ANN ARBOR – On Wednesday night, the Michigan Theater screened "The Phantom of the Opera" with live organ accompaniment as part of its annual Halloween tradition of screening spooky movies throughout October. This year, however, Stephen Warner had the honor of compiling the score for the film, a job previously held by his predecessor, Steven Ball.
Warner is a gentleman in every sense of the word. He was gracious with his time and could not have been more informative when it came to discussing the Michigan Theater's Barton Organ and scoring silent films. I found his score for "The Phantom of the Opera" to be unique and lively, creating, at least for me, a brand new way of appreciating a film I've seen several times in the past.
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"I’m combining music from [Charles Gounod's] opera 'Faust,' which is what’s being produced in the story, with themes that I’ve used for the different characters. Most of those actually do come from 'Faust,' but some of them come from elsewhere," Warner said about how his score differs from Ball's.
"In the beginning of the book, 'The Phantom of the Opera' by Leroux, he actually lists a whole series of composers that are performing their works at the opening gala at the beginning of the story. So it’s like he gives you a playlist to pull from and, in my case, the opera has enough material as it is because, not only does it have the opera, but it has the full ballet."
We spoke a lot about the intricacies of compiling a score for a film like "The Phantom of the Opera," but I was also curious about the Barton Organ itself. I have seen many movies at the Michigan over the years, and I've always been fascinated by the Barton Organ's history, as well as what makes it stand out from other theater organs.
"There are very few [organs] in their original homes, and to have one that’s been working in its original home, doing its job for so many years, is very very special. This instrument's in really very fine condition and it plays wonderfully... It’s just big enough that it has just about everything you to need to create kind of the full dynamic range for a film... It’s a great room too."
Warner's enthusiasm was contagious, driving home the importance of seeing films the way they're supposed to be seen. In this case, "The Phantom of the Opera" is a silent film from 1925 that benefits greatly from live accompaniment.
When he introduced the film for the audience, Warner said that he considers this experience to be a three or four way collaboration with those who originally built the Barton Organ, the actors on the screen, and a little bit with Gounod himself. The most important element in truly experiencing a film with live accompaniment, however, is to just lose yourself in the wonderful story being displayed on screen, a point Warner made sure to state immediately before the room went dark and the film began.