All I Ask of You, from the Phantom of the Opera

I remember once going on a date when my friend casually said, “I love opera. Someday, I want to go to London and watch The Phantom of the Opera live.” At that moment, I was honestly terrified — what an ignorant, pretentious idiot?!

But then… I stumbled across a live concert by The 3 Tenors — Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Luciano Pavarotti — accompanied by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the legendary Zubin Mehta. They performed Andrew Lloyd Webber’s All I Ask of You from The Phantom of the Opera.

Well, it felt less like “Phantom” and more like “the Shining Boss of the Opera”…

The OG was sung by Sarah Brightman in the 1986 London cast — and yes, it’s a musical, not an opera!

There’s something about this song that feels so tender and vulnerable. If anyone ever sang these words to me, I think I would fall in love on the spot…

And here’s the official recording of the master’s version by the three shining tenor boss of the opera: (it won’t necessarily make you fall in love with the singer, but will probably make you fall in love with opera)