:00:29
Obsession, passion,
:00:31
undying love, genius and madness.
:00:34
Take the titanic themes
and emotions of grand opera,
:00:38
fuse them with the trappings of
the gothic novel, and what do you get?
:00:43
The Phantom of the Opera, of course,
a darkly romantic icon of the gaslight era.
:00:48
The Opera Ghost has never been
so popular as he is today.
:00:53
The Phantom seems to have
a special appeal for modern audiences,
:00:56
beckoning us to leave
our brightly lit, digitised world
:01:01
for a shadowy realm of mystery
and terror and enchantment.
:01:06
I've reserved special seats in box five,
:01:09
but I warn you -
it's supposed to be haunted.
:01:16
But at least it's not
underneath the chandelier.
:01:25
Opera is often regarded as the highest
combined achievement of the arts.
:01:30
Music, movement and visual grace
:01:33
all elevated to a nearly
superhuman plane.
:01:36
But within this celestial realm,
there dwells a fallen angel.
:01:41
It's a fairy tale.
:01:43
There's an angel, and then there's evil.
:01:47
Who, or what,
is the "Phantom of the Opera"?
:01:55
What does he want?
:01:57
Mademoiselle,
:01:59
soon his spirit will take form