Christine unmasks him, but shows him surprising pity, and Erik lets her leave so long as she wear his ring as a sign of her devotion to him.Įventually, Erik becomes aware of the mutual love between Raoul and Christine and kidnaps the girl, threatening to destroy the opera house if she does not marry him. Erik eventually takes Christine into his lair beneath the opera in hopes that Christine will come to love him. The Angel of Music is in fact a disfigured man named Erik, known as the Opera Ghost, and he has fallen in love with Christine. At the same time, Christine is pursued romantically by a childhood sweetheart named Raoul, who finds himself at odds with a mysterious stranger. Under the Angel’s training, she unlocks her great potential and shocks audiences who had previously seen someone who was talented yet passionless in her performance. Young Christine Daae is visited by a voice that she believes to be the Angel of Music, sent by her deceased father. The face that became a legend.Īnyone familiar with the later adaptations of the work probably knows much of the plot. So let’s talk about the original tale told by Gaston Leroux, which was serially published in 19, then novelized in 1910.

The end result is that I’m a big fan of The Phantom of the Opera, but I am still waiting for what I would consider a definitive version – a tale with all the character development and tragedy of the original story without the literary problems caused by the format in which it was released. Yes, some of them are very good in their own right, but they always leave out one or two elements that leave me wanting.

Despite having received numerous film versions, I don’t feel that any of the adaptations of Leroux’s novel have quite captured the original charm. With some narrative flaws but an otherwise terrific story, the original work seems like it would be greatly improved by adaptation. Nonetheless, it is a compelling read with a character that is evil yet likable and ultimately very tragic. It’s an excellent book, but it commits some big literary no-nos, such as introducing a major character in only the final act. Because of its serial nature, though, the story doesn’t read naturally if you just sit down and read it chapter after chapter. The original story written by Gaston Leroux was published as a serial in the French newspaper Le Gaulois, but is now available in novel format in most bookstores. The Phantom of the Opera is one of my favorite stories but also one of the most frustrating.

Gerard butler phantom of the opera kiss