Music of the Night (song)

"The Music of the Night" (also labeled as just "Music of the Night") is a song from the 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera. The music was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Charles Hart. It has appeared on multiple soundtracks of the musical, such as the original cast version in which English actor Michael Crawford sings the song.

Initially made famous by Michael Crawford, the actor who originated the role of the Phantom both in the West End and on Broadway, the 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. Crawford later recorded the song as a duet with Barbra Streisand for her album "Back to Broadway" (1993). This version of the song also appears on her greatest duets album.

In the musical, it is sung after the Phantom lures Christine Daaé to his lair beneath the Opera House. He seduces Christine with "his music" of the night, his voice putting her into a type of trance. He sings of his unspoken love for her and urges her to forget the world and life she knew before. The Phantom leads Christine around his lair, eventually pulling back a curtain to reveal a mannequin dressed in a wedding gown resembling Christine. When she approaches it, it suddenly moves, causing her to faint. The Phantom then 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, 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 Phantom of the Opera.

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