Wedding of the Opera (este, Phantom pala)

September 3-17, 2012. 

This was my first R&R when I didn’t go anywhere but within the gritty streets of Metro Manila - and Taytay, Rizal of course, as that’s where my fiancée lives.  We both flew in from Dubai, right after she had her working visa cancelled so she can focus on our wedding preps. The very next day after we arrived, we went to the US Embassy for our interview with the consulate. After surrendering our passports in the morning and doing a little bit of mall strolling in the afternoon,   we went to see the Phantom of the Opera at the CCP. This was my first, yet final relax gig for this vacation of mine, and glad I spent it with my soon to be wife.

I’d give my hands down to Les Miserables as my favorite musical of all time, but I got to admit, I didn’t expect that the Philippine run would be so good, I’m having some discernment problems whether I was hearing Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom or the one on stage, Jonathan Roxmouth (of South Africa) who lead the international cast of this famous stage extravaganza. I’ve seen the movie, starred by Gerard Butler, who undeniably gave justice to the role with the rockiness of his voice, and I’ve watched the 25^th anniversary, where Karimloo proved his worth as one of the rising stars of Broadway.  

Costumes by the lead casts of Phantom of the Opera. The designs had to be the same for all the plays staged anywhere in the world. 

Roxmouth, on the other hand, with a name I was not really familiar of, surprised me and (I guess) all the other Filipino Broadway fans with his sultry, rocky yet fragile rendition of Music of the Night and other duets, as the angel of music. He and the other cast such as Claire Lyon (as Christine) and Anthony Downing (as Raoul) gave bravura performances that I just had to stand up during the curtain call and eventually, start the trend among our co-lower box audiences.

While waiting for the play to start.

One thing that Phantom is ahead of Les Mis for sure is its stage setup. The rumored 15-million peso production design and props that turned CCP Main theatre into the Paris Opera House at the turn of the century silently sing of opulence worthy of being remembered for a long time. I mean, it couldn’t be ‘world-renowned’ for nothing, right?

But the best experience I’ve had watching the Phantom would be holding my fiancee’s hand while listening to All I Ask of You as sung by Christine and Raoul. This song, that for countless time she had asked me to sing over the phone when I was courting her, had become a resonating symbol of the romance I first felt for her. The romance, which for that night, felt warmer and more certain as the glitzy lights on that famous chandelier hanging from above. All her thoughts into the stage, she didn’t notice that all I did was to look at her face, with her eyes amazed at what I had taken her into. Then, it was as if I am loving her the first time – three months before our marriage.

Her eyes glow more than the lights of the Chandelier (above)

The following day – we finally went home – and the rest of my R&R became a big drama of wedding preps, licenses, and seminars, by which, I swear I would have not proposed yet  had I known of them. Hahaha! Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get! Champ 10/01/12

P.S.

I’m just kidding about the idea of not proposing. So before you get mad at me (again), I want you to think of me. Think of me fondly when you say goodnight  =)