



He shows Christine a bust of herself, wearing a wedding dress and veil, causing her to faint, and the Phantom places her in a bed. The Phantom reveals to her that he loves her and wants her to love him back. Unbeknownst to everyone, except Madame Giry, the Phantom of the Opera locks Christine in her dressing room and reveals himself in her mirror to her before hypnotizing her and taking her to his subterranean lair. The two reminisce about their youth as Christine tells Raoul her secret, only for him to laugh at her "fantasy" and invite her to dinner despite her protests. Christine returns to her dressing room to find Raoul, the opera's new patron and her former childhood sweetheart, waiting for her. Later that night, after Christine's triumphant stage debut, she explains to Madame Giry's daughter, Meg, that she is being coached by a mysterious tutor who she refers to as the "Angel of Music" a tutor who her late father said would teach her to sing. At the last minute, ballet mistress Madame Giry suggests that dancer Christine Daaé take Carlotta's place as she has been "well taught." The managers reluctantly agree and, to their surprise, Christine wins them over.

Carlotta refuses to sing and storms offstage, leaving Firmin and André no choice but to cancel the performance. When resident soprano Carlotta Giudicelli begins to sing for the managers, a backdrop collapses and causes everyone to blame the "Opera Ghost", a mysterious figure who is rumored to live in the catacombs beneath the theater. As it flickers to life and slowly ascends to its original place in the rafters, the audience is transported back in time to the year 1870.īack to this time, while the company rehearses for a performance of the grand opera Hannibal, manager Monsieur Lefèvre announces that he has decided to retire and that the opera has been purchased by Richard Firmin and Gilles André, two men who have no experience with the arts whatsoever. The auctioneer then presents a shattered chandelier as the next item up for bid, explaining that it once played a key role in "the strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera". Raoul, Viscount de Chagny purchases a papier-mâché music box in the shape of a monkey and eyes it sadly as Madame Giry, an aged woman dressed in black, watches him. In 1919, the Opéra Populaire holds a public auction to clear the theatre's vaults.
