[The Phantom of the Opera] The Beast and the Canary

In the darkness, only the rectangular orchestra pit emits a dim gleam.The violinists set up their violins but did not draw their bows.The conductor flicked the rhythm stick, and the first thing that sounded was the soothing sound of the harp.

The first part of the prelude turned out to be the Adagio in C major, a harp solo.This is very different from the horror atmosphere created in the newspapers.For a while, the audience buzzed louder.

The blond spat out two words contemptuously: "A layman."

The brown hair echoed: "For an opera, the music is always more important than the play itself. I really don't know what this ghost thinks, but let the harp solo as the opening song."

At the same moment, the lights on the stage were turned on: all the props were covered with white cloth, and a cold-toned oil painting portrait hung high in the center.The man in the painting has a handsome appearance, dressed in a dark formal suit, with his hands clasped in front of his belly, and his face is half-turned looking into the distance.

A middle-aged man hurried onto the stage.Wearing a housekeeper's uniform and holding a leather hat, he nodded towards the audience as he walked: "Thank you everyone for coming to the master's funeral. There are many rumors about him in the market, and everyone says that he is a very evil person. Here, I have to argue for him..."

Before the words were finished, a beam of white light hit the rear: several couples of men and women in luxurious clothes walked back and forth arm in arm.Sometimes they flirted, sometimes whispered, in short, none of them was listening to the butler's speech.

The butler didn't care, and continued to recall emotionally: "The master is a very talented man, and his family is well-off, but at the age of 17, he resolutely embarked on a sailing journey..."

At this time, a girl in a black veil and a black skirt bent over and tiptoed onto the stage.Behind her, there are two guards who are chasing after her.

The sound of the harp stopped abruptly, the pianist played messy high notes, and the clarinet and horn played suspenseful tones.The girl tapped her toes, she was a fish as thin as a cicada's wings in the ocean, moving nimbly among men and women in fancy clothes.

The two guards didn't dare to let go of chasing her because of the crowd around them, and they could only pass her by each time.

The butler stood at the forefront, seemingly turning a blind eye to all of this: "However, in the year when he was about to return from the voyage, he unfortunately encountered a huge sea monster at sea..."

The two guards looked at each other, and one of them aimed his gun at the girl.

"The master bravely defeated the sea monster, but at the same time, the sea monster's tentacles pierced his right cheek. He survived with difficulty but luckily. At first, he thought the scar left by the sea monster was a medal of a hero, He didn't care much about it, until when he returned, he saw disgust and fear in the eyes of the girl he loved..."

The violinist shook his bow and played out sharp notes intermittently, creating an extremely tense atmosphere.In the next second, the girl grabbed the wrist of a man in a fancy dress and started spinning and jumping in the crowd.

The guard lowered his gun in frustration as he failed to take aim.

"During that time, the master's mood fell into a trough. He locked himself in the gloomy castle and drank alcohol all day long..."

Maybe it was because the atmosphere on the stage was too weird, or maybe it was because the music played by the expanded orchestra was too shocking, the auditorium gradually stopped being noisy, and many people actively looked towards the stage.

The blond hair beside me also changed from being disdainful at the beginning to becoming a little more focused.

"I was very worried, afraid that he would continue to be depressed like this. Unexpectedly, half a year later, his right face suddenly returned to its original appearance, and his whole person became confident again."

The sound of the harp sounded again, this time it was not a solo, but a glissando up and down on both sides.The elegant and melodious tone forms a strong symphonic contrast with the bee-like violin sound.The blond who satirized the Phantom as an "amateur" before, fell into a strange silence after hearing this piece of music.

"...I just found out that he made a deal with the devil and returned to his normal appearance... Unfortunately, it only takes effect at night, and in the daytime, he will turn into a disfigured appearance again..."

The girl's skirt swayed, her toes turned sharply, step by step, and finally spun under the portrait.She pushed away the man beside her and stretched out her arms, as if she had picked something off the portrait.

In an instant, all the lights went out.On the stage, everyone's expressions and movements suddenly stopped, petrified in place.

A beam of golden light shone on the open space beside the girl.

The music fades out and the timpani strikes.

There were exclamations from the audience.

A slender and tall figure approached from far and near.He was wearing a black robe, a hood, and leather shoes, panting with fear, walking forward.The robe sleeve followed his steps, obediently kissing his ankle.

The moment he appeared, my heartbeat stopped inexplicably, and a premonition that could not be ignored rose in my heart. I couldn't help picking up the binoculars prepared by the usher and looked over.

Disappointingly, the brim of his hat was so wide and big, not to mention the whole face, even the line of his jaw could not be seen clearly, only his Adam's apple and neck could be vaguely seen.

When the girl saw him, she sang an aria with great excitement. It turned out that the man in black was the devil.Let alone the lyrics of this libretto, first of all, the melody is very beautiful.The blond hair became more and more silent, but the brown hair who didn't understand music recklessly commented: "Is this ghost unable to distinguish the difference between recitative and aria? It's clearly an aria, but there are recitative arias in it."

The blond whispered: "...the endless melody."

"what?"

"It's nothing."

Blonde didn't continue to talk about his friend's face, but I understood: "endless melody" refers to the combination of recitative and aria. It's hard to say who first originated this technique, but in Bach's era There it was, and later in the hands of the composer Wagner, it was also continued and developed.It is a controversial creative method.

The devil has no libretto.After listening to the girl's singing, he asked calmly, "Do you want me to save your mother?"

This voice carried a fatal magic power. Although the tone was light and without much ups and downs, the articulation concealed a condescending and bewitching meaning.

His voice is very different from that of Phantom, but the feeling of speaking is really... too similar.I couldn't help feeling hot in my ears, and lost my mind for a moment.

The girl nodded.

"Then do you know what happened to the last person who made a deal with me?"

The voice fell, the golden light disappeared, and the overture ended.When all the lights were turned on again, the stage had changed its appearance: the white cloth on the props was removed, and the oil painting portrait in the center was carried away. The main colors of the set were deep red and golden.A man in a dark formal suit, with his head bowed, slowly entered the stage amidst the heavy melody of the cello.

"I beg you." He looked at the floor and sang the first words.

I was stunned, and put down the hand that raised the telescope.He is not a phantom.

what happened?

His attire is exactly the same as in the portrait, indicating that he is the hero of "Two-Face Man".But why isn't the actor playing the leading role Phantom?

Besides the male lead, what role can the Phantom play in this opera... Could it really be that devil?

As soon as I thought of this, the devil had already appeared.Standing at the highest point, he didn't even look at the male protagonist, his aura was indifferent and tough: "It's useless. I only listen to the prayer once."

"Please allow me to pray to you again, I don't want to live in darkness forever."

The devil was unmoved: "I said, I only listen to one prayer."

In the hazy and cold cello accompaniment, the soothing harp minor of the prelude can be vaguely heard.I suddenly realized that this ditty is very likely to be the theme song of "Two-Face Man".Just as I was about to listen carefully, it was as fleeting as the gentle rain falling into the sea.

"The daylight pulls my skin and tendons, peels off my disguised mask, and the night covers up my ugliness. During the day, I put on a black cloak and a white mask, and all the beautiful clothes are prepared for me at night." Harp The hand plucked the string again, and the male protagonist's tone gradually became lower, "How can there be a normal person living in the dark?"

"At least you in the dark night are so beautiful." The devil's voice was still cold and full of magic, but inexplicably, I felt that he was more like the sunlight that pulled the male lead.

"I want to be with her in the daylight."

"How can there be such a good thing."

"So I beg you."

The cello fades away and the piano begins, repeating two syllables in C minor unemotionally.

The devil folded his arms, and walked slowly from the highest place to the actor's side, then suddenly stretched out his hand, turned his ferocious right face to the audience, and sang in an almost humiliating and domineering tone: "The hypocrisy!" Only worthy of living in the dark."

At this moment, the devil not only looked like a phantom, but also overlapped with another... vague shadow in memory.

Who is it?