In 1909, the first installment of Le Fantome de l’Opera was published in Paris, France. 82 years later, in 1991, a friend of mine played “Music of the Night” from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical Phantom of the Opera for me. In those 82 years, that little series became a book. First published in France in 1910, it was translated and published in English in 1911. In 1925, 14 years later, that story came alive on the silver screen with Lom Chaney, Sr. as the phantom. The story then went on to be redone over and over, including by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which then went on to become an international phenom.
On that evening in 1991, I became a Phantom of the Opera fan. In the years since, I’ve seen the Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical two times, seen a showing of Phantom of the Opera at a local dinner theater for my sweet 16 birthday, and read the novel at least a dozen times as well as other novels about Erik. I’ve based term papers and English class assignments on the story.
So, who am I? My name is Cathy, I live in the US, on the East Coast. I consider myself a huge fan of PTO. Unlike many who have seen the ALW musical dozens of times, I have neither the money nor the inclination to do the same. My love of the story is from the original book. So, while I am familiar with other versions of the story, and love some of them (Phantom by Susan Kay, for example), I’ve stuck strictly to the novel for my commentary.
Unfortunately, I do not know more than a tiny little bit of French, so my understanding of the novel has come through my reading of several different translations. As of 2013, there are six published translations and one being done and published in sections by Caitlin Freeman. You can find her ongoing translation at: F. de l’Opera
As I’ve compared translations myself and studied the text, I’ve brought the ideas I’ve had about PTO from the back of my mind and into (virtual) print. Erik’s Opera is a site born out of my love of this story and my thoughts. With the exception of my previous works – the schoolwork I mentioned above – this site is dedicated to the original novel. Some of the commentary will be about my opinion of the differences in translations themselves, as one version of English over another.
Secondly, in addition to sticking to the original novel, I have also limited my reading of others’ commentary and/or analysis of the story. I want to be sure that my thoughts are not influenced by anyone else’s ideas. Here and there I have checked on a matter of historical fact (like when determining the year the story takes place) or other matters of fact (such as information on the school system in France). But, I have not consulted any other works. This includes history books or essays that may give the background/basis for material in the book. I know it is out there, and I have some of it in my personal collection. However, I’ve avoided reading this as well while writing my own analysis.
Basically, I wanted to remain as impartial as possible to outside influences on my ideas about the novel. My 6 published translations, tidbits I’ve picked up from reading Ms. Freeman’s comments and translation, and my own life experience are all that I’ve used to write the comments and analysis on this site.
What else can I tell you about me? I have a BA in Biology – which has nothing to do with PTO. No – wait – it does. My final semester of college, I did one paper for my Abnormal Psychology class, and another paper for my Senior Thesis class on PTO, or more specifically, Erik. The paper for my Psych class was about him specifically, and what kind of personality disorder I thought he had. FYI – Antisocial Personality Disorder. For my senior thesis, I focused on gifted individuals – completely inspired by Erik’s musical genius, although it doesn’t reference him directly. You’ll eventually find both of those on this site.
I’m a writer, although so far, I’ve only been published online. I’ve been writing fiction for as long as I can remember. For many reasons, this is why I went a little crazy in High School with an English class assignment. Again, eventually, that will be on this site as well.
Lastly, I’m married, with three cats, but no human children.