The man who created the Phantom of the Opera

By Peter Haining, September 1986

Gaston Leroux, the versatile French author who created The
Phantom of the Opera, was a man with an abiding passion for the theatre and it seems
appropriate that after years of struggle, writing newspaper reviews and a number of
unsuccessful plays, he should have left his mark on literature with a novel about an
extraordinary episode in the history of Frances greatest opera house!
"dmittedly, it has taken the magic of the cinema, and the art of the dramatist to familiari#e the
public with The Phantom of the Opera, but Leroux also managed to capture in his pages the
atmosphere of the times he was writing about $ the latter part of the nineteenth century when
France was rampant with belief in the supernatural and the spirit world!
%orn in Paris in &'(', Gaston Leroux is himself as interesting as his story! Photographs reveal
him to have been a big, rather plump man with slicked back dark hair and a moustache, who
dressed fashionably and sported a gold pince)ne#! *e was evidently a flamboyant character and
once claimed that his family were directly descended from +illiam the ,on-ueror!
"lthough his literary inclinations put him at the top of his class, when his father decided that he
was to become a lawyer, Gaston changed from an energetic pupil to an idle student! The theatre
was obviously gripping his imagination and, it is not surprising that after he finally completed
his legal study and was called to the bar as a probationer, he continued to write in his spare
time!
*owever, the course of his life was changed when his father died suddenly and left him heir to a
fortune of almost one million francs! "t once, Gaston abandoned the law and flung himself into
a round of gambling, .poker was his particular vice/ and pleasure in the colorful society of Paris!
0n less than a year he had s-uandered his inheritance!
1ot downhearted, Leroux begged a 2ob on LEcho de Pari in &'34 and was asked to combine his
knowledge of the law and love of the theater as court reporter and drama critic5 0t was as an
investigative reporter that Leroux found the greatest satisfaction at this period of his life! *is
paper allowed him to probe suspected malpractice in the local police force and public
administration and his hard)hitting reports not only exposed several corrupt officials but also
made his name as a 2ournalist!
This passport to adventure took him from Finland, south to the ,aspian 6ea, through 0taly,
7gypt and 8orocco, fre-uently disguising himself in order to be able to witness events at first
hand!
The strain on his health and a natural enough desire to settle down with his family made him
give up the footloose life of a roving correspondent and become a novelist! *is first books were
unashamed pot)boilers, full of blood and thunder! Then, in &349, he used his admiration for
7dgar "llan Poe and 6ir "rthur ,onan :oyle to develop a young detective, ;oseph <ouletabille,
who solved a seemingly impossible crime committed in a locked room! The book was called The
!ytery of the "e##o$ %oom!
0n &3&& he published Le &ant'me de #Op(ra, introducing it to his readers by explaining how he
carried out his own en-uiries into the strange events that had occurred in the famous Opera
*ouse in the &''4s! *e tells of how he visited the huge underground lake where the Phantom
hid and even stumbled upon the skeletons of =some poor wretches who had been massacred
under the ,ommune in the cellars of the Opera!>
*owever, sales of the book were only moderate and the reviews $ such as they were $ were
disappointing! The only kind of public interest seems to have been generated by the seriali#ation
of the story in French, 7nglish and "merican newspapers with suitably graphic illustrations of
the Phantom stalking the dimly lit caverns of the Opera *ouse! 0t was to be the reading of this
serial by a researcher for ?niversal Pictures which set in motion the chain of events which were
to bring the The Phantom of the Opera to the screen for the first time in &3@A and make a star of
Lon ,haney 6nr!
Tragically, Leroux did not live to see the full triumph of his Opera story, though it is believed he
did visit the cinema in Paris to see the ?niversal film in &3@(! *e was by then in failing health
and died of uraemia on &A "pril &3@9! *e was A3 years old and had written over sixty novels,
none of which had made him rich! Today, copies of most are difficult to find aside from The
Phantom of the Opera and The !ytery of the "e##o$ %oom!
0n the three -uarters of a century of his existence, the Phantom had undeniably over)shadowed
his creator and, at the same time, become a familiar term in everyday use! +hat a wry smile that
would surely have given the former 2ournalist and theatre lover after all these years5
%0OG<"P*B
Gaston Louis "lfred Leroux .( 8ay &'(' $ &A "pril &3@9/ was a French 2ournalist and author of
detective fiction! 0n the 7nglish)speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel The
Phantom of the Opera .Le FantCme de lDOpEra, &3&4/, which has been made into several film
and stage productions of the same name, notably the &3@A film starring Lon ,haneyF and
"ndrew Lloyd +ebberDs &3'( musical!
Gaston Louis "lfred Leroux was born in Paris in &'('! *e went to school in 1ormandy and
studied law in Paris, graduating in &''3! *e inherited millions of francs and lived wildly until he
nearly reached bankruptcy! 6ubse-uently in &'34, he began working as a court reporter and
theater critic for LDGcho de Paris! *is most important 2ournalism came when he began working
as an international correspondent for the Paris newspaper Le 8atin! 0n &34A, he was present at,
and covered, the <ussian <evolution!
"nother case he was present at involved the investigation and in)depth coverage of the former
Paris Opera .presently housing the Paris %allet/!H@I The basement contained a cell that held
prisoners of the Paris ,ommune!Hcitation neededI
*e suddenly left 2ournalism in &349, and began writing fiction! 0n &343, he and "rthur %ernJde
formed their own film company, 6ociEtE des ,inEromans to publish novels simultaneously and
turn them into films! *e first wrote a mystery novel entitled Le mystJre de la chambre 2aune
.&34'F The 8ystery of the Bellow <oom/, starring the amateur detective ;oseph <ouletabille!
LerouxDs contribution to French detective fiction is considered a parallel to ,onan :oyleK6ir
"rthur ,onan :oyleIIDs in the ?nited Lingdom and 7dgar "llan PoeDs in the ?nited 6tates!
THINK OF ME LYRICS
Christine:
Think of me, think of me fondly,
When we've said goodbye.
Remember me once in a while -
Please romise me yo!'ll try.
When yo! find that, once
"gain, yo! long to take yo!r heart back and be free -
#f yo! ever find a moment
$are a tho!ght for me...
%Transformation to the &ala. Christine is revealed in f!ll cost!me.'
We never said o!r love was evergreen,
(r as !nchanging as the sea -
)!t if yo! can still remember,
$to and think of me...
Think of all the things
We've shared and seen -
*on't think abo!t the way
things might have been...
Think of me, think of me waking silent and resigned
#magine me, trying too hard to !t yo! from my mind
Recall those days, look back on all those times
Thinks of the things, we'll never do
There will never be a day, when # won't think of yo!
Rao!l:
Can it be+
Can it be Christine+
)ravo,
-ong ago, it's seems so long ago,
how yo!ng and inocent we were
$he may not remember me,
b!t # remember her...
Christine:
.lowers fade, the fr!its the s!mmer fade,
they have yo!r seasons so do we
b!t lease romise me, that sometimes
yo! will think...
%Christine vocali/es'
...of me,
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
%Christine'
#n slee he sang to me, in dreams he came,
That voice which calls to me,
"nd seaks my name.
"nd do # dream again+ .or now # find
The Phantom of the (era is here
#nside my mind.
%Phantom'
$ing once again with me o!r strange d!et0
1y ower over yo! grows stronger yet.
"nd tho!gh yo! t!rn from me to glance behind,
The Phantom of the (era is there
#nside yo!r mind.
%Christine'
Those who have seen yo!r face
*raw back in fear.
# am the mask yo! wear,
%Phantom'
#t's me they hear.
%Christine 2 Phantom'
3o!r sirit and my voice in one combined0
The Phantom of the (era is %Christine'here %Phantom'there
#nside %Christine'my %Phantom'yo!r mind.
45oices:6
7e's there the Phantom of the (era.
)eware the hantom of the oera.
%Phantom'
#n all yo!r fantasies, yo! always knew
That man and mystery
%Christine'
Were both in yo!.
%Christine 2 Phantom'
"nd in this labyrinth where night is blind,
The Phantom of the oera is %Christine'here %Phantom'there
#nside %Christine'my %Phantom'yo!r mind.
%Phantom'
$ing, my angel...
$ing, my angel of m!sic,
%Christine'
7e's there,the Phantom of the (era
%5ocali/a89o'
%Phantom'
$ing, to me,