B. J. Harrison Reads The Phantom of the Opera characters

Appears from the start

A young Swedish soprano at the Paris Opera who has recently seemed to lose confidence in her talent. When she unexpectedly replaces the leading singer at a gala, her extraordinary performance turns her into an overnight sensation.

Also known as The Opera Ghost

Appears from the start

A hidden presence said to haunt the Paris Opera. He communicates through notes, demands money and the permanent use of Box Five, and appears able to move through parts of the building inaccessible to everyone else. The staff fear his punishments and disagree about whether he is a spirit or a human intruder.

Appears from the start

A stagehand at the Opera who claims to have seen the ghost and describes a skeletal figure with burning eyes. His knowledge of the building's hidden spaces makes his sudden death especially disturbing to the company.

Appears from the start

A young dancer in the Opera ballet and Christine's friend. As the daughter of the keeper of Box Five, she is close to both the performers' ghost stories and her mother's unexplained dealings inside the theater.

Also known as Vicomte de Chagny

First appears in chapter 2

A young aristocrat and naval officer who recognizes Christine as the childhood companion he once loved. Her sudden fame brings them together again, but her fear and secrecy make him suspect that an unknown rival controls access to her.

First appears in chapter 2

The Opera's celebrated principal soprano, proud of her status and resentful when Christine's unexpected triumph threatens it. She has powerful admirers and refuses to yield her place merely because anonymous warnings tell her to do so.

Also known as Comte de Chagny

First appears in chapter 2

Raoul's much older brother and the head of their family. He is protective of Raoul and conscious of the social duties attached to their name, making him wary of the young man's consuming attachment to an opera singer.

First appears in chapter 3

One of the two businessmen who take over management of the Paris Opera. He and Moncharmin initially treat the outgoing directors' warnings about the ghost as an elaborate joke or an attempt to embarrass them.

First appears in chapter 3

Moncharmin's fellow new manager of the Opera. Practical and skeptical, he joins in attempts to test the ghost's demands, only to find that locked rooms, careful watches, and ordinary accounting do not explain what happens.

First appears in chapter 4

The attendant responsible for Box Five and Meg's mother. She obeys instructions received from the Opera Ghost and speaks of him with unnerving matter-of-factness, leading the managers to suspect her of assisting a fraud.

Also known as The Daroga

First appears in chapter 18

A mysterious Persian resident of Paris who knows that the Opera Ghost is a mortal man with a dangerous history. Familiar with the hidden routes beneath the Opera, he offers Raoul the knowledge needed to pursue Christine's captor.

First appears in chapter 18

The police official drawn into Christine's disappearance. He listens to the strange accounts given by Raoul and the Opera's staff while trying to pursue explanations that fit ordinary crime.