The Phantom of the Opera (1910)

Christine, a young singer whose father, a traveling musician, told her stories about "the angel of music" and, on his deathbed, said he would send the angel of music to visit her. When she gets a seat at the Paris Opera, she starts to hear a beautiful and supernatural voice from behind the walls. When Christine disappears, childhood friend (and childhood love interest) Viscount Raoul de Chagny begins to hear rumors about a ghost at the opera that forces the crew and artists to make his wishes come true. The young and brave Raoul is lost without the girl and will risk his life to save her.

The ghost symbolizes darkness. But a darkness that wants a little light. That light is Christine's purity. Christine also needs the ghost, although she is a great technical singer, the emotions he will draw from her will transform her into the singer she is destined to be. Raoul also needs the ghost to prove his strength and courage to Christine. It's interesting the egocentric nature of the characters. No one is really in love here. the ghost wants hope to transcend his condition, Christine wants to live up to the music and Raoul doesn't want the portrait of his childhood to end. There are good intentions, mixed with not so noble human nature, that create a real dynamic behind this narrative.

Written in the style of a detective story, it blends real events like the underground lake of the opera that is still used to train firefighters to practice swimming in the dark and the infamous chandelier accident to add to the mystery. ( )

> Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, par Gaston Leroux
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, une des grandes oeuvres de Gaston Leroux, réédité dans un format poche à l'allure luxueuse.
Eclairé par une postface signée Joseph Vebret, voici l'un des grands textes de Gaston Leroux, publié dans un premier temps (1909) en feuilleton dans le quotidien Le Gaulois. Mais ce n'est pas tant la réédition de ce classique du roman policier qui est à saluer que son format: de poche luxueux, relié avec jaquette, dorure sur trois côtés, marque-page... A noter, la publication concomitante, dans cette nouvelle collection vouée à rééditer les chefs-d'oeuvre de la littérature mondiale, d'Histoires extraordinaires (Edgar Allan Poe), du Rouge et le Noir (Stendhal) et de Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë). --L'Express

I had enjoyed Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical a lot, so eventually I had to wind my way around to this. Interestingly, the exact point at which I think Phantom of the Opera (the musical) becomes kind of boring (Christine's final descent into the Phantom's lair) is where I think the novel becomes fascinating -- Leroux's depiction of the underworld that the Phantom inhabits is absolutely fascinating. Overall, I was expecting something dull, but this feels surprisingly lively, with a number of appendices and footnotes that feel like something much more modern. (The final appendix, in fact, is a total treat for someone like me, although I don't want to go into any more details. Suffice it to say that it was a very pleasant surprise that Leroux was even thinking about including it.) A little old, but ultimately something I'm glad I read. ( )

An excellent story, written as a reporter searching for the truth. Quite different from the movies and the operetta. ( )

Forse l'intento iniziale di Leroux fu di creare un personaggio che atterrisse il lettore. Forse, man mano scriveva, l'anima stessa di Erik gli parve diversa da come l'aveva immaginata o concepita: Più profonda, sfaccettata, capace di condiscendere all'amore con una forza pari alla consapevolezza d'esser rifiutato per il suo aspetto. Com'è destino di molti "mostri" letterari, quando il volume si chiude il lettore giunge a chiedersi se il vero mostro non sia quella parte della società che sceglie di giudicare basandosi sull'effimera esteriorità e, così, si preclude la possibilità di vedere la bellezza di un'anima. Chi ha amato questo personaggio, probabilmente ha vissuto i miei stessi contrasti per approdare alle mie stesse emozioni. ( )