The Phantom of the Opera Guide - The Show, DVD & Music

Before it was a famous musical and feature film, The Phantom of the Opera was a novel written by French author Gaston Leroux in 1910. The plot concerns an ingenious but disturbed man with a facial deformity who falls in love with a beautiful and talented soprano. Adapted for the stage in 1986 by Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Phantom of the Opera became the longest-running show in the history of Broadway. Even more impressively, The Phantom of the Opera musical is the highest-grossing production of any kind ever, outselling even the blockbuster film Titanic.

In 2004, The Phantom of the Opera was turned into a film directed by Joel Schumacher. Starring Gerard Butler as the Phantom and Emmy Rossum as Christine, the film was produced and co-written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The film is now available on DVD.

Even those who are unfamiliar with the plot of The Phantom of the Opera are likely familiar with its soundtrack. Famous numbers include "Think of Me," "Angel of Music," "The Phantom of the Opera," "All I Ask of You," "Masquerade," and "The Point of No Return."

But perhaps the most famous song of all from The Phantom of the Opera, and one of the most popular show tunes of all time, is "Music of the Night," sung by the Phantom during the first act of the musical. The music was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Charles Hart, and was most famously sung by actor Michael Crawford during his run as the Phantom in the 1980s.