Classic Stories: The Phantom of the Opera
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Hello, my name's Tim. You might know today's story as a best-selling stage musical, but it was originally a novel about love, obsession, and the possibility of redemption.

Our tale begins in 1880 at the famous Palais Garnier Opera House in Paris. Its directors, Debien and Polini, are staging a gala to mark their retirement. But trouble is afoot. Some ballerinas have seen the so-called Phantom, a mysterious entity which haunts the theatre with its skull-like face and burning eyes.

More horrifying still, a stagehand is found dead, hanged by the neck, but without any sign of the rope. Carlotta, Palais Garnier's talented but vain lead soprano, is ill. Her replacement, Christine Daae, takes to the stage and triumphs.

Amongst the cheering audience is Viscount Raoul de Chagny, who recognises Christine as a childhood companion and visits her backstage. Waiting outside her dressing room, Raoul overhears a man declaring his love for her. When she leaves, he bursts in to confront the man, but the room is empty. MUSIC PLAYS

At this stage of the game, the action shifts to a seaside resort where Raoul and Christine spent their childhood. Raoul reminisces about Christine's late father, a violin player who used to tell them tales of the Angel of Music, a spirit that turns musicians into prodigies. Christine tells Raoul it was that very same Angel of Music who spoke to her in her dressing room.

Raoul laughs at this, saying she has been fooled, and she storms off furious. Christine visits her father's grave, and Raoul follows her, staying hidden. Seemingly from nowhere, violin music begins to play.

Raoul sees a mysterious figure and gives chase, thinking it must be the musician. The figure turns. Its face is terrifying. A skull with burning eyes. Raoul faints in horror.

Back in Paris, the Palaegani's new directors have received a letter from the Phantom demanding that unless Christine plays the lead role of Marguerite in Faust, a terrible curse will befall the opera house. However, Carlotta is determined not to let Christine upstage her again, so they ignore the threat, setting the stage for a disaster.

During her performance, Carlotta starts croaking like a toad. Is it just stage fright or something more sinister? Turns out it's only the first stage of the Phantom's Curse. Next, a chandelier crashes into the auditorium, killing an audience member, and Christine goes missing.

Raoul spots Christine at a masked ball, where she confesses her love for him, before disappearing again. Later, she meets Raoul on the theatre roof and explains everything. The Angel of Music and the Phantom are the same person, a man called Eric who wears a mask to conceal his disfigured face.

She has allowed her freedom on condition that she remain faithful to Eric. Raoul vows to take her to safety, but Eric has overheard everything and is enraged with jealousy. While Christine is performing in Faust, the Phantom appears on stage and drags her away. Raoul follows with the help of a man known simply as the Persian, who knows the secrets of the Palais Garnier.

Together, they descend into the bowels of the opera house and find Eric's secret lair. Eric threatens to blow up the opera house and kill everyone inside unless Christine marries him. Christine agrees, and Eric lifts his mask to kiss her. Instead of recoiling at his deformity, Christine kisses him back.

Eric begins to weep, explaining that he has never been kissed before, even by his own mother. Christine is moved to tears. Eric realises he cannot force her to marry him against her will. He releases all of them. Raoul and Christine elope, leaving Eric to die of a broken heart. An unsettling story. It's hard to know whether to fear the phantom or to pity him.

Whatever you thought, I hope you'll join me again soon for another classic story. Goodbye. Every child deserves a chance to learn, grow and thrive. But too often, families searching for autism therapy face long wait lists that delay the care their child needs. Early support matters. At Action Behavior Centers, your child can skip the wait.

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