Christine Daae
The Musical
(background, plot and main characters)
Christine Daae is one of the main characters in “Phantom of
The Opera” and “Love Never Dies” alongside Raoul and the Phantom. POTO is an
operatic musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber that first opened at Her Majesty’s
Theatre in 1986. It has been playing in that same theatre since then. The
musical sets in Paris, at the Opera Populaire in 1881 (very beginning in 1905).
It is based on the book of the same name by Gaston Leroux, and it was inspired
by a real legend of a phantom living and hiding in the Opera. In the musical,
the story is about a love triangle between the Phantom, Raoul and Christine.
The Phantom, a disgracious man who hides in the Opera, falls in love with
Christine, a youg chorus and dancer girl, as soon as he hears her sing. She is
attracted too, until he gets violent, kills a man and makes her live a
nightmare. But during that time, Christine finds shelter in the arms of Raoul.
At the end, Christine leaves with Raoul after the Phantom frees them from his
hiding. However, things change a lot in Love Never Dies.
How would I
perform the role
Christine has
been played in many different ways. And the Christine from Phantom is to me
very different from the one of Love Never Dies. In Phantom, I personally see
& would play her as a young girl who lost her father too soon to grow up
properly (she sings « teach me to live » in Wishing, which is
addressed to her father). Even though she grew up with a loving step mother
(Mrs.Giry); I think she is quite immature at the beginning of the show. It is
not until the very end of the show that she takes her own decision (kiss the
phantom to free Raoul); before that, either it is the Phantom hypnotising her
or Raoul making her change her mind. I would first describe her as an innocent,
naive, vulnerable and very influenceable. You can see that quite easily, at the
beginning of the show when the Phantom makes her come to his place, he
hypnotises her while singing "I am your angel of musica, come to me angel
of music". She doesn't even hear Raoul banging her door and follows him. I
think however that she grows up a lot during the show, because she becomes a
really strong and individual woman at the end, when she sings to the Phantom
that she was so scared of « it is in your soul that the real distortion lies
[…] the tears I might have shed for your dark fate grow cold and turn to tears
of hate ».
What I find
interesting about Christine is how she loves two men at the same time. And the
fact that it is a really deep love and story, not cheesy and boring like
twilight. Because you can understand why she loves the two men. On one hand she
loves Raoul, a wealthy, handsome young man that she’s been knowing since she
was a kid. On the other hand, the Phantom, with whom she shares a huge passion
for music and who gave her back her passion
for it.
I think to
understand the love she has towards the Phantom you have to know that Christine
lost her father when she was really young, and she was really close to him. Her
father is the man who made her discover music, and her passion for music died
when he died. After that, she became a singer by “duty”. And I feel like the
love she has towards the Phantom at first because it changes quite a lot in
Love Never Dies is all the love she couldn't express after her fathere's death.
During her solo addressed to her father “wishing you were somehow here again”
she sings the line “help me say goodbye”. And I think that the meaning of it is
that she will love the Phantom because she sees him like the father she lost
until she says goodbye to her father, and accepts his death. A line she sings
afterwards proves that she is confused about who the Phantom is to her
"angel or father, friend or phantom".
How would I
prepare for the role
To prepare for
this role, I would first off, spend a lot of time researching about women’s
position in the end of the 19th century. How were they raised and
considered? Did a woman have a place in society if she wasn’t married? Which
could explain why she marries Raoul so quickly and finds herself regretting it
in Love Never Dies as he becomes a drunk player. I would also make researches
on the legend of the Phantom of the Opera to know what , what was fake, what
was just a rumor, because I think the more you know the story, the more
accurate your performance is. I would read Leroux’s book and probably watch all
the movies to get some inspiration, see what I like and what I don’t want in my
version. I would also spend a lot time on the script anylising Christine's
evolution through both Phantom and Love Never Dies, even if I'm only playing
one because I'd know more about the character. Not to forget that the role of
Christine was especially written for Sarah Brightman who is a soprano,
therefore it requires a very high voice (up to E6) so it demands a lot of vocal
preparation and knowledge on how to rest your voice.
Research
Folder
Many famous musical theatre actresses got to
play Christine such as Sarah Brightman who created the role, Rebecca Caine,
Claire Moore, Celia Graham, Sierra Boggess, Anna O’byrne, Gina Beck, Samantha
Hill, Katie Hall, Sofia Escobar, etc.
I would lie if I said I have listened to every
single song of every single Christine but I listened to a lot of them and have
a few favourites.
Anna
O’Byrne, who created the role of Christine in Love Never Dies in Autrsalia and
then went on tour in Phantom. Afterwards whe joined the west end company as
Alternate Christine. She is by far my favourite Christine. I think her voice is
magnificent and her interpretation of Christine in Love Never Dies was simply
perfect. I spent days and days watching that production over and over again. I
thought she gave a really personal performance, she played the role like no one
did before. I wasn’t such a fan of Sierra’s Christine in Love Never Dies
because I felt like Christine was still a bit too child-ish and I couldn’t
clearly feel the difference between her Phantom and LND Christine. Whereas
there is a huge difference between Anna’s Christines.
Anna O’byrne in her
“the point of no return” dress
Olivia Brereton first
played the role of Christine as understudy in the recent UK tour of Phantom,
when Katie Hall was the lead. She then became alternate in London after the end
of the Tour. I think what made her stand out as Christine is her rendition of
“Wishing you were somehow here again”. She gave such a powerful and emotional
ending. Wishing is probably my favourite song in Phantom and I find myself let
down by quite a lot of Christines. Especially on the line “too many years
fighting back tears, why can’t the past just die” and the end. I cannot
consider a Christine “good” if her Wishing isn’t. This song is the first and
only where she expresses how much she misses her father, and I think it is a
key moment in Christine’s evolution. That is I think when she starts facing her
fears and especially the Phantom and becomes a strong woman.
Olivia Brereton in her
“think of me” dress
Sierra
Boggess first played the role in Las vegas. Afterwards, she was chosen to star
in the 25th anniversary of Phantom at the Royal Albert Hall
alongside Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser and created the role of Christine in
Love Never Dies. She also performed the role of Christine in Broadway. I think
that what made her Christine so special is how much emotion she puts in every
single song, there is not one single moment in her performance when you think
“that wasn’t great”, she puts so much energy in every moments she has on stage,
it is outstanding. However the reason why she’s not my favourite is as I’ve
said before the fact that I wasn’t a big fan of her Christine in Love Never
Dies. Whereas Anna did phantastic (see what I did there!) job in both Phantom
and Love Never Dies. She is also the first Christine I’ve seen – behind a
screen but that still counts – and I still remember my facial expression when I
heard her E6. My jaw stayed down for a few hours!
Sierra
Boggess in her “wishing” dress
Katie Hall in her
“Masquerade” dress
An interesting article I found while doing my researches
Christine Daaé may not be the title character of the
musical The Phantom of the Opera,
but she is the one with the most stage time and arguably goes through the most
visible character arc. Despite these two facts, however, she’s not looked on
too favourably by critics. She’s often thought of as flat, boring, and a
character whose plot is in service of others’. Is there any truth to these
claims? If so, is it possible to still consider Christine a worthwhile
character from a feminist standpoint?
“Christine is a child at the beginning and unqualified adult at
the end.” Though this quote actually comes from a favourable review of the actress playing Christine, it
shows a popular belief about the character: that she is juvenile and doesn’t
change much by the time the show ends. Fans and critics have often found this
to be an issue with Christine Daaé, but I tend to disagree.
When Christine is
introduced, she is a member of the Corps de Ballet at the Paris Opera House.
She is described as one who “always has her head in the clouds”, but when
Carlotta, the Prima Donna of the company, storms off, it is Christine who is
offered up to replace her. Christine is nervous, but she proves herself and
gives a wildly successful performance. This act thrusts her into the action of
the story where she makes an enemy of Carlotta, becomes a concern of the
managers, catches the eye of potential suitor Raoul, and becomes even more
involved with the mysterious Phantom who has been training her.
One of the complaints
lodged against Christine is that she’s flat and uninteresting. There’s so
much going on in Christine’s life that it’s hard to consider her uninteresting.
Christine is the center of all the drama of the play, and without her it all
falls apart: the Phantom would have no need to interfere if he weren’t doing it
on her behalf, Carlotta wouldn’t be in any danger of losing her job, Raoul
would have just gone home after the gala, etc. Things would be business as
usual at the opera house if not for Christine and as such, “boring” isn’t a
legitimate remark one can make against her.
One of the legitimate
arguments, however, is that Christine serves other people’s plots to the
detriment of her own. In this respect I very much agree, because her role was
rather underwritten. Finding Christine’s character requires a good bit of
attention be paid to somewhat small moments. Unless an audience member is
really hanging on her words, it’s easy to miss what makes her tick. One of the
particular moments that shows us the most of Christine’s personality is a line
she sings in the Act II song “Twisted Every Way”, in which Raoul and the
managers plan a trap for the Phantom which requires Christine’s participation.
Christine sings “Can I betray the man who once inspired my voice? Do I
become his prey? Do I have any choice?”
When Christine hesitates to
go along with the plan to trap the Phantom because he “inspired” her in the
past, it shows me how seriously she takes her singing. She’s afraid of letting
him live but has bonded with him over their music and values his tutelage so
much that it almost outweighs the fact that he’s a murderer. She doesn’t
hesitate because she cares about the Phantom or thinks of him as a friend, but
only because he helped form her into the singer she is today. Combined
with the joy Christine expresses earlier in the show after her triumphant debut
and how faithfully we’ve seen her follow the Phantom’s instructions as her
teacher, we can see that she is incredibly passionate about and dedicated to
her art. It takes some extra thought to piece these fragments together as a
driving motivation, however, and the writing makes it much easier to just think
she’s under the Phantom’s thrall because that aspect of her character is
much more emphasized.
We also get to see
Christine go through some extreme character growth from the beginning of the
show to the end. When we first meet her she is timid and tries to keep from
making a fuss. Later we get to see her stand up for herself to those around
her, including the Phantom. All throughout the show she grows, gaining
confidence first as a performer and then as a person. Seeing her become such a
strong individual really makes the show worth watching.
The character of Christine
has a lot of potential. Even though the script doesn’t do her too many favors,
individual actresses have been able to do wonders with the role. There’s enough
in the script that a performer can make her into a dynamic character, but the
writing is unfortunately thin enough that another performer working with the
same songs and dialogue can end up being a wallflower. As such, it’s
difficult to say definitively where Christine stands as a feminist character.
On the one hand she has a lot of admirable qualities, such as her dedication,
kindness, and tenacity, but on the other hand she is constantly under pressure
from various men in her life who are all making plans for what they think is
best for her without much of Christine’s input. By the end of the show, however,
Christine is the one who chooses her fate.
At the climax of the show,
Christine is kidnapped by the Phantom and taken to his lair. Raoul follows the
two and ends up captured by the Phantom who gives Christine an impossible
choice: leave without Raoul and let the Phantom kill him, or stay with the
Phantom and let Raoul go free. Christine doesn’t really play into the game
however, and instead takes pity on the Phantom and kisses him. This show of
kindness breaks the Phantom and he lets both Raoul and Christine leave. This is
another moment where an actress’s performance can really influence the
interpretation though. Does Christine’s kiss mean that she’s chosen the
Phantom, and if so, did she do it because she loved him or just to save Raoul?
Does her kiss mean that she’s forgiven him of what he’s done or is it just an
act of desperation? There’s no definitive answer but her lines immediately
preceding the kiss: “Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you
known? God give me courage to show you, you are not alone” seem to imply that
this kiss means that she’s showing the Phantom another way to find
companionship. He doesn’t need to force people to love him; Christine has
seen his darkness and rather than running away, she is saying that there is still
hope. Hope for him as a person and hope for them as friends.
It’s after this moment that
the Phantom lets Christine and Raoul go and. In fact, he shouts at them to
leave. Christine goes with Raoul, but to interpret her leaving as anything
other than her own choice doesn’t make sense based on what we’ve seen.
Christine has stood up to the Phantom and challenged him throughout the
previous scene and if she wanted to stay and send Raoul off on his own she
would have done so.
It’s hard to pin down any
of these moments as solid evidence for Christine’s agency, and the nature of
theatre makes it even more difficult. I may see Actress A and find Christine to
be emotionally immature, while someone else may see Actress B and find
Christine to be the most dynamic character in the show. While it may not be
possible to place her firmly in either category as a “good” or “bad” feminist
character, I think watching her grow and become so confident in herself makes
her an interesting and admirable character.
Interview of Claire Lyon who played Christine in the World
Tour
Yeah, it’s funny. I think I’m the first female in the world to play the sequel before the original Phantom. It is funny because I kind of have to turn back the clock and think about what she would be like when she’s younger. There’s really an innocence that I have to bring to the role and she’s more naive compared to Love Never Dies where she’s more worldly.
How did you get this role?
At the end of Love Never Dies, they were auditioning for the Asian tour and I got an audition from my agent, and Guy Simpson and Rainer Fried were on the panel. My audition tape was sent off to the UK and approved. It was quite a fast process, about two weeks, from when I auditioned to when I got the part.
How did you prepare for the role?
I read the original Gaston Leroux novel, I watched the 1925 silent film. Of course, I’d seen the show before and done the sequel, I watched the Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary DVD which was just incredible. We’re actually doing our first run this afternoon—it will be putting all the pieces of the puzzle together.
Do you see yourself in Christine?
It’s funny because she starts out as a ballet dancer. That’s what I did—I trained in ballet first and she’s a chorus girl, which is what I was in Opera Australia—although I did some roles, I was in the chorus. And then she gets the chance to be a leading lady, which is now my big break. It’s funny that it’s a very similar path.
What do you think will be your biggest challenge in playing Christine?
Just maintaining stamina throughout a long season and so many shows a week. Keeping healthy, knowing when to rest your voice. A lot of Christines don’t have the dance training, but I have, which is great so that’s not something that I’m worried about. It would just be knowing when to pull back and when to give it my all.
What’s your favourite song to sing in the show?
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, definitely. It’s just me on the stage, by myself, pouring her emotions out about her father who has passed away and looking for guidance, really.
The notes Christine hits are insane. How do you take care of your voice?
(Laughter) If I’m feeling a little unwell, I will get complete vocal rest. Every night, before I go to bed, I have a routine. I steam my voice so I boil the kettle and inhale the steam. It relaxes my voice. I gargle salt water to keep it clear of infection. I drink tea, take vitamins, all the healthy stuff.
A lot of the cast have worked together before—how was it joining them?
A lot of people know each other already but I’m amazed to say that Jonathan Roxmouth (Phantom), Anthony Downing (Raoul) and I have clicked. We’ve just been hanging out, having dinner every night, laughing. We don’t stop laughing the whole time. We just really clicked instantaneously. It’s great. I’m amazed and I’m glad. We’re also similar ages—I’m 25, Jonathan’s 25 and Anthony’s 27 so it makes the story really believable as well, that a love triangle like that could actually happen. The ages work really well, I think.
What do you love about playing Christine?
I love the fact that I get to do everything from pointe work to singing top notes. I love being in masquerade and dancing with the cast.
I love “Masquerade.”
We were rehearsing that part yesterday and everyone was coming together going (sings) “Masquerade.” It’s all coming together. Just to dance with everyone. And she’s such an emotional character as well—there’s so much passion and devastation and heartache that you get to see so many different sides of her character. It’s wonderful.
Why do you think Phantom’s been so successful? What do you think it is about the show that people love so much?
I think it’s the fact that it’s a love story which everyone can relate to. It’s a difficult love story because she has to choose between these two men, she’s torn and I think a lot of people can relate to that, to the Phantom. I think people also love that the music is so catchy and you have these big ballads that are so famous now. Even if you haven’t seen the show, people know, “Oh that’s from The Phantom of the Opera.” And the costumes and the sets are just incredible. I think I have nine costume changes throughout the whole show.
People have seen Phantom in one form or another and they’ve seen different Christines perform. Do you feel the pressure?
Yeah. I think I just have to be as genuine as I can be to the character. You can’t really copy anyone’s performance. You can take aspects and say, oh, I like what they did with that scene. But if you copy someone’s performance down to a tee, it’s not going to be genuine. If someone’s been listening to a CD of Sarah Brightman or Emmy Rossum or Sierra Boggess, you become familiar with that and when you hear another person singing, you’ll think, oh, that’s different. I don’t so much feel pressured. I’m just going to try and stay true to how I sing the role and how I act and dance and hope that people enjoy my performance.
Do you enjoy going on tour?
I’m loving it so far. Everyone here at the Diamond Hotel has made it so comfortable for us. You’re kind of living out of a suitcase, which is a little hard for me because I have so many clothes to lug around, but it’s been made so easy. Everyone’s getting along so well, the hotel is so beautiful, the people in Manila are so welcoming. It’s great. Everyone’s so enthusiastic.
Did you skip rehearsals during those days?
No, we actually managed to get to the rehearsal venue; we had a bus and we were driving through flood water. To be honest, I haven’t seen much of Manila because we’ve been rehearsing. Yesterday, I got on the bus at 9:30 in the morning and I was back here at about 8 o’clock at night. I think tonight I’m going to get a massage.
Claire Lyon in her “phantom of the
Opera” dress
The book
The man
who created the Phantom
By Peter Haining, September 1986
By Peter Haining, September 1986
Gaston Leroux, the versatile
French author who created The Phantom of the Opera,
was a man with an abiding passion for the theatre and it seems appropriate that
after years of struggle, writing newspaper reviews and a number of unsuccessful
plays, he should have left his mark on literature with a novel about an
extraordinary episode in the history of France’s greatest opera house. Admittedly, it has taken the magic of the cinema, and the art of the
dramatist to familiarize the public with The Phantom of the Opera,
but Leroux also managed to capture in his pages the atmosphere of the times he
was writing about – the latter part of the nineteenth century when France was
rampant with belief in the supernatural and the spirit world.
Born in
Paris in 1868, Gaston Leroux is himself as interesting as his story.
Photographs reveal him to have been a big, rather plump man with slicked back
dark hair and a moustache, who dressed fashionably and sported a gold
pince-nez. He was evidently a flamboyant character and once claimed that his
family were directly descended from William the Conqueror.
Although
his literary inclinations put him at the top of his class, when his father
decided that he was to become a lawyer, Gaston changed from an energetic pupil
to an idle student. The theatre was obviously gripping his imagination and, it
is not surprising that after he finally completed his legal study and was
called to the bar as a probationer, he continued to write in his spare time.
However,
the course of his life was changed when his father died suddenly and left him
heir to a fortune of almost one million francs. At once, Gaston abandoned the
law and flung himself into a round of gambling, (poker was his particular vice)
and pleasure in the colorful society of Paris. In less than a year he had
squandered his inheritance.
Not downhearted, Leroux begged a job on L’Echo de
Paris in 1890 and was asked to combine his knowledge of the law
and love of the theater as court reporter and drama critic! It was as an
investigative reporter that Leroux found the greatest satisfaction at this
period of his life. His paper allowed him to probe suspected malpractice in the
local police force and public administration and his hard-hitting reports not
only exposed several corrupt officials but also made his name as a journalist.
This
passport to adventure took him from Finland, south to the Caspian Sea, through
Italy, Egypt and Morocco, frequently disguising himself in order to be able to
witness events at first hand.
The strain on his health and a natural enough desire to settle down with
his family made him give up the footloose life of a roving correspondent and
become a novelist. His first books were unashamed pot-boilers, full of blood
and thunder. Then, in 1907, he used his admiration for Edgar Allan Poe and Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle to develop a young detective, Joseph Rouletabille, who
solved a seemingly impossible crime committed in a locked room. The book was
called The Mystery of the Yellow Room.
In 1911 he published Le Fantôme de l’Opéra,
introducing it to his readers by explaining how he carried out his own
enquiries into the strange events that had occurred in the famous Opera House
in the 1880s. He tells of how he visited the huge underground lake where the
Phantom hid and even stumbled upon the skeletons of “some poor wretches who had
been massacred under the Commune in the cellars of the Opera.”
However, sales of the book were only moderate and the reviews – such as
they were – were disappointing. The only kind of public interest seems to have
been generated by the serialization of the story in French, English and
American newspapers with suitably graphic illustrations of the Phantom stalking
the dimly lit caverns of the Opera House. It was to be the reading of this
serial by a researcher for Universal Pictures which set in motion the chain of
events which were to bring the The Phantom of the Opera to
the screen for the first time in 1925 and make a star of Lon Chaney Snr.
Tragically, Leroux did not live to see the full triumph of his Opera
story, though it is believed he did visit the cinema in Paris to see the
Universal film in 1926. He was by then in failing health and died of uraemia on
15 April 1927. He was 59 years old and had written over sixty novels, none of
which had made him rich. Today, copies of most are difficult to find aside from The Phantom of the Opera andThe Mystery of the Yellow Room.
In the
three quarters of a century of his existence, the Phantom had undeniably
over-shadowed his creator and, at the same time, become a familiar term in
everyday use. What a wry smile that would surely have given the former
journalist and theatre lover after all these years!
Paris Opera House
By Andrew Lloyd Webber
By Andrew Lloyd Webber
September
1986
Anyone familiar with a large
opera house would testify that it is an extraordinary labyrinth of people and
passageways, but the Paris Opera House of the last quarter of the nineteenth
century, in which Gaston Leroux set The Phantom of the Opera,
was remarkable by any standards. The huge building was constructed to designs
by Charles Garnier from 1861-1875. It was a hotbed of politics and factions.
From prima donna to stage-hand, the Opera House was governed by intrigue and
rumor; everyone jostling for position, defending their own territory and
scrabbling for new. At the time in which the novel is set, the Opera House
boasted over fifteen hundred employees and had its own stables of white horses
for the opera troupe underneath the forecourt. Even today, it employs over a
thousand people and contains two permanent ballet schools within the building.
The Paris Opera House rose to pre-eminence in the eighteenth century.
After the Revolution it was restored to its leading position in Paris by
Napoleon in the reforms of 1807. Unquestionably among the most performed
composers at that time was Salieri, whose music remained in the repertoire at
the time of Leroux’s novel. Salieri had his greatest triumphs in Paris with Les Danaides (1787) andTarare (1784).
It is interesting that Mozart began to work with Da Ponte after the latter’s
huge success with Salieri in France. Indeed, Mozart was not performed at the
Paris Opera until the early 1800s and then only in a severely adapted form.
Salieri was hailed as the natural successor to Gluck, the main force at the
opera in the third quarter of the eighteenth century, and was greatly
influenced by his music.
But perhaps it was Meyerbeer who reigned supreme. His grand operas were
a masterful potpourri of components. His music was accessible, his
characterization brilliantly aided by his command of orchestration and he
relished stage spectacle. This writer was chastened to learn that the 1849
production of Le Prophète was the first to
feature roller-skating as a key ingredient and also introduced electric light
as an effect. Indeed the Paris Opera always prided itself in its innovation.Aladdin (1822) by Isouard introduced gas lighting
to the stage.
King of all this was the Opera’s chief designer Ciceri, the John Napier
of the day. Spectacle was all. Hugo in his preface to Cromwell (1827) wrote “the stage should make as
complete as possible the illusion of reality”. The Paris Opera’s eruption of
Vesuvius was legendary, employing real stones and the titles of operas alone convey
everything: Le Siege de Corinth (Rossini), La Muette de Portici(Auber), Robert Le Diable (Meyerbeer) (noted for its
Phantom of the Nuns effect) and, of course, Gounod’s Faust, the opera which is the backdrop to the Leroux
novel.
Key also to Paris formula was the ballet. This was usually at the start
of Act III. The gentlemen could dine before arriving at the theater in time to
see their various young ladies in the corps de ballet. Wagner’s Tannhauser caused uproar with the Jockey Club
because its ballet was placed too early in the production for their members’
convenience.
The Paris
Opera House survives in much the same form described in the novel. It occupies
a three-acre site and some idea of the labyrinthian nature of the building can
be appreciated if one considers that the auditorium accounts for less than one
fifth of the total space. There are over seventeen storeys, seven of which are
below the stage level; the stables for the opera horses still exist. There is a
monument to La Carlotta. More important, there really is a lake underneath the
building; it is an integral part of the design, and the water level acts as a
ballast, raised or lowered, depending on the weight of the stage, seven storeys
above it.
Everybody
knows the Paris Opéra, at least by reputation. It is with regret that I assure
you it hasn’t changed at all: for the sake of the passer-by who hasn’t been
warned, let me say that it looks like a railway station. But once you’re inside
you’ll be more likely to mistake it for a Turkish bath.
– Debussy
Filmography
Prior to the 2004 movie version
of The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Joel
Schumacher and starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum, the Phantom has
undergone several screen adaptions.
It is not just the figure of the mysterious music lover that haunts the
story of The Phantom of the Opera but
also that of the remarkable American film star, Lon Chaney Snr., for, more than
anyone else, he created the image most readily associated in the public mind
with the tale – that of the disfigured man skulking through the labyrinths of
l’Opéra masterminding the career of his beautiful protégée. Indeed, it is
arguable that if Chaney, the Man of a Thousand Faces, had not starred in that
hugely influential 1925 silent movie, Gaston Leroux’s story might well have
remained in obscurity – as the original book most certainly has done for many
years – instead of inspiring a whole series of screen and stage adaptations
during the past half century.
With that film, Chaney not only made himself an international star but
placed the story of The Phantom of the Opera firmly
alongside those other great horror classics, Dracula and Frankenstein.
The
moment when Chaney snatched away the mask from his famous Death’s Head also
provided one of the great moments of screen history, (reportedly causing many
people among the early audiences to faint!) as well as setting a standard for
all who have since played the role. Although the former stage manager turned
actor was always reluctant to reveal just how he achieved his terrifying
appearance, he firmly denied wearing any kind of mask: “It was the use of
paints in the right shades and the right places – not the obvious parts of the
face – which gave the complete illusion of horror,” Chaney said.
The
second version was made in 1943, this time with sound and in color, and starred
Claude Raines as a revengeful Phantom who has been scarred by acid.
Interestingly, all the sets for the original Chaney picture were used in this
remake and the photography won an Oscar.
Twenty years on, Leroux’s story was shabbily treated in a Spanish
version, El Fantasma de la Operetta, which portrayed the Phantom
as a blood-thirsty villain bent on murdering chorus girls. Two years later, in
1962, Hammer Pictures revamped it as one of their series of ‘Hammer Horrors’
with Herbert Lom and Heather Sears. Most recently, the original concept was
abandoned in The Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
when the Paris Opera House became a New York rock ’n’ roll theater, and the
Phantom a demented disc jockey preying on pretty teeny-boppers!
The story
has not fared much better on the stage. In France, strangely, it has scarcely
appealed to dramatists at all, and there have only been two notable productions
in England. The first was a much abridged version performed as part of a Grand
Guignol season at the Little Theatre in London in 1935 and then, in 1975, the
Actors Company mounted a performance with Edward Petherbridge in the title role
and Sharon Duce as Christine. It is also a sad fact that the image of the Phantom
has obscured Gaston Leroux himself – for few people knew his name and even
fewer have read his books. Yet, just as this new production will further ensure
the continuation of the legend, it might perhaps help rescue his creator from
the wings of literary acclaim where he has stood for so long.
“The
Opera ghost really existed. He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the
imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or the absurd and
impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the
box-keepers, the cloak-room attendants, or the concierge. No, he existed in
flesh and blood, though he assumed all the outward characteristics of a real
phantom, that is to say, of a ghost.”
– Gaston
Leroux
Credits – http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/background/the-book
Facts &
Figures
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical version of The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most successful pieces
of entertainment of all time, produced in any media, and its success is continuing
all over the world.
·
It
is estimated that Phantom has
been seen by more than 140 million people, and the total worldwide gross is now
in excess of $6 billion.
·
The
show has won over 70 major theatre awards including three Olivier Awards, the
most recent being the 2002 Oliver Audience Award for Most Popular Show, an
Evening Standard Award, seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, seven Drama
Desk Awards and three Outer Critic Circle Awards.
·
The Phantom of the Opera opened at Her
Majesty’s Theatre, London on 27th September 1986, so
is now in its 26th year, and at the
Majestic Theatre in New York on 9th January 1988.
·
The
London production of The Phantom of the Opera celebrated its 25th Anniversary in
October 2011 with a series of 3 performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
·
The Phantom of the Opera became Broadway’s
longest running show ever when it overtook the record set by Cats with its 7,486th
performance on January 6th 2006. It is the only
Broadway show ever to celebrate anniversaries through 18 to 25 years.
·
The
West End production played its 10,000th performance on 23
October 2010.
·
The
Broadway production played its 10,000th performance on
11th February 2012.
·
The
box-office revenues are higher than any other film or stage play in history –
including Titanic, ET andStar
Wars.
·
The Phantom of the Opera has been produced
in 151 cities, in 30 countries around the world, including Australia, Austria,
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, England, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong,
Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, South
Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and The United States.
·
Playing
worldwide it has been translated into no fewer than 13 languages: English,
French, German, Japanese, Danish, Polish, Swedish, Castilian, Hungarian, Dutch,
Korean, Portuguese and Mexican Spanish.
·
The
original cast album of The Phantom of the Opera was the first in British musical
history to enter the music charts at number 1.
·
Album
sales, including original cast recording, foreign language recordings, studio
recordings and the film soundtrack now exceed 40 million.
·
The
cast album has gone 6 times platinum in the US, twice platinum in the UK, 9
times platinum in German, 4 times platinum in the Netherlands, 11 times
platinum in Korea and 31 times platinum in Taiwan.
·
Joel
Schumacher directed a big screen version of the show which was released
worldwide at the end of 2004. It starred Gerard Butler as The Phantom, Emmy
Rossum as Christine, Patrick Wilson as Raoul and Minnie Driver as Carlotta.
·
‘Learn
to Be Lonely’, a new song written for the movie, was nominated for Best
Original Song at the 2005 Oscars. Beyonce performed the song at the ceremony.
·
Phantom
– The Las Vegas Spectacular opened in a
purpose built theatre at the Venetian Resort Hotel on 24th June 2006. The
production cost $75 million, making the new 95-minute version the most
expensive musical extravaganza of all time.
Some technical facts about
the original production of The Phantom of the Opera
·
The
dazzling replica of the Paris Opera House chandelier is made up of 6,000 beads
consisting of 35 beads to each string. It is three metres wide and weighs one
ton. The touring version falls at two an a half metres per second. The original
version was built by five people in four weeks.
·
The
Phantom’s make-up takes two hours to put on and 30 minutes to take off. The
face is moisturized, closely shaved and the prosthetics are fitted, setting
immediately, before two wigs, two radio mics and two contact lenses (one white
and one clouded) are placed.
·
2,230
metres of fabric are used for the drapes, 900 of them specially dyed. The
tasseled fringes measure 226 metres. They are made up of 250 kilos of dyed wool
interwoven with 5,000 wooden beads imported from India. Each one is handmade
and combed through with an Afro comb.
·
There
are 130 cast, crew and orchestra members directly involved in each performance.
·
Each
performance has 230 costumes, 14 dressers, 120 automated cues, 22 scene
changes, 281 candles and uses 250 kg of dry ice and 10 fog and smoke machines.
·
The
touring production takes 27 articulated lorries to transfer the set between
theatres.
Credits - http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/the-show/facts-figures
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