CH180: Phantom of the Opera

Last Friday, my best friend from the Philippines was supposed to come over for a short weekend in Singapore. She signed up for a Citibank credit card which entitled her to redeem free round-trip tickets. Unfortunately, there was a mishap with the arrangement and she wasn't able to get on her flight. She only realized about the mishap when she was already in the airport (late from the usual Manila traffic).

What happened? Well, apparently, she got charged with some amount relating to travel tax or airport tax on her credit card. She thought it was an unauthorized transaction and panicked and had her card blocked and the charge disputed. In turn, after all the brouhaha, she realized at the airport when she missed her flight that, that was why her booking got cancelled. No use pointing the finger though :).

So, with her cancellation, I panicked because I had to find someone to go with me and purchase the ticket and come along with me. Thankfully, my friend Angelo was available! :)

How did I like Phantom of the Opera? Well, it was amazing - but not Wicked amazing. Wicked is for sure my benchmark for theater/musical productions. For both productions, I was not familiar with any of the songs nor the story. But I found (still) Wicked to have moved me more (to some tears during Defying Gravity pre-intermission, and at the end). Whereas with Phantom of the Opera - despite two glasses of Chardonnay I had, when the emotion was finally building up with the Phantom's drama sequence - the show ended. I thought there would have been 5-10 more minutes before it ended - but end it did.

To put in perspective the songs/soundtrack, etc of Phantom, I'd say, Wicked will have to be #1 overall. I like the tracks of Les Mis more than Phantom. Although, this is not to say it was bad. But I think my taste for music is not as refined (yet? maybe hahaha) as to appreciate the soprano's vocal acrobatics and Opera-like singing.

In terms of the costumes, set design, props etc, I'd say, it was really impressive. It gave of an authentic Parisian-grandoise vibe. As I posted on my timeline, watching Phantom only reinforced my desire to see Europe before I turn the big 3-0. No particular reason really for the before age hahaha, just making sure I have ample time to actually save and accumulate the necessary resource for funding.

If you can watch Phantom of the Opera, I'd still say go go go! One can never have enough exposure to musicals, theater plays, art, whatnot. Don't just nourish your body with food and gym! Nourish your soul!Hahaha. Not! But, yes, I think, watching musicals culture and enrich us to be our better selves. The same way I believe the same for books and reading literature when time permits.