The Phantom of the Opera (Oxford World's Classics)
Page 3
NOTE ON THE TEXT
Le Fantôme de l’Opéra was first published in the daily newspaper, Le Gaulois, between 23 September 1909 and 8 January 1910. It was issued in sixty-six instalments and the text was divided into twenty-nine chapters plus the Epilogue. For publication in volume form, Leroux made a number of revisions. The text published by Pierre Lafitte (Paris, February 1910, with five illustrations by André Castaigne, 510 pp.) runs to twenty-seven numbered chapters, two fewer. The difference is explained by the misnumbering of the eighth chapter in Le Gaulois as ‘Chapter 9’ and the suppression of Chapter 12. Entitled ‘L’Enveloppe magique’ (‘The Magic Envelope’), it shows Mme Giry being interviewed by Richard and Moncharmin. Relevant parts of the excised text are incorporated in the final version of an expanded Chapter 17.
Most of the other changes are minor, involving cuts (and more rarely additions) which tighten the narrative, add to the suspense, or remove general observations or repetition of information available elsewhere, such as the insistence that while Debienne is a generous man Poligny is an astute but grasping man of business. The only significant change is the early appearance of the Persian in Chapter 8: see note to p. 80. Leroux’s revisions, designed to clarify and prune, reduce the serialized text by about 6 per cent.
There is no standard edition of Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. Apart from minor misprints, all published editions have been the same since 1910. The text used for this translation is that republished by François Lacassin in his omnibus presentation of four novels by Leroux in the series ‘Bouquins’: Œuvres (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1984) (pp. 17–201).
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alfu, Gaston Leroux: Parcours d’une œuvre (Amiens: Encrage, 1996).
Anon., ‘The New Opera House in Paris’, Manufacturer and Builder, (July 1875), 154.
Apthorp, William F., ‘[Paris] Theatres and Concerts II: The Opera, The Opera Comique and the Conservatoires’, Scribner’s Magazine, 3 (March 1892), 350–65.
Europe, 626–7 (June – July 1981).
Falluke-elskeren, ‘Translations of Gaston Leroux’s original novel’, www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/article/view.../25
Flynn, John, Phantoms of the Opera: The Face Behind the Mask (East Meadows, NY: Image, 1993).
Hogle, Jerrold E., ‘The Underground of the Phantom of the Opera: Sublimation and the Gothic in Leroux’s Novel and Its Progeny’ (New York: Palgrave, 2002).
Husson-Casta, Isabelle, Le Travail de l’‘obscure clarté’ dans Le Fantôme de l’Opéra de Gaston Leroux (Paris: Lettres Modernes, 1997).
Lacassin, Francis, À la recherché de l’empire caché: mythologie du roman populaire (Paris: Julliard, 1991).
——— Preface to Gaston Leroux, Œuvres (Paris: Laffont, 1984) (includes chronology, bibliography, filmography, telefilmography, and important documents).
Lamy, Jean-Claude, ‘Gaston Leroux ou le vrai Rouletabille’, in Gaston Leroux, Histoires épouvantables (Paris: Baudinière, 1977).
Mini-Minuit fantastique, 23 (1970) and 24 (1971).
Peské, Antoinette, and Marty, Pierre, Les Terribles (Paris: Chambriand, 1951).
Roudaut, Jean, ‘Gaston Leroux en relief’, Critique, 164 (Jan. 1961), 19–36.
Wolf, Leonard, The Essential Phantom of the Opera (New York: Plume, 1996).
www.gaston-leroux.net (official website, in French).
www.thephantomoftheopera.com (a good starting point for information and views).
Further Reading in Oxford World’s Classics
Du Maurier, George, Trilby, ed. Elaine Showalter.
Poe, Edgar Allan, Selected Tales, ed. David Van Leer.
A CHRONOLOGY OF GASTON LEROUX
1862
Work begins on the construction of the new Paris Opera House, designed by Charles Garnier.
1868
(6 May) Birth in Paris of Gaston-Louis-Alfred Leroux, son of a well-to-do Norman builder and the daughter of a court official from Fécamp. (13 June) Rouen, marriage of his parents.
1870
(July) Outbreak of Franco-Prussian War. (Sept.) Fall of Sedan and declaration of the Third Republic.
1870-1
(Autumn-Winter) Siege of Paris.
1871
(18 Mar.) the Paris Commune proclaimed. (22-28 May) ‘La Semaine sanglante’, during which 20,000 Communards are killed.
1873
(29 Oct.) La Salle Lepeletier, the current theatre for opera and ballet, burns down, making the need for its replacement more urgent.
1875
(15 Jan.) A gala concert is held to inaugurate the new Opera House, also known as the Salle or Palais Garnier.
1878
Birth of Jeanne-Madeleine Cayatte, second wife of Gaston Leroux, and of Joseph (‘Jo’), his youngest brother, who becomes a singer and actor.
1880
(Oct.) Leroux becomes a pupil at a boarding school at Eu, near Dieppe.
1886
(29 July) Passes his bacalauréat exams. (Oct.) Begins his law studies in Paris where he publishes his first poems and short articles.
1887
Writes his first story, Le Petit Marchand de pommes de terre frites.
1889
(30 Oct.) Graduates from law school. (Nov.-Dec.) Military service at Le Mans.
1890
(22 Jan.) Called to the Bar. He practises law, without enthusiasm, until 1893.
1891
(Dec.) Meets Robert Charvay, a journalist on L’Écho de Paris to which he contributes a handful of sonnets.
1893
Gives up his law practice.
1894
(10 Jan.) For the newspaper Paris, Leroux covers the trial of the anarchist Auguste Vaillant. His reports catch the eye of the editor of Le Matin which employs him first as its legal correspondent for ten years then as a parliamentary correspondent and theatre critic. In addition he covers a range of social, cultural, and foreign affairs for over a decade. (8 Feb.) Becomes a member of the Paris legal press association. (Apr. and Aug.) Reports the trials and executions of other bomb-throwing anarchists.
1896
(20 May) Part of the supporting mechanism of the central chandelier of the auditorium of the Paris Opera House falls, killing one spectator.
1897
(17 Apr.) Le Turc-au-Mans, a 1-act play by ‘Gaston Larive’ (pseudonym of Gaston Leroux) and his youngest brother Jo. (17 Aug.) Is one of the six journalists who accompany President Félix Faure on an official visit to Russia. (5 Dec.) Start of serialization of L’Homme de la nuit, by ‘Gaston Larive’, Leroux’s first novel.
1898
(Feb.) Covers the trial of Émile Zola, author of ‘J’Accuse’.
1899
(10 May) Marries Marie Lefranc. (Aug.) Covers the trial of Dreyfus at Rennes.
1900
Brief visit to Stockholm.
1901
Appointed chief reporter for Le Matin. (13 Feb.) Becomes theatre critic of Le Matin. (Feb.) Visit to Saintes-Maries-des-Mers, in the Camargue, where he meets members of the Romany community.
1902
(24 Jan.) Having witnessed the execution of criminals whose trials he had reported, he declares his opposition to capital punishment. (26 Jan.) Appointed Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur for services to journalism. (Mar.) Returning from an assignment for Le Matin in Italy, he meets Jeanne Cayatte in a Swiss hotel. His wife, née Marie Lefranc, refuses him a divorce. (Sept.) In Le Matin, Leroux highlights the scandal of infant mortality caused by bad and adulterated milk. Discovers Sherlock Holmes in stories published in Le Français.
1904
(Jan.) Travels to Madeira for Le Matin to meet the Nordenskjold expedition on its return from Antarctica. (1 Apr.) Travels to Port Said to meet the surviving Russian sailors who had escaped massacre at Chemulpo in Korea where they had been attacked by the Japanese fleet. (24-29 Apr.) Reports on the visit of President Loubet to Italy. (Jun.-Nov.) Lives in St Petersburg as special correspondent for Le Matin; begins work on his play La Maison des jug
es. (25–31 Dec.) On assignment in Morocco where he dresses as an Arab and hears shots fired in anger.
1905
(Feb.) Leaves for Russia, with Jeanne Cayatte (who speaks Russian). He remains for a year and reports on the 1905 Revolution. He again faces bullets in the working-class district of Presnia in Moscow, when the barricades are stormed. (15 Mar.) First of a series of articles on the Revolution later collected and published as L’Agonie de la Russie blanche (The Death-Throes of White Russia) in 1928. (31 July) Birth of a son, André-Gaston (d. 1970), in St Petersburg.
1906
(Mar.) Returns from Russia.
1907
(26 Jan.) First of ten performances of his play, La Maison des Juges, at André Antoine’s Théâtre de l’Odéon. (Autumn) Resigns from Le Matin after a disagreement with its autocratic proprietor, Maurice Bunau-Varilla. (7 Sept.) Start of publication of Le Mystère de la chambre jaune which makes his name.
1908
(May) First reference, in a letter, to plans for Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. (30 June) Birth of a daughter, Madeleine (d. 1984). (1 Aug.) American translation of The Mystery of the Yellow Room reviewed in the New York Times. (26 Sept.) Announces as ‘in preparation’, Rouletabille chez le Czar, Le Roi Mystère, and Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. (24 Oct.) Reconciliation with Le Matin which starts to serialize Le Roi Mystère. (18 Dec.) Le Lys, play in 4 acts by Pierre Wolff and Gaston Leroux, has a run of 85 performances at the Théâtre de Vaudeville.
1909
Moves to the Côte d’Azur, first at Menton, before settling permanently in Nice. (Apr.) A letter mentions the progress of his novel, Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. (23 Sept.-8 Jan. 1910) Serialization of Le Fantôme de l’Opéra in Le Gaulois. (6 Dec.) Review in the New York Times of a production in Washington of The Lily, an adaptation of Le Lys.
1910
(Feb.) Lafitte publishes Le Fantôme de l’Opéra in volume form, with illustrations by André Castaigne.
1911
Publication of The Phantom of the Opera, translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (London: Mills and Boon), followed quickly by American and Canadian editions. (17 Dec.) L’Homme qui a vu le diable, a play in two acts, performed at the Théâtre du Grand-Guignol.
1913
(7 Mar.) Release date of Balaôô, directed by Victorien Jasset, the first of the many films based on his novels. (8 Mar.) Alsace, a play in 3 acts, written in collaboration with Lucien Camille, performed at the Théâtre Réjane; the cast includes Jo Leroux. (7 Apr.) First appearance, in Le Matin, of Chéri-Bibi.
1914
(Dec.) Rejected as unfit for service from the general mobilization.
1916
(9 Nov.) Release date of L’Homme qui vient de loin, film produced and directed by René Navarre who also played the lead.
1917
(1 Mar.) Obtains divorce from Marie Lefranc. (14 June) Marries Jeanne Cayatte.
1918
(Jan.) La Gare régulatrice, a comedy in 3 acts, in collaboration with Yves Mirande, at the Théâtre de la Scala.
1919
(23 Apr.) Chéri-Bibi makes his screen debut in La Nouvelle Aurore, a 16-episode serial written for Navarre’s production company; simultaneously published in instalments in Le Matin (18 Apr.). (30 Sept.) With Navarre and Arthur Bernède, Leroux launches the Société des Cinéromans which has studios and offices in Nice.
1920
(11 July) In an article in Le Petit Niçois, he defends popular crime fiction and thrillers against Marcel Prévost, a leading exponent of the ‘psychological’ novel.
1922
(Mar.) Release date of feature-length Il était deux petits enfants: one of the children is played by Leroux’s daughter, Madeleine. Leroux withdraws from the Société des Cinéromans when it is taken over. Meets Carl Laemmle who secures his agreement for a film of Le Fantôme de l’Opéra.
1923
Ends his long association with the publisher Pierre Lafitte.
1925
(Mar.) Release of The Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney. The film is banned in Britain until 1928.
1927
(Apr.) Death of Gaston Leroux.
1943
The Phantom of the Opera, made in Hollywood, starring Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy.
1962
The Phantom of the Opera, made in London, starring Herbert Lom.
1977
Founding of Le Cercle Gaston Leroux, which, until 1981 when it closed, published a bulletin of studies of Leroux’s life and works.
1978
(17 May) Unveiling of a commemorative plaque at Gaston Leroux’s last address, 25 Boulevard Gambetta, in Nice.
1986
The Phantom of the Opera, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
2005
The Phantom of the Opera, a film by Joel Schumacher, of the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
2010
Love Never Dies, a sequel to the 1986 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
TO MY BROTHER JO
Who, though he is not at all ghostly, is nevertheless,
like Erik, an Angel of Music*
Affectionately,
Gaston Leroux
CONTENTS
FOREWORD In which the author of this strange tale tells the reader how he came to be absolutely convinced that there truly was a Phantom of the Opera
1 Was it the Ghost?
2 The New Marguerite
3 In which Messrs Debienne and Poligny, for the first time, secretly make the Opera’s new Directors, Messrs Armand Moncharmin and Firmin Richard, party to their real, hidden reason for resigning from the National Academy of Music
4 Box 5
5 Box 5 (Continued)
6 The Magic Violin
7 A Visit to Box 5
8 In which Messrs Firmin Richard and Armand Moncharmin have the audacity to stage Faust in an ill-fated theatre with catastrophic results
9 The Mysterious Carriage
10 The Masked Ball
11 Forget the Name of the Man with the Voice
12 Above the Traps
13 Apollo’s Lyre
14 A Masterstroke from the King of Traps
15 A Strange Request for a Safety Pin
16 ‘Christine! Christine!’
17 Mme Giry’s amazing revelations of her personal dealings with the Phantom of the Opera
18 More about the Strange Request for a Safety Pin
19 The Police Inspector, the Viscount and the Persian
20 The Viscount and the Persian
21 In the Belly of the Opera
22 Concerning the interesting and instructive ordeals undergone by the Persian in the belly of the Opera
23 Inside the Torture Chamber
24 The Torture Begins
25 ‘Any old barrels!… Barrels!… Any old barrels for sale?’
26 Scorpion or Grasshopper? Which is it to be?
27 The End of the Phantom’s Love Story
EPILOGUE
FOREWORD
In which the author of this strange tale tells the reader how he came to be absolutely convinced that there truly was a Phantom of the Opera
THERE truly was a Phantom of the Opera. He was not, as was long thought, a figment of the imagination of artists, the product of the superstitious minds of theatre managements, or some fanciful will-o’-the-wisp created by the empty heads of the young ladies of the corps de ballet, their mothers, assorted box-attendants, cloakroom girls and the stage-door keeper.
Oh yes! He existed all right, a creature of flesh and blood, though he strove hard to give the impression that he was a genuine phantom, in other words a ghost.
From the moment I began trawling through the archives of the National Academy of Music,* I was struck by the startling way that phenomena attributed to the phantom seemed to coincide with certain very mysterious, fantastic incidents which had taken place. It was not long before I had come round to thinking that, in rational terms, it might well be possible t
o explain the latter by the former. The incidents in question did not go back more than thirty years and, even today, it would not be hard to find respectable, elderly habitués of the foyer of the ballet* whose word is not to be doubted, who could remember as if it were yesterday the mysterious and tragic circumstances surrounding the abduction of Christine Daaé, the disappearance of the Viscount de Chagny and the death of Count Philippe, his older brother, whose body was found on the bank of the lake which lies beneath the Opera on the Rue Scribe side. Yet thus far it had never occurred to any of these witnesses that there might be a link between those appalling events and the almost legendary figure of the Phantom of the Opera.