"The Music of the Night" 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.
Composition
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 to The Phantom of the Opera. A year before The Phantom Of The Opera opened at Her Majesty's Theatre, the original version of the song was performed at Andrew Lloyd Webber's own theatre at Sydmonton, along with the first drafts of the show. The audience were a specially gathered group of Webber's acquaintances. The Phantom was played by Colm Wilkinson. The lyrics were very different from the ones used in the three variations of the song as lyricist Charles Hart had not yet become involved in the project. Due to similarities between the song and a recurring melody in Giacomo Puccini's 1910 opera, La fanciulla del West, the Puccini estate filed lawsuit against Webber, accusing him of plagiarism. An agreement was settled out of court and details were not released to the public.
Recordings
To promote The Phantom of the Opera's opening in London, the production's producers, The Really Useful Group, filmed a video starring Crawford and Sarah Brightman. The song has also been covered by many artists.
1992: Sarah Brightman recorded "The Music of the Night" for her solo album, Sarah Brightman Sings the Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. This version has different lyrics, replacing the line "To the power of the music that I write," with "To the harmony which dreams alone can write", and a different ending.
1993: Crawford recorded the song as a duet with Barbra Streisand for her album Back to Broadway.
2010: Mark Vincent covered the song for his album Compass
2012: Jackie Evancho performed it for her movie-themed concert, Songs from the Silver Screen. This version included the words, "compose the music of the night".
2016: Mauro Calderon covered the song on his album "Broadway" and "Éxitos.
2016: Marina Prior and Mark Vincent covered the song on their album Together
2019: Alina Zagitova used the song on her short program while winning World Champion 2019 title in ladies event.
