The Phantom of the Opera (Book)

Le Fantôme de l'Opéra (English: The Phantom of the Opera) is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in "Le Gaulois" from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910. Initially, the story sold very poorly upon publication in book form and was even out of print several times during the twentieth century; it is overshadowed by the success of its various film and stage adaptations. The most notable of these were the 1925 film depiction and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical. Originally produced for the West End, The Phantom of the Opera musical is now the longest running Broadway show in history, and one of the most lucrative entertainment enterprises of all time.

Plot
The novel opens with a prologue in which Gaston Leroux claims that Erik, the "Phantom of the Opera", was a real person. hallo

We are then introduced to Christine Daaé. She and her father, a famous fiddler, traveled all over Sweden playing folk and religious music. Her father was known to be the best wedding fiddler in the land. When Christine is six, her mother dies and her father is brought to rural France by a patron, Professor Valerius.

During Christine's childhood, which is described retrospectively in the early chapters of the book, her father tells her many stories featuring an 'Angel of Music', who, like a muse, is the personification of musical inspiration. Christine meets and befriends the young Raoul, Viscount of Chagny, who also enjoys her father's many stories. One of Christine and Raoul's favourite stories is one of Little Lotte, a girl with golden hair and blue eyes who is visited by the Angel of Music and possesses a heavenly voice.

On his deathbed, Christine's father tells her that from Heaven, he will send the Angel of Music to her. Christine now lives with Mamma Valerius, the elderly widow of her father's benefactor.

Christine is eventually given a position in the chorus at the Paris Opera House (Opera Populaire). Not long after she arrives there, she begins hearing a beautiful, unearthly voice which sings to her and speaks to her. She believes this must be the Angel of Music and asks him if he is. The Voice agrees and offers to teach her "a little bit of heaven's music." The Voice, however, belongs to Erik, a disfigured genius who was one of the contractors who built the opera and who secretly built into the cellars a home for himself. He is the Opera ghost ("Fantôme" in French can be translated as both "ghost" and "phantom") who has been extorting money from the Opera's management for many years. Unknown to Christine, at least at first, he falls in love with her.

With the help of the Voice, Christine triumphs at the gala on the night of the old managers' retirement. Her old childhood friend Raoul hears her and remembers his love for her. A time after the gala, the Paris Opera performs Faust, with the prima donna Carlotta playing the lead. In response to a refused surrender of Box Five to the Opera Ghost, Carlotta loses her voice and the chandelier overhead plummets into the audience.

After the chandelier crashes, Erik kidnaps Christine to his home in the cellars and reveals his true identity. He plans to keep her there only a few days, hoping she will come to love him, and Christine begins to find herself attracted to her abductor. But she causes Erik to change his plans when she unmasks him and, to the horror of both, beholds his face. Furious, he lets her know of his despair and love. Fearing that she will leave him, he decides to keep her with him forever, but after two weeks, when Christine requests release, he agrees, on condition that she would wear his ring and be faithful to him.

Up on the roof of the Opera, Christine tells Raoul of Erik taking her to the cellars. Raoul promises to take Christine away where Erik can never find her and to take her even if she resists. Raoul tells Christine he shall act on his promise the following day, to which Christine agrees, but she pities Erik and will not go until she has sung for him one last time. The two leave. But neither is aware that Erik has been listening to their conversation or that it has driven him to jealous frenzy. During the week and that night Erik has been terrorizing anyone who stood in his way, or in the way of Christine's career, including the managers.

The following night, Erik kidnaps Christine during a production of Faust. Back in the cellars, Erik tries to force Christine into marrying him. If she refuses, he threatens, he will destroy the entire Opera using explosives he has planted in the cellars, killing everyone in it, including himself and Christine. Christine continues to refuse, until she realizes that Raoul and an old acquaintance of Erik's known only as "The Persian," in an attempt to rescue her, have been trapped in Erik's torture chamber. To save them and the people above, Christine agrees to marry Erik and kisses him. Erik rescues the Persian and the young Raoul from his torture chamber thereafter. Erik, who admits that he has never before in his life received a kiss — not even from his own mother — is overcome with emotion. He lets Christine go and tells her "go and marry the boy whenever you wish," explaining, "I know you love him." They cry together, and then she leaves. The Persian, being an old acquaintance, is told of all these secrets by Erik himself, and on his express request, the Persian advertises in the newspaper about Erik's death.

Characters in the Novel
Erik/The Phantom (also known as the Angel of Music)

Christine Daaé

Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny 

The Persian 

Madame Giry 

Meg Giry

Carlotta

Joseph Buquet

Insistance of the Existence of Erik by Leroux
Throughout the book, Leroux insists that the ghost or man, dubbed Erik, was indeed real. From his introductory, he begins to state that everything within the book was factual. Indeed, it was even upon his deathbed that he made a final plea to the world that Erik was a true figure in history.

Translations
There are currently 5 English translations of Le Fantôme de l'Opéra. The first English translation, by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos in 1911, though it sometimes omits entire paragraphs or chapters, is still the most widespread version of the book. Due to its being the first English translation (and the only one up until 1990), publishers may assume that it is unabridged, and so will republish it as a "complete and unabridged" or "original" version, unknowingly misleading those who purchase these copies. Unless a copy credits a particular translator, it is likely to be the Teixeira de Mattos translation. Currently, four other English translations are in circulation: a 1990 edition by Lowell Bair; 'The essential phantom of the opera : The definitive, annotated edition of Leroux’s classical novel', edited by Leonard Wolf, published in 1996; another, by Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier, published in 2004; and a completely new translation by Mireille Ribière published in 2009 to coincide with the centenary of the first publication

Illustrations
The original Frod book publication of 1910 was illustrated with five oil paintings by André Castaigne. The paintings served as an inspiration for the 1925 film, and have appeared in many subsequent reprintings and translations.

Adaptations
There have been numerous literary and dramatic works based on The Phantom of the Opera, ranging from musicals to films to children's books. The best known stage and screen adaptations of the novel are probably the 1925 silent film version starring Lon Chaney, Sr. and the 1986 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which first opened in London's West End with Michael Crawford in the title role, Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae, and Steve Barton as Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny. This musical was adapted into a 2004 film, directed by Joel Schumacher. It starred Gerard Butler as Erik, Emmy Rossum as Christine Daae, and Patrick Wilson as Raoul. Brian DePalma wrote and directed a 1974 film called Phantom of the Paradise, which was loosely based on The Phantom of the Opera.