Christine Daaé

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Christine Daaé
The Phantom of the Opera character
Christine Daaé (Mary Philbin) in the 1925 film The Phantom of the Opera, alongside The Phantom (Lon Chaney).
Created by	Gaston Leroux
Portrayed by	See "Actresses"
Information
Gender	Female
Occupation	Singer
Family	Madame Valérius (adoptive mother) Gustave Daaé (father)
Significant other(s)	Viscount Raoul de Chagny Erik, The Phantom of the Opera
Nationality	Swedish

Christine Daaé is the main female character in Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera (1911), the young singer with whom the main character Erik, the Phantom of the Opera falls in love.

Character history

Christine Daaé is born just outside the Swedish town of Uppsala. Her mother dies when Christine is six years old, and she is brought up by her father, traveling to fairs where he plays the violin and she sings. They are discovered at one of these fairs by Professor Valérius, who takes them to Gothenburg and then to Paris, providing for Christine's education.

Christine is extremely close to her father, who tells her Scandinavian fairy-tales; a tale of the "Angel of Music" is her favorite. Christine's father dies, leaving her disconsolate, despite the loving care of her adoptive mother Mme. Valérius, bedridden wife of the late Professor. Christine enters the Paris Conservatory and trains for four years to become a professional singer to please her father and Mamma Valérius, but has lost all passion for singing.

When Christine arrives at the Opera Garnier, she is described as "sounding like a rusty hinge", but one person finds the beauty hidden in her tone. When Erik begins to tutor her, he tells her that he is the Angel of Music of whom her father had spoken (Erik tells her this because he has fallen in love with her). She believes him, and he inspires her soul back into her voice. Christine debuts at a gala at the opera, after the singer Carlotta falls ill and she is asked to take her place. Christine's singing is described as "seraphic".

Christine becomes torn between her loyalty for her mentor Erik, and her love for her childhood friend Viscount Raoul de Chagny.

In the Lofficier translation of the novel, it is stated that Christine is 15 years old. However, this is a mistranslation of a passage which says her heart was "as pure as that of a 15 year old". The evidence of Christine's childhood friendship with Raoul, and her studies at the Paris Conservatory, put her age at 20.

Christine is also described as having "honey blonde hair", blue eyes, and suffers from near sightedness. The latter of which contributes to her innocence as revealed during a childhood memory where Christine and Raoul look for fairies. Because she can only see clearly that which is near to her, she's convinced she can actually see fairies far off in the distance.

Father's name

Christine has a father who loved her very much. In the Sarah Brightman music video version of "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again", his name is revealed to be "Charles". In the 2004 movie, his name is "Gustave", in the novel Christine refers to him as "Daddy Daaé".

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera

Christine Daaé, a chorus girl, becomes the object of obsession, passion, and love for the mysterious Phantom of the Opera, who becomes her mentor. With his help, she is chosen to replace the company's prima donna. When she falls in love with her childhood sweetheart, Raoul, the Phantom kidnaps Christine in a jealous rage, and drags her down to his lair. She is forced to choose between the Phantom and Raoul, but her compassion for the Phantom moves him to free them both and allow them to flee.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Love Never Dies

Love Never Dies is a sequel to the Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera. The plot is not based on the story-line in the original book by Gaston Leroux, and Lloyd Webber has stated "I don't regard this as a sequel – it's a stand-alone piece". The musical is set in 1907, which Lloyd Webber states is "ten years roughly after the end of the original Phantom," although the events of the original actually took place in 1881. Christine Daaé is invited to perform in Manhattan, but is taken off to a new attraction, Phantasma, by an anonymous impresario (The Phantom) and, with her husband Raoul and son Gustave in tow, journeys to Coney Island, unaware of who has brought her there. Christine is again faced with a decision between her husband and the Phantom.

Basis

Several researchers claim the character Christine Daaé was based upon the real-life Swedish-born opera star Christina Nilsson, also known as Kristina Nilsson or Christine Nilsson.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} This claim is unverified by any official source, but it is supported by several biographical similarities between Nilsson and Daaé. The most obvious is that Nilsson, like Daaé, was born in Sweden and trained in Paris.

Actresses

• The first actress to portray Christine Daaé was Aud Egede-Nissen in the 1916 German silent version by Ernst Matray, Das Gespenst im Opernhaus or Das Phantom der Oper, also starring Nils Olaf Chrisander.
• Mary Philbin played Christine in the 1925 American silent version by Rupert Julian, The Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney, Sr.
• Susanna Foster played Christine DuBois in the 1943 Technicolor version, Phantom of the Opera, starring Claude Rains.
• Heather Sears played Christine Charles in the 1962 version of The Phantom of the Opera.
• Jessica Harper took the role in the 1974 rock-musical version, Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise.
• Jane Seymour played Christine in the 1983 TV movie version.
• Christina Collier played her in Ken Hill's camp-classical musical version in 1984.
• Sarah Brightman debuted the role in the 1986 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
• Glory Crampton played her in Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit's 1990 musical Phantom.
• Jill Schoelen played Christine Day in Dwight H. Little's 1989 film version.
• Rebecca Caine debuted the role in the Canadian production (1989) and featured on the Canadian Cast album.
• Teri Polo took the role in the 1990 television miniseries version.
• Asia Argento played her in the 1998 film by Dario Argento.
• Emmy Rossum played her in the 2004 film version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
• Sierra Boggess first played Christine in the 2006 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Phantom — The Las Vegas Spectacular and recently portrayed her in Lloyd Webber's sequel Love Never Dies.
• Gina Beck previously played the role in London.
• Jennifer Hope Wills played Christine on Broadway and on a Canadian tour of the musical.
• Annika Johansson played Christine in The Really Useful Group on tour in 2010.^[6]
• Fiona Bell played Christine at Stanwell School, Penarth, in the UK Schools Premier - December 2011

References

External links

• Leroux, Gaston; Wolf, Leonard (editor) (2004). The Phantom of the Opera. I Books. ISBN 0743498364. 
• The Phantom of the Opera free e-book, Project Gutenberg
• "Phantom of the Opera FAQ". How old are the Phantom and Christine?. http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/xoopsfaq/index.php?cat_id=2#q12. Retrieved 2 October 2009. 
• "Phantom Appreciation Society". a history of. http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/icontent/index.php?page=14. Retrieved 13 March 2005. ^{[dead link]}