[The Phantom of the Opera] The Beast and the Canary

Some time ago, "Faust" staged in the theater also had a similar plot: the devil sensed Faust's inner desire, came to his side, met his needs, and tried to lure him to hell.In it, although the devil tempts, confuses and seduces people, he judges human nature invisibly.

Looking at it this way, the devil in "Two-Face Man" seems to be judging someone... Is it the hero who is obsessed with flashy appearance?However, isn't the hero symbolizing the Phantom himself?

I couldn't help walking to the front of the stand, and raised the binoculars: on the stage, the face of the devil was always hidden under the black robe.The hero stood in front of him, looking humble and insignificant.

What is strange is that, as a devil, he exudes an elegant and noble aura... This temperament is not like a devil, but like a music master I know...

A name played around on the tip of my tongue.I shook my head and denied it first. If it was really him, wouldn't this opera fool everyone?

In memory, the phantom in her previous life also dressed like this.At that time, he used a rope to strangle the hero on the stage without anyone noticing, tore off the black cloak from the opponent, and put it on his shoulders.The long, loose brim of his hat hung down over his face.Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he stepped onto the stage calmly and calmly.

In that performance, he used his unparalleled musical talent to imitate the voice and steps of the original male lead, fooling everyone on the stage.Until the end of the song, no one could tell that the actor had changed.I was standing in the audience and even saw tears welling from the corners of some audience's eyes.

The performance was grand and spectacular, like the intense and crazy fire of the set, which almost burned the audience's emotions.If Christine hadn't noticed something wrong later and lifted his disguise, no one would have believed that they shed passionate tears because of the singing of an ugly ghost.

His true face was exposed to the world, and everyone was shocked and excited by it.Gunshots and screams rang out simultaneously.I still remember that I took a quick step forward at that time, but I couldn’t do anything. I could only watch him hold Christine with his left hand, cut the rope decisively with his right hand, and stepped on the well-arranged mechanism.Suddenly, the crystal chandelier on the dome collapsed, the light bulb burst, and the fire engulfed the entire theater in an instant.

In the newspapers the next day, no one mentioned his works, no one mentioned his singing, everyone selectively forgot his talent, and even forgot that he was not a ghost at all, but a living, flesh and blood person.The entire front page headlines only focus on the falling of the chandelier and the escape of the audience.

Now, the situation of that day in the previous life is strangely repeated: people walked into the theater to watch his opera, and they were obviously moved by his music, but they still pretended to belittle the critics.

Just like the brown hair next to me, when the devil and the leading actor sang a duet, he was clearly overwhelmed by the devil's almost vast vocal range, and I even heard him gasp.However, when the music ended, he still commented disdainfully: "It seems that this ghost is not only imitating the classic plot, but even the music is imitating the master - I swear I have heard the tune just now in Hearst's opera." I have to say that Hearst is really much better than him in handling the details."

After hearing this, the blond unexpectedly did not agree, but continued to remain silent.

On the stage, the plot developed to the second act: the devil made a bet with the hero, and he bewitched the hero to go to the ball with his true colors.

"If you take off your mask at the climax of the dance, and you are not feared by everyone..." He smiled slightly, his voice was a blade smeared with moonlight, cold and dangerous, "I will return your soul and let you Forever beautiful."

I thought that the following would be the plot of the male protagonist attending the ball, but after the curtain was drawn, there was a still picture on the stage: two Corinthian hollow white columns stood on the left and right, and an abstract golden calf was carved on the top.More than a dozen couples of men and women were wearing masks and costumes, posing in jumping poses.The hero is wearing a white dress and a golden mask, standing in the front with the heroine.The two looked at each other and smiled, with deep affection in each other's eyes.

The costumes and scenery in this scene are mainly in warm colors, but at the next moment, there is a beam of cold-colored lights on the far left: the devil changed into a black windbreaker that reached his ankles, and wore a white mask, appearing condescendingly .

When he came on stage, there was no music at all.It was only then that I realized that the auditorium hadn't been buzzing for a long time.

Every time he took a step, a violinist pulled the bow.When he completely walked in front of the hero and heroine, the eighteen violinists in the orchestra played sharp high notes neatly, and at the same time, the notes of the cello gradually lowered, and it was the lightning that punished the cloud to death.

"Everyone," he slowly turned his head to look at the audience, "Do you really think that "Two-Face Man" is the story of this stupid man and woman?"

As soon as the words fell, he suddenly took off the actor's mask.

In an instant, like shaking the wooden handle of a music box, the trumpet sounded, and more than a dozen couples of men and women on the stage covered their mouths with their hands and made shocked expressions.The heroine took two dramatic steps back and collapsed on the ground.The male lead was pale and froze in place.

None of the audience present expected the plot to unfold like this.For a moment, the entire theater hall was silent.

"Their stories are ridiculous and sad, and they don't deserve to be my protagonists at all."

As soon as these words came out, the audience was in an uproar.Even the brown hair couldn't help but walked to the front of the stands and leaned forward: "What do you mean? What is his protagonist? Could this devil be that ghost? What exactly is he trying to do?"

Raise the binoculars and look at the devil's graceful but stern jawline.A guess became more and more clear in my mind. The name of the opera, the temperament and libretto of the devil, and all the things that happened after meeting someone... everything was like scattered pearls finally being strung together.

On the stage, the performance continued: accompanied by the sound of timpani drums, the devil hugged his left elbow with his right hand, tapped his chin with his left knuckles, and sang the recitative with ease: "The hero is pitiful, vain, Hypocrisy, the story of "Two-Face" should not be started by him."

He waved his hand lightly.The male protagonist didn't resist, he had already rehearsed and walked into the shadows by himself.

The devil then looked at the heroine: "The heroine is sweet and kind," he pinched a strand of her blond hair with two fingers, "and my favorite hair color, but unfortunately I can't let her play, I already have a suitable one in my heart." candidates."

At this point, he suddenly looked straight at me.Under the cold white light, his eyes were amber glass beads, but their eyes were more aggressive than ever.I took a step back involuntarily, the telescope slipped from my hand and fell to the ground with a "bang".

It was really...it was him.

What the hell does this happen?

I squatted down in a panic and picked up the binoculars.He paused every word, and continued to sing: "I have made the costumes for the heroine myself and delivered them to her. As for the actor who will play the leading actor, I have indicated it in the newspaper from the very beginning."

The harpist plucked the strings again, the tone was broken glaciers, pure and dynamic, but waves of screams sounded from the auditorium.

I quickly raised the binoculars: I don't know when, all the lights on the stage have been extinguished.Two thin lines of flames swam along the two sides of the stage towards the middle, outlining his tall figure stroke by stroke.

Black smoke billowed and the air scalded hot.Some people ran back in panic, some people sat in their positions numbly, and some people took a step forward in doubt.

The scene was chaotic, and the atmosphere was an extremely tense string that was about to break——

I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but in such an extremely urgent situation, the timpani sounded again, accompanied by the clear sound of footsteps on the stage, echoing in the theater hall one by one.My fingers trembled, the telescope almost fell to the ground again, and the heartbeat in my chest almost overwhelmed the boiling human voice.

It took a long time for the flames to die down inch by inch, and the lights on the stage were turned on again: Corinthian-style hollow white columns still stood on both sides, a big red carpet covered the floor, and a white leather sofa stood on the right.This is the scene from the prologue of The Shepherdess.

In the very center of the scene, a person stands there tall and high.

Everyone looked at him in astonishment.

He smiled indifferently at everyone, and took off his mask without hesitation.

Under the mask is a face that is so beautiful that it cannot be described.

The scene was instantly dead silent.

It turns out that all my guesses before were not wrong, the Phantom really is...

I gripped the railing of the stands.

At the same moment, his voice sounded in my ears: "That is Hearst, my other identity."

My eyes went dark, and my brain buzzed, and it was only because I was holding on to the railing that I didn't fall to the ground.The throbbing is the violent impact of the sea tide on the top of my head and throat. For a few seconds, I couldn't make a sound at all. I could only bury my head in my arms and gasped for breath.

After an unknown amount of time, I raised my head, only to find that the deathly silence continued.His fingers were limp as if his bones had been pulled out, and he wanted to pick up the telescope, but it escaped from his hand several times.At this time, a beam of white light suddenly turned around and hit the grandstand of the fifth VIP seat.I was caught off guard and exposed to everyone's sight.

I must be in a terrible state of distress now. Fortunately, only a few people were looking at me, and most of them were still staring at Hester on the stage—or, in other words, the Phantom.

I straightened up, watched him straighten his cuff buttons from a distance, and calmly told the audience: "Now, I will meet my heroine in person."