Prologue - The Stage Of Paris Opéra House, 1905

AUCTIONEER
Sold. Your number, sir? Thank you.

Lot 665, ladies and gentlemen: a papier-mâché musical
Box, in the shape of a barrel-organ. Attached, the figure of
A monkey in Persian robes, playing the cymbals. This
Item, discovered in the vaults of the theatre, still in
Working order.

PORTER (holding it up)
Showing here.

(He sets it in motion)

AUCTIONEER
May I start at twenty francs? Fifteen, then?
Fifteen I am bid.

(The bidding continues. RAOUL eventually buys the box for
Thirty francs)

Sold for thirty francs to the Vicomte de Chagny.
Thank you, sir.

(The box is handed across to RAOUL. He studies it, as attention
Focuses on him for a moment)

RAOUL (quietly, half to himself, half to the box)
A collector's piece indeed... every detail exactly as she
Said...
She often spoke of you, my friend... your velvet lining
And your figurine of lead...
Will you still play, when all the rest of us are dead...?

(Attention returns to the AUCTIONEER, as he resumes)

AUCTIONEER
Lot 666, then: a chandelier in pieces. Some of you may
Recall the strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera:
A mystery never fully explained. We are told, ladies and
Gentlemen, that this is the very chandelier which figures in
The famous disaster. Our workshops have restored it and
Fitted up parts of it with wiring for the new electric light,
So that we may get a hint of what it may look like when
Reassembled. Perhaps we may frighten away the ghost of
So many years ago, with a little illumination, gentlemen?