The stage, film, television, and literature of the twentieth century included many great works by many great artists. One of the most well loved and memorable of these is The Phantom of the Opera. It's many stage productions from Broadway to Las Vegas to London have been seen by millions of people over the years and will likely continue to be seen by many for years to come.
The History of the Novel
The Phantom of the Opera is originally a novel written by a French writer named Gaston Leroux. The novel was published as a series starting in 1909 however the story didn’t meet with much success until many years later. The first English translation of the novel was published in 1911 and was translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos. This version remains the most widely read version of the book, even though it is missing entire chapters and paragraph. It wasn't until 1990 that a second English translation was released by Lowel Bair. In the original book publication of The Phantom of the Opera illustrations by Andre Castaigne were included. These illustrations would be the inspiration for the film released in 1925. The painted illustrations continue to be included in many of the later versions of the novel.
The Plot and Characters
The novel is a story about three people Erik, Christine, and Raoul who form a love triangle. Erik who lives in the cellars of the Paris Opera house is the Phantom of the story as many believe him to be a ghost haunting the opera house. He wears a silk mask to conceal the disfigured face he was born with. As a child Erik's family was horrified by his face causing Erik to run away while still very young. He ends up with a group of Gypsies in a traveling freak show where he is known as "le mort vivant" or "the living dead". While traveling with the gypsies Erik learns the skills of an illusionist and ventriloquist. Over time Erik's skill as a magician and his talent as a singer earn him fame and the Shah of Persia orders Erik to be brought to his palace. The Shah commissions him to build an elaborate palace containing secret rooms and trap doors so that no secrets may be whispered within the palace walls without being overheard. In order to prevent another palace to be built that can compare with his own, the Shah orders the blinding and execution of Erik. With the help of the daroga Erik is able to escape and travel to Constantinople and later it is believed to Southeast Asia.
Eventually becoming weary of the constant travel Erik begins work building simple houses and eventually the Paris Opera. When building the opera house Erik includes many trap doors and a secret house just for himself in the basement. It is during his time in the basement that Erik writes his opera Don Juan Triumphant. It takes Erik twenty years to complete it.
Christine is a talented Swedish musician and she is loved by both Erik and Raoul. Raoul is Christine’s childhood friend and lover. Christine travels all over with her father who’s a violinist. After he dies, she gets a position in the Paris Opera House in the chorus. At the Opera House, Erik speaks to her from his hiding place and she believes that he is the voice of "the angel of music" from a story Christine's father used to tell her as a child. The management of the Opera have been haunted for some time by this voice Christine believes to be the angel and they call him the “Phantom” or ghost. Erik helps Christine with her music and she performs well. She’s appreciated by all on the night of a retirement party. He then takes her to where he lives and imprisons her with the idea of keeping her there for a few days. Everything changes when she unmasks him and holds his face in her hands instead of getting scared. Erik does not want to let her go but upon her insistence, he sends her away with a ring and a promise to be faithful to him.
Once she gets back and tells Raoul about Erik, he plans to take her away from the place to somewhere safe. Erik overhears the conversation and kidnaps her but not before taking care of the people who come in the way of his plans and Christine’s career. He blackmails Christine into marrying by holding Raoul as prisoner. Initially, Christine refuses but later agrees to marry him and kisses him. Overwhelmed by the kiss, Erik releases Raoul and tells Christine to marry Raoul.
The Chandelier
In The Phantom of the Opera one of the most well known scenes involved the chandelier of the opera house crashing down after being cut by the Phantom. On May 20th, 1896 a similar incident really did happen. At the beginning of the opera Helle as the first act was drawing to a close the lead performer, Mme Carron was preparing to encore her aria when a loud crash was heard. The audience erupted into a panic and ran for the doors while the performers bravely remained on stage. While the chandelier itself didn't crash to the ground, one of it's counterweights did, killing a mother in her 50s. The counterweight was one of eight and weighed 1694lbs. The incident was entirely accidental, caused by a fire in attic of the opera house.
Music
The very first stage adaptation of the book was in 1949. It had music by A. Gerber and text by P. Wilhelm. Over the years there were numerous stage adaptations of the novel which included music written by a variety of composers. The most recognizable musical score for The Phantom of the Opera is the version written by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1986. The music in this version was written by Webber with lyrics by Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe, and S. Simmons, with one song by Alan Jay Lerner. The songs were very popular with numbers like “Think of Me”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “Little Lotte”’, “Angel of Music”, “All I Ask of You”, and “The Point of No Return”.
Stage Adaptations
Since 1949 The Phantom of the Opera has been made into over 20 different stage plays the most famous of which is the Andrew Lloyd Webber version. This version has become the longest running Broadway musical in history. It was inspired by the stage play by Ken Hill in 1976. Other versions include a musical comedy, a ballet, a version on ice, a prequel, and a sequel.
Film and Television Adaptations
Television series based on the book were also made and the first was an Argentinian miniseries called El Fantasma de la Opera in 1954. A television movie called The Phantom of Hollywood was released in 1974, and NBC produced a miniseries in 1990 called The Phantom of the Opera. The book was also made into a movie as early as 1916 featuring Swedish artists. In 1925, a classic silent version of the novel was produced by Universal. There are around twenty five movie versions of the book. The 2004 movie version starring Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, and directed by Joel Schumacher is the most recent.
Literature
The Phantom of the Opera was translated into seven different languages. There are three different authors for the English version. It was also made into comics and children’s books for easy reading. There are many books and literature based on the novel in various languages including a series of Sherlock Holmes stories.
Resources Online
- Electronic Text of The Phantom of the Opera: The complete text of the novel by Gaston Leroux is provided by the University of Virginia Library with the text separated by chapter.
- The Phantom of the Opera: The official site of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s wildly successful adaptation. It provides news, reviews, tour information, ticket information, and more.
- The Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney: Provides information on the Universal film release in 1925 including the cast, the crew, and some pictures.
- 1962 Film: A review of the film version starring Herbert Lom, Heather Sears, and directed by Terence Fisher.
- The Opera Palais Garnier: The official website of the Opera House in Leroux’s novel, it provides a historical account and a grand description of the place.
- Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux: Offers a biography of the author of the Phantom of the Opera.
- The Phantom’s Evolution: An article by Cathleen Myers tracing the progression of the novel to the screen and stage.
- 2004 Film: A review by James Berardinelli with information on the cast, director, producer, and more.
- Summary & Study Guide: Provides a summary of the book by Gaston Leroux with a study guide and questions.
- Angel of Music: Erik: A website dedicated to Erik, the Phantom, with links to his story, the actors who played him, quotes, gallery, and more.
- Ken Hill’s Stage Musical: Homepage of the original stage musical, it has information on the history of the novel, the show, the production, the archives, and more.
- Love Never Dies: The official site of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel with information on the show, tickets, theatre, and others.
- 1943 Film: Provides information on the Universal release starring Claude Rains, Susanna Foster, and directed by Arthur Lubin.
- The Paris Opera House: Provides some interesting historical background on the main setting of The Phantom of the Opera.
Article written by Janice D. McDonald