| *page 12* |
|
| Carlotta: |
No! |
| Cholet: |
Please! I have other reason for doing this. Ask no more. (He hurries
out.) |
| PROP ROOM. The Phantom is standing in the open wall
panel. |
| Phantom: |
He wants you to do what? |
| Christine: |
Sing Marguerite in Faust. |
| Phantom: |
When did he tell you this? |
| Christine (nervous): |
At the bistro. Right after I finished singing. It was such a triumph!
I wanted to come back and tell you right away. But Carlotta insisted that
I go off with her to celebrate. That's why I was so late. |
| Phantom (flat): |
Well. That's certainly good news. We have a lot of work ahead of us.
(He turns to leave.) |
| Christine: |
I lied to you just now. (He turns back.) Monsieur Cholet told
me just a little while ago. I wasn't with him or Carlotta after the bistro.
I was with the Count. I shouldn't have lied. I'm not sure why I did. I
suppose I thought you'd be jealous. (Pause.) And I didn't want to
hurt you. (Hugs him. He stiffens.) None of this would have ever
happened without you! |
| LEDOUX'S OFFICE. Cholet is with Ledoux. |
| Ledoux: |
All right, monsieur. If you're certain the Phantom will be there, the
police will be there too. |
| CHRISTINE"S DRESSING ROOM. Christine, in costume for
her debut, hears a knock on the door. |
| Christine (nervous): |
Yes? (The Count enters.) Philippe, is it really happening? |
| Count: |
Of course. And I'm not surprised. I always knew you were an angel.
(Hands her a rose.) |
| AUDITORIUM. Box Five is empty. In the box across from
it are plainclothes policemen. The Count and Carriere are in the box next
to this, unaware of the police. |
| CHRISTINE'S DRESSING ROOM. Carlotta enters. |
| Carlotta: |
Just wanted to wish you well. |
| Christine (nervous): |
Thank you. Still can't believe this is really happening. |
| Carlotta: |
Oh, it is. Very much. (Slips a goblet from her cloak.) |
| Christine: |
You've been so generous! |
| Carlotta: |
Nonsense. Opera is my life! And you, my dear, have the greatest voice
I've ever heard. (Pretends to sip from the goblet.) Ahh! |
| Christine: |
What's that? |
| Carlotta: |
Oh, just a little something made of herbs. Most opera singers use this
before going on. Helps steady the nerves. I'm a bit nervous too, you know.
How you do tonight affects my reputation as well as yours. |
| Christine: |
Please. |
| Carlotta: |
Sorry. Didn't mean to worry you. (Seems to sip again from the |
| --* Act 2 *--- |
| PHANTOM'S LAGOON. Christine lies in a gondola, which
the Phantom poles into the distance. |
| BACKSTAGE, as candles are being lit. |
| Count (to Ledoux: |
It is obvious - that masked fiend has taken her! |
| Ledoux: |
Well, it is not obvious to me. |
| Count: |
Fine! Then I'll go down after her myself! |
| Ledoux: |
Monsieur! If you do, I assure you, you will not come back alive. |
| PHANTOM'S DOMAIN. The Phantom carries Christine into
his palace. Altough made of opera flats and props, it is enchanting. |
| CHRISTINE'S ROOM. The Phantom gently puts Christine
on a canopied bed. She sits up, looks around in alarm. |
| Phantom: |
It's all right. (She smiles and lies back. He covers her with comforter
and sings a lullaby in a voice as sublime as hers. She falls asleep. He
kisses her hand and exits.) |
| CHRISTINE'S DRESSING ROOM. The Phantom finds the goblet
Carlotta brought, tastes a drop in the bottom and flings it away. |
| CARLOTTA'S DRESSING ROOM. Carlotta is brushing her hair. |
| Phantom's Voice: |
Hello, Carlotta. (She turns and sees him in an open wall panel.)
I have something for you. (Carries a trunk to her.) I hope it's
to your liking. (Opens it. Rats swarm out.) Rats for a rat. (She
faints.) |
| CHRISTINE'S ROOM. Christine wakes and sits up. |
| Christine: |
Maestro? (Sees a lacy white dress on a clothes rack.) |
| CORRIDOR. Christine, wearing the white dress, enters
a nursury. On a wall is a portrait of a woman in the same white dress.
In a cradle is a doll with no head! |
| MUSIC ROOM. The Phantom, seen from behind, is playing
a flute. His mask is beside him. Carriere enters |
| Carriere: |
Erik? (The Phantom puts on his mask.) You must give her back.
If you don't, they'll come down here and bring her back themselves. And
they'll kill you in the process. |
| Phantom (turns around): |
That may not be as easily accomplished as you think. An assault from
above is not exactly unexpected, you know. And I've had more than enough
time to get ready - my whole life, you might say. I shall simply shore
up my defenses and prepare my counterattack. |
| Carriere: |
Erik, if you'll let me take her back with me, I know I can convince
her not to say where she's been. |
| Phantom: |
Get out. |
| Carriere: |
Erik - |
| Phantom: |
No one comes down here that I don't invite! |
| Carriere: |
They will not let you get away with this! |
| Phantom: |
Well, they may have no choice! Now, you are straining my patience.
Get out. I have things to do. |
| Carriere: |
If I leave, will you promise to send her back? |
| Phantom: |
Of course not! How can you even ask such a thing? The world up there
is not fit for her. Up there is where hell is. I will not send an angel
to hell. |
| Carriere: |
Erik - |
| Phantom: |
No! She was betrayed tonight. And I'd sooner die than let her be betrayed
again. |
| Carriere: |
How was she betrayed? |
| Phantom: |
You think she sang like that from nerves? Carlotta poisoned her. (Carriere
is shocked.) And it's your doing. This company was in your trust! And
you turned it over to people who care nothing for beauty. |
| Carriere: |
I had no choice. |
| Phantom: |
You could have burned this place down! Better in ashes and memory than
this. Send her back? |
| Carriere: |
Erik - |
| Phantom: |
Never! I may be the most hideous of God's creatures, but I am not hideous
enough to do that. |
| Carriere: |
Then they will come down here with torches and guns. Erik, I can't
protect you anymore. |
| Phantom: |
Fear not. It's they who'll need protecting here, not I. |
| Carriere: |
What do you mean? |
| Phantom: |
One push of a certain level, and the opera season is gone forever. |
| Carriere: |
Erik! |
| Phantom: |
I have lived my entire life in a tomb. Why should I fear one now? |
| Carriere: |
But she'll die too! |
| Phantom: |
And to a better place she'll quickly go. |
| Carriere: |
You're sure of that? |
| Phantom: |
I am indeed. For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed one sweet
dream only. And though that sweet dream came in countless shapes and guises,
it was what sustained me. I now know it was of her that I dreamed.
(Pause.) I was born to live down here. But till now, I have never
known quite why. (Pause.) Well, I was born so she could come and
save me! For that is what she's done. She is the reason I was born.
(Carriere stares at him in horror.) You seem startled. Did you think
me incapable of such emotion? Well, it seems I'm not. What an astounding
discover! Makes everything I've been through worth the waiting and the
pain. (Almost a laugh.) What pain? The pain was a dream. All
was a dream till this. When the gods give you a gift like that, you do
not send it back. (Pause.) I love her, Gerard. And I believe, with
any luck, in time, she will learn to love me. The gods would be
cruel indeed to have sent her otherwise. (Pause.) I don't want you
ever to come here again. From now on she will be all I need. But I thank
you for all you've done for me in the past. (Carriere leaves.) |
| PHANTOM'S PALACE. The Phantom |
| *page 14* |
|
| emerges with a dynamite detonator in hand. Carriere
watches from the shadows. |
| NURSERY. Christine, hearing footsteps, turns to the
door. |
| Christine: |
Maestro? |
| Carriere: |
No, but he's nearby, so we haven't much time. You must get out. |
| Christine: |
Who are you? |
| Carriere: |
A friend. Gerard Carriere. We met at the bistro. |
| Christine: |
Oh yes. You said my voice - |
| Carriere: |
Reminded me of a certain singer's. Unfortunately, it reminds someone
else of her as well, which is why you're in great danger. Come. I know
the way. |
| Christine: |
Wait! Please. Where am I? |
| Carriere: |
Your maestro hasn't told you? |
| Christine: |
No. |
| Carriere: |
You are in the catacombs underneath the opera house. It's where your
maestro lives. |
| Christine: |
This is a dream. |
| Carriere: |
Does this feel like a dream? (Takes her hand.) |
| Christine (pulling her hand away): |
That proves nothing! In dreams things usually seem real. |
| Carriere: |
Mademoiselle, believe me, for your life depends on this - you are not
dreaming. |
| Christine: |
And how did I get here? |
| Carriere: |
Erik carried you here. |
| Christine: |
Erik? |
| Carriere: |
Your maestro. Most people know him as the Phantom of the Opera. |
| Christine: |
I don't believe this. |
| Carriere: |
You had better, because he plans on keeping you down here forever.
He thinks the world up there is not fit for you to live in. |
| Christine: |
Why does he care so much? |
| Carriere: |
He is in love with you. |
| Christine (barely audible): |
Oh. |
| Carriere: |
I said your voice reminded me of another woman's. That woman was his
mother. She died when he was very young. That's her portrait. (Pause.)
He doesn't understand your world. You must get out of here at once. |
| Christine: |
No. |
| Carriere: |
Please! |
| Christine: |
No. Not till you tell me why he lives down here. |
| Carriere: |
He was born down here. And he's lived here all his life. |
| Christine: |
Why? |
| Carriere: |
Why do you suppose he wears a mask? |
| Christine: |
He won't say. Only that I'll never see him with it off. |
| Carriere: |
For which you should be grateful. If you saw, you'd know why he lives
down here. |
| Christine: |
I don't care what his face looks like. I've seen his eyes. |
| Carriere: |
Yes. But his face is like death. Darkness is Erik's only mercy. Get
out while you can. Erik cannot be |
| *page 15* |
|
|
helped by anyone. |
| Christine: |
But obviously he was. When his mother died, who took care of him? |
| Carriere: |
I did. |
| Christine: |
Why? |
| Carriere: |
I was in love with his mother, and she asked me to. |
| Christine: |
What about his father? |
| Carriere: |
I am his father. (Stares off, and another world forms before his
eyes.) His mother was the most exquisite woman I'd ever seen . . . |
| BACKSTAGE, in the past. Belladova is laughing with some
other young women. |
| Carriere (voice over): |
She was already in the company when I arrived, but as a dancer, not
a singer. I was eighteen, and had come as an apprentice to the manager.
And I'd come knowing I wanted this life, nothing more! But when I saw her,
my desires expanded instantly. |
| MEADOW. younge Carriere listens as Belladova sings to
him. |
| Carriere (voice over): |
It was a voice of absolute transparency and perfection. It was utter
beauty. I'd had no idea she could sing at all! It turned out no one knew.
(Belladova stops singing and takes young Carriere's hand.) |
| Belladova: |
It's our secret. And it's for you. (Young Carriere looks confused.)
Singing for me is very private. I don't want to share it except with someone
I love. |
| NURSERY, back to the present. |
| Carriere: |
Does that make any sense to you? |
| Christine: |
Yes. |
| Carriere: |
I thought it was selfish of her. Selfish of me is more like it. I said
that gift like that should be shared with everyone. So she auditioned.
And though she was petrified and didn't sing nearly as well as I knew she
could, everone said she was magnificent. And she was hired. She became
the toast of Paris overnight. She pretended the adoration pleased her,
but I knew it didn't. Her voice lost its transparency. Some part of her
was closing off. As best she could, she was protecting herself. (Turns
and stares out the window.) It ended, as it had begun, because of me.
What she didn't know was that I'd come to Paris as a married man. |
| Christine: |
Married? |
| Carriere: |
It was the reason I came. I'd been married less than a month. The details
don't matter. What matters is, I didn't love the girl and she felt the
same antipathy toward me. So, as soon as possible, with her blessings,
I left. For a Catholic, end of story, end of married life. I hadn't told
any of this to Belladova, mostly because it never occurred to me I should.
I guess I thought, why ruin things? This dream's too sweet to end. |
| SIDEWALK, in the past. Young Carriere and Belladova
are walking along the River Seine. Belladova is in bliss. |
| Belladova: |
I saw the doctor this morning. I didn't want to say anything till absolutely
sure. (Lovingly.) Let's get married. (He turns away grimly.)
What's wrong? |
| NURSERY, in the present. |
| Carriere: |
I think it was not that I'd been married that affected her so badly
but the lie. She'd asked me about my past and I'd never told her. To mortals
such as me, betrayal is a part of life, but not to her. Her love and voice
and trust were of a piece. And when one went, she came apart. She lost
her voice almost immediately. A few weeks later, she herself was gone.
Then one day I saw her. |
| STREET, in the past. Belladova, pregnant and dishevelled,
buys some herbs from a gypsy woman and starts to swallow them. Young Carriere
rushes over and takes the drugs from her hand. |
| Carriere (voice over): |
I didn't know whether she was trying to kill herself or our child.
The time for birth had come, and she asked me to take her back to where
she was living. It was a few levels under the stage of the opera house,
where horses are stalled. How she had managed to survive for this long,
I'll never know. I told no one I'd found her. |
| HORSE STALL. Belladova holds an infant in her arms. |
| Carriere (voice over): |
Where else could she go? To a madhouse, yes. Here at least she'd have
me to care for her. And when I wasn't there, she'd have her dreams. (Opera
music.) One could ever hear music filtering down from above. It's what
kept my son alive. |
| NURSERY, in the present. |
| Carriere: |
His face was like nothing I'd ever seen! As beautiful as she had been,
that's how monstrous Erik was. (Pause.) I think the hardest part
for me was realizing that she truly saw nothing ugly in this child at all.
To her, he was beauty itself. Since it was airless in the horse stall,
I led them down, lower and lower, to this domain. There was light down
here. It filtered in through the gates on the Rue Scribe. And I built them
a lean to. She'd sing to him for hours. Then one night she died. Fever
of some sort. Erik was three. She'd begged me to care for him. So I watched
over him. With his mother gone, he cried. And at night, when the opera
house was empty, his cries were heard above. And the legend of the opera
ghost was born. I'd become the manager by then. To make sure no one discovered
him, I allowed this ghost story to grow. The mask didn't come till later. |
| LAGOON, in the past. A boy of six stares into the lagoon,
screams, and runs to his father. |
| NURSERY, in the present. |
| Carriere: |
He thought it was a sea monster. |
| Christine: |
What did you tell him? |
| Carriere: |
That it was in fact himself. That was not an easy day. |
| Christine: |
Did he know you were his father then? |
| Carriere: |
No. He still doesn't know. He thinks I'm some kind of uncle. |
| Christine: |
Why? |
| Carriere: |
Cowardice. I knew some day I'd have to abandon him. And I didn't want
to leave knowing he knew his father had not taken him along. (Pause.)
Erik has been more than a son. He has also been my partner and my guide.
He has unerring taste. He gets that from his mother, not me. (Stares
off.) For thirty years, he has been the real director of this
opera house, not I. We were a great company because of him. Every major
decision, from repertoire to choice of |
| *page 16* |
|
|
props, was his! My only talent was keeping him alive. But I must leave
now, and he cannot. (Turns to her.) You must leave as well. For
his sake as much as yours. Unfortunately, through you, he has come to believe
that what's impossible . . . is not. If you love my son at all, please
do not give him any more false hope. If you do, you will crush him utterly.
And in the process, you will perish too. (Beat.) You were born for
sunlight. Erik was born to live in darkness and in dreams. I know the way.
Come. (Reaches for her hand.) |
| Christine: |
No. You want me to leave him without so much as a word? He deserves
better than that from me, I think. |
| Carriere: |
If you wait, he will not let you go back at all. |
| Christine: |
I don't believe that. Especially after everything you've said. I will
go after I have talked with him. |
| Carriere: |
You're making a mistake. |
| Christine: |
How do I get out? (Silence.) Please! |
| Carriere (dismally, points to a window): |
Watch through there. See how I go and try the same. I'll cut an arrow
in the lowest stone at every turn. (Pause.) I wish you'd come. |
| Christine: |
It would hurt him far too much. |
| Carriere: |
Not if you left now! Now he doesn't know you've found out that what
he wants more than anything is you. |
| Christine (after a pause): |
I'm not afraid. I know his heart. |
| Carriere: |
So do I. Unfortunately, there is more to him than that. Get out as
soon as possible! (Exits.) |
| MUSIC ROOM. Christine enters. The Phantom, his back
to her, is playing a flute without his mask. He senses her presence, puts
on the mask, and turns. |
| Phantom: |
Did you sleep well? |
| Christine (nervous): |
Yes. |
| Phantom: |
It's a nice room, I think. Pleasant water view. |
| Christine: |
Yes. |
| Phantom (cheerful): |
Well! What shall we do today? (Silence.) How about a picnic? |
| Christine: |
Picnic? |
| Phantom: |
Yes. Through the woods. By the water's edge. And while we stroll, I
can show you my domain. |
| Christine: |
But it's night. |
| Phantom: |
Not for long. (Snaps a finger. Through the windows, dawn begins.
Curtains billow.) Feels like a warm day. |
| OUTSIDE PALACE. Machinery creates the breeze. A system
of reflectors directs the glow of lights. |
| MUSIC ROOM. Christine is astonished. |
| Phantom: |
A hat would be nice, I think. (Puts on a hat at a jaunty angle.)
And a walking stick. (He takes his swordcane, then lifts up a picnic
basket.) So! All set then. Shall we go? (One wall slides open, revealing
a forest. The trees are props, but enchanting.) |
| "FOREST." They stroll along. |
| Phantom: |
You seem chilly. Dawn's not fully with us yet. So, a shawl would be
welcome. Let's see. (Finds a shawl in the basket.) Yes! How fortunate!
(Puts the shawl over her shoulders.) My heart has been wintry cold
for so very long. Suddenly it's not. (Looks around.) Do you like these
woods of mine? This ancient glade of elms and oak? |
| Christine (nervous): |
Yes. Very much. |
| Phantom: |
It stretches on almost forever. There's a path over there. Come. One
can get quite helplessly lost in these woods if one doesn't know the path
. . . or have a guide who does. (Leads her along the path.) Once
there were only endless, dreary vaults in this land - a wilderness of stone,
no light at all, no love. Are you warm enough? |
| Christine: |
Oh, yes. (Faint sound of birds.) |
| Phantom: |
Sh! The morning birds. Pheasants, too, are here, And deer, squirrels,
geese, rabbits, fox and hen, and other such intangibles, all playing most
harmoniously, like this magic music that I hear. I don't know how these
enchanted woods sprang up, but they did. Like a mushroom, there it was!
You are magic, too, I think. |
| Christine: |
I don't know if - |
| Phantom: |
You are. I have an eye for it. Magic cannot hide from me. You belong
in this magic-dappled place. Look, the water! (Shafts of light illuminate
the lagoon ahead.) Dawn by the water is a time I particualarly love.
We all came from the water, you know. It is our common mother - yours and
mine. And now here it lies, all silent and still except for this sweet
melodious veil of music. Do you like this music? |
| Christine: |
Yes. |
| Phantom: |
So do I. It helps give shape to my dreams. We shall let this music
lead us on. It brings to all creatures, fair or hideous, a bliss of solitude.
I hear this music, and all inner turbulence is washed away. A calm remains,
like glassy water, mirror or mirage, and you're still standing here beside
me like some obscure rose. (They come to a clearing.) We'll set
our picnic here. (Spreads a cloth.) It is, of all the places in
my realm, the most enchanted spot, I think. Would you sing for me? |
| Christine: |
If you wish. |
| Phantom: |
I do. Very much. (She looks away.) Is there something wrong? |
| Christine: |
If I sing for you, will you grant me a favor? |
| Phantom: |
No. |
| Christine: |
Why? |
| Phantom: |
Because you must sing for love and joy, not gain. I will grant you
a favor regardless of what you do. Tell me what you wish. |
| Christine (tenderly): |
Let me see your face. |
| Phantom (stunned): |
You have asked the only thing in my power that I cannot grant. Please,
don't ask me it again. I don't like having to refuse you, but to that request
I will always say no. |
| Christine: |
I've seen your eyes. I know your heart. Why not let me see yoour face
as well? |
| Phantom: |
Because I have no face! What passes for my face is monstrous beyond
imagining. No one should ever have to look at it. |
| Christine: |
I could look at it. |
| Phantom: |
Stop! |
| Christine: |
I could. |
| Phantom: |
I ask you, please, to stop. |
