Question Home

Position:Home>Theater & Acting> Phantom of the opera, who or what was he ? how did he get to the opera ?


Question: Phantom of the opera, who or what was he !? how did he get to the opera !?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Okay, there are MANY different versions!.

According to Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, he was a disfigured musical genius that was displayed cruelly and beaten in a freakshow!. He killed his captor and ran away with a young ballerina (Madame Giry) who took him to the opera house, where he lived for the rest of his life and fell in love with the beautiful dancer turned opera singer, Christine Daae!.

In the ORIGINAL, Gaston Leroux's novel the Phantom of the Opera, his background wasn't gone into too much!. But it is revealed that he was born with a horribly disfigured face; sunken yellow eyes, no nose (a gaping hole in its place) and an emanciated figure!. He built the opera house himself and rigged it with trap doors and built himself a house under the lake!. (according to Susan Kay's novel Phantom, which is considered canon by many phans like myself!.) He was a magician, musician, artist, and architecht!. In Leroux's version he fell in love with beautiful soprano Christine Daae, who was never a dancer!.

Hope I helped! I know pretty much everything about Phantom, message me if you've got any more questions!. :DWww@QuestionHome@Com

Adding on to Fear's answer to you, according to Gaston Leroux's original novel, the Phantom, named Eric, was born in the French city of Rouen!. He was born with a face like a living skull, and his first birthday present from his mother was a mask!. He ran away with a carnival, and for some years earned a meager being exhibited as a freak!. He discovered a talent for ventriloquism, music, the art of illusion, and carpentry, and largely as a result of the hatred and horror inspired by his appearance, returned that hatred with scorn and a diabolical sense of humor!. When next Eric was heard of, he was living in Persia, acting as a kind of malevolent aide to the reigning sultan, who used his talents to build secret passages, trapdoors and torture devices!. Eventually becoming the kind of person who "knew too much", the sultan ordered him to be killed!. Eric faked his own death and fled back to Europe!.
As far as the novel hints, Eric insinuated himself into being instrumental in the construction of the Paris Opera house, in 1875, and built himself a secret home deep within one of the Opera House's five cellars, and created a maze of secret passages and trapdoors, and used them to become the "ghost" of the Opera House!. The events of the novel are set at approximately 1881, so Eric was in residence for about 5-6 years before falling in love with Christine!.
Although Eric's age is never disclosed, it is very likely that he is in his early-to-mid-fifties when the story takes place!.

Was the Phantom real!? Was Eric!? Nope!. Just a very cool story, thought up by Gaston Leroux, using the gigantic and amazing Paris Opera as a setting!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think he was an orphan that had some wicked hideous face burn- and had run and hid in this old opera house when he was young!. Apparently he grew up inside the opera house and made a home for himself!.Www@QuestionHome@Com