Written during what France hails as its Golden Era, Gaston Leroux’s novel, The Phantom of the Opera stood out for several reasons. While his contemporaries were writing stories that reflected reality and our everyday lives, Leroux had returned to the gothic genre — one of mystery and supernatural events. It also reflected the history of the French Revolution, with references to class disparity through his characters and the structure of the story’s setting — the Paris Opera House, the Palais Garnier. Last Thursday, the Dunedin show of Phantom of the Opera opened, so we take a look at the story behind the production.
Leroux’s novel was based on events that occurred at the Palais Garnier in the nineteenth century. At the time of Leroux’s novel, it was thought that a ghost haunted the Palais Garnier, a mysterious phantom, malevolent in nature. They would ward him off by placing a horseshoe above the entrance to the right stage wing. Many claimed they heard voices around box five, and it was believed that it was the ghost of the mysterious Erik. Witnesses even claimed to have seen the ghost in Erik’s usual garb, including the black cape and mask that have become the trademark costume of the Phantom today.
Another influence was an old myth concerning the use of a ballet student’s skeleton in an 1841 production of Der Freischütz. Historically, there were underground tunnels and a lake beneath the Palais Garnier, and the chandelier did fall, starting a fire and killing a woman. It is also believed that the character of the Phantom was based on a real person, involved in the building of this opera house, who had his own private box, number five, as does the Phantom in the story. This original Erik fell in love with a singer and, upon being rejected, kidnapped her. She was, however, found and shortly afterwards left Paris, reflecting the relationship between the fictional phantom and Christine Daaé in the novel.
The Phantom of the Opera focuses on the story of a young opera dancer, Christine Daaé, and the mysterious Phantom of the opera who, while teaching her to sing, falls in love with her. Once Christine is given a lead role at the opera house, Erik (the phantom) kidnaps her in an attempt to convince her to marry him. Christine soon realises he is the ghost believed to haunt the opera house. When she returns safely, she reunites and falls in love with her childhood sweetheart, Raoul. Unsurprisingly Erik is not impressed by this union, and the love triangle eventually leads to a dramatic and violent end. This all takes place while the characters rehearse and perform operatic shows under the phantom’s threat of impending disaster should anything not be to his liking.
Originally written as a serial novel from 1909 to 1910 and published in a single volume in 1911, the original story was similar to the version popularised in musical form with only a slightly different ending. Many people believe that The Phantom of the Opera began in 1984 with the creation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical version. The adaptations include theatre, film, children’s books, comics and even games. It is referenced in pop culture innumerable times, and is the longest running show in the history of Broadway. There’s even a Bollywood adaptation, Hameshaa, but this is drastically different to the original.
After the success of Cats and Song and Dance, Andrew Lloyd Webber felt a need for romance; in fact, romance was something he had wanted to write his whole life. Lloyd Webber stumbled upon what he was looking for in New York, in the form of a second-hand copy of Gaston Leroux’s novel. The music created by Lloyd Webber is one of the main reasons that The Phantom of the Opera has remained so popular. Michael Crawford, the original Phantom in this production, has the well-earned reputation of being one of the best phantoms, winning a Tony award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1988.
Visual aspects have always played a large part in the story of The Phantom of the Opera, whether through the horror of the Phantom’s disfigured face or through the costumes or the visual effects that create the lake and smoke used in the Lloyd Webber production.
Nigel Donehue, one of the production managers for the Dunedin production set to open on 17 September, said that he fell in love with the musical in 1987 when his mother bought him the cassette. He said that the success of the musical is because anyone can relate to the story: “It is a story of unrequited love from a man who has been shunned by society through no fault of his own, who just wants to be loved, so expresses his despair and longing through his music.” While the cast and crew have been preparing for the opening night for months, they have only had four full rehearsals where everything was put together. A production this massive requires a lot of people to help with it. Nigel explained that “more than 100 crew backstage (including floor crew, lighting, sound, makeup, wardrobe, props and stage managers), 23 in the orchestra, and 50 company members on stage” are involved. “It is a big job organising everyone.”
Technical Stage Manager Garry Gibson “enjoys the challenge of making sure it all works on stage for everyone.” He believes that it is the impressive technical aspects of the production that make it so successful, and the fact that it is such a powerful love story.
Ballet Choreographer, Robyn Sinclair, describes the show as “visually spectacular, it has romance, humour, special effects, dance, surprises, amazing set and costumes”. The Dunedin Theatre Company’s adaptation has involved a unique creative vision — one that has involved the community. Having first seen the show in New York with Michael Crawford as the Phantom, Sinclair found herself “skipping home afterwards”, and she knows her excitement will be shared with Dunedin audiences. “They will be as enthralled by the overall spectacle and performances they see from our fabulous company,” she remarked.
The show opens up at the Regent on 17 September and runs through until 26 September at the Regent Theatre.