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LE FANTME DE LOPRA Samantha Pike (Sophie) Elementary French 1 Fall 2011

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WHERE IT ALL BEGAN Story published in weekly increments starting in 1909 Published as a full novel in France - 1910 Translated to English in 1911 Based in the famous Palais Garnier opera house The numerous passages beneath the opera house inspired the author to write the story

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GASTON LEROUX Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux Born on May 6 th, 1868 in Paris, France Had a degree in law always loved writing more Died in 1927 at age 59 Wrote over 60 novels none of which were successful during his lifetime (only two were successful after his death)

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THE CHARACTERS Main characters: Erik (The Phantom) Christine Daa Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny Other important characters include: The Persian, Comte Philippe de Chagny, Madame Giry, Moncharmin, Richard, Debienne, and Poligny

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THE STORY Christine, a talented young opera singer, receives visits from an invisible Angel of Music (The Phantom) The masked phantom lives underneath the famous Paris opera house sabotages the opera that is playing so that Christine can play the lead role Raoul and the Phantom are both madly in love with Christine The Phantom gets jealous and kidnaps Christine to his house on the underground lake where he shows her the man behind the mask Raoul goes to save Christines life with the help of one of the opera house workers (The Persian)

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THE CONTROVERSY Lerouxs realistic writing leads readers to believe the story is true, but it is really? Paris opera house was rumored to be haunted Skeletons found around the huge underground lake Strange occurrences and a mysterious fire aroused suspicion

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OTHER BOOKS The Canary Trainer by Nicholas Meyer (A Sherlock Holmes imitation the character of Erik is used) The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsyth (Elaborates on the original story) Phantom by Susan Kay (Eriks background is formed)

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MOVING TO THE SCREEN The Phantom of the Opera 1925 American silent horror film - Starring Lon Chaney Pushed the almost twenty year-old story into the spotlight Chaneys self-designed makeup had quite the effect on the audience Part of the film set still stands inside soundstage 28 in Universal Studios almost 8 decades later

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SPIN-OFF MOVIES Song At Midnight (Chinese Horror Film) - 1937 The Phantom of 42 nd Street - 1945 The Phantom of Hollywood - 1974 Phantom of the Paradise - 1974 Opera (Italian) - 1987 The Phantom Lover (Hong Kong) - 1995 Phantom of the Megaplex - 2000

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TAKING IT TO THE STAGE Ken Hill was the first person to take the story to the stage in 1976 Found the novel in a junk shop and was instantly inspired Original score/book written by Hill himself Updated and revived the musical in 1984, making it truer to the novel original production was more successful Once Andrew Lloyd Webber took Phantom as his own, Ken Hills version flopped after a few years

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ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER Webber attended one of Hills performances of Phantom and wanted to re-invent the musical as his own Andrew cheated Ken Hill, basically stealing his show Wrote a different score/book with Charles Hart New musical opened in 1986 Most memorable version currently in its 25 th year on Broadway

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STAGE ADAPTATIONS Phantom by Mary Yeston - 1991 -- Based on original story -- Same characters, different plot, simliar music Love Never Dies by Andrew Lloyd Webber 2010 -- Sequel to stage production started in 1990 -- Christine and Raoul 10 years later

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25 TH ANNIVERSARY FACTS Longest-running Broadway show in history Has been produced in 27 countries Grossed over $5.6 billion worldwide Box office revenues higher than any other film or stage play in history (including Titanic, ET, and Star Wars). Won over 50 major theatre awards (7 Tony Awards)

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EVEN MORE FACTS Has been translated to at least 15 languages Cast album has gone 6 time platinum in the US There are 130 cast, crew & orchestra members in each performance. Each performance has 230 costumes, 22 scene changes, 281 candles and uses 250 kg of dry ice.

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"Poor, unhappy Erik! Shall we pity him? Shall we curse him? He asked only to be someone, like everybody else. But he was too ugly! And he had to hide his genius or use it to play tricks with, when, with an ordinary face, he would have been one of the most distinguished of mankind! He had a heart that could have held the empire of the world; and in the end had to content himself with a cellar. Surely we must pity the Opera ghost! - Le Fantme de lOpra Gaston Leroux

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REFERENCES Chandler, David. "What Do We Mean By Opera, Anyway?." 21.2 (2009): Web. 20 Nov. 2011.