EBS Morning Special 4월 22일 토요일: Opera, ‘Phantom of the Opera’

 

 

1. NEW YORK TIMES

With Cheers and Tears, ‘Phantom of the Opera’ Ends Record Broadway Run
ㅡMichael Paulson
c.2023 The New York Times Company





“The Phantom of the Opera” concluded the longest run in Broadway history Sunday night with a glittery final performance at which even the production’s signature chandelier, which had just crashed onto the stage of the Majestic Theatre for the 13,981st time, got its own curtain call.



The invitation-only crowd was filled with Broadway lovers, including actors who had performed in the show over its 35-year run, as well as numerous theater artists (including Lin-Manuel Miranda and Glenn Close) and fans who won a special ticket lottery. Some dressed in Phantom regalia; one man came dressed in the character’s sumptuous Red Death costume.



[Expressions]
▶regalia : 공식 행사 등 특별한 상황에 입는 예복, 휘장
▶sumptuous : 호화로운



The final performance, which ran from 5:22 p.m. to 7:56 p.m., was interrupted repeatedly by applause, not only for the main actors but for beloved props, including a monkey music box, and scenic elements such as a gondola being rowed through a candelabra-adorned underground lake. After the final curtain, the stagehands who made the show’s elaborate spectacle happen night after night, were invited onstage for a resounding round of applause.



“It’s just amazing, really, what has happened,” composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the show’s soaring score, said after the final curtain, as he dedicated the performance to his son Nicholas, who died three weeks ago.



[Expressions]
▶prop : 소품
▶candelabra-adorned : 나뭇가지 모양의 촛대로 장식된
▶stagehand : 무대 담당자




Toward the end of the evening, Mackintosh acknowledged the 1-ton chandelier, which was lowered from the ceiling to a round of applause, and the crowd was showered with gold and silver metallic confetti, some of which dangled in ribbons from the chandelier.



Hours before the curtain, fans gathered across the street, waving and taking pictures and hoping somehow to score a spare ticket. Among them was Lexie Luhrs, 25, of Washington, D.C., in a Phantom getup: black cape, homemade mask, fedora, vest and bow tie, as well as mask earrings and a mask necklace. “I’m here to celebrate the show that means so much to us,” Luhrs said.



[Expressions]
▶confetti : 색종이 조각 (보통 결혼식 등 특별한 행사에 뿌림)




On Broadway, “Phantom” was, obviously, enormously successful, playing to 20 million people and grossing $1.36 billion since its opening in January 1988. And the show has become an international phenomenon, playing in 17 languages in 45 countries and grossing more than $6 billion globally. But the Broadway run ultimately succumbed to the twin effects of inflation and dwindled tourism after the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.



[Expressions]
▶twin effects : 이중 효과
▶succumb : 굴복하다, 무릎을 꿇다.



It closed on an unexpectedly high note — and not just the high E that Christine sings in the title song. As soon as the closing was announced in September, sales spiked, as those who already loved the musical flocked to see it, and procrastinators realized it could be their last chance; the original February closing date was delayed by two months to accommodate demand, and the show has once again become the highest-grossing on Broadway, playing to exuberant audiences, enjoying a burnished reputation and bringing in more than $3 million a week.



[Expressions]
▶high note : 성공, 정점
▶procrastinator : 관망하는 사람, 해야 할 일을 하지 않고 미루는 사람 (여기서는 공연을 언젠가는 봐야지 하고 안 보고 미루던 사람)
▶burnished reputation : 빛나는 명성

 

 

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35년의 공연역사를 뒤로한 채,  팬데믹의 높은 벽을 넘지 못한 뉴욕 브로드 웨이의 '오페라의 유령'입니다.
결국  마지막의 화려한 공연으로 잘 마무리되었다는 소식이네요.
뉴욕의 브로드웨이에서 '미스사이공' 관람 시, 헬리콥터가 등장하는 엄청난 무대 스케일, '미녀와 야수' 관람 시, 정장을 갖춘 남성 관람객들이 미녀와 야수의 그 장미를 우아한 드레스차림의 여성분들께 선물하던 모습들이 아직도 잊히지가 않습니다.
'레미제라블'의 휘날리던 프랑스깃발도 아주 먼 기억 속에서 소환됩니다.

비엔나에선 오페라하우스를 가봐야겠지요?

2. IDIOM PACKAGE

 

- 15 minutes of fame:
[Noun] (idiomatic) A very short time in the spotlight or brief flurry with fame, after which the person or subject involved is quickly forgotten


- too many cooks spoil the soup:
사공이 많으면 배가 산으로 간다.


- end of story:
이야기 끝[더 이상 할 말/일이 없음]