Sunday 19 October 2008

How much do you know about THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA?

If you wish to see how much you know about THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, try doing the following QUIZ: http://www.quizmoz.com/quizzes/Literature-Quizzes/p/Phantom-of-the-Opera-Quiz.asp

The Phantom of the Opera for Kids

Not only adults fall in love with The Phantom of the Opera: it also catches children's attention, especially when it's adapted using puppets. Having this in mind, the artist Tais Martins Stierli created a special puppet show using Christine and Erik. Her puppets are amazing and the show is beautiful! Check it out on: http://www.broadwaydelivery.art.br/

Sunday 12 October 2008

The Phantom of Manhattan is a 1999 novel by Frederick Forsyth, intended as a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera (the Lloyd Webber musical, not the original book). The beginning of The Phantom of Manhattan is narrated by an ailing (=dying) Madame Giry, and set in the early 1900s. Famous individuals of the time, such as Theodore Roosevelt, make appearances. According to the story, Christine has married Raoul, and the couple have a son named Pierre. The Phantom has become a very rich theatre owner in New York and writes an opera hoping that Christine will play the main character. The story also provides details about the Phantom's past and his relationship with Madame Giry which were not contained in the original novel and musical. There is also the introduction of a new character called Darius, a greedy man who often assists the Phantom, and to whom the Phantom has promised to leave the opera house after his death. That promise is tested by Christine's arrival in New York, but Darius is determined to own the opera house himself. If you want to know how this wonderful novel finishes, you have to read it! Andrew Lloyd Webber is currently at work on a stage sequence to The Phantom of the Opera. It will be called Phantom: Love Never Dies, and it is said that it is partially based on The Phantom of Manhattan. (Adapted from Wikipedia)

Monday 6 October 2008

CCB teacher Lílian Vieira talks about her experience with THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA...

My first encounter with “The Phantom of the Opera” was at “Her Majesty’s Theater” in London, 1999. It’s the longest running show in the history of the theater. It opened to an outstanding success in October, 1986 up to now and it still delivers. But why? A mysterious phantom terrorises the Paris Opera in an effort to make his protégé, Christine, the leading lady of the opera house. It’s a romantic tragic love story like many others but its magic spell, creative team and cast deserves much praise as it approaches the 21st birthday celebrations. I went to England in 1999 in order to attend a Teacher Development course in Plymouth. In fact, I wasn’t alone, my friend Jocely de Deus Pinheiro, from CCB was with me and most of what I’m stating here was experienced by both of us. When the course finished, I came to London to wait for my flight back to Brazil. As I still had four days, I decided to relax and enjoy myself. So, I took at least three city tours, went to museums and sightseeing, to the cinema and, of course, to the theatre. Buying the tickets for the theatre was a great and exciting adventure! I left the hostel early in the morning and took the underground to London’s West-End. When I got there, I went straight to the ticket booth to see what was available for a Wednesday matinee, but to my surprise, the tickets for the Phantom were sold out and, in fact, no tickets were available until July, 2000. I got really upset; however, I didn’t give up. I looked for another ticket booth and this time there were tickets available for the balcony. The price was at its high: £30 for a single ticket, it was about R$ 150! I knew it wasn’t the best place to see a show in a theatre and the price was unbelievable, but I was at the point of no return and I had decided to face everything to see the Phantom. Then I bought the ticket and waited for the show. When I entered the auditorium, I felt goose bumps and it was like magic. Even today I wonder what makes that musical have such pulling power. This romantic tragic love story with its moving music and lyrics keeps the audience breathless with such a wonderful show. I must confess that I am a Lloyd Weber fan and I appreciate most of his masterpieces. He’s a genius to me. The performance started. I won’t be able to forget the famous overture and the huge chandelier over the audience as long as I live. It was like being in heaven and I burst into tears. It was really moving! When I came back to Brazil, I really brought with me all the vivid experiences I had in England. I loved everything I saw and learned. It was a wonderful time and “The Phantom of the Opera” will be in my heart and my mind for a lifetime.
Lílian Cavalcanti Fernandes Vieira

Thursday 2 October 2008

This BLOG was created so that any CCB student/teacher/admirer can interact and express his/her thoughts about the topics we deal with while working with our READERS.

From now on, we will be posting interesting "stuff" which will make our reading of The Phantom of the Opera a delight. We hope you enjoy and learn loads by dropping by to visit our BLOG.

Cheers!