Prologue
I was born in darkness, shunned by all those around me including my own mother. If not for the power of my voice even at such a young age I would have been shut up in the attic bedroom and have been forgotten about completely. I studied architecture and music among a variety of other fields thanks to the priest who was determined to keep me from the devil. I ran away when I was eight years old after the village killed my beloved dog and stabbed me in an attempt to kill me as well. Desperate for food I stumbled upon a Gypsy camp where I was locked in a cage and forced to perform. My time there was horrid. When I first came to be there I was beaten so severely it is a wonder I survived. As time went on I accepted my fate and the beatings were less frequent and I was allowed a tent of my own instead of that degrading cage but was always under close watch by my master, Javet. I later escaped and traveled abroad performing my magic and singing so that I could eat.
Around the age of fourteen, I was befriended by a master mason who took me in and treated me like his own son. After the time I spent with him I went back to performing abroad and ended up in Russia where Nadir tracked me down per orders from the shah of Persia. I went with him willingly and became quite a powerful man. Too powerful it seemed since there had been one attempt on my life and once the shah's palace was finished poor Nadir was ordered to arrest me. Nadir risked his own life to save me.
After fleeing Persia, I went to Belgium and started my own business designing and building houses for rich people who did not mind my eccentric ways. After many months I gave in to the urge to go back to the house I was born in. I found that my mother had stayed there all these years and had recently died. Funny, in death you could actually see a family resemblance.
It was in that house that I discovered that there was to be a Paris Opera House built and I decided that I would be a part of that. I had always wished to design such a splendid place where I could combine my love for architecture and my even stronger love for music. Sadly, it was too late for me to design it myself but it was not too late for me to build it. I spent the next fifteen years of my life laboring away almost nonstop until it was completed. I had added my own alterations to it along the way. A secret passage here, a trap door there, a house beyond the lake in the fifth cellar where I could get away from the world above. After it was complete I no longer felt the need to build and chose to spend the remainder of my days on this earth below the Opera House. There was one small matter that required my attention though. Alas, I have a bit of an expensive taste which required funding. Therefore, I became the Opera Ghost, the Phantom, if you will. Twenty thousand francs and box five was all I asked for in return for my services... After all, what is an opera house without an opera ghost? I was later reacquainted with Nadir whom had moved here after being released from jail and exiled from Persia. He was the one person who knew that I was the Opera Ghost. He insisted on meeting with me once a week to make sure I behaved myself. Truth was, Nadir was lonely and as much as I hate to admit it I looked forward to those meetings.
Things were going well until I heard Christine sing. But it was not her voice that drew me to her. It was her beauty. I remember when I first heard her sing. I thought of how perfect an instrument she possessed but she did not put any feeling into it. I planned to look at her so that I would never make the mistake of listening to her sing again. That, my friend, was a mistake. As soon as I laid eyes on her I became obsessed with her. I could not get her face or her voice out of my head. It was then that I decided to set up a system of communication between us. I became her Angel of Music and taught her how to put feeling into that near perfect instrument she possessed. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, a childhood friend appeared and interfered with my plans of winning her love. I loved her. I was willing to do anything she asked of me. I offered her my heart but she chose that blasted boy instead of me. Upon her leaving me I gave up all hope of ever finding a woman who would love me for who I am and not what I look like. Or so I thought...
I was born in darkness, shunned by all those around me including my own mother. If not for the power of my voice even at such a young age I would have been shut up in the attic bedroom and have been forgotten about completely. I studied architecture and music among a variety of other fields thanks to the priest who was determined to keep me from the devil. I ran away when I was eight years old after the village killed my beloved dog and stabbed me in an attempt to kill me as well. Desperate for food I stumbled upon a Gypsy camp where I was locked in a cage and forced to perform. My time there was horrid. When I first came to be there I was beaten so severely it is a wonder I survived. As time went on I accepted my fate and the beatings were less frequent and I was allowed a tent of my own instead of that degrading cage but was always under close watch by my master, Javet. I later escaped and traveled abroad performing my magic and singing so that I could eat.
Around the age of fourteen, I was befriended by a master mason who took me in and treated me like his own son. After the time I spent with him I went back to performing abroad and ended up in Russia where Nadir tracked me down per orders from the shah of Persia. I went with him willingly and became quite a powerful man. Too powerful it seemed since there had been one attempt on my life and once the shah's palace was finished poor Nadir was ordered to arrest me. Nadir risked his own life to save me.
After fleeing Persia, I went to Belgium and started my own business designing and building houses for rich people who did not mind my eccentric ways. After many months I gave in to the urge to go back to the house I was born in. I found that my mother had stayed there all these years and had recently died. Funny, in death you could actually see a family resemblance.
It was in that house that I discovered that there was to be a Paris Opera House built and I decided that I would be a part of that. I had always wished to design such a splendid place where I could combine my love for architecture and my even stronger love for music. Sadly, it was too late for me to design it myself but it was not too late for me to build it. I spent the next fifteen years of my life laboring away almost nonstop until it was completed. I had added my own alterations to it along the way. A secret passage here, a trap door there, a house beyond the lake in the fifth cellar where I could get away from the world above. After it was complete I no longer felt the need to build and chose to spend the remainder of my days on this earth below the Opera House. There was one small matter that required my attention though. Alas, I have a bit of an expensive taste which required funding. Therefore, I became the Opera Ghost, the Phantom, if you will. Twenty thousand francs and box five was all I asked for in return for my services... After all, what is an opera house without an opera ghost? I was later reacquainted with Nadir whom had moved here after being released from jail and exiled from Persia. He was the one person who knew that I was the Opera Ghost. He insisted on meeting with me once a week to make sure I behaved myself. Truth was, Nadir was lonely and as much as I hate to admit it I looked forward to those meetings.
Things were going well until I heard Christine sing. But it was not her voice that drew me to her. It was her beauty. I remember when I first heard her sing. I thought of how perfect an instrument she possessed but she did not put any feeling into it. I planned to look at her so that I would never make the mistake of listening to her sing again. That, my friend, was a mistake. As soon as I laid eyes on her I became obsessed with her. I could not get her face or her voice out of my head. It was then that I decided to set up a system of communication between us. I became her Angel of Music and taught her how to put feeling into that near perfect instrument she possessed. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, a childhood friend appeared and interfered with my plans of winning her love. I loved her. I was willing to do anything she asked of me. I offered her my heart but she chose that blasted boy instead of me. Upon her leaving me I gave up all hope of ever finding a woman who would love me for who I am and not what I look like. Or so I thought...