Classic Starts: The Phantom of the Opera (Classic Starts Series)

The actors, singers, and patrons of the Paris Opera House say that a ghost haunts the labyrinthine chambers beneath its stage. While there are those who laugh off such superstitions, they always do so nervously, in the bright light of day. Nearly everyone connected with the Opera House in any way has felt the phantom's vague, troubling presence. But beautiful, talented young singer Christine Daae will soon experience a terror far more acute than any vague feeling of unease. For she is about to learn the secret of why the man who has made the tunnels beneath Paris his private domain must forever hide his face behind a mask.

Part horror story, part historical romance, and part detective thriller, the timeless tale of a masked, disfigured musical genius who lives beneath the Paris Opera House is familiar to millions of readers, as well as to movie and theatre-goers. At the heart of the story's long-standing popularity lies its questioning of a universal theme: the relationship between outward appearance and the beauty of darkness of the human soul.

Annotation

Under the Paris Opera House lives a disfigured musical genius who uses music to win the love of a beautiful opera singer.

Editorial Reviews

The phantom of the Opera was written in 1910 by Gaston Leroux who was inspired to tell the story of a disfigured masked musical genius who lived beneath the Paris Opera House and tried to win the love of a beautiful opera singer through his own love of music. Author Donnelly has adapted this classic story for young readers through the use of dialogue and nineteen distinct chapters that move the story along. The beginning chapter is entitled "Is It the Ghost?" It introduces the mysterious figure whom witnesses say inhabits the Opera House. In this case, six young girls of the ballet are frightened by a phantom that appears in black evening clothes and then disappears as soon as he is seen. In the second chapter entitled "The New Opera Star," the reader is introduced to Christine Daae, the girl who will become the Phantom's object of love. In the audience that night, another man named Raoul is captivated by Christine's voice. He goes to her dressing room to meet her, but Christine is exhausted from singing and sends him away. Raoul listens at the door and hears a man speaking. He had just been in there and had seen no one. In the following chapters, the mystery continues. Raoul is determined to find out to whom Christine has been speaking and why she seems to be so drained after singing her heart out on stage. The story continues, filled with secrets, mysterious appearances and disappearances. Raoul will not be satisfied until he saves Christine from the spell the Phantom of the Opera has woven around her. Christine is drawn to this man who lives beneath the Opera House and inspires her to sing as she has never done before. The men battle for the heart and soul of beautiful Christine. Thisis an easy-to-read version of a classic love story that has been made into movies and plays. Included are clear, sharp, black and white illustrations. 2005, ABDO Publishing Company, Ages 10 to 12.

About The Author:

Gaston Leroux, French journalist and writer of suspense fiction, was born in Paris in 1868. His experiences as a crime reporter and war correspondent for a French newspaper gave him the background to create his popular novels. He was one of the originators of the detective story, and his young fictional detective, Joseph Rouletabile, was the forerunner of many reporter-detective characters in modern fiction. Two of Leroux’s best-known mysteries are The Perfume of the Lady in Black and The Mystery of the Yellow Room, which is considered one of the finest “locked room” mysteries ever written. A second series of suspense adventures featured an old rascal named Cheri-Bibi. But Leroux’s most enduring work is, of course, The Phantom of the Opera, which was first published in 1910. Leroux died in Nice, France, in 1927.