Erik (The Phantom of the Opera)

Erik, the Phantom of the Opera
L-R Cover of the original edition of Le Fantôme de l'Opéra; Lon Chaney in the 1925 film; Claude Rains as "Erique Claudin" in the 1943 film; Michael Crawford as the Phantom in a still for the 1986 musical
Characters Adapted from Other Works
First Appearance:	The Phantom of the Opera
Creator:	Gaston Leroux
Nationality:	French resident of Persia, later stateless
Date of Birth:	19th century
Date of Death:	1880s
Cause of Death:	Broken heart
Occupation:	Composer, Inventor, Engineer, Architect, Circus Performer
Appearing in:

"The Great White Way" by Laura Frankos Set in OTL
Type of Appearance:	Direct
Species:	VR avatar
Cause of Death:	Shot to death

Erik, also known as The Phantom of the Opera, is the title character from Gaston Leroux's novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra (1909), best in English as The Phantom of the Opera. The character has been adapted to alternate media several times, including in the 1925 film adaptation starring Lon Chaney, the 1943 remake starring Claude Rains, and the 1986 musical play by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which has been repeatedly staged and filmed.

In the original novel, Erik was born with a substantial physical deformity that gives him a corpse-like appearance. In time, he became a skilled architect and engineer, even building a trick palace for a Shah of Persia. When the Shah ordered Erik's death to keep his palace's secrets, Erik fled with the help of a daroga (known in the novel simply as "The Persian"), arrived in Paris, and helped build the Opera House. He also created a secret living area for himself beneath the building. During the novel, Erik falls in love with talented singer Christine Daaé, and seeks to win her love through force. Ultimately, after threatening to murder her lover Raoul and the Persian, Erik gives her up, and then quietly dies of a broken heart.

The novel has been filmed and performed many times, often with substantial changes to Erik (including his name) and the narrative, although his unrequited love for a talented singer remains the core of the tale. Some adaptations, including the Chaney film and the Webber musical, probably have shaped public perceptions of the tale at least as much as the original novel.

Erik in "The Great White Way"

The Phantom of the Opera was a leading character in Brent Birley's troop of Webberites created for the virtual reality battle against Trina Hutchinson's Sondheads. Birley purposefully crafted his Phantom in the image of Michael Crawford's 1986 performance, as opposed to any other interpretation.

Erik in The Man With the Iron Heart

Upon hearing the enthusiastic applause given to a speech by Secretary of State James Byrnes, Diana McGraw concluded that Byrnes must have had the hypnotic prowess of the Phantom of the Opera.

See also

• Erik the Phantom at the Phantom of the Opera wiki.