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"The Music of the Night" is a song from the musical The Phantom of the Opera. The music was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Charles Hart.

Initially made famous by Michael Crawford, the actor who originated the role of the Phantom both in London and on Broadway, the popular song has sold millions of copies worldwide and has been translated into many different languages. The Really Useful Group filmed a video starring Crawford and Sarah Brightman (who did not sing), which featured the original lyrics to the song.

In the musical, it is sung after the Phantom lures Christine Daaé down to his lair beneath the Opera House. He seduces Christine with "his music" of the night. Eventually, the Phantom pulls back a curtain to reveal a life-size doll of Christine in a wedding gown, causing her to faint. The Phantom carries Christine to a bed, where he lays her down and goes on to write his music.

Sarah Brightman declared at the London's Royal Albert Hall Concert in 1997,^[1] that the song was originally written by Andrew Lloyd Webber for her, the first time he met her. That version had different lyrics and was called "Married Man". The lyrics were later rewritten and the song was added into the The Phantom of the Opera. After she did, she started to sing the song in her concerts.

A year before The Phantom Of The Opera even opened at Her Majesty's Theatre, the original version of the song was performed at Andrew Lloyd Webber's own theatre at Sydmonton, along with the first drafts of the show. The audience were a specially gathered group of Webber's acquaintances. The Phantom was played by Colm Wilkinson, who sang "The Music Of The Night" in Act One. As Charles Hart had not yet become involved in writing the song, in places the lyrics were very different from the ones used in the three versions below.

Lyrics

There are three more versions of The Music of the Night. The next being the original stage lyrics contains:

Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor.

Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender.

Turn your face away from the garish light of day,

Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light,

Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams

Purge your thoughts of the world you knew before

Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar

And you'll live as you've never lived before

Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world

Let your soul take you where you long to be!

The song was also performed by American Idol season 7 winner David Cook, and on the third season of America's Got Talent by Donald Braswell II.

Puccini Controversy

Because of very noticeable similarities between the song and a recurring melody in Giacomo Puccini's 1910 opera La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West), Webber has been accused of plagiarism by several individuals. Following the success of Phantom, the Puccini estate filed suit against Webber accusing him of plagiarism, but the suit was settled out of court and details were not released to the public.^[2]

Notes

^ Sarah Brightman concert
^ Ouzounian, Richard (2006-01-02). "Aspects of Andrew". Toronto Star. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

Alternative lyrics to the song
Former Broadway Phantom Hugh Panaro performing the song in concert
Performance of Music of the Night by Julian Lloyd Webber

[1] Sarah Brightman concert

[2] Ouzounian, Richard (2006-01-02). "Aspects of Andrew". Toronto Star. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

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 {{Refimprove|date=May 2008}}
-"'''The Music of the Night'''" is a song from the musical ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)|The Phantom of the Opera]]''. The music was written by [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] with lyrics by [[Charles Hart (lyricist)|Charles Hart]]. It is one of the show's most famous songs and one of the most famous songs in [[musical theatre]].
+"'''The Music of the Night'''" is a song from the musical ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)|The Phantom of the Opera]]''. The music was written by [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] with lyrics by [[Charles Hart (lyricist)|Charles Hart]].
 Initially made famous by [[Michael Crawford]], the actor who originated the role of the Phantom both in [[London]] and on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], the popular song has sold millions of copies worldwide and has been translated into many different languages. The Really Useful Group filmed a video starring Crawford and [[Sarah Brightman]] (who did not sing), which featured the original lyrics to the song.

v t e The Phantom of the Opera (1909–1910) by Gaston Leroux
Literary adaptations	Phantom (1990) The Canary Trainer (1993) The Phantom of Manhattan (1999)
Stage adaptations	Phantom of the Opera (1976) The Phantom of the Opera (1986) and its sequel Love Never Dies (2010) Phantom (1991)
Film and television adaptations	Das Phantom der Oper (1916) The Phantom of the Opera (1925) Song at Midnight (1937) Phantom of the Opera (1943) The Phantom of the Opera (1962) The Phantom of Hollywood (1974) Phantom of the Paradise (1974) The Phantom of the Opera (1989) Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (1989) The Phantom of the Opera (1990) The Phantom Lover (1995) The Phantom of the Opera (1998) Phantom of the Megaplex (2000) The Phantom of the Opera (2004) The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011)
Characters	Erik Christine Daaé Viscount Raoul de Chagny The Persian Carlotta Madame Giry Meg Giry Joseph Buquet
Lloyd Webber songs	"The Phantom of the Opera" "The Music of the Night" "All I Ask of You" "Learn to Be Lonely" "'Til I Hear You Sing"
Other	Adaptations Don Juan Triumphant Palais Garnier The Phantom of the Opera (pinball) Phantom Power (Rick Wakeman album) Return of the Phantom