The Phantom of the Opera- SPOILER WARNING

Okay, so this is probably my most recent fandom, and not that many people have heard of it. I’ve been in this fandom for a total of three weeks as of today, which is a short time compared to many other people, but I’m also younger than the musical itself. I also stole this idea from my “sister” Eruanna, so go to her blog middlehyrule.wordpress.com to read something like this with the musical Hamilton.

Wonder what it is? Well, just look at the title! It’s…The Phantom of the Opera! Let’s take a look at the plot. There will be spoilers.

Well, in short, it’s about a young girl named Christine Daae who finds herself as a mysterious man’s object of obsession. But there’s so much more than that! There’s love, adventure, moments that will terrify you out of your mind, and feels. Lots and lots of feels. Especially if you’re a Phantom/Christine shipper like myself. It was written by the amazing Andrew Lloyd Webber, who also wrote the hit musical Cats, though it was based on the book  by Gaston Leroux.

It starts off with a scene set in the future, once Christine has *chokes back sobs* died and Raoul is at an auction. Then a tarp gets ripped off a chandelier and it zooms back to the past to show the strange story of the Phantom and Christine. Act One is basically just normal stuff, happy songs, the occasional dramatic moment, etc. Act I ends with the reprise of All I Ask of You, which is about when the movie/ musical turns into a sobfest.

Act II takes place six months later, beginning with a masquerade ball. Now this is where it gets crazy/intense. There’s a new opera called Don Juan Triumphant, and he forces Christine into playing the lead. The Phantom shows up mid-opera and takes Christine back to his lair, leaving everyone to save her. It ends heartbreakingly when Christine goes with Raoul, which depressed me because I ship Christine/Phantom very very hard.

So, that’s enough about the plot. So much for a short explanation. Oopsies. Let’s take a look at the characters!

Naturally, we need to start with the titular character. By the way, all the images I’m using are from the 2004 movie directed by Joel Schumacher.

Oh my goodness, I love the Phantom. He’s amazing! Though, if you ask most people, he’s a homicidal maniac. This portrayal of him was done by Gerard Butler, who most of you might recognize as the man who shouted “THIS! IS! SPARTAAAAAA!!!” Yep. I ship him with Christine, and they’re just adorable, though noncanonical. Sob. He doesn’t really end up with anyone, which is fine because he has quadrillions of fangirls. Probably. He has a hard time making friends, which is why I see him as a sad lost puppy. He is an amazing singer and taught Christine how to use her voice. He was her Angel of Music. Okay, I’m going to stop talking about the Phantom/Erik until I cry for three years.

Ah, Christine. The beautiful, talented, amazing Christine, portrayed by Emmy Rossum, one of my favorite actresses because she’s just a small child who needs protection. She ends up with Raoul at the end of the movie, which is depressing for us Christine/Phantom shippers. The orphaned daughter of a Swedish violinist, she lived in the Opera Populaire for years, being taught to sing by the Phantom. She later becomes the object of  his adoration, and even goes down to his lair quite a few times. She sings in almost every song in the movie, save for Music of the Night, Prima Donna, and the reprise of All I Ask of You. In short, I love Christine, and I do look up to her for the ability to stay strong during troubles, though I do not appreciate her decision of marrying Raoul. And let’s not speak of what happens to her in Love Never Dies, mostly because I haven’t seen it. Though I do know that bad things happen…bad, bad, bad things. 

Now this small angel is Meg Giry. The blonde one, of course. She’s a ballet girl and the daughter of the amazing Madame Giry, one of my favorite characters. She’s also Christine’s best friend, which has to be amazing. Of course, she can be a bit overly curious sometimes, as seen when she went through the mirror after Christine. There’s also a line that she says toward the beginning that makes most people want her to shut up. Long story. I believe that Meg is one of the best singers in the movie, though they hardly ever give her anything to sing. I believe she only sings in Angel of Music, which makes me very sad. THEN SHE GOES COMPLETELY PSYCHO IN LOVE NEVER DIES. I WOULD KNOW BECAUSE I’M LISTENING TO THE SONG WHERE SHE GOES AND SHOOTS CHRISTINE! DO NOT LISTEN TO PLEASE MISS GIRY I WANT TO GO BACK IF YOU DON’T WANT YOUR HEART RIPPED OUT. She’s amazing in Phantom though…so…yeah. I love Meg. 

Madame Giry, who I’m not totally sure if she has a first name/ if it is ever explicitly stated. I know there’s something where it says her first name is Antoinette, but I’m not sure. I just refer to her as Madame Giry. Anyway, I should stop rambling about that. 

I adore Madame Giry and consider her an amazing mother to Meg. Other than the whole, ya know, going psycho thing. But that’s a story for once I’ve seen Love Never Dies. As of now I’ve mostly been talked to about it by my friend and listened to le soundtrack. But there are reasons that the corps de ballet at the Opera Populaire (no idea if I spelled that right, just saying) are the best. And it’s all because of Madame Giry. She’s so kind to everyone, especially the Phantom aka Erik, and refuses to betray him, even when Raoul is pestering her for information. Seriously, if Madame Giry was my ballet teacher, I’d probably still be taking dance. 

Ah yes, Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny. Personally, I dislike Raoul purely because he got in the way of my OTP and dislikes my favorite character, the Phantom. He’s my least favorite character, though I do still like him a bit. I just find flaws in his logic (point in question: Hey, remember me? We grew up together! Marry me!). I know that isn’t exactly how it went down, but that’s how I see it. I just prefer the Phantom. In every way. Feel free to question my logic. I like debating, especially fandom debating. Then there’s the path he takes in Love Never Dies. There is one song there that makes me pity him though…it’s called Why Does She Love Me. And it’s depressing. 

I do not like Carlotta. I do not like her one bit. Scratch what I said earlier. She’s my least favorite character in Phantom. Ugh! Minnie Driver’s acting was impeccable, but I just loathe Carlotta. She’s snobby and annoying and a brat. Not to mention that she went on a rampage. Christine is a much better singer than her. And she should have been replaced. That’s all I have to say about Carlotta. 

Andre and Firmin. Firmin and Andre. You can’t have one without the other. That’s why I grouped them together. I believe that Andre is the gray haired man and Firmin is the one with the Elvis hair. Don’t quote me on that. They’re hilarious, not the sharpest crayons in the box, and the source of one of Phantom’s most famous quotes, which happens to be “Far too many notes for my taste, and most of them about Christine!” 

Everyone seems to ship them, but I do not. I just think they are hilarious and slightly stupid managers who have no idea what they’re doing. 
Those are all the characters I’m going to talk about for now. If anyone notices that I’ve missed one, please let me know and I’ll add them in! 
Well, that’s all for now! See y’all at my next post, which will be a countdown of the best songs in Phantom. Warning: I’ll be doing the deluxe version of the soundtrack, which has about thirty songs on it.