Connections:
This Blog's Source of Inspiration
This Blog's Source of Inspiration
Over spring break I had the pleasure of having a fourth opportunity to see Phantom of the Opera. I first saw it when I was 7 and have absolutely loved it ever since that time. Like my Dad and my Grandmother, I have always been a night owl. When I was in elementary school, I would stay up late (unbeknownst to my parents) reading. there was never time during the day with school, so I spent my nights reading. Especially now in college, I think we can all understand the value of nights. Unfortunately nights are rarely spent in leisure activities. I find more often than not my nights are used to complete all the tasks that alluded me during the day.
Music of the Night & Not Fitting In
I understand Laura Cereta's affinity for the night. I have always identified with the Phantom of the Opera and I believe that Laura Cereta would as well. The Phantom did not fit into society. He was an outcast despite his considerable and numerous talents. He was forced to carve out his own space in the world, because society did not make a place for him. He found solace and comfort in the night in which the darkness covered his physical deformities. Laura sought refuge from societal expectations of women and her countless responsibilities in the quiet and consolatory solitude of the night. Like the Phantom, Laura Cereta was unique to her society and as a result she did not fit nicely into it. I think she struggled to find her place between the male humanists which she emulated and respected and the traditional female roles of nurturing caretaker and quiet companion. Her nights are both joyfully freeing and laborious trials, just as the Phantom's nights allow him to leave his dark home while serving as a constant reminder of his shortcomings and sad fate.
A Tale of Two Selves: Being the Under Appreciated Outsider
These two figures, Laura Cereta and the Phantom of the Opera, were outsiders, societal outcasts. However, the ways in which they occupied that role was strikingly different. To a certain extent Laura was accepted by and involved in the social world, whereas the Phantom was forced to live in secret as a "ghost" in the depths of the Paris Opera House. Laura was able to precariously straddle the spheres of seemingly normal young woman and struggling, unaccepted, unorthodox humanist. Because she did not fit nicely into either arena, she was relegated to a sort of limbo. Neither a fully accepted humanist (because of her gender) nor a typical female (wife and daughter in charge of the household), Cereta occupied her own subterranean labyrinth of seclusion and isolation (so to speak). It is also interesting to note that Laura like the Phantom was physically sequestered from society when she was sent off to be locked away in a convent. Her themes of abandonment by her mother (and in my opinion father) are also reminiscent of the Phantom's desperate need for female love.
Coming Full Circle: Connections & Reflections
From these two figures, Laura Cereta and the fictional Phantom of the Opera, we come to learn that many people do not fit into narrow societal labels and role definitions, and while that state of ill definition may be painful it can also be the well spring of creativity, passion and insight. In their somewhat lonely, frantic nights, Laura and the Phantom created amazing works of genius (Laura her writing and needle work and the Phantom his music and numerous inventions). This dichotomy, similar to Laura's conception of life and death, in which pleasure and pain, inspiration and hardship coincide reminds us that each and every event in our lives is an opportunity to learn and to grow.For your listening pleasure and intellectual stimulation...
I believe that this relationship is beautifully expressed in Andrew Loyd Webber's Music of the Night. I have included Michael Crawford's rendition (Original London & Broadway Phantom) of Music of the Night in a YouTube clip (music only, no images). I would encourage you to listen to the song and its lyrics (which I have posted below) and reflect on Laura Cereta's night vigils (that contained such great beauty and pain). I hope that you too will see the connection between these two figures and perhaps a connection to yourself. I have always identified with the Phantom to a certain degree, and I think that we can all relate to feeling like outsiders. Perhaps reflecting on these two outsiders' experiences and inspirations from those experiences will help you to understand your own social rejection/alienation experiences. Please enjoy.
More About The Musical & The Phantom of the Opera
The Andrew Loyd Webber Musical was made into a movie in 2004 (and in my opinion it was well done) which would be worth checking out if you are interested in the story. Also if you are not familiar with the Phantom of the Opera story and would like to read a brief synopsis please follow these links:
–The Official US Tour Phantom of the Opera Website (About the Show: Story section)
–The Phantom of the Opera Movie Website
–Wikipedia Site
–Wikipedia Phantom of the Opera Andrew Loyd Webber Musical Site
Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness wakes and stirs imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses
Helpless to resist the notes I write, for I compose the music of the night
Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor
Grasp it, sense it - tremulous and tender
Hearing is believing,
Music is deceiving
Hard as lightning ,
Soft as candlelight
Dare you trust the music of the night
Close your eyes for your eyes will only tell the truth and the truth isn't what you want to see
In the dark it is easy to pretend
that the truth is what it aught to be
Softly, deftly music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it secretly possess you
Open up you mind let your fantasies unwind
In this darkness which you know you cannot fight
The darkness of the music of the night.
Close your eyes start a journey through a strange new world
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before
Close your eyes and let music set you free
Only then can you belong to me
Floating, falling, sweet intoxication
Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation
let the dream begin let your darker side give in
to the power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the night
You alone can make my song take flight
Help me make the music of the night.
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