton and collodion. Ears were glued back and the rest was greasepaint shaded in the proper areas of the face.

The sight was said to have caused some patrons at the premiere to faint.

Gregory Peck's earliest movie memory is of being so scared by The Phantom of the Opera (1925) at age 9 that his grandmother allowed him to sleep in the bed with her that night.

The groundbreaking use of the costly two-strip Technicolor process in some key scenes is tremendously effective in conveying the film's tone.

The Phantom of the Opera 1943 Claude Rains, first film color.The auditorium and stage of the Paris Opera House seen here was the same set built for the 1925 version.The film makers were able to slip in a reference to the opera Faust (which featured heavily in the original novel) by having Christine appear in the Marguerite costume as she comes off stage at the end of the film.The original script revealed Claudin to be Christine's father, who abandoned her and her mother in order to pursue a musical career. When this was excised from the final film, it left Claudin's obsession with Christine unexplained.Claude Rains does succeed in bringing some poignancy to his portrayal of the Phantom. He doesn't quite convey the same level of menace that he achieved in his earlier Universal horror flick, The Invisible Man (1933), but he does provide the film with the emotional centre that it badly needs.

The bronze sculpture of Christine Dubois (Susanna Foster) was actually made by co-star Nelson Eddy, who was an accomplished sculptor.Susanna Foster who had a lovely soprano voice gave up her career soon after this most acclaimed of her films.Nelson Eddy and Susanna Foster who are the real stars of the film, expressing their rich and unique vocal talents within the film's glorious opera sequences, which are the among the film's many highlights.

The Phantom of the Opera 1962 Herbert Lom-The Phantom(Prof L Petrie) Heather Sears as Christine Charles.Series of murders terrorize the production of 'Joan of Arc' at a London opera house. Joan of Arc heard the voice of god, but the new star of the opera hears the voice that warns of evil and terrible things that WILL happen while the opera continues performing.The film flopped on its release.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom Of The Opera" continues to wow audiences and cast its magical spell in dominating London's West End musical theatre! Many cast changes have taken place since its world premiere staging on 9th October 1986, from the unmistakable talents of the original London cast including Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman & Steve Barton to the many talented cast and often forgotten crew members who put the show through its paces at each performance, the show now enters it's 23th Anniversary year!

When the Original London Cast Album was released in CD format in 1987, it became the first album in British musical history to enter at #1 on the UK albums chart. It has since gone both gold and platinum in Britain and the U.S. selling over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling cast album of all time.

All for the The Phantom of the Opera-- Michael Crawford has won Tony Award, 1988; Drama Desk Award, 1988; Outer Critics Award, 1988; Circle Award, 1988; Drama League Award, 1988; Olivier Award, 1988. Also named to the Order of the British Empire.

http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608001080/Michael-Crawford.html#ixzz0cWaGP4nO

LONDON

Play and Players, Robert Gore Langton

If you didn't know, a thousand guesses wouldn't exact the name of Michael Crawford from behind the half mask. In stature, poise and unhammed ghoulishness he is superb; only a mellifluous singing voice betrays his identity.

The Guardian, Michael Billington

Michael Crawford as the Phantom, above all, brings out the character's solitary pathos rather than his demonic horror. It is the humanity under the mask that seizes the attention, not least when his flickering, desperate hands suddenly emerge from behind an Angel of Music hovering over the lovers on the Opera House rooftop.

The Boston Globe, Kevin Kelly

Michael Crawford is magical as the phantom (he vanishes but he's indelible.) And, believe me, when he cries out to Christine at the very end ("You alone can make my song take flight, it's over now, the music of the night…,") your heart will skip a beat. Crawford sings and acts eloquently. It's the performance of his life.

The Christian Science Monitor, Hilary DeVries

But it remains the province of Mr. Crawford to deliver the play's emotional punch-to make us care about the man behind the mask. And it is here that Crawford's controlled, utterly self-respecting Phantom works a particular magic. If Sarah Brightman (despite the crystal clarity of her soprano) is a bit wooden as Christine, the love object and toast of Paris, or Steve Barton a bit too plastic to be the rival Vicomte, then Crawford's intensely human Phantom is the supple hinge upon with the production successfully swings.

The Chicago Tribune, Matthew Wolf

Bjornson's set packs in as many visual allusions as the score does musical ones. Andrew Bridge's lighting pays apt visual homage to the dark emotions of the piece. That those emotions are vividly conveyed is due to the star performance of Michael Crawford, the British performer who was a youthful leading man in the 1960s (The Knack and Hello, Dolly!) and has since headlined long-running stage musicals, including Barnum. It is Crawford who dominates the show with his powerful acting.

Daily Mail, Jack Tinker

Were it not that I personally know Michael Crawford's singing teacher to be the kindest and mildest of men, I would swear that Mr. Crawford had sold his soul to the Devil to acquire the rich and powerful voice with which he floods the theatre and holds us hypnotised in his presence... It is surely one of the greatest performances, not only in a musical but on any stage and in any year. As for Michael Crawford, there is just no other artist in this country today who can touch his command of a stage or match his daring in meeting a new challenge.

Financial Times, Michael Coveney

You would be well advised to have the Kleenex handy. This, I have to say, is due not just to the power of the music, which gathers irresistibly, but to the performance of Michael Crawford, reasserting his preeminence as the outstanding star of our musical theatre... sings like an angel.

Sunday Express, Richard Barkley

Using subtle vocal intonation and body movement in an extraordinarily moving performance, an almost unrecognisable Michael Crawford devastates us with the anguish and despair of the Phantom... Michael Crawford's magnificent performance permeates all to produce a dramatic unity ultimately with pathos.

NEW YORK

The New York Times, Frank Rich

Aside from the stunts and set changes, the evening's histrionic peaks are Mr. Crawford's entrances-one of which is the slender excuse for Ms. Bjornson's most dazzling display of Technicolor splendor, the masked ball (Masquerade) that opens Act II. Mr. Crawford's appearances are eagerly anticipated, not because he's really scary but because his acting gives Phantom most of what emotional heat it has. His face obscured by a half-mask-no minor impediment-Mr. Crawford uses a booming, expressive voice and sensuous hands to convey his desire for Christine. His Act I declaration of love, The Music of the Night-in which the Phantom calls on his musical prowess to bewitch the heroine-proves as much a rape as a seduction. Stripped of the mask an act later to wither into a crestfallen, sweaty, cadaverous misfit, he makes a pitiful sight while clutching his beloved's discarded wedding veil. Those who visit the Majestic expecting only to applaud a chandelier-or who have 20-year-old impressions of Mr. Crawford as the lightweight screen juvenile of The Knack and Hello, Dolly!-will be stunned by the force of his Phantom.

The Los Angeles Times, Dan Sullivan

Divorced from some of the boring things he has to say, Crawford's phantom is also impressive. We see that he truly does adore Christine, not just as a beautiful young woman, but as the embodiment of the Spirit of Music, sacred to him-more sacred than to those counting up the house in the offices above. This phantom kills with reluctance, only when there is no other way to make his point. What he most wants in the world is to be left alone, with his bride and his art. Without quite siding with Crawford's phantom, we can see his point. It's a soulful and sympathetic characterization, yet still a kinky one. Crawford truly enjoys making people dance to his tune-it is his revenge for having been born with a face like that.

The Boston Globe, Kevin Kelly

The performances are breathtaking (and Tony proof.) Michael Crawford's phantom terrifies and wins you at one and the same time, whether howling rage or, finally, cowering in the force of Christine' compassion ("Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known?") he is mesmerizing. Crawford wears a white half-masque most of the evening, but the beauty and the pain are always clearly revealed. When he sings the last words: "You alone can make my song take flight-it's over now, the music of the night," I tell you, you'll be chilled to the bone.

The Washington Post, David Richards

The title role is certainly the kind most actors only dream of. Crawford invests it with horror and heartbreak. He has a stunning physical presence that seems to mutate with the mood of the moment. At a lavish masked ball, he looms among the guest with majestic ferocity-death in a red plume. Yet, alone in his lair at the end, he looks spindly and shrunken-a pathetic schoolmaster abandoned by his favorite pupil. The show does not give him much of a past-neither does Leroux, for that matter, other than to suggest that his deformities made him an outcast even in the cradle. Crawford, however, seems to be operating with a secret knowledge of the creature's biography. There is a wholeness to the portrayal that goes beyond the libretto's dictates and-strange as it may sound-a fragility that is uncommon in rampaging monsters. This will be, no doubt, the performance to beat at Tony time.

The Christian Science Monitor, John Beaufort

Thanks particularly to Mr. Crawford's heartfelt Phantom, the tale of a monster who falls in love with his beautiful protégé rises above the level of mer sentimental escapism to tug at the heartstrings. Whether he is sardonically threatening the opera's block-headed new impresarios or tenderly wooing Christine, Crawford creates a creature both frightening and vulnerable, a grotesque whose mesmerizing power springs alike from the mystery of his origins and his role as the uncrowned king of the subterranean realm beneath the opera house. Crawford soars vocally with the emotion of the music and of Charles Hart's lyrics.

The Chicago Tribune, Richard Christiansen

But the unquestioned star of this production is Michael Crawford, who brings to the musicals' title role a range of passion and poetry that moves it from stock melodrama to real drama. Crawford, 45, a veteran of musicals in the theater (Barnum) and the movies (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) has deepened and broadened the range of his naturally light voice, so that aided by the rich orchestrations of Lloyd Webber and David Cullen, he is able both to caress and boom out the melody of his big song, The Music of the Night, with enormous power. He is not on stage all that often in Phantom, but he makes his presence felt from the moment he magically appears behind Christine's dressing-room mirror, wrapped in a black cloak and wearing his white mask. His is a performance of grand proportions that never tips into grandiosity. His gestures are big, and his emotions are played full out, as befitting a 19th Century style of operatic acting, but he invests his stiff, painful walk with noble grace, and his final cry when he realizes that he has lost Christine forever is unforgettably eerie. Through such methods he makes palpable the agony that the detailed makeup of his scarred face depicts.

The Star-Ledger, William A. Raidy

And it is here in the portrayal of that touching unrequited love that Michael Crawford rises to brilliance as the masked, disfigured "phantom".... Crawford softly croons his music in an exceptionally unusual tenor.... The show in fact, as far as performance goes, BELONGS to Michael Crawford. He is quite unforgettable!

LOS ANGELES

The Los Angeles Times, Dan Sullivan

But Phantom is perfectly serious about its phantom, whom Michael Crawford plays even more quietly and intensely at the Ahmanson than he did on Broadway. As for the rest of the presentation-scrupulously managed by director Harold Prince--no one could accuse Michael Crawford of giving a canned performance. Crawford's crepuscular voice and his lynx-like moves do stir sympathy for our poor benighted Phantom, and you have to respond to his commitment as a performer-he couldn't give more to this part if it were written by Dante. Crawford's Phantom combines size and intimacy in a way that only a very experienced musical theater performer could achieve. He comes close to us, and yet he brings off the grad gesture. The final renunciation scene is especially well-judged.

Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Richard Stayton

What makes this musical so spellbinding, so emotionally moving, so unforgettable, can be summed up in two words: Michael Crawford. His genius as the disfigured, lovesick composer haunting the Paris Opera is uncanny. It's one of the great performances of our era. Considering that his face is almost constantly hidden behind a half-mask, that he must act under hats and capes, it's a miracle that Crawford still projects a poignant vulnerability and sexual charisma. Just with his hands he orchestrates a universe of feelings. I can't imagine seeing The Phantom without him. He was brilliant in London, brilliant in New York, and now brilliant in L.A.

Herald Examiner, Richard Stayton

This is not a review. These are a fan's notes. I apologize... I've fallen under the spell of the mysterious masked man...What makes this musical so spell-binding, so emotionally moving, so unforgettable, can be summed up in two words: Michael Crawford.

L.A. Review, Peter Vogt

The production boasts several particular glories, chief among which are the beautiful settings and costumes of Maria Bjornson, breathtaking in their opulence and detail, and the extraordinary and memorable performance of Michael Crawford in the title role. Mr. Crawford, always a generous artist, is giving what is almost always in the theatre referred to as "The performance of a lifetime," playing "The role he was born to play." Richly, beautifully sung and acted, Crawford's Phantom holds the stage even when he is elsewhere. This twisted, perverse monster is given almost tragic dimension in the actor's deeply felt characterization. It is a contained, even restrained performance of a larger-than-life character who is not fully revealed until the very last moments of the play. With a passionate cry of need and loss, Crawford will simply break your heart. He is wonderful.

Variety, Gray

The Phantom is not a foolproof part, but close to it: Seductive, wrathful and ultimately noble, he's the only multidimensional character in the play. Crawford gets full value and them some out of the role, bringing to the part a wistful eccentric quality that is haunting.

The Hollywood Reporter, Duane Byrge

The Phantom's manic anguish and the heightened love are purely and resonantly realized by Michael Crawford's beautiful and towering voice. Crawford's glorious version of the popular "The Music of the Night" is a heart-wrenching triumph.

The Daily News, Tom Jacobs

To paraphrase Clint Eastwood and Oliver North, The Phantom of the Opera, the Tony Award-winning musical that made its West Coast debut at the Ahmanson Theatre Wednesday night, is a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly. The good: the stunning set designs of Maria Bjornson. The superb lighting of Andrew Bridge. The sharp direction of Harold Prince and choreography of Gillian Lynne. And the magnificent performance of Michael Crawford. It's impossible not to be moved at the image of the phantom clutching his beloved's veil, realizing their love can never be. (It's doubly impossible when he is portrayed by Michael Crawford, who never lets the monster's anguish degenerate into self-pity.) Crawford isn't on stage all that much, but that-along with the fact that his face is partially covered for most of the play-makes the impact of his performance all the more impressive. Mostly he does it with his voice; he turns his songs into eloquent please for love and understanding.

The Valley Vantage, Theda Kleinhans Reichman

Crawford has his gestures perfected to an art, having the lead role in London and New York. Here in L.A., his portrayal is every bit as fresh as if it were his first time, even though he has done it for more than three years. This is a vintage performance which is haunting, lyrical, sinister and moving. His final moments on stage are heart-breaking as he sings The Point of No Return in a voice filled with aching, longing and pain. He is a demon capable of vile deeds, yet Crawford is able to imbue this creature with a sense of pure love, genuine devotion and extreme sadness. This is a performance with no rough edges; no slack in energy even after a run of three years. In fact I found myself watching his beautiful hands as he pushes Christine's face away gently with his palm, not his fingertips; as he sensually, yet tenderly, caresses her in their duets creating an aura of passion and restraint. Finally, at the end, he is unforgettable as he reaches out to Christine, begging her to love him as he loves her. It is his performance that will haunt you forever with its mystery, madness and lyrical magic.

Dramalogue, Polly Warfield

Michael Crawford embodies his particular vision of the role so brilliantly, so compassionately and truly, it suggests that he all along was the reason the pathetically disfigured creature haunted the shadows of the Paris Opera House. The Phantom was waiting for the actor.

L.A.Review, Peter Vogt

Mr. Crawford, always a generous artist, is giving what is almost always in the theatre referred to as "the performance of a lifetime," playing "the role he was born to play." Richly, beautifully sung and acted, Crawford's Phantom holds the stage even when he is elsewhere. This twisted, perverse monster is given almost tragic dimension in the actor's deeply felt characterization. It is a contained, even restrained performance of a larger-than-life character who is not fully revealed until the very last moments of the play. With a passionate cry of need and loss, Crawford will simply break your heart. He is wonderful.

The movie however had a mixed review:

Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera spelled doom, his cinematic version.Schumacher, who has said in interviews that he wanted "young, hot" actors in the lead roles, apparently meant this at the expense of ones with vocal talent or acting ability.Gerard Butler, at 6'2' with dark hair and deep, forlorn eyes, is a commanding physical presence, but his Phantom is no tormented madman. Yes, we feel sympathy for him, but in spite of, not because of, his limited acting range. Butler gives what more or less amounts to a line-reading. Moreover, his rock-opera take on the songs are too wailing and whiny to be touching, resembling a "Poison" cover than the actual Phantom. Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson have good, solid voices. But as the lead soprano in an opera, Rossum is unable to convince us that she deserves her high status. Her voice is serviceable, but far from operatic. Similarly, Wilson is easy to listen to, but he's not as ruggedly irresistible as he should be. What the three leads share in common is they forget that singing is acting carried out through song. As a result, the film parades from one lavish musical number to another without much heart to hold the story together.

Emmy Rossum Best Young ActressCritics Choice Award,

Nominated for a Golden Globe for best performance.

Awarded Golden Satellite Award for Best Actress.

Best Actor Gerard Butler Golden Satellite Award

Nominated for a Golden Globe for best performance.

Best Support Actor Patrick Wilson Golden Satellite Award

Los Angeles The Guide- the real problem with "Phantom" is the problem with Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals in general. It's a slow-moving orgy of lowbrow grandiosity that's as tedious as it is overblown and pretentious. Songs, scenes, dance numbers, lyrics and set pieces all blend together into an indistinct, ludicrously self-serious mush, while repetitive melodies get spread across entire sequences like cheap carpet.

The Village Voice- Gerard Butler twirls a mean cape. But his breathy sprechstimme, overamplified in a vain effort to evoke menace and charisma, clambers up to cringe-inducing climaxes. Crank up the reverb all you want; he simply doesn't have the pipes.

Emmy Rossum's Christine doesn't look mesmerized by the Phantom or enamored with the Vicompte so much as heavily sedated. Mouth agape, she wanders wide-eyed through her role as if through a Vicodin haze, hoping her lovely Met-trained voice will drown out her non-acting.

The Rolling Stones-Gerard Butler, 35, brings a raw, full-throated masculinity to the Phantom, a musical genius who prowls the theater with a mask hiding the disfigured half of his face but nothing cloaking his mad desire to make Christine a star and his lover.Emmy Rossum, 18, has an aching loveliness to match her singing voice as soprano Christine Daae. he actors do their own singing, except for the scene-stealing Minnie Driver, who is hilarious as a diva with an indecipherable Italian accent.He'd kill for her and crosses swords excitingly with his pretty-boy rival Raoul (velvet-voiced Patrick Wilson).Don't expect grace notes -- the film is a blunt instrument. But you can feel the heat when the Phantom sweeps Christine down to his underground lair, lit by candelabras. Schumacher works sensual wonders with only Rossum's bare shoulders and Butler's open shirt. "Abandon thought and let the dream descend," sings the Phantom. The dude knows his stuff. In an era of passionless hookups, swooning romantic excess may be just the ticket.

Robert EBert-The modern Phantom is more like a perverse Batman with a really neat cave. The character of Raoul, Christine's nominal lover, has always been a fatuous twerp, but at least in the 1925 version, Christine is attracted to the Phantom only until she removes his mask. In this version, any red-blooded woman would choose the Phantom over Raoul, even knowing what she knows now. I concede that Emmy Rossum, who is only 18 and sings her own songs and carries the show, is a phenomenal talent, and I wish her all the best -- starting with better material. What an Eliza Dolittle she might make.Some still feel Michael Crawford should have been given the role he made famous onstage; certainly Gerald Butler's work doesn't argue against their belief. But Butler is younger and more conventionally handsome than Crawford, in a GQkind of way; Lloyd Webber's play has long since forgotten the Phantom is supposed to be ugly and aging and, given the conditions in those cellars, probably congested, arthritic and neurasthenic.

The Phantom of the Opera 1990 made for TV Charles Dance as Erik The Phantom of the opera. Golden Globe nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV Burt Lancaster-Gerard Carriere

Based on a musical by Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston.Prior to filming, Charles Dance, who plays the Phantom, made it a point not to see the Andrew Lloyd Webber version on stage.This is the first film version to not show the Phantom's face underneath his mask. The stage version, based on this film, does the same thing with the actor having his back towards the audience when removing the mask to Christine.