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In 1986, Gaston Leroux's novel ''The Phantom of the Opera'' was adapted into what is now known as [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]'s best known musical -- andmusical—and its producers' claims that it is the single most financially successful entertainment venture ''[http://nationaltours.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Flash_PHANTOM_Tour_Becomes_First_to_Reach_7000_Performances_20100128 of all time]'' may have some truth to them.
 
Leroux tells what he insists is the true story of a young soprano, Christine, who believes she is being tutored by the "Angel of Music", sent to her from Heaven from her deceased father. Originally considered nothing special, especially compared to her rival and the opera's resident diva, Carlotta, after three months under the Angel's tutelage, Christine shines. The managers quickly realize the depth of her talent... and so does Christine's childhood best friend, Raoul, who sees her in her newfound glory and realizes that [[She's All Grown Up]].
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Leroux's novel had quite a few film adaptations long before the musical arrived in 1986. The first was a Russian production, which is only known due to surviving publicity material and the film is lost. The second, most famous, and more faithful excluding some minor quips (the titular Phatom's and Ledoux's backgrounds and the whole final act) was the 1925 silent film with [[Lon Chaney]] as Erik (which has since fallen in the public domain and may be watched [http://www.archive.org/details/ThePhantomoftheOpera here] and [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5224364451553593147 here]. And [http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera/854375?trkid=2361637 on Netflix], if you have it.). While the novel and many films saw the Phantom as pitiable, the image of him as an outright romantic figure is one established by the musical and its fanbase.
 
There are also multiple musical adaptations apart from Andrew Lloyd Webber's. The one most frequently performed -- developedperformed—developed at around the same time as the Lloyd Webber show but unstaged until several years after it -- wasit—was written by Maury Yeston (''Nine'') and Arthur Kopit and is simply called ''Phantom.'' The story is also spoofed in the [[Discworld]] novel ''Maskerade''.
 
''[[Love Never Dies]]'' is the sequel to the [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] musical and has its own page; for the [[Frederick Forsyth]] novel that was based on early plans for it, see ''[[The Phantom of Manhattan]]''.
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{{tropelist}}
 
=== Leroux's original novel and its fandom contain examples of: ===
* [[Above the Influence]]: Christine obviously expects several times to be raped during her two abductions, but it turns out the Phantom [[Affably Evil|respects her privacy and honor]].
* [[Affably Evil]]: The usher Madame Giry certainly thinks so -- asso—as far as she knows, the Phantom is always a polite patron and a generous tipper!
* [[Agent Scully]]: Mifroid and Faure, the police commissary and examining magistrate, laugh at Raoul's and the Persian's stories about the phantom of the opera.
* [[Aluminum Christmas Trees]]: The lake (see [[Truth in Television]]).
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* [[Artifact Title]]: For English translations that refer to Erik as "the Opera ghost" or "the ghost" in the text instead of "phantom."
* [[Backstory]]: The Persian tells the Phantom's backstory to Raoul (and to the [[Narrator]] later).
* [[Bad Liar]]: Christine, to the point where the Persian is practically [[Face Palm|Face Palming]]ing as she fails to [[Show Some Leg]] to Erik to get him and Raoul out of the torture chamber unnoticed.
* [[Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me|Bathe and Come to Me]]
* [[Bastard Boyfriend]]: Erik could be a [[Deconstruction]] if not an [[Unbuilt Trope]]: In the original book the author wants you to think Erik's a [[Jerkass]] and Christine is a saint for putting up with him: ([[Domestic Abuser]] meets [[Love Martyr]]), but the [[Misaimed Fandom]] (and [[Lost in Imitation|all the adaptations]]) wants you to think Erik's totally hot and the relationship is [[Corrupt the Cutie|deliciously kinky]].
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* [[Blackmail]]: The Phantom demands 240,000 francs a year and exclusive use of First Tier Box 5 or else he'll drop chandeliers on people. One has to wonder what he does with all that money, although [[Batman|one possibility springs to mind.]]
** The Batman reference is perfectly appropriate because the answer is:
** [[Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?]]: Erik being a [[Mad Artist]] / [[Mad Scientist]] / [[Evil Genius]] can make a lot of [[Homemade Inventions]], but still needs the money to buy supplies (the mirrors of his [[Robotic Torture Device]] came to mind). Given the Opera is administrated by two [[Pointy-Haired Boss|Pointy-Haired Bosses]]es, [[Fridge Brilliance|Erik must have not a problem getting everything delivered there]].
* [[Building of Adventure]]: The Paris Opera.
* [[Career Killers]]: According to the Persian, [[Backstory|Erik did this as part of his work for the Sha-in-Sha]]:
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* [[Gilded Cage]]: Christine's Louis-Philippe bedroom in Erik's house.
* [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]]: The Phantom's [[Eyes of Gold]] can only be seen in the dark, and they glow like a cat's.
* [[The Grotesque]]: Subverted by Erik, whose deformities make him a living corpse, but also averts being a [[Gentle Giant]]: he is so socially deformed that his attitude as a [[Psychopathic Manchild]] [[Bastard Boyfriend]] make him truly terrifying. Ironically, his [[Above Good and Evil]] attitude lets him fit into society very well, as a [[Torture Technician]], [[Career Killers]] and [[Blackmail|Blackmailer]]er, because [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|Humans Are Bastards]]. The [[Narrator]] lampshades in the Epilogue that Erik, with an ordinary face, ''would have been one of the most distinguished of mankind''. However, Erik is vindictive with the humanity that rejected him, he gives human life no value, and his [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|act of mercy surprised even him]].
* [[Hall of Mirrors]]: The Phantom uses one to convince Raoul and the Persian that they are trapped in a desert.
* [[Happily Adopted]]: Christine by Madame Valerius after her father died.
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* [[Hypnotize the Princess]]: The Phantom's voice has a seemingly mesmeric effect on Christine.
* [[I Have You Now, My Pretty]]: Given that the Phantom [[Above the Influence|is not interested in sex]], he pulls a [[And Now You Must Marry Me]].
* [[I Just Want to Be Normal]]: The Phantom's motivation -- themotivation—the guy doesn't actually ''like'' living underground.
* [[In the Blood]]: Christine is following in her father's footsteps with her career in music.
* [[It's All About Me]]: Arguably, everyone except Christine, the Persian and Madam Valerious:
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* [[Pointy-Haired Boss]]: Deconstructed with Opera managers Richard and Moncharmin: Everybody knows they get their jobs [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections|thanks to their connections]], that they don’t know a lot about music or how to run the Opera. Nobody really respects them and are accustomed to cruel pranks and jokes, and that is the cause they never take seriously the Phantom’s menaces until the [[Falling Chandelier of Doom]] incident.
* [[The Power of Love]]
* [[Practical Joke]]: [[Agent Scully|Opera managers Richard and Moncharmin]] believe that all and every of the strange happenings at the Opera are this. [[Justified Trope]]: they are two [[Pointy-Haired Boss|Pointy-Haired Bosses]]es and [[Dude, Where's My Respect?|they get no respect]].
* [[The Prima Donna]]: Carlotta.
* [[The Rival]]: Carlotta for Christine.
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* [[Scooby-Doo Hoax]]: Erik is pretending to be a ghost haunting the opera house.
* [[Scrapbook Story]]: We hear the story from the [[Narrator]] based on his research (which contain several [[Flash Back|flashbacks]] narrated by Christine to Raoul and by Madame Giry to the new managers), memories of one of the new Opera managers Moncharmin, and the Persian.
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections]]: Deconstructed in the original book showing the consequences of a society that embraces this principle: Richard and Moncharmin know how to play politics better than to manage, and Carlotta knows is easier being [[The Prima Donna]] that to sing better. This means that everyone is a [[Pointy-Haired Boss]] who doesn’t know how to do his job. Every employee knows that, so the bosses are [[Properly Paranoid]] about being pranked by them because [[Dude, Where's My Respect?|nobody respects them]]. They also are the ideal victims for a [[Blackmail|Blackmailer]]er, and that’s how Erik could convince them of letting him do whatever he pleases.
* [[Screw This, I'm Outta Here]]: The departure of Opera co-managers Poligny and Debienne at the very start of the book -- oncebook—once a Phantom starts skulking their Opera and delivering [[Blackmail]] demands, they waste no time passing the buck and getting out of the Opera business as fast as they can.
** Also Raoul de Chagny and Christine Daae (with Mama Valerious) flee from Paris to "the northern railway station of the world." Even when Raoul is victim of the [[Malicious Slander|Malicious Slandering]]ing that accuses him of his brother’s death, they never look back.
* [[She's All Grown Up]]: Before their reunion at the Paris Opera, Raoul and Christine were childhood friends and last met on the verge of adolescence and strange new feelings that they couldn't understand.
* [[Shoot the Builder]]: After Erik built his palace in Mazendaran, the Shah-in-Shah tried to do this to Erik. It didn't work.
* [[Shoot the Messenger]]: The standard method of solving any problem by [[Pointy-Haired Boss|Pointy-Haired Bosses]]es Richard and Moncharmin is to fire those employees involved in it. Only those with [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections|enough influence can escape]].
* [[Single-Target Sexuality]]: The Phantom for Christine, oh so much.
{{quote|'''The Phantom:''' You alone can make my song take flight, and help me make the Music of the Night.}}
* [[Small Name, Big Ego]]: [[In-Universe]]: [[Pointy-Haired Boss|Pointy-Haired Bosses]]es Richard and Moncharmin and [[The Prima Donna]] Carlotta. Madam Giry is lampshaded like this (see [[It's All About Me]]), a humble usher who thinks of herself as an equal to the Opera’s administrators… just moments before they fire her. But [[Fridge Brilliance]] show us is subverted: In Parisian society, [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections|it’s not what you do, it’s who you know]]. Madam Giry ''knows the Phantom and he is happy with her work''. Therefore, ''she is more important that Richard and Moncharmin''. She gets his job back
* [[Stalker with a Crush]]: Erik to a T.
* [[Stalking Is Love]]
* [[Start of Darkness]]: The Phantom's exile from the human race because of his ugliness.
* [[Stockholm Syndrome]]: Christine -- sheChristine—she herself [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] it in everything but name, and Raoul is saddened but not at all surprised or confused to see how much she evidently truly loves her psychotic, jealous, possessive stalker while fearing him at the same time.
* [[Supervillain Lair]]
* [[Sympathy for the Devil]]: The narrator pities Erik as much as the Persian did after hearing the end of his love story. He succeeded in making his readers agree with him... [[Gone Horribly Right|perhaps even a little too well]].
** On the other hand, the [[Narrator]] never justifies Erik atrocities before he even become The Phantom, Erik is showed as a [[Psychopathic Manchild]] [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|truly surprised he let Christine and Raoul go]]. At the epilogue, the narrator [[Hypocrite|claims to pity Erik,]] [[Beauty Equals Goodness|but never attacks the shallow societies that persecuted him. He justifies the act it because Erik is ''really'' ugly]]. Instead of giving Erik a grave (or even the common grave) [[Moral Event Horizon|the last line was a plea for Erik to become a]] [[Dead Guy on Display]] on the archives of the National Academy of Music
* [[Tender Tears]]
* [[There Are No Good Executives]]: This is the reason Erik could maintain his reign of terror: In Parisian society, [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections|it’s not what you do, it’s who you know]]. Therefore the executives at the Opera and the police are not only corrupt, but [[Pointy-Haired Boss|Pointy-Haired Bosses]]es who don’t care about how to do his job better but how to practice politics and being discreet with any problem.
* [[Third Person Person]]: Erik does this when he is particularly upset or angry. So, a lot.
* [[Those Two Guys]]: Opera managers Richard and Moncharmin.
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* [[Truth in Television]]: Because it was built on swampy ground, there really is a lake beneath the Palais Garnier. (And it has fish in it!)
* [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife]]: What would have been, had Erik carried through with his ultimate plan.
* [[Ventriloquism]]: The Persian declares that Erik is the best ventriloquist in the whole world. He must be, because he uses this skill to do a lot of [[Practical Joke|Practical Jokes]]s, including convincing Opera Singer Carlotta (an all the Opera’s audience) [[Funny Moments (Sugar Wiki)|that she croaked like a toad]].
* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: Christine notices that Erik gets more unhinged and frightening as the plot progresses.
* [[Well, Excuse Me, Princess!]]: Christine never lets Raoul push her around and has no problem telling him to mind his own business.
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* [[Where Are They Now? Epilogue]]: Leroux reveals what happened to a few minor characters in the prologue; Meg, for example, eventually marries a baron.
* [[Wicked Cultured]]: ''Guess''.
* [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]: Leroux's original Erik -- heErik—he murders at least three people over the course of the plot and is definitely not the sanest person on the block, but Leroux expresses pity for him in the epilogue.
** Arguably, he's this the entire time due simply to his appearance; at the time, [[Beauty Equals Goodness]] was commonly enough believed to be [[Truth in Television]]. Imagine what people who believe ''that'' are going to think of somebody like Erik--noErik—no matter '''what''' he does...
 
----
=== The famous musical and myriad other adaptations further contain examples of: ===
* [[AcCENT Upon the Wrong SylLABle]]: In Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation, there seems to be no consensus as to whether the female lead's name is pronounced "[[Christine]]" or "[[Christine]]".
* [[Acting for Two]]: In the silent film, they must have really liked Joseph Buquet's [[Large Ham|hamming]] [[One-Scene Wonder|it up]], so they have the actor also play his twin brother, who finds him dead.
* [[Adaptational Attractiveness]]: Gerard Butler's Phantom in the film version is rather less ugly than his stage counterparts, to the point that film critic Richard Roeper quipped "He's the Fashionably-Scarred Stud of the Opera."
** [http://unlimitedmusic.se/IMG/peterjoback.jpg Peter Jöback] who plays the part on West End between March and September of 2012 originally auditioned to play the Phantom on Broadway but was rejected because he was considered too good looking for the part. He was offered the part of Raoul instead, turned it down and was then contacted by Andrew Lloyd Webber who asked him to come play the role in London.
* [[Adaptation Dye Job]]: The book Christine was blonde, but in all stage productions and the movie, she is a brunette.
** Averted in the Hungarian production--Christineproduction—Christine is sometimes blonde here. The actresses seem to have wigs the same colour as their own hair.
* [[Age Cut]]: Raoul, Mdme. Giry, and both The Phantom and Christine in the movie.
* [[Anachronism Stew]]: Musically speaking - the electric guitar that duels with the organ during the tag of the titular song.
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** This has also happened to Carlotta over the years. Originally she was part of a [[Technician Versus Performer]] comparison, with Carlotta having a marvelous instrument but no soul in her singing as opposed to the more passionate (if rather more erratic) Christine. Over the years this has been simplified to Carlotta's voice being awful (or at least past its prime), to the point where the Schumacher movie depicts opera staff stuffing cotton in their ears when she prepares to sing (thus leading to [[Informed Flaw]], as Margaret Preece's voice is one of the better ones in the film).
*** In fact a few swings in the stage show can cover both Carlotta and Christine. Also Carlotta is always played by someone who's been classically trained.
* [[Foreshadowing]]: The ''Il Muto'' scene and its song "Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh". When the Phantom interrupts it, the Countess is with her lover, cheerfully singing about how she's cuckolding her husband, not knowing that he's hiding nearby. After Buquet's murder, Christine -- aboutChristine—about to take over the role of the Countess -- andCountess—and Raoul head to the roof to hide from the Phantom, share their first kiss together and declare their love...and the Phantom is privy to this all along. Is it any surprise that it's when Christine's taking her bow that night that the Phantom chooses to crash the chandelier?
** Not to mention "Think of Me". The entire song. ''"...Though it was always clear, that this was never meant to be..."'
* [[Gambit Pileup]]: At the beginning of the stage musical -- themusical—the change of the opera house's ownership means that ''everyone'' who wants things to change is trying to get a word in first. The Phantom's own machinations go unnoticed for some time because the new owners assume it's Raoul or one of the lesser players trying to stir up trouble.
* [[Gorgeous Period Dress]]: Everywhere you look.
* [[Grief Song]]: Both Christine ("Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again") and The Phantom ("All I Ask of You" Reprise).
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{{quote|'''Carlotta''': ''(to Andre and Firmin)'' Would you not rather have your precious little ingenue?}}
*** Signora, no, the world wants ''YOU!!!''
* [[In Name Only]]: Subverted with the 1989 slasher reimagining starring [[A Nightmare on Elm Street|Robert Englund]] as the title character. Many often mistake it for this given its nature as a gory slasher -- butslasher—but in actuality, it is much closer to the original novel than the famous musical (which itself at times borders on the trope), maintaining the sadism of Leroux's Erik which many adaptations tend to downplay.
** The [[Dario Argento]] version is very much an example of being ''The Phantom of the Opera'' in name only, starting with how The Phantom is not deformed and was raised by rats.
* [[Insistent Terminology]]: In the movie version of the musical, Gilles André would like to point out that he is in the business of ''scrap metal'', not junk.
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* [[Race Lift]]: Robert Guillame was cast as the Phantom during the first national tour. To this date, he is the only African-American actor to play the role.
* [[Rage Against the Reflection]]: Movie version only.
* [[Re Cut]]: The [http://www.phantomlasvegas.com/ Las Vegas sit-down production] at the Venetian Hotel and Casino (''Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular'') was trimmed to 95 minutes by Andrew Lloyd Webber and original director Harold Prince. Most of the songs are shortened, but only "Magical Lasso" is dropped, and the special effects are even more elaborate -- especiallyelaborate—especially those related to the chandelier.
* [[Satan]]: The Angel of Music is another name for The Devil. The Phantom is Milton-esque figure who lives underground in a freezing lake (a la Dante) coming up to enchant and abduct beautiful innocent maidens. He is an [[Expy]] for Lucifer.
* [[Scarpia Ultimatum]]: "His life is now the prize that you must earn. So, do you end your days with me, or do you send him to his grave?" Raoul throws this back in the Phantom's face with "Why make her lie to you to save me?"
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* [[The Song Before the Storm]]: "Prima Donna" and "Notes (reprise) - Twisted Every Way".
* [[Splash of Color]]: The 1925 Lon Chaney silent version is in black and white, except for the masked ball scene, which is presented in early Technicolor.
* [[Stylistic Suck]]: The three fictional operas performed in the course of the story (''Hannibal'', a parody of the grand late classical operas from the like of Meyerbeer and Gluck, ''Il Muto'', an obvious parody of Mozart -- orMozart—or one of that crowd -- andcrowd—and ''Don Juan Triumphant'', Sir Andrew's spoof on serialism in modern opera, overwrought with dissonance, and bathing in clichés.
* [[Tenor Boy]]: Raoul fits this trope, but note that the Phantom is also a tenor. Starting with the original London cast, in which Steve Barton (Raoul) was also Michael Crawford's (The Phantom's) understudy, it's common for Raoul's actor to understudy the Phantom's role, sometimes taking it over later.
* [[This Is as Far as I Go|This Is as Far as I Dare Go, Sir.]]
* [[Title Drop]]: Happens every five seconds...
* [[Torches and Pitchforks]]: The mob that chases after Erik at the end of the 1925 film--andfilm—and in the 2004 version.
* [[Torture Cellar]]: Book and movie only.
* [[Tragic Monster]]: The Phantom is the epitome of the trope when he isn't being played up as a [[Draco in Leather Pants]].
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