N

o one must know that I love her. No one must know I am desperate.

The king of tragedy, the legendary Phantom of the Opera has finally arrived in Jakarta.

The three-week musical was brought to the stage by New York-based entertainment company The Joyce Agency.

The two-and-a-half-hour show, which runs until March 4 at Balai Kartini’s Nusa Indah Theater, featured the original version of the musical, which was first written by Ivan Jacobs, Kenley and Noll in 1972 as an adaptation of the novel written by French author Gaston Leroux.

Conductor, musical director and stage director Jeffrey Buchsbaum said the Jacobs’ version is different from the Andrew Lloyd Webber’s version, a regular on Broadway.

“It’s based on the same source material, but our theater piece is more closely based on the original book. Compared to Webber’s, we have been touring the world [since 1983] before it was even written [by Webber],” said Buchsbaum, who has been with the production for 17 years.

Webber’s musical version opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London in 1986 and at the Majestic Theatre in New York in 1988, celebrating its 10,000 Broadway performance last week.

Leroux, a former French journalist and theater lover, created an intriguing story of a man who is lonely, hurt and rejected. A man trapped by his own feelings of inferiority.

Ashamed of his deformed face, the Phantom, here played by baritone singer Shouvic Mondle, hides himself in the shadows of the
 glorious Paris Opera House.

He falls for a young and beautiful soprano Christine Daae, played by Natalie Ramirez, and becomes her mentor in music, lending his genius and talent in music without revealing his physical appearance to her.

Even Christine cannot escape his charm and is captivated by his passionate love. The story turns into a deadly love triangle as her childhood friend, Raoul, tries to win her love. Doubt, anger, jealousy, illusion and mystery are in the air as the Phantom begins his reign of terror in the theater in the name of love.

“You stole my angel. I had 14 unbearable nights!” he says before stabbing doorman Didot, who sheltered Christine in his house, after the Phantom’s terrors drover her from the theater.

Mondle showed off the power of his baritone voice on stage, charming the audience with his emotional performance.

“I think every one of us are frightened, have self-doubts, have felt ugly, not accepted, been passionate, made bad decisions and some good ones, so I do have a lot of Phantom in me,” he said during a press conference.

Ramirez said despite some technical challenges, they always found something new during rehearsals.

“It’s very hard to talk to the Phantom a lot because I don’t see him. He is not in the scene with me, he is behind the mirror,” she said.

The performance showcased high-quality classical opera voices. Despite a hint of horror in the story, it entertained the audience with witty comedy, gracious ballet and a seductive tango dance.

Actor Adrian Maulana, who came with his family, said he was mesmerized with the show’s rich elements.

“This is my first time watching opera. I was especially moved when the Phantom sang ‘I am loved for who I am’.”

— Text by Indah Setiawati and Photos by Wendra Ajistyatama