A 21st-century interpretation of the 1925 silent film Phantom of the Opera is being screening at Fort St Elmo this evening as part of the Malta International Arts Festival. The screening will be accompanied by live music from Bristol-based four-piece group Minima, who are performing in Malta for the first time.
Long before Andrew Lloyd Weber turned the Phantom of the Opera into an iconic singing sensation, the ‘ghost’ of the Paris opera house was terrifying early movie audiences in a ground-breaking silent film.
A still from The Phantom of the Opera (1925)The 1925 version, starring Lon Chaney in the title role, gave a ghastly face to the disfigured phantom created by Gaston Leroux in his 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. Chaney’s self-devised make-up was kept a studio secret and caused quite a stir when the film was premiered, with audiences reportedly screaming or fainting in the scene when Christine pulls his mask off.
It is generally accepted that Chaney’s depiction of the phantom was the most faithful to Leroux’s book, where he is described as having a skull-like face with a few wisps of black hair on top of his head. Directed by no fewer than four people, including Chaney himself, albeit uncredited, and re-shot three times, the film was ultimately a box office success that inspired a string of classic horror films.
Fast forward 90 years and the film is enjoying a revival thanks to a new, dynamic soundtrack composed and performed live by the music ensemble Minima.
Established 12 years ago, Minima plays exclusively to silent films, composing original scores for each film. Their repertoire includes Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger and German horror films Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.
The group play the cello, double bass, baritone guitar, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, autoharp, dulcimer, synthesizer, glockenspiel and drum kit, among other instruments.
The Phantom of the Opera silent film is being screened today at Fort St Elmo, Valletta, at 9pm. For tickets, visit www.showshappening.com.