50 Fun Facts About The Phantom of the Opera

Which Paris newspaper first serialised Gaston Leroux's novel, from September 1909 to January 1910?

The serial version even contains a whole chapter, 'L'enveloppe magique', that was cut from the book and not printed in English until 2014.

In the novel, what is the Phantom's actual name?

He is a deformed stage magician, architect and ventriloquist who also styles himself the 'Angel of Music' and the 'Opera Ghost'.

Christine Daaé, the young soprano at the centre of Leroux's novel, comes from which country?

Her late father, a violinist, used to tell her stories about the Angel of Music, which is how the Phantom first wins her trust.

In the novel, how is the mysterious opera regular who leads Raoul to the Phantom's lair known?

The 1925 film swapped him for a secret policeman named Ledoux, and the musical dropped him entirely, giving his function to Madame Giry.

Leroux set his story in a real Paris building. Which one?

Built for Napoleon III between 1861 and 1875, it seats 1,979 and was the Paris Opera's main house until the Bastille opened in 1989.

The underground 'lake' beneath the Paris opera house really exists. What is it actually?

It is still used today to train firefighters to swim in the dark.

What broke free and crashed into the Paris opera house auditorium in 1896, inspiring the novel's most famous scene?

The falling weight killed a concierge; a fire in the roof had melted the wire holding it.

The real 1896 accident happened during a performance of which opera?

Act One had just finished when a roof fire melted through a wire, injuring several people and killing one.

The Phantom's letters to the managers demand that which box be kept empty for his personal use?

In the novel he also demands that Christine sing Marguerite in Faust, and threatens a curse on the house if ignored.

What is the Phantom's signature strangling weapon, per stagehand Joseph Buquet's warning?

Buquet ends up hanging from it himself; in the musical his body drops from the rafters during Il Muto.

What is the title of the opera the Phantom has composed himself?

In the musical its music is deliberately dissonant and modern, hinting that the Phantom is artistically ahead of his time.

At the masked ball, the Phantom appears in costume as which figure?

The costume nods to Edgar Allan Poe, one of the two writers Leroux most admired; the other was Arthur Conan Doyle.

Who starred as the Phantom in the 1925 silent film?

The film's producer bought the novel after the author himself handed him a copy in Paris in 1922.

What nickname did the 1925 silent film's star earn for transforming himself with his own makeup?

Both his parents were deaf, and he grew up fluent in American Sign Language, which shaped his intensely physical acting.

Who created the skull-like Phantom makeup for the 1925 film?

The design was kept a studio secret until the premiere; the wire loops that pulled his nostrils up sometimes made him bleed.

Which studio made the 1925 silent Phantom, and later the 1943 remake?

Its success bankrolled the studio's whole horror cycle, starting with Dracula and Frankenstein in 1931.

In what year was Stage 28, home of the 1925 Phantom of the Opera set, finally demolished?

Until then it was the world's oldest surviving structure built for a specific film, and it appeared in hundreds of other productions.

How does the 1925 film's Phantom die?

His last trick is to hold up a clenched fist as if it hides a bomb, then open it to show an empty palm.

For the 1929 sound reissue, the studio could not record its star's voice because he was contracted to which rival?

Ads had to promise 'Lon Chaney's portrayal is a silent one!'; a new messenger character was invented to speak for him.

Who played the disfigured violinist Claudin, the Phantom of the 1943 Technicolor remake?

The picture reused the opera house set built for the 1925 film and was the first version shot entirely in Technicolor.

The 1943 Phantom of the Opera is the only classic Universal horror film to win Oscars. In which two categories?

Reviews at the time were mixed, but the film was a box-office hit and has been reappraised more kindly since.

Which actor played the Phantom in Hammer's 1962 British version?

Hammer moved the story to a London opera house in 1900 and gave the Phantom a murderous dwarf as a helper.

Hammer producer Anthony Hinds said he wrote the 1962 Phantom of the Opera script for which Hollywood star?

The star never made the film; it was shot at Bray Studios on a modest budget and lost money.

Phantom of the Paradise (1974), a rock-musical riff on the story, was written and directed by whom?

It flopped almost everywhere except Winnipeg, where the soundtrack alone sold 20,000 copies and went gold in Canada.

Which horror star, better known as Freddy Krueger, played the Phantom in the gory 1989 film?

He took the part as a promised favour to his agent, who wanted one more horror project 'outside of Freddy'.

In the 1989 film, the Phantom is a composer who sold his soul to the Devil. What is his surname?

The other three names belong to the Phantoms of the 1943, 1962 and 1974 films respectively.

Which actor played the Phantom in the 2004 film after only four voice lessons?

All three of the others were at some point considered or courted for the role.

Who played Christine in the 2004 film after Anne Hathaway dropped out?

She modelled Christine's bond with the Phantom on the ballerina Suzanne Farrell and her mentor George Balanchine.

Which future West End Phantom appears in the 2004 film only as a portrait of Christine's father?

He went on to play both Raoul and the Phantom in London and to headline the 25th-anniversary concert.

Which new song written for the 2004 film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song?

It lost to 'Al otro lado del río' from The Motorcycle Diaries; the film's other two nominations went to The Aviator.

Lloyd Webber's musical opened on 9 October 1986 at which London venue?

The building was renamed His Majesty's Theatre in May 2023 after Charles III came to the throne, and the show is still there.

Who directed the original 1986 production?

He had already staged Cabaret, Follies, Sweeney Todd and Evita, and finished his career with a record 21 Tony Awards.

Which actor, best known to British TV viewers as the hapless Frank Spencer, originated the title role?

He won both the Olivier and the Tony for the part, silencing critics who doubted a sitcom star could carry it.

Which British rocker sang the Phantom in Lloyd Webber's early pitch video, before the role was recast?

As the score turned more operatic, producers decided the singer's rough contemporary voice no longer suited the part.

Who originated Christine Daaé, a role written specifically for her by her then-husband?

She began in the dance troupe Hot Gossip and later sold millions with the Bocelli duet 'Time to Say Goodbye'.

To get his wife cast as Christine on Broadway, Lloyd Webber promised an American lead in which West End show?

Equity had objected on the grounds that any non-American performer had to be an international star.

Which little-known lyricist rewrote many of Richard Stilgoe's lyrics and became the show's principal lyricist?

He and Lloyd Webber later shared the 2004 film's Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

Which lyricist with a 'dark obsessive side' turned down Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera for a Bonnie Tyler album?

Alan Jay Lerner was recruited next but fell ill; none of his work, mostly on 'Masquerade', is credited in the show.

Who designed the original production's sets and 200-plus costumes, including the half-mask?

She was the great-granddaughter of Nobel laureate Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and won two Tonys for the show.

Why was the Phantom's original full-face mask replaced by the half-mask?

The change also made the unmasking sequence possible, which was added at the same time.

Which song was called 'What Has Time Done to Me' at the Sydmonton preview?

'Notes' was likewise still called 'Papers' at that stage, and the preview used Stilgoe's unaltered lyrics.

The Broadway production played at which theatre for its entire 35-year run?

The 1,681-seat house had earlier been home to Carousel, South Pacific and The Music Man.

How many Tony Awards did the musical win at the 42nd ceremony, out of ten nominations?

That haul was the night's biggest; the show had already taken the Olivier for Best New Musical in London.

When the Broadway production closed on 16 April 2023, how many performances had it played?

That beat its London counterpart by 62 and the next-longest Broadway show by more than 3,500 performances.

Which later-knighted producer staged the musical with Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group?

His other credits include Cats, Les Misérables and Miss Saigon; two of his shows are the West End's longest-running musicals.

Estimated total worldwide gross receipts for the musical exceed what figure?

By 2019 it had been seen by more than 140 million people in 183 cities across 41 countries.

Roger Waters said the title song's descending riff resembled which track from Meddle?

He never sued, saying life was too long to bother, though he aired the grievance in a 1992 interview.

The 25th-anniversary performances in October 2011 were staged and filmed at which venue?

Tickets for all three performances sold out within five hours, so the last one was beamed live to cinemas worldwide.

Which American soprano played Christine at the 25th-anniversary concert and originated the role in the sequel?

She first sang Christine in the 2006 Las Vegas production and originated Ariel in Broadway's The Little Mermaid.

What is the title of Lloyd Webber's 2010 sequel to the musical?

Set in 1907 at a Coney Island fairground called Phantasma, it was loosely adapted from Frederick Forsyth's 1999 novel.