Brush Up on The Phantom of the Opera

Palais Garnier is famous as the setting of the novel The Phantom of the Opera. The story began as a book, but many people know it best through the film and the stage musical, and songs like "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Think of Me" are so famous that almost everyone knows them.

The novel behind the film and the musical was published in 1910 by Gaston Leroux, a French mystery writer. A lawyer-turned-journalist, Leroux was influenced by Arthur Conan Doyle, the English author of Sherlock Holmes, and Charles Dickens, the English author of Oliver Twist, and published his first psychological novel in 1904. He went on writing psychological, mystery and detective fiction, including The Phantom of the Opera. Leroux is said to have begun writing after reading a news report that a man's body had been found at the opera house, and recalling the sinister and mysterious incidents surrounding the theater. As a result, features of real places inside Palais Garnier appear throughout the book. We'll point these out one by one on the tour, and track titles that include them are marked with a mask emoji (🎭), so be sure to listen to those.

We recommend watching the film or reading the novel before you visit, but for anyone short on time, here's a quick summary of the story. Links to musical and stage videos for each scene are under "Learn More" at the bottom of this script. Spoilers ahead, so if you plan to read or watch it yourself, stop here.

Rumors spread that a ghost haunts a Paris opera house. In fact, the "phantom" is Erik, a musical genius who lives hidden beneath the theater. Because of his disfigured face, Erik has worn a mask and lived in hiding since childhood, and he has been living under the theater by blackmailing its managers. When new managers take over, Erik sends them a contract, signed "The Phantom of the Opera," listing about 100 demands, including leaving Box 5 empty and paying him a monthly sum. The new managers dismiss it as a prank. To punish them, Erik murders the stage manager, sabotages a singer's performance and causes the chandelier to crash down.

Meanwhile, Erik falls in love with Christine, a young opera singer. A natural musical talent, he secretly gives her singing lessons, and Christine believes he is an Angel of Music sent by her late father. Eventually she learns the truth about Erik. When she crosses the underground lake by gondola to his hideout, she pulls off his mask and sees his real face. Terrified of his rage, Christine confides in her sweetheart Raoul, and the two plan to escape from Erik together.

But Erik overhears Christine telling Raoul and abducts her during a performance. Raoul searches the whole theater for her and finally reaches the underground lake, only to fall into traps Erik has set. While Raoul is trapped, Erik places gunpowder beneath the theater and forces Christine to choose: marry him or let many people die. Christine reluctantly agrees to marry the Phantom. Seeing her sacrifice herself for Raoul and sincerely pity him, Erik lets Raoul and Christine go. Soon afterward, a newspaper carries a notice of Erik's death, and the story comes to an end.

Keep this story in mind and, on the tour, we'll walk through each part that inspired Gaston Leroux.