Penguin Readers Factsheets
The Phantom of the Opera
by Gaston Leroux
This famous classic about a man with a terribly deformed face who
falls in love with the beautiful French opera singer, Christine Daaé,
is told long after the events happen. A historian researches the
events surrounding the mysterious disappearance of Viscount
Chagny and Christine Daaé and this is his story. He learns from his
research that this man’s face was so monstrous that even his
mother could not look at him when he was a child, and his hope of
ever finding love was an impossible dream. Much of what we learn
about this man, Erik, who almost everyone at the time believes is
a ghost, comes at the end of the story when all is revealed by the
Persian who knew him better than anyone. The story begins when
the ghost is seen in the Opera on the evening of the retirement
party for the managers. There is a death in the Opera that night as
well. The retiring managers inform the new managers that there is
a ghost who can bring disaster to the Opera if he does not get what
he wants. The new managers laugh and do not believe this story
until they make the mistake of going against the wishes of the
ghost. The ghost is in love with Christine Daaé and manages to
carry her away to his underground house on the lake below the
Opera. She believes he is the Angel of Music, who her father
promised to send to her after he died. To her horror she discovers,
when she sees him for the first time, that she is in the grips of a
terrible monster. Count Chagny’s brother Raoul, the viscount, is
also in love with Christine but she cannot return his love for fear of
what the monster will do if he finds them together. The monster and
the viscount are jealous of each other but the monster is far
cleverer and Raoul ends up in Erik’s torture room with the Persian
who is trying to help him find Christine. When it seems that there is
no hope and they will die in the torture room, the Persian reminds
Erik that he saved Erik’s life once. This saves the two men. When
Christine touches the monster’s hand, mixes her tears with his, and
allows the monster to kiss her, he has his first and last taste of
human affection and love. He can now allow Christine to go with
Raoul. We learn toward the end of the story that Erik was born with
no nose and yellow eyes. In fairs all across Europe he learned
magic. He sang beautifully, was the world’s first ventriloquist, and
could perform unbelievable tricks. When a Persian Princess heard
about him, she instructed her chief of police, known as the Persian
in the story, to bring him to her palace in Mazenderan. The king
used Erik’s skills for political murders. Erik built a palace full of
trap doors and secret passages for the king. It was a work of
genius and the king ordered Erik’s death so that no one else could
have such a palace. The chief of police saved Erik from death and
Erik escaped. Finally, he went to Paris, where he worked for
© Pearson Education Limited 2002
Philippe Garnier, the architect of the Paris Opera. During the war,
work on the Opera stopped but Erik continued working alone,
building trap doors and secret passages. It is his genius, his
talents, and his personal tragedy that lead him to a life as the
phantom of the opera.
About the author
Gaston Leroux, born in Paris in 1868, was trained in law, but chose
a career in writing. He wrote stories, plays, poems, novels and
screenplays. His own extensive travels around the world and his
knowledge of the layout of the Paris Opera are cleverly interwoven
into The Phantom of the Opera. He was intrigued by the design of
the opera house and thought it would be the perfect setting for a
detective story. The story remains as popular today as it was when
he wrote it.
Background and themes
This story is about the great misfortune which can come to
someone when they are different from everyone else, when that
person is not accepted for who they are. When people do not look
into the heart of the man but look at appearances only, they quickly
misjudge that person. This is what happens to Erik. In spite of his
enormous musical talent, his skillfulness as a magician,
ventriloquist, architect, and inventor, he cannot join the human race
because of his terrible face. He wants nothing more than
acceptance, especially acceptance from a woman. He wants a wife
and a normal life in a normal house like other people. He will never
have these things and he knows it. So he becomes revengeful and
tortures those who do not allow him to do as he wishes. He uses
his genius to create a mysterious world where he can torture
people he dislikes. While this is a work of fiction, the character of
Erik is sadly all too recognizable. We see in society today terrible
crimes committed by people who have lived as outsiders, who
have not had friends, who live in a world of their own. Vulnerable
young people, like Christine Daaé and Raoul Chagny, can easily
become victims of such people. Because they are afraid, they do
not go to the police. But it is also the story of the class system,
whereby uneducated, poor people are used and discarded by their
superiors, as in the case of the servant of Monsieur Moncharmin.
It is a story of good and evil, love and hate, jealousy and greed.
And, in the end, good conquers evil.
The Phantom of the Opera
Summary
Level 5 – Upper Intermediate
Teacher’s Notes
Penguin Readers Factsheets
Communicative activities
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
1 Find out how many of your students have seen the play or
the movie The Phantom of the Opera. Did they like it? Why?
Ask them to look at the cover of the book and read the blurb
on the back. They should work in pairs to write a list of
questions that they hope to find answers to when they read.
2 Ask students to read the Contents and to look up any new
words in their dictionaries. They can write these words in their
notebooks with the definitions and add any other new words
as they read the story.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION
Chapters 1–3
1 Put students into small groups and ask them to discuss what
the historian finds strange about these things in the story.
(a) the rope
(b) Christine Daaé’s divine voice
(c) the ghost at the supper table
2 Ask students to work in pairs and to discuss the effect these
people had on Christine’s early life:
(a) Monsieur Daaé
(b) Monsieur Valérius
(c) Madame Valérius
(d) Raoul Chagny
3 Put students into pairs and ask some pairs to role play the
scene when Raoul finds Christine in the sitting room at the
Setting Sun. Ask other pairs to role play their meeting in the
graveyard. Give them enough time to prepare and help them
with pronunciation and intonation. Then allow each pair to
perform for the rest of the class.
Chapters 4–6
1 Ask students to work in pairs and to write the letter Christine
wrote to Raoul after that night in Perros (page 28). Then ask
them to exchange letters and compare what they wrote. Let
the class decide which letter is the best.
2 Ask the students to work in small groups and to think about
the events in chapters 5 and 6. Ask them to discuss the
choices Christine makes and whether they think she has
done the right thing? Then have a whole class discussion.
3 Put students into pairs and ask them to role play the
conversation between Raoul and Christine from the point
where they come to the eighth floor and see the Persian to
when they look for the ring but cannot find it. After they perform
their role-plays, ask the students what they think Raoul and
Christine should do at this point in the story and why.
Chapters 7–9
1 Write these events on the board. Ask the students to discuss
in small groups how Philippe and Raoul feel when these
events happen.
(a) Raoul takes his gun and shoots the eyes.
(b) The newspaper reports the marriage of Viscount Chagny
and Christine Daaé.
(c) Christine disappears from the stage.
© Pearson Education Limited 2002
3 Put the students into small groups and ask them to discuss
what Mifroid meant when he said, “This is, gentlemen, the art
of the police.” Do they think he is very clever? What does
Mifroid think of Raoul, the managers and the Angel of Music?
Chapters 10–12
1 Put the students into small groups and ask them to make a
list of all of Erik’s clever tricks and inventions that he uses for
his torture room. Where did he learn these things? Then ask
the groups to compare their lists. Ask the class which
invention they think was his most clever.
2 Elicit from the class the events from Erik’s life in chronological
order, and write them on the board. What do these events tell
us about the man? What adjectives would the students use to
describe Erik? Make a list. Do they think he was evil?
3 Ask the students to look at the Contents page again and to
write new headings for each chapter. They may prefer to
work alone or in pairs. Then let them compare their headings
and discuss their choices.
4 Ask the students to look at the list of questions they had
before they read the book. Can they now answer these
questions? Have any been left unanswered? If so, what do
they think the answers probably are. Have a class discussion.
Glossary
Chapters 1–3
allowance (n) money provided
regularly for a special purpose
angel (n) a messenger and servant of
God
ballet (n) a theatrical performance in
which a story is told using artistic
dancing and music
box (n) a very small room with an open
side which is in the theatre. People can
sit in them to watch the performance
box office (n) a place in the theatre
where tickets are sold
cellar (n) an underground room,
usually without windows and used for
storing goods
count (n) a man who has a high social
position in Europe because of the
family he comes from
divine (adj) having the qualities of God,
or coming from God
franc (n) the former unit of money in
France
genius (n) a person with great talent
memorandum (n) a note from one
person to another within the same
organization
opera (n) a musical play in which many
or all of the words are sung
phantom (n) a ghost
skeleton (n) the complete set of bones
in a human body
skull (n) the bone of the head
superstitious (adj) believing that some
objects or actions are lucky or unlucky
tremble (v) to shake uncontrollably,
usually with fear
triumph (n) a complete victory or
success
viscount (n) a man with a social
position below a count
Chapters 4–6
carriage (n) a vehicle with wheels that
is pulled by a horse
chandelier (n) a large decoration made
of pieces of glass that holds lights
(electric or flame) and which hangs
from the ceiling
mask (n) something that covers all or
part of the face to protect or hide it
toad (n) an animal like a large frog
which has a brownish colour
torture (v) to cause great pain or
suffering to someone to punish them or
make them give you information
trap door (n) a small door that covers
an opening in a floor
Chapters 7–9
monster (n) a strange, frightening
creature or someone who is extremely
cruel and evil
safety pin (n) a wire pin that is used to
hold two pieces of material together
Chapters 10–12
grasshopper (n) an insect that jumps
with its long back legs and makes short
loud noises
scorpion (n) a tropical creature like a
large insect with a curving tail that has
a poisonous sting
ventriloquist (n) a person who uses
his voice without moving his lips so that
the sound seems to come from
someone else
Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by Coleen Degnan-Veness
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
The Phantom of the Opera
3 Tell the students that the story is told by a man who wants to
know the true story of the phantom in the Paris Opera long
after the events happened. Some of the story comes to him
from books and letters, some from people he spoke to. Ask
them if they have ever read a book told in this way. What
advantages are there to writing in this way, do they think?
2 Put students into groups of three. Ask them to prepare a roleplay of the conversation between Madame Giry and the
managers when they suspect her of stealing the 20,000
francs on pages 54–55. After they perform their role-plays,
ask the students what they think happened to the money.
Level 5 – Upper Intermediate
Teacher’s Notes
Penguin Readers Factsheets
The Phantom of the Opera
by Gaston Leroux
■
1 Read the Introduction and answer these questions.
(a) What has the opera ghost done to make the managers
decide to leave their jobs?
(b) Who is telling the story?
(c) Why did the man telling the story go to the National
School of Music?
(d) Why did he speak to the Persian?
(e) What was the Paris Opera built over?
( f ) Why did Leroux know so much about the Opera
building?
(g) How many floors are underground?
2 Put these events from Leroux’s life in the correct order.
■
■
ACTIVITIES WHILE READING THE BOOK
Chapters 1–3
1 Which character in the first chapter…
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
is in charge of moving scenery?
is the singing master?
has a private box in the Opera?
is in charge of Box Five?
is found hanging in the third cellar?
is the scenery manager?
gives a surprisingly talented performance and then
faints?
(h) is sick and cannot perform?
( i ) has just returned from a trip around the world and is
going to the North Pole?
( j ) tells Christine, “The angels in heaven cried tonight”?
2 Put the sentences into the correct order.
■
■
■
■
■
(a) The retiring managers and the new managers leave
the guests and go to the office.
(b) The managers tell the inspector they no longer want
Madame Giry working for them.
(c) Jammes sees the Opera ghost for the second time
and screams loudly.
(d) Monsieur Richard receives a letter from the opera
ghost asking him not to sell Box Five.
(e) The managers go to Box Five to inspect it.
© Pearson Education Limited 2002
■
■
■
3 Are these sentences true or false? Correct the false ones.
(a) As children, Christine Daaé and Raoul played together in
the graveyard at Perros-Guirec.
(b) Christine’s father was a poor farmer, a widower and a
talented violinist.
(c) Monsieur Valérius took Christine to Perros-Guirec, where
she met Raoul for the first time.
(d) Christine’s father told her that the Angel of Music brings
great talent to those he visits.
(e) When Monsieur Valérius died, Christine lost her voice,
her soul, and her genius.
Chapters 4–6
1 What happened when
(a) Madame Giry told the managers that she had received a
letter from the ghost?
(b) Carlotta received a letter threatening her if she appeared
on stage that night?
(c) Carlotta sang her only two lines for the second act?
(d) the managers returned to Box Five for the third act?
(e) the managers returned and found the opera glasses and
remembered Madame Giry’s words?
(f) Christine saw Viscount Chagny as she began to sing?
(g) Carlotta sang in the third act?
(h) the ghost says to the managers,”She is singing tonight to
bring the chandelier down!”
2 After the chandelier fell, what happened to
(a) Carlotta?
(b) Christine Daaé?
(c) Madame Giry?
Photocopiable
■
■
■
(a) In Morocco, he learned about France and
Germany’s struggle for power there.
(b) He formed his own production company.
(c) He studied law and received a law degree.
(d) He wrote his first successful novel which introduced
the detective Rouletabille.
(e) His father died, leaving him a large amount of
money.
■
( f ) The new managers are told there is a ghost and that
disaster strikes when the ghost does not get what he
wants.
(g) The managers receive an inspector’s report about a
problem in Box Five.
(h) The man with the Face of Death tells the guests that
Buquet was found hanging.
( i ) Madame Giry tries to explain to the new managers
that the opera ghost spoke to the people who were
sitting in his box.
( j ) Monsieur Poligny shows the new managers the
memorandum book with the strange handwriting in
red ink.
The Phantom of the Opera
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
Level 5 – Upper Intermediate
Student’s activities
Penguin Readers Factsheets
3 Who speaks, writes or sings these words and to who?
(a) “But you know as well as I do that Christine couldn’t
marry, even if she wanted to!”
(b) “The genius gives her lessons? Where?”
(c) “Go to the masked party at the Opera on the night after
tomorrow.”
(d) “Dear, it is a tragedy!”
(e) “Our lives are joined forever and a day!”
( f ) “Who is this Erik?”
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
1 Imagine you were at the Opera on the night the chandelier
fell. Write a letter to a friend telling about the strange events
that happened in act 3 of Faust that night.
2 There is a musical of The Phantom of the Opera. Imagine
that you have just read in the newspaper that you can win
tickets to see it. All you have to do to win is write in 300-400
words “Was the phantom really in love with Christine or did
he love only her voice?”
Chapters 7–9
1 Who is described in these sentences?
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
The Phantom of the Opera
Viscount Chagny the Persian Monsieur Richard Erik
Monsieur Moncharmin Raoul Christine Daaé Philippe
He is always in the Opera.
His eyes only show in the dark
He took out his gun and aimed at the two eyes.
The report in the Epoque said he intended to prevent the
marriage.
When the lights came back on, she was no longer there!
He continued shouting for a safety pin until a boy brought
him one.
He put his hands together and lowered his head, and left
slowly, walking backwards!
The face was so white, so full of pain, that they were
seized with pity.
2 Write the missing word in each sentence.
horror torture gun cellar mirror
Photocopiable
(a) The Persian told Raoul to hold the __________ in front
of his face at all times.
(b) The Persian and Raoul left Christine’s dressing room
through the __________.
(c) The Persian took Raoul down to the third __________.
(d) It was the Punjab rope. He threw it down in __________.
(e) We have dropped into the __________ room!
Chapters 10–12
1 Answer these questions.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
Where did the Persian meet Erik?
What was the Persian’s job?
Where did Erik learn to throw a rope and kill men with it?
Who did Erik work for after he returned to France?
What did Erik do during the war?
What could Erik do with his voice that no one before him
could do?
(g) Erik was the first person in the world to build something?
What?
(h) What did Erik plan to do if Christine refused to marry
him?
© Pearson Education Limited 2002
Level 5 – Upper Intermediate
Student’s activities
Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by Coleen Degnan-Veness
Factsheet series developed by Louise James