Erik (also known as the Phantom of the Opera , commonly referred to as the Phantom ) is the titular antagonist of Gaston Leroux 's novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra , best known to English speakers as The Phantom of the Opera . The character has been adapted to alternative media several times, including in the 1925 film adaptation starring Lon Chaney , the 1943 remake starring Claude Rains , the 1962 remake starring Herbert Lom and Andrew Lloyd Webber 's 1986 musical .
44-531: Don Juan Triumphant is the name of a fictional opera conceived by the titular character of The Phantom of the Opera . In the 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber , the concept is expanded as an opera within a musical and the performance of it plays a major role in Act II of the storyline. The fictional piece draws major inspiration from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 's Don Giovanni , yet
88-427: A record press , while the horror version (1989) starring Robert Englund has him selling his soul to Satan and having his face mutilated as a result. This version also has a gruesome variation on the mask, in which Erik is sewing flesh to his face. In Andrew Lloyd Webber 's 1986 musical adaptation , only half of Erik's face is deformed (thus the famous half-mask often associated with Erik's appearance). His show
132-543: A Swedish soprano and his protégée with whom he is in love, to be cast in the lead role. She reluctantly agrees to do so only after her fiancé, Raoul , devises a plan to catch the Phantom during the opening night performance. The score of Don Juan Triumphant is noticeably different from the style and staging of the rest of the piece and the operas the company perform on stage. It is dissonant, with darker tones and key changes closer to modern compositions, which serve to heighten
176-459: A bed and simply never wake up. Erik plays a section of his opera following his masking at the hands of Christine Daaé , who is stunned by the power of the music. As she describes it, the music takes the listener through every detail of suffering of "the ugly man," taking her into the abyss of the wretched torment and misery Erik has experienced in his life. The piece, in Daaé's view, makes pain divine. At
220-454: A few wisps of dark brown hair are behind his ears and on his forehead. His mouth is never described in as much detail, but is referred to as a "dead mouth" by Christine, and Erik acknowledges that his mouth is abnormal when lifting up his mask to display ventriloquism . He is described as extremely thin, so much so that he resembles a skeleton. Christine graphically describes his cold, bony hands, which also either feel or smell like death. There
264-406: A huge hit. In this version, Erik has spent his entire life living beneath the Opera. Over the years, he became possessive of the Opera, and the creative driving force for the company. No artistic decision is made without Gerard Carriere seeking his approval. He offers to teach Christine Daaé to sing after hearing her working in the costume shop, and falls in love with her. This storyline was also
308-410: A missing right eyebrow, swollen lips, different colored eyes, and a wrinkled, warped right cheek. It is covered by a white half-mask and wig. In the 2004 film adaptation of the musical, Erik's makeup was made to look much less gruesome than previous adaptations of the story. Instead of a skull-like face, his disfigurement resembles that of a face mildly malformed by a birthmark , which he covers with
352-772: A musical genius who lives beneath the Opera), had been spying on them. On the day they were going to elope, Erik abducts her during a performance of Faust at the opera house. Raoul then, along with the mysterious man known only as The Persian , goes down into the cellars of the Opera in an attempt to rescue Christine. He and the Persian endure near-drowning and torture in a mirrored, super-heated chamber before Erik eventually relents due to Christine's willingness to sacrifice her happiness for Raoul's life. Raoul nearly commits suicide under torture, and, when Christine's marriage promise to Erik saves them, has to be put to bed by Erik because of
396-412: A poison that has left him "limp as a rag." In Gaston Leroux's novel, The Phantom of the Opera , Raoul is described as having a 'small, fair mustache, beautiful blue eyes, and a complexion like a girl's and an air of "just having left the women's apron-strings."' His elder brother and former guardian, Comte Philippe de Chagny, is a man of the world who indulges in dalliances with the Opera's ballerinas and
440-406: Is also more psychologically disturbed, to the extent that he tells Holmes that he has been "taught" not to speak without his mask , as his mother forced him to wear it whenever he wished to speak as a child. When Holmes knocks the mask off in their final confrontation he then only communicates in snarls and other animalistic sounds. In Sam Siciliano's novel The Angel of the Opera , Sherlock Holmes
484-525: Is brought in to solve the case of the Opera Ghost, and both Erik's and Holmes's stories unfold through the eyes of Holmes's assistant, Henri Vernier. Siciliano places Holmes and Vernier at several of the crucial scenes in Erik and Christine's relationship, and draws parallels between Erik and Holmes. Holmes sympathizes with Erik so much that after Christine leaves him, Holmes brings him back to England. One of
SECTION 10
#1732791121199528-471: Is debate among both English and French speakers as to whether the original French word used here, sentir , was intended by Leroux to mean "smells like" or "feels like", as the French word is used for both feel and smell depending on the context. Erik woefully describes himself to Christine as a corpse who is "built up with death from head to foot". According to the Persian, Erik was born with this deformity and
572-529: Is exasperated by his brother's attachment to "the little baggage" Christine. Philippe later drowns when he goes looking for Raoul in the cellars of the Opera. Raoul is described as 'having been petted by his two sisters and his aunt' and spoiled as a child, but he is very kind-hearted. Raoul has been to sea, and had plans to go on a rescue expedition to the North Pole before falling in love with Christine. Christine decided they would play at being engaged as he
616-492: Is given as a small town outside of Rouen , France ). In the novel, Erik often refers to himself in the third person , a detail that didn't make it into any subsequent adaptations. Many different versions of Erik's life are told through other adaptations such as films, television shows, books, and musicals. One such popular literary adaptation is the Susan Kay novel Phantom (1990), a fictional in-depth story of Erik from
660-417: Is lucky not to come to that kind of music yet, as his Don Juan "burns" with fire not from heaven and would consume anyone who came near it, whereas Mozart 's and Lorenzo da Ponte 's original Don Giovanni , inspired by vice and love affairs fueled by pettiness, will only make one "weep". After the Phantom is unmasked and his hideousness is revealed, Erik spitefully, and probably sarcastically, remarks that he
704-446: Is the same kind of man as Don Juan , because once a woman sees him, she loves him forever. He yells to her that he is "Don Juan triumphant". Eventually he crawls into his room to play his masterpiece to "forget the horror of the moment." Christine is so moved by what she hears that for a fleeting moment she believes that his hideous appearance no longer matters, although her opinion soon changes. Erik finishes Don Juan Triumphant before
748-408: Is to meet Aminta and dine with her instead, during which "Don Juan" will loudly announce his return and "Passarino" will suggest that he and Aminta hide in a bedroom to avoid being found. As soon as Piangi slips into a hiding place to await the start of the scene, he is quietly strangled by the Phantom, who usurps him and sings "The Point of No Return" with Christine before declaring his love in front of
792-501: The Opera and Love Never Dies Viscount Raoul de Chagny Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny is a fictional character and one of the protagonists of Gaston Leroux 's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera . Raoul is a viscount and Christine Daaé 's childhood friend. They first met when he was a young child when he went on vacation in Northern France . He meets up with her again after watching her performance at
836-557: The Paris Opera. In The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Don Juan Triumphant figures prominently in the second act as an opera within a musical . It is, as stated before, a thinly veiled adaptation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 's Don Giovanni which premiered in Prague in 1787, only told from Don Juan 's point of view. In this version, the Phantom forces the opera company to stage his work and orders Christine ,
880-469: The Phantom places his hands in front of her face/eyes, a gesture he had previously did in " The Music of the Night ". In other versions, Christine feels the Phantom's mask under his cloak upon touching his face, and reacts accordingly. For the 1989 film The Phantom of the Opera , an aria of Don Juan Triumphant was composed by Misha Segal . In Susan Kay 's 1990 novel Phantom , it is mentioned that it
924-546: The Phantom's identity are. The Phantom never provides a given name in the novel; he only tells Christine that his name is "Nobody". Regardless of his identity, the Phantom in The Canary Trainer is much more unhinged and bloodthirsty than in the original novel or play: for example, when killing Madame Giry's replacement with the chandelier , he kills "almost thirty men and women in the twinkling of an eye", just to ensure that he kills his main target. The Phantom
SECTION 20
#1732791121199968-405: The Phantom's opera is depicted as far more bleak and dark. In the novel The Phantom of the Opera by novelist Gaston Leroux , Don Juan Triumphant ( French : Don Juan triomphant ) is an initially unfinished piece that Erik, the Phantom, has been working on for a period of over twenty years. At one point, he remarks that once he completes it, he will take the score into the coffin he uses for
1012-401: The basis for the 1990 miniseries starring Charles Dance , Teri Polo , and Burt Lancaster as Carriere. and the show has received over 1000 theatrical productions worldwide. In Nicholas Meyer 's 1993 novel The Canary Trainer , Sherlock Holmes develops several theories as to the Phantom's identity: Holmes therefore admits that he is not sure how true any of the theories or claims of
1056-421: The book in content, in that Erik's face resembles a skull with an elongated nose slit and protruding, crooked teeth. In this version, Erik is said to have been deformed at birth. Chaney was a masterful make-up artist and was considered avant-garde for creating and applying Erik's facial make-up design himself. It is said that he kept it secret until the first day of filming. The result was allegedly so frightening to
1100-474: The end, it takes a rapid ascent out of misery whirling up into a triumphant and victorious flight as 'ugliness', lifted on the wings of love, dared to look 'beauty' in the face. Erik's choice of title and use of "Don Juan" is never truly explained, so it remains subject to various interpretations. Initially, when Christine sees the score and asks him to play it for her, Erik gets highly defensive and tells her never to ask him that again. The Phantom remarks that she
1144-508: The fact that his mother was horrified by his birth deformity , and that his father, a master construction mason , never saw him. Most of the character's history is revealed by a mysterious figure, known through most of the novel as The Persian or the Daroga, who saved Erik's life in Persia, and followed Erik to Paris ; other details are discussed in the novel's epilogue (e.g., his birthplace
1188-439: The first people that Erik meets on his arrival is a blind girl with a fondness for music. In the original novel, Erik is described as corpse-like and is referred to as having a "death's-head" throughout the story. He has no nose, and his eyes are sunken so deep in his skull that all that is seen are two eye sockets, except when his yellow eyes glow in the dark. His skin is yellowed and tightly stretched across his bones, and only
1232-470: The former managers' retirement ceremony at the Palais Garnier . He reminds her that he is "the little boy who went into the sea to rescue your scarf," which provokes her laughter. At first, Christine refuses to recognize Raoul, in fear that the "Angel of Music" would return to heaven. However, they become engaged later. Unknown to them, Erik , the "Angel of Music" of which Christine speaks (actually
1276-453: The idea of the Phantom's genius; as a composer, he is portrayed as musically ahead of his time. Only a small portion of the opera is seen onstage, in which Don Juan (played by leading tenor Ubaldo Piangi) and his servant Passarino make plans for Don Juan's seduction of the maiden Aminta (Christine). The two men have traded identities; Passarino (dressed as Don Juan) has already met Aminta and invited her to dinner. Don Juan (dressed as Passarino)
1320-451: The mask. Film critic Roger Ebert noted that Butler was more "conventionally handsome" than his predecessors "in a GQ kind of way". The 1998 film adaptation starring Julian Sands as Erik is notable in that the character is not deformed and has instead a classically handsome face. Onscreen, Erik has often been cast as a tragic hero but also a tragic villain , depending on the film's point of view. See main list: The Phantom of
1364-424: The night of his birth, and is told from different viewpoints throughout the novel (Erik's mother, Erik, Nadir/the Persian, Christine, and Raoul). Kay places the highest priority on portraying romantic aspects of Erik's life. The theatrical team of Maury Yeston (Music and Lyrics) and Arthur Kopit (Book) created a musical based on the novel, Phantom , which investors backed out of after Webber's version became
Don Juan Triumphant - Misplaced Pages Continue
1408-513: The novel's end, and, instead of just automatically taking it with him into his coffin to die like he had originally said, he then wants instead to live a normal life doing normal things, with a wife, like everyone else. Earlier he is shown exclaiming that it "must be finished first!" with a sense of urgency. It seems to suggest that in Christine he saw hope of a new life, distinct from the darkness and passionate misery with which Don Juan Triumphant
1452-785: The novel, Erik composes a second play for Christine to perform, The Angel of Shiloh , about a love triangle between a Virginian plantation -owner's daughter, a deformed Connecticut officer, and a Virginian cavalryman set during the Battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War . Erik (The Phantom of the Opera) In the original novel, few details are given regarding Erik's past. The novel confirms that Erik has traveled to multiple countries including France , Russia , Persia , and northern Vietnam , learning various arts and sciences from each region. Erik himself laments
1496-422: The part of Don Juan, his entire face and body are covered with a cloak and hood. In the film, he performs the number in a red toreador outfit and black eye mask which in turn alerts Christine and the audience to the fact that it is the Phantom singing to her immediately. In the show, where Christine comes to the moment of realization varies depending upon the performer. In some performances, Christine realizes it when
1540-408: The portions he heard, it was a masterpiece, but admits that he may have got (uncharacteristically) caught up in the emotion of the moment, and that it may not have been so great after all. In Frederick Forsyth 's 1999 novel The Phantom of Manhattan , which is a sequel to the musical, it is stated that Don Juan Triumphant was never performed again after its debut performance in the musical. During
1584-530: The time of his birth to the end of his life at the Paris Opera House. For the most part, Kay's novel stays in context with Erik's life history as laid down by Leroux. However, Kay (as explained in her Author's Note) changes and shapes the character to match her own vision, influenced by other adaptations besides the original. In addition, the ending/resolution is quite different from Leroux's. The story follows Erik through his entire life, starting with
1628-428: The traditional opera stagings they are used to. The costumes of the actors are also more sexualized than that in the stage show, being depicted as more form-flattering and tighter. Christine's dress, for example, changes from the low cut pink dress of the show to a sleeveless Spanish-style dress, complete with a flower in her hair. The Phantom's costume has varied considerably as well. In the show, when he reappears playing
1672-407: The whole audience. The opera breaks up into chaos when she exposes his horribly deformed face and Piangi's body is found, leading to the finale of the musical ("Down Once More"/"Track Down This Murderer"). In the 2004 film adaptation of the musical , the audience at the opera house is seen recoiling in shock at the jarring discordance and staging of Don Juan Triumphant , which is very different from
1716-477: The women of the time that theaters showing the movie were cautioned to keep smelling salts on hand to revive those who fainted. Several movies based on the novel vary the deformities. In Universal's 1943 adaptation , he is disfigured when the publisher's assistant throws etching acid in his face. In the musical horror film Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Winslow (the Phantom character) gets his head caught in
1760-491: Was a piece solely based on passion and anger, as Erik's (the Phantom) childhood gypsy captor sardonically nicknamed him " Don Juan ". When Christine hears Erik playing it, he remarks, "I raped her with my music." In Nicholas Meyer 's 1993 novel The Canary Trainer , Sherlock Holmes attempts to recover the Phantom's copy of Don Juan Triumphant from beneath the Paris Opera, but is unable to locate it. He states that based on
1804-401: Was created, and which had defined his life up until that point. While the Phantom clearly resolves to finish the piece, seeing it still as a major achievement, he passes away before he can reveal it to the world. The novel's narrator comments that the work was never found in the thirty years since Erik's death and speculates that it may still be in his house next to the subterranean lake beneath
Don Juan Triumphant - Misplaced Pages Continue
1848-468: Was exhibited as le mort vivant in freak shows earlier in his life. Erik sometimes plays up his macabre appearance, such as sleeping in a coffin as if he was a vampire ; he also costumes as the titular character from Edgar Allan Poe 's " The Masque of the Red Death " for the masked ball. Lon Chaney 's characterization of Erik in the silent film The Phantom of the Opera (1925) remains closest to
1892-411: Was originally planned to have a full mask and full facial disfigurement, but when the director, Harold Prince , realized that it would make expression onstage very difficult, they halved the mask. The logo featuring a full mask was publicized before the change. The deformity in the musical includes a gash on the right side of his partially balding head with exposed skull tissue, an elongated right nostril,
1936-407: Was scheduled to leave the country, although she later begged him to take her away from the Phantom, no matter how much she resisted later. He is puzzled and sometimes angered by her allegiance to Erik, and thinks that she may be toying with his heart. He is the youngest member of his family, with an older brother (Philippe De Chagny) and two sisters already married. However, in the film adaptation of
#198801