Day 16: The Phantom of the Opera
Probably best known as the hugely successful Andrew Lloyd Webber musical (the longest running show on Broadway) The Phantom of the Opera is actually a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. Gaston Leroux was famous for detective novels and in 1909, Le Fantome De L'Opera was published as a serialisation. In 1910, it was published as a book. A mere 15 years later, Hollywood turned it into a film starring Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces. Since then, it has been adapted many times for stage and screen. There are about films that at least keep important elements of the original plot. There are other films that reference some of the characters or use them in a complete different story. There are also stage, television, stage, radio and literary adaptations. There have been quite a few sequels, most are literary works but in 2010 Andrew Lloyd Webber released the sequel Love Never Dies which was inspired by the 1999 Frederick Forsyth novel Phantom of Manhattan.
The original novel follows the characters Christine Daaé, a Swedish singer who is part of the Opera Garnier's ballet company who dreams of being a Prima Donna. Christine receives free singing lessons from a disembodied voice who she believes is The Angel of Music, sent to her from heaven by her father. The Phantom who's name is Erik, is a disfigured lonely genius who lives in the cellars of the opera house and is referred to as the Opera Ghost. He receives a salary for being the ghost and uses box 5 to watch the opera productions and sends notes to the management suggesting improvements. Erik teaches Christine to sing and gradually falls in love with her, hoping she may one day come to love him. He is possessive and obsessive. He was disfigured from birth and wears a mask to hide his face and lacks a nose. His face is described as looking like that of a corpse with thin yellow skin. Raoul is the Vicomte De Chagny who, with his brother the Comte, is a patron of the Opera House. He and Christine knew each other as children and he is Christine's love interest. Although the ages of the characters is never revealed in the book it is estimated that Christine is between 18 and 21 Raoul is a similar age but probably 20-25. At one point in the novel both Christine and Raoul are referred to as children but it means they are young and perhaps not quite seen as adults by society yet which would make them in their early 20s at most. The Phantom is about 50.
The Phantom teaches Christine to improve her singing under the guise of being the Angel her father promised to send her. When Christine's old friend Raoul arrives and threatens Christine's budding career and her relationship with the Phantom, he reveals who he really is and when Christine removes his mask against his wishes and reveals his deformity, their relationship is so damaged that his love turns to obsession, his genius tips towards madness and Christine finds herself caught between two men in a violent battle for her heart.
In adaptations the age of the characters can vary depending on the story. Most adaptations have the main story of an outcast falling in love with a beautiful young singer and doing what he can to advance her career. He often has a rival and can sometimes love the female lead in a platonic but no less intense way. Probably the best known adaptations are the following.
1943
A film starring Claude Rains and Susanna Foster. In this film the character Erique Claudin is a violinist employed at the Paris Opera House. He is secretly devoted to young soprano Christine DuBois. In this version Erique becomes the Phantom after acid is thrown in his face. Christine has two love interests, Anatole, a tenor who sings in the Opera and Raoul, a police officer investigating the strange goings on at the Opera House. Originally, Enrique Claudin was revealed to be Christine's father and that is why he is so devoted to her. However, creators of the film were concerned that it may lead to Christine and Claudin's relationship to appear incestuous, despite there being no love story between them in the film. Consequently, the scene in which Christine's guardian reveals the truth to Anatole who promises to keep it a secret, was cut. This is the first adaptation in which the Phantom's disfigurement is inflicted rather than a birth defect.
1962
Hammer Horror's take on the Phantom moved the location to England and London's Opera House. Similar in many ways to the 1943 film, the Phantom is a sympathetic character who's deformity is caused by an accident in which nitric acid is splashed on his face. While there seems again to be lack of a romantic relationship between the Phantom and Christine, she is still the focus of his attentions and he teaches her to sing.
1974
The rock version focused more on Faustian aspects and parodied multiple films and pop culture references. While the Phantom in this version does fall for Phoenix, the beautiful singer, their relationship is short and seemingly his love is largely unrequited. Christine's potential love interest in this film is a corrupt, producer who has made a deal with the devil. A darker and more tragic take on the story, the Phantom's disfigurement is again, the result of an accident.
1983
Michael York (ten years after he played d'Artangan in The Three Musketeers), Jane Seymour (Fresh from The scarlet Pimpernel and still famous for the role of Solitaire in Live and Let Die) and Maximilian Schell starred in a TV movie version of the story. In this story, Jane Seymour's character resembles the Phantom's wife who killed herself after a bad review.
1986
Andrew Lloyd Webber adapted the story into an award winning musical starring Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. The longest running show on Broadway has enjoyed success in cities all over the world including an adapted version in Las Vegas and touring production. One of the most famous adaptations it gave the Phantom a half-mask and wig instead of a full face mask. There were concerns that a full face mask would make it harder for emotion to be seen. The full face mask remains on the poster and promotional material.
1990
Charles Dance and Teri Polo starred in this TV miniseries. In this version The Phantom is born disfigured. The character of Raoul is replaced by his older brother Phillipe though his and Christine's shared childhood is revealed. More of a love story, it's tragic elements make for a tearjerker.
1989
A rather gory and supernatural version of the story, this Phantom is the victim of a curse which causes his deformity and pursues Christine over time. The film starts in modern times in Manhattan, an accident leads Christine to wake in 1885 London where she encounters the Phantom for the first time. eventually she returns to her own time and meets a man who resembles the Phantom the producer of a play she has the lead in .It stars Robert Englund (famous for his role as Freddy Kruegar in Nightmare on Elm Street) and Jill Schoelen.
1998
Dario Argento made Il Fantasma Dell'Opera, strangely, in English. This is a film in which the Phantom doesn't actually have a deformity. Also his feelings for Christine seem requited and their relationship does become sexual. It bears little to no resemblance to Leroux's novel including little but character's names. A very strange and violent version from the Italian master of horror, it stars Julian Sands and Asia Argento, the director's daughter.
2004
Joel Schumacher directed the long anticipated film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical which added and edited scenes which left some fans disappointed as it changed the story slightly. It starred Gerard Butler, real-life opera singer Emmy Rossum and Broadway actor Patrick Wilson. It boasted many stars including Miranda Richardson (Madame Giry), Simon Callow (André), Ciaran Hinds (Firman), Kevin McNally (Buquet) and Jennifer Ellison (Meg). Minnie Driver was cast as Carlotta but, controversially, did not do her own singing and was dubbed by Margaret Preece.
2011
The Andrew Lloyd stage musical was adapted slightly and performed at The Royal Albert Hall for the shows 25th anniversary. It was filmed for home media release. Ramin Karimloo (who was the picture of Christine's father Gustave Daaé in the 2004 film), Sierra Boggess and Hadley Fraser reprised the roles of The Phantom, Christine and Raoul that they played in the original production of Love Never Dies, the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.
Even people who don't know the story of The Phantom have heard of the story. The character has been referenced and parodied so often that a lot of the original story often becomes lost. He is often the victim of an event that causes his disfigurement. He is also often portrayed in the half-mask from the musical rather than the full mask from the book. He has appeared in Woody Woodpecker, The Simpsons, Family Guy and is referenced in literally hundreds of ways. The character has become a part of pop culture which, with the number and scope of adaptations of the original story, is unsurprising.
The book itself has been described as a 'confused' book because it doesn't have a clear genre. It has horror, drama, comedy, romance and the supernatural. It also has smatterings of Leroux's speciality, the detective novel. All these elements make for lots of different kinds of adaptations which is probably why there are so many adaptations that fit into different genres.
An adaptation that seeks to answer a lot of the questions of the Phantom (Erik) and his past is the book Phantom by Susan Kay. It starts in 1831 and chronicles the Phantom's life from birth to his death and concludes in 1897, approximately 16 years after his death. The book is written in sections which show the events from different peoples point of view. From 1831-40 it is from the perspective of Madeleine, Erik's mother. From 1840-43 it is Erik's. 1844-6 it is Giovanni, a stone mason who teaches Erik his craft. There is then a gap and then 1850-53 it is Nadir (The Persian in the novel). From 1856-81 it is Erik again and then in 1881 it is both Erik and Christine. This section is essentially a view of the novel from a first person narrative rather than third. The last section is from the perspective of Raoul and essentially picks up where the novel left off and describes what happens to the characters following the events in the novel. For fans, this book gives a backstory only hinted at in the novel and explains what Erik went through to become the Phantom.
For a book over 100 years old it has done well. It has inspired many things and still is a well-loved story. Yes the musical may have overtaken the book in both fame and popularity but it all started with Leroux's masterpiece. It is a long book and a lot happens but it is easy to follow and is a fascinating story. There really is a lake under the opera house, and there was an accident one year in which the chandelier fell. There is a rumour that if you enter box 5, the Phantom's box and knock on a pillar you will find it hollow. That is how the Phantom watched the performances and entered and left the box without being seen.
Whether you are new to the Phandom or not and whichever version you enjoy, sing for your Angel, wrap yourself in a cape and keep your hand at the level of your eyes.
Phantoms Playing Poker- Raphael2054
Left to right - Phantom of the Paradise, ALW Phantom (Michael Crawford), Lon Chaney(1925 film) , Phantom of the Mall, Charles Dance (1990 Tv miniseries)
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