Dear Phantom Friends! November 14 - the day Antonina, my dearest friend and co-admin passed away. She was a true Phantom Phan and a strong fighter. She loved life and Erik. I am proud I met her, and I am proud she called me her friend. My operaghost.ru site, me personally and Russian Phantom fandom - we  feel deep sorrow at the death of her. Please do pray for her. Me... I promised her not long before her death - I promsed to continue our Phantom story. So I will do. Take care, guys, hug your dearest and tell them you love them. And I love you all.

Most of us are sad because theaters are closed around the world. To cheer up fans of the Webber’s musical, I decided to collect information about Broadway production on my website. And now I want to show you the Phantom of the Opera Broadway photo gallery - from 1988 to 2020. Of course, I did not collect each and every photo by myself. It is impossible. Though in my gallery there are more than 860 photos arranged in chronological order now. I express my gratitude @operafantomet - her enthusiasm and her blog inspired me and helped a lot in collecting this gallery. Beware! Huge and terrific number of pictures!

Did you ever know that Gaston Leroux' first novel written in 1903 - La Double Vie de Théophraste Longuet - has many similarities with the Phantom of the Opera?

I can say that Leroux based the entire criminal component of Erik's life on his own earlier hero - the famous French robber Cartouche. Even Erik’s biography is partially based on him. And he adopted the descriptions of Erik's voice from his other hero, M. Éliphas de Saint-Elme de Taillebourg de la Nox. 

I mean Leroux - de facto - did self-plagiarism. I discovered this fact recently, since the novel La Double Vie de Théophraste Longuet was translated into Russian only a few years ago. And now this translation - for the first time in Russian - was published completely on my site.

Le Fantôme by Jhon Rachid. If you haven't seen this movie yet, please do yourself a favor and watch it. It's not just a modern retelling of the Phantom's story. It also voices social themes such as acceptance, class differences, etc.  I personally like the idea of the mask used as a symbol. And of course Grand Opera views, gergeous as always. About movie on my site (in Russian).

Quarantine, ladies and gents. It's time to stay home. And it's time to do all those simple daily routine, self-care, and embrace your friends and family. And keep loving the Phantom, who knows well what to do on quarantine alone ;-) For example to wander around Grand Opera. Let's do it as well with the book written by Gerard Fontain. 

Mysteries of Paris is a 6-episode series (2018) hosted by David Stanley and John Marc Leri. Episode 2 is about the Phantom of the Opera. The story about the Phantom is given as a part of the curse of opera houses in Paris. If you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend you! At least because of great, absolutely amazing Grand Opera views and rare footage.

Video and more information you can find on my site.

Charming little French book looks like an adaptation of the original novel, but inside there are lots of pictures and just a few words. But pictures are... well, take a look at them, and don't tell me you dislike them! From covers to vignettes, every piece is a story!  More pictures you can find on my site.

Pretty little thing from Japan - Operaza no Kaijin, a Kate McMullan's adaptation of the Phantom of the Opera translated into Japanese. Though the story itself is very childish, as a Japanese book - with all manga-style pictures by Masayuki Mari - it is enjoyable. If you are studing Japanese - don't miss this book! All those sweet pictures are on my site! 

Grand Opera, box 5. Creativity and glam. They put special machine inside the box demonstrating vanishing face. It's supposed to be the Phantom, but for my taste it looks... a bit wrong. What do you think?

You've already heard about Inside Opéra: l'escape game — an immersive quest located in Opera Garnier in Paris. Sounds absolutely insane AND freaking awesome... White mask, Buquet and — especially! — the box 5 might give you misperception of what's going on. How much from the Phantom of the Opera story was put into this quest and if it's friendly for English-speaking visitors — you can read on my site (photos included).

OK, I've got it! I felt crazy about that Spanish-looking half-masked guy that I ordered it, twice actually, because the first time my parcel was gone somewhere between Europe and Russia. Just have a look at those gorgeous costumes! Such brilliant prints! Love them! And the Phantom (though he has very questionable deformity), he is 100% Spanish Grande wearing modest black-white-red costume... Illustrator is Oscar T. Perez: https://oscartperez.com/

More pictures are on my site.

A rare treasure from South Korea. I picked this book up in a second-hand bookshop in Seoul, did some research and found nothing about it! Published in Sohn Shik Publishing Co. in 2000, now it vanished from Internet sources. If you know anything about the illustrator, please let me know! Depsite the color cover there are black and white pictures inside. Look at them! Looks like manga/manhwa style! It is not a full novel, it is an adaptation, actually. More pictures are on my site.

Aaaaand more news from Japan! (Ex Japan semper novi, mwahaha!)

Love Never Dies returns to Japan in 2019 (Jan 15 - Feb 26) in Nissay Theatre in Tokyo! Starring Masachika Ichimura and Kanji Ishimaru as Mr. Y and Megumi Hamada and Ayaka Hirahara as Christine.

I’m gonna watch it, too!

Great news for all Phantom AND Takarazuka fans! In coming season we will get yet another Phantom, #4, Snow Troupe this time. Performances: Takarazuka Grand Theater, 2018/11/09 - 12/14; Tokyo Takarazuka Theater, 2019/01/02 - 02/10. Director: Nakamura Kazunori. Translator: Aoshika Kouji. Nozomi Fuuto as Erik, Maaya Kiho as Christine. Can’t wait to watch it live! I’m coming to Tokyo this Winter. Be prepared for tonnes of info!