Raoul

Do you know The Phantom of the Opera, the musical? Of course you do, everyone does. I've discovered it only relatively recently, when my friend Hanka gave me the CDs. That was some three years ago and I've been phantomized ever since.

(This has happened to me only once before I was introduced to the Phantom, that I heard the music, and 'there I stood, amazed for a while'. It was with ALW's Joseph.)

But the peak of my obsession came after seeing the film, starring Gerard Butler (the Phantom every girl is hoping for deep in her heart - tall, dark and handsoom), Emmy Rossum (really young, innocent and talented Christine, and I'm saying this as someone who rarely likes a performance of an actress), and Patrick Wilson as Raoul.

Now, let me think about the role of Raoul in the musical in general terms. He does appear on stage earlier than the Phantom, but it is at a time when everyone's impatient to see the Phantom. Moreover, he is the nice guy, blond if possible, and that is not someone who women would be interested in (on stage, of course; knowing that he's a vicomt, and rich, would make him very very VERY interesting in real life).
He does make some attempt at establishing a love relationship with Christine, but the real passion is present only when the Phantom is there (passion between the Phantom and Christine, not between Raoul and the Phantom... well, not THAT kind of passion).

What about Raoul's part? He has a nice duet with Christine (a bit too long and dull when you listen to it for the hundredth time) and he sings in both Notes. And the finale, of course. All in all, his part is more prominent than that of Messieurs Firmin and Andre, Madame Giry or (gods protect us) Meg, but also far less important than that of Christine and the Phantom.

To sum darling Raoul up, he has a very unrewarding role: he sings quite a lot but no-one will remember him. And he steals Christine from the Phantom in the end, the dog. Poor existence, just the kind I love to love.

Now, Patrick as Raoul is a bit more active in the film - in the sense that he rides a horse without the aid of a saddle and plunges in water pit. However, as Notes number two were removed from the film, he does not sing as much as he would deserve (I am sure he is a great singer!). That makes his role even less rewarding. Everyone will (and does) talk about the Phantom, because you can't NOT talk about Gerry, and Emmy, because she is wonderful as Christine, but I haven't heard anyone saying: Wow, that Patrick Wilson guy was great, much more professional than the two main characters and simply amiable without any objection (unlike Gerry, as we all know). And that's not fair, because Patrick deserves praise. He got all he could from the role, which, btw, is undervalued in the first place. Clap your hands for Raoul!

Why was I writing this all? A very simple (and silly) reason. After having seen the film, I looked in the mirror and... I realized that my hair looks almost the same as Raoul's! A terrible discovery for a girl. But from that moment I feel somehow mentally connected with Raoul.

Anyway, try listening for Raoul only once - in Notes/Prima Donna, Wandering Child and in the Finale. He's cool.

UPDATE: In 2008, I had seen the theatrical performance of The Phantom of the Opera in Her Majesty's Theatre in London. It was absolutely fabulous! Such atmosphere, such great actors, such a great show! After the show, we waited at the back entrance and asked the actors for autographs - Ramin Karimloo (The Phantom), Alex Rathgeber (Raoul) and Robyn North (Christine). They were all sweet and lovely and freshly scrubbed, especially Ramin who had to take off all his Phantom makeup. My favourite, however, was Alex - Raoul, who spent about twenty minutes chatting with some fans (not us, of course, I was too shy). When I got home, I decided to write a letter to him, my first fan-letter. I don't remember what I wrote - he has the letter now, but it was something about how I loved him as Raoul, how I loved Raoul as a character and how underrated I thought the character was. In about a month I received an answer from him. He was happy that I liked the performance, he apologised for replying so late, but it was because I sent the letter to the theatre in London, while he had already left for Australia (he even drew a small map of Australia, probably because he was afraid that I would mistake it for Austria, silly boy). One of the most amazing experiences of my life. And it fortified me in my preference of Raoul. So there.