ACCENTThe Phantom of The Opera (1925) A silent film adaptation Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, Le Fantôme de l’OpéraDirected by Rupert Julian

STARRING:Lon Chaney (The Phantom)Mary Philbin (Christine Daaé)Norman Kerry (Vicomte Raoul de Chagny)Arthur Edmund (Carewe as Ledoux)Gibson Gowland (Simon Buquet)John St. Polis (Comte Philippe de Chagny)Snitz Edwards (Florine Papillon)Virginia Pearson (Carlotta)

The Phantom of the Opera has established an iconic position in pop culture, primarily through the overwhelming success of the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical adaptation. But it all began more than a century ago with Gaston Leroux, a one-time millionaire who found his way to writing as a means of supporting himself after frivolously descending into bankruptcy. It seems that his simultaneous experience as both court reporter and theater critic, with a knack for investigative journalism that fueled a passion for detective fiction, paved the way for a serialized story that eventually produced the 1910 novel.

In 1922, Leroux met Carl Laemmle, President of Universal Pictures, who was vacationing in Paris. In response to his expressed admiration for the Paris Opera House, Leroux gifted Laemmle a copy of The Phantom of the Opera, which Laemmle is said to have read in the course of one night. Laemmle proceeded to purchase the film rights for Lon Chaney. Following a rocky production period, the film previewed in Los Angeles on January 7 and 26, 1925. In response to poor critical reviews and reaction, the premiere was cancelled, and a re-shoot ordered under producer Edward Sedgwick. This version, which modified the dramatic thriller into more of a romantic comedy, previewed in San Francisco on April 26, 1925. The response was equally poor, if not worse, with one reviewer noting that, “The story drags to the point of nauseam.” The third and final version, under the supervision of Universal producers Maurice Pivar and Lois Weber, brought back much of the material that had been edited out from the first, and removed much of what had been added by Sedgwick. After making its New York debut on September 6, 1925, at the Astor Theatre, it premiered in

Hollywood, on October 17, 1925.

The irony of the tortured title character at the center of this film extends well beyond the screen when we examine our leading man, Lon Chaney. While the school of method acting had not yet been formalized, Chaney was known for his seemingly natural, almost uncanny ability to transform himself into his characters, with a prolific filmography that encompassed more than 150 appearances. The son of mute parents, some have argued that his upbringing may have given him a certain edge as a silent film actor. Chaney, who never crossed the threshold from silent film to sound, died in 1930, of a throat hemorrhage. Little information about the original score survives, other than a release from Universal that identifies it as having been prepared by Carl Joseph Breil, best known for his score to the 1915 silent drama, Birth of a Nation. German-born American composer and conductor Gustav Hinrichs was assigned to prepare the score for the New York premiere, but was unable to complete it in time, resulting in a score of mostly French airs and appropriate Faust cues, compiled by Eugene Conte. This afternoon you will hear a brand new score for this 1925 film. It draws on music popular at the time the author, Gaston Leroux, was writing The Phantom of the Opera. Franz Liszt, the inventor of the musical tone poem, was profoundly influential on a generation of French composers writing music in the second half of the 19th century. Liszt

Phantom of the Opera

An emphasis or “punch” at the beginning of a musical sound.

and his French acolytes provide most of the music for today’s concert. Since the opera being performed in The Phantom of the Opera is Charles Gounod’s Faust, we also feature several excerpts from this, one of the most popular operas

of the 19th century. Hyper dramatic music by Tchaikovsky, brooding sounds of early Rachmaninoff and some of the darkest music of Shostakovich ever composed fill out the program. We hope you enjoy!

Notes prepared by Maestro Leif Bjaland and Robert Cinnante

ACCENT

R E P E RT O I R E :Compiled by: Leif Bjaland

1 Liszt: Midnight Procession

2 Gounod: Waltz/Chorus From Faust

3 Liszt: Midnight Procession

4 Gounod: Waltz/Chorus From Faust

5 Lalo: Namouna Ballet Suite No.1 Section 4

6 Shostokovich/Stokowski: Prelude In Eb Minor

7 Lalo: Namouna Ballet Suite No.1 Section 4

8 Xylophone Gesture

9 Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 2, III. Scherzo

10 Gounod: Faust Finale

11 Luigini: Ballet égyptien, Movement 3

12 Liszt: Midnight Procession

13 Saint Saëns: Symphony No.2, Scherzo

14 Gounod: Jewel Song/Liszt: Hamlet

15 Franck: Symphony In D Minor, I

16 Chasson: Symphony in Bb Major, Movement 2

17 Tchaikovsky: Francesca Da Rimini

18 Gounod: Faust Ballet Music Finale

19 Rachmaninoff/Stokowski: Prelude In C# Minor

20 Gounod: Faust Ballet Music Finale (Coda)

21 Liszt: Midnight Procession

22 Franck: Symphony In D Minor

23 Liszt: Hunnenschlacht

24 Tchaikovsky: Francesca Da Rimini

25 Liszt: A Symphony to Dante’s Divine Comedy - Inferno

26 Liszt: Hamlet

27 Liszt: A Symphony to Dante’s Divine Comedy - Inferno

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