The Phantom of the Opera

By: Gastón Leroux

Narrated by: Henry Butler

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Gaston Leroux's phenomenal novel, which inspired the hit Broadway musical, remains one of the most original suspense stories ever written. Erik, a brilliant but hideously disfigured musical genius, lives in the basement of Paris's National Academy of Music, where he haunts the opera crowd in his mask and fancy clothes. The Phantom falls in love with Christine Daai, a beautiful soprano, and gives her music lessons by magically throwing his voice. But Erik is stunned to learn that Christine loves Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny, who disappears around the same time his brother, Count Phillippe, is found dead outside the Academy. A haunting tale of obsession, a touching story about internal beauty, and a top-notch detective drama, The Phantom of the Opera is a remarkable novel, narrated to perfection by Henry Butler.

Public Domain (P)2010 Recorded Books, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The most fantastic of tales." (The New York Times)

Great narration of one of my favorite books ever

I first read the novel many years ago after becoming a big fan of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. I am so happy that now I have such an excellent narration of it! I think Henry Butler does a really great job. He has a very good voice for audiobook narration. After listening for a few minutes I got so into the story that I didn't even notice that it was him reading anymore. You just forget that anyone is reading aloud to you and get so engrossed in the story. You even forget that it's just one person reading when there are different characters speaking and he has to alter his voice or tone a bit for each one. He does it so subtly and well that you don't even notice that it's him and you think it's each character that's speaking! I was especially impressed by how he read the "Persian's narrative" chapters with a slight Persian accent. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed listening to this audiobook!

The only drawback about this audiobook is that when I transferred it onto my Audible Otis player, it didn't allow me to skip a chapter or a few chapters at a time. Thus whenever I accidently left my player on for a long time, I had to hold the rewind botton down to rewind hundreds of minutes of the book. It wasn't the end of the world, but it was a slight inconvenience. Anyhow, I would still heartily recommend this audiobook to fans of the musical, musical lovers, and people who love the city Paris.

Amazing

Henry Butler does an excellent job narrating this book. I have had it for a year now and have listened to it three times. He brings each character to life and engages the listener. This one is a must hear!

What a classic masterpiece!

What made the experience of listening to The Phantom of the Opera the most enjoyable?

Listening to the Old World way that people spoke to each other back in the 19th century.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not really as I'd already heard this audiobook way back in the early 90's when I was still in high school. Back then, it was still on audio cassette.

Which scene was your favorite?

Too many favorites but the scene on the roof of the opera house where Christine divulges to Raoul how she first met Erik.

If you could take any character from The Phantom of the Opera out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Erik, the Phantom. He's just an interesting character and probably has a stock of stories to tell from his traveling days.

Any additional comments?

People need to realize that Leroux had a background in journalism and he applies this trait to The Phantom of the Opera, using a documentary approach in the prologue and epilogue. It was a unique trait to me and I really enjoyed that aspect of the book.