History Phantom of the Opera

Of all the mythical villains Phantom of the Opera is undoubtedly the most romantic, for all his crimes he committed for the love of the beautiful Christine Dae. And even he died, oddly enough, for the sake of love.

In March 1908 during a routine inspection of the Grand Opera dungeons workers broke the wall seemed superfluous and blocks the path to rosedny basement, and behind the wall discovered a human skeleton ...

Fearing scandal (in the basement of a luxurious and popular theater for decades lie corpses), the director decided to show the skeleton of his friend zhupnalicty. Monsieur Gaston was an avid theater-goer Peru, also famous for caution when writing articles: In his youth, he earned a law degree and, apparently, so I try not to write shocking or offensive revelations, though, as all the newspapers, chasing sensationalism. Monsieur Peru could delicately formulated, and the director had hoped that after the release of its news articles and lose the sharpness of scandal be avoided.

Peru Gaston leaned over the discovery: the skeleton was priporoshit brick dust, the shape of his skull was very strange. It must have been during the life of this unfortunate was horribly ugly. But on the little finger of the skeleton gleaming expensive ring. Judging by the shape - feminine, fashion jewelry made of 60-ies, XIX century.





Secrets Opera

Paris Opera House Grand Opera and the Opera Garnier. as it is called by the name of the architect - the largest opera house in the world. This building is striking in its beauty and shocking luxury interior decoration. It is huge - but most visitors do not realize how much: after all, they only see the aboveground part of the building.

Dungeons Opera - one of the legends of Paris: they are huge, arranged on several levels, there are many corridors, half of which collapsed on time and not restored until now, as modern builders are not sure that the attempt to restore not lead to the collapse of the building. In these corridors, easily get lost and die, and at the center of the Opera is now a subterranean lake. The water from the lake in the XIX century was used in hydraulic machines for maintenance of scenery. And until now, it is used as a water reservoir in case of fire, moreover, to drain it completely impossible: the building is built over one of the branches of the Seine.

Gaston Peru was not shocked by the fact of finding a corpse in the Opera (in these caves would have remained unnoticed by the whole regiment) as a monstrous deformity of the skull and the presence of fine women's ring.



The image of the ring published in all the newspapers, trying to find someone who knows this thing, and thus shed light on the mystery of the unknown person who died in the dungeons of the Opera about thirty years ago. No one responded, and the unknown and remains unknown, but the mystery of his death has remained a mystery.
But Peru was a good journalist and he was able to talk with some old workers, who worked in the theater since its construction. And they told the story that one of the alleged architects was a man with a disfigured face. He had to wear a mask: even the mighty masons were frightened and were baptized at the sight of him!

Rod was the architect of some of the French village, the mother of his work up and tried to hide the pregnancy until the last pulling the stomach corset, that the poor man was born with the head. Then his mother sold him to Roma as a curiosity. But the architect, he was very clever: like, trained somewhere in the east, where it was brought Roma.

He was alone, and the management gave him a flat at the Opera. However, there lived many from the chorus girls to the staff. When construction was completed, the architect continued maintenance of the building and lived in the house next door to the Opera.

The poor man fell in love with one of the chorus girls by the name of Dae. But she did not answer him in return, especially since she had a rich patron. But the architect somehow lured her to his house and detained for two weeks in the basement. What's happened between them is not known, however, the architect let go chorus girl voluntarily. And he just disappeared. It was said that he immured himself somewhere in the dungeons of the Opera and the sophisticated way so committed suicide.

It is also said that he himself - or his ghost - is still walks the corridors of the Opera and can penetrate anywhere through secret passages, which he himself had built in the thickness of the walls and columns inside.
This story Leroux, liked it, but was not enough romantic and sinister. So he decided to come up with their own version.

Mysterious monster in the mask, he called Eric, making it not only a brilliant architect, but also a brilliant composer, the "Angel of Music", training young chorus girl singing, and then with the help of violent crimes opening her way to the stage. His lover was named Cristina and much more noble character. And instead of a rich patron of the beautiful singer fate gave noble Raoul de Chagny groom. Thus was created one of the most popular thrillers in the history of literature. His novel, published in 1910, Gaston Peru called "Phantom of the Opera».

The Many Faces of a ghost

Now the novel by Gaston Peruvian Phantom is among such great iconic works such as "Dracula" by Bram Stoker and "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley.

But first, the product of Peru, did not find the slightest success. It seemed that his contemporaries did not notice: the legend of the Ghost knew everything, and romantic interpretation seems to be not impressed.
However, after 4 years it was shot first film adaptation. The film was called «The Phantom of the Violin». Its creators did not buy the film rights to the author, as well as Peru was not only a writer, but also as a lawyer, he has made the prohibition of the show "pirate" films.

The first major film adaptation appeared in 1925, and the same film with the film company Universal "man of a thousand faces" Lon Chaney as the Phantom and Mary Philbin as Christine is still considered the most successful, and this version of Ghost - the most terrible. Lon Chaney. legend of American cinema, makeup is always himself, and none of his contemporaries could not understand how he manages to create such nightmarish masks of their own, the gates in general, pretty face. His ghost no one can beat. Although since then in this role who just do not have time to check in!

Robert Englund, the permanent ispopnitel role of Freddy Krueger, played the Phantom in a modernized interpretation of history, removed in 1989.

The famous Italian director Dario Argento made from "Phantom of the Opera" erotic thriller - in 1998 he released his film with demonic Julian Sands and sensual Asia Argento: in this version of Ghost does not mutilated, but he commands rats.

Yet there was a film adaptation of 1943, where the focus was on the party of the classic operas, performed by professional singers, and the film 1962, filmed the famous kinokompa ny "Hammer Films", specializing in horror films: in this version of the action moved from Paris to London late XIX century, and instead of the Grand Opera events unfold in the Wimbledon Theatre. Also released were three television plays and two animation films for children based on the "Phantom of the Opera».

The first incarnation of the musical novel Leroux was through the efforts of a little-known composer Ken Hill. His musicals have long forgotten, but it is to him we owe the fact that Andrew Lloyd Webb-ber interested in this theme and created his masterpiece in 2000, when summarizing the XX century, his "Phantom of the Opera" was called "the most outstanding show of the century." < br />
In 2002, film director Joel Schumacher, buddy Andrew Lloyd Webber, offered to make a movie of the musical. Webber was involved in selecting and listening to the actors. The task was complicated: you need to find performers who could both sing well, to move gracefully and outwardly conformed to the image of characters.

For the scenario had Combining with the libretto of the musical episodes of the novel by Gaston Leroux, for example, a tragic childhood Ghost mentioned in the musical, but in the film it was necessary to show a separate episode to explain how Eric got into the cave theater. Gaston Leroux unfortunate Eric died in the dungeons of the Opera of love and longing, but in the film adaptation of the musical presented to him a different fate.

In the novel, ghost face horribly so that he is forced to hide his thick white mask. But singing with a mask and even more so with full make-up on her face proved impossible, and especially for the musical was made a mask to cover only part of the face Eric.

He existed?

"Yes, he existed, and in flesh and blood, but did his best to be seen as a real ghost," - says Gaston Leroux.

Other researchers disagree with him: they believe that the Ghost - not more than a legend. During the Paris Commune in Opera bloodshed: in the basement commune staged a prison for dissidents, and there they were shot, buried in the same place, zamurovyvaya corridors. Then he found the skeletons of these unfortunate workers. They were, dents from bullets, and blood on the floor and walls.

Perhaps because of this blood born Phantom of the Opera, invisibly present in the building, patronizing talent punishing mediocrity. It requires that for him has always been a free fifth bed: extreme near the stage in the first tier. Indeed, until now, this bed often empty.

Explanations of the theater employees received different: the supposedly left the bed for special guests, friends of the director of the Opera, then allegedly used it for some technical needs ... But the fact remains: the fifth bed is empty. Opera and impressionable visitors sometimes see in the depths of her dark figure in a white mask.

In 1994, French theater critic Madame de Vale has published the results of his many years of research she has found a lot of evidence that the version told Gaston Leroux workers. Ghost was not the Angel of Music, and Christine could not teach singing. Yet it is likely that he existed, that he passionately loved and could not live without his beloved. And that his skeleton discovered in 1908.

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