Are any readers of this blog familiar with the story of The Phantom of the Opera? I recently listened to an audio version of the original novel (1911), and that prompted me to also watch the movie (2004) and listen to the soundtrack of the musical (1986). Brian and I saw the musical in Milwaukee in 2000.I guess it is a story that grows on you. And I'm not the only one. According to Wikipedia, the musical alone "is the highest-grossing entertainment event of all time."
For all of that, I liked the novel best. The movie is based on the musical, so they are similar to each other. The novel is much more complex than either. The character of the Phantom, for example, is much more complex and interesting in the novel. And there are several characters in the novel that are completely missing from the musical and the movie, such as Raoul's older brother and the Persian.
Two more comments for this post.
First, the line "keep your hand at the level of your eyes" is used several times in all three works, but it's not clear in the movie, for example, what it means. The novel clearly explains that it is to defend against the Phantom's weapon, the Punjab lasso. The instruction is to keep your arm in front of you, bent at the elbow with the hand up and at the level of your eyes. It is as if you were holding a handgun pointed vertically, ready to bring it down and fire when a target appears. (In the novel, Raoul initially holds a gun in this manner, until his arm tires of holding the unnecessary weight of the gun.) If the lasso is thrown, it will go around both your neck and your arm, allowing you to free yourself instead of being strangled.
Second, the opera building itself is more imposing and interesting in the novel. It is described as 17 stories above ground and 5 stories below ground. To house all of the workers described in the novel, including a stable of horses, it must have been as large as a city block. The opera building in the movie does not seem this grand.
The novel is based on this actual building. Marion, have you visited this building? Is it grand? Is that part of Paris really over an underground lake? Laura, when you visit Paris next summer, perhaps you will be able to see the Paris Opera. If you include that in your itinerary, I recommend that you read the novel first. And then read about the author, Gaston Leroux. Some of the things he did in his lifetime help explain features of the building he describes in the novel (e.g., the prison previously used by the Paris Commune).
Does anyone else have a favorite aspect of this story?
UPDATE: I have been referring to the original novel as being published in 1911, but that was when it was translated into English. It was published in French in serial form in 1909-1910. Click here for a free online English translation of the original novel.
7 comments:
The photos of the opera house on Wikipedia look very similar to the movie setting- do you know if they filmed the movie there?
Info from the special features disc of the DVD: The movie was filmed at Pinewood Studios in England (also the home of the James Bond movies). The movie, like the novel, was most certainly based on the Opera Garnier, aka the Paris Opera. They talk about several people from the movie visiting the Opera Garnier, which does indeed have a lake under it, to get a feel for the setting. Major aspects of the Opera Garnier were recreated at Pinewood Studios for the filming of the movie, including the main auditorium, the grand staircase and a 1:12 scale model of the entire building. To my eye, however, neither the set nor the scale model at Pinewood Studios exactly matches the actual Opera Garnier. The actual Opera Garnier is much more grand. As one example, the auditorium constructed at Pinewood Studies contained 900 seats. The actual auditorium at the Opera Garnier contains 2,200.
On the special features DVD, Joel Schumacher (the director of the movie) says that at one time 750 people lived in the Opera Garnier. Amazing.
On the special features DVD, Andrew Lloyd Webber (the composer for both the 1986 musical and the 2004 movie and the producer of the 2004 movie) talks about how he came to the story of The Phantom of the Opera. Over the years there were many, many adaptations of the original 1911 novel by Gaston Leroux. In 1984 Sarah Brightman, who was about to be married to Mr. Webber, was asked to perform the role of Christine Daae in a musical adaptation by Ken Hill. She declined, but that was Mr. Webber’s first introduction to the story. Mr. Webber and the producer of his musicals, Cameron Mackintosh, briefly talked with Mr. Hill about collaborating on a grander production, but nothing came of it. About six months later, Mr. Webber read the novel, became enamored with the possibilities, and decided to create a production without Mr. Hill. In Mr. Webber’s 1986 musical, his wife Sarah Brightman did perform the role of Christine.
Interestingly, Mr. Webber and Mr. Mackintosh did not think highly of the novel as it was originally written. On the special features DVD they describe it as “confused” and “a jolly good plot, rather badly written.” They thought they could improve on the story. I’m not so sure they did, but Mr. Webber certainly created music that sticks in one’s mind.
I saw the movie last year with laura, but I'v never been to the opera. Indeed, I think the story of the Phantom oh the Opera is more known in the US (thanks to the musical and the movie) but here we just know the name. I didn't know exactly what it was before. But I'll sure show Laura and Eliza the Opera. Hopefully we'll be able to get in!
According to Wikipedia: "Gaston Leroux's contribution to French detective fiction is considered a parallel to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's in the United Kingdom and Edgar Allan Poe's in America."
I can understand an English girl not being familiar with the Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or an American girl not being familiar with the macabre stories of Poe, but a French girl not familiar with Gaston Leroux's most famous novel The Phantom of the Opera? I'm shocked, shocked. :)
Marion, I hope you and Laura and Eliza get to see the Paris Opera this summer, and send me some pictures.
In my previous comment, I should have referenced Gaston Leroux's most famous novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra. My bad. :)
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