The Phantom of the Opera spin-off stories

In The Phantom of the Opera (1911), Gaston Leroux tells us the tragic story of a disfigured man who hunts the Paris Opera House in search of revenge for the sufferings that the outside world has trample on him during his entire life. He also tells us how this man was hopelessly drawn to a woman he could never have; a woman that brought him to die a broken heart. Many young novelists have been caught by the power of that story as to the point of creating an alternate ending to bring some light to the life of the unfortunate genius behind the mask. The followings are summaries of some of these spin-off stories that I had the chance to read (the ones in capital letters are my favourites).

1. PHANTOM by Susan Kay (1991): In her novel the author unfolds those mysteries in the life of the Paris opera ghost that Leroux left untold. Her book is a beautiful retelling of Erik's life. In it we learn about Erik's early life as a disfigured little boy in his mother's home, her years in the gypsy camp, his period of relative happiness in Rome where he perfected his skills as an architect and builder, his learning of magical tricks to kill people in the treacherous Persian court, his involvement in the construction of the Paris Opera House, and his obsessive love for the young and beautiful singer Christine Daaè.

2. THE PHANTOM OF MANHATTAN by Frederick Forsyth (2001): A hurtful Erik decides to go to New York in order to put the remaining pieces of his life together after the devastating effects that his first encounter with love had upon him. There he will soon find wealth and success, and will plot a plan to bring Christine’s love and affection back to him.

3. PROGENY by Becky L. Meadows (2001): A life-altering secret comes to life threatening to destroy the happiness of the de Chagny family as Christian, the son of Raoul and Christine, is determined to find out his true origins.

4. Phantasy by Becky L. Meadown (2002): Catherine struggles to discover the meaning of a masked man that she sees every night in her dreams.

5. Journey of the Mask by Nancy Hill Pettengill (2002): Erik gives up his lair to make a last attempt to find the acceptance of the woman he loves so desperately by abducting and bringing Christine to the New World where he intends to start a new life away from is turbulent past. But little by little this same past threatens to throw Erik back to the fires of hell once more.

6. The Phantom of Paris by Gwenith M. Vehlow (2003): Christine Daaè is unwilling to let go of her precious “Angel of Music” as she realises that what she really feels for Erik is a feeling stronger than the affection that she has for her fiancé. But will the young Vicomte de Chagny let her run away from him and be thrown into the arms of his utmost enemy?

7. Deception by Shirley Yoshinaka (2006): Erik’s pride is the only thing that stops him from putting an end to his wretched existence after Christine left him heartbroken. He decides to leave his secret home in the depts of the Paris Opera House forever and make a fresh start somewhere else. One night, during a performance in the London Opera House, he meets a blind woman who happens to be a talented composer like himself. When both of them team up together to compose an opera, a strong bond flourishes between them two; a strong feeling that will give meaning to their lives.

8. Into the Light by Debra P. Whiteheart (2006): Miss Daaè, the young soprano of the Paris Opera House, left Erik’s heart aching and wanting to put an end to his sufferings. But one day he finds a poor little girl who was left to die in a dark alley after being badly beaten up. Thanks to her, Erik will find a reason to live and a world filled of complete happiness will unfold in from of his very eyes bringing everything that he has ever dreamt of.

Stardust movie trailer

As I love cinema I like collecting trailers of the film that I cherish. So under the label of trailers you will have the chance of watching some really exciting movie trailers of all times. Here you have the first one: Stardust (2007) by Matthew Vaughn.

The Woman in White

The Woman in White is a novel written by British Ronamtic novelist Wilkie Collins. When the story was published in England, in mid-August 1860, it had so much acceptance from the public that soon inspired many other novels of the kind. The story can be considered as an example of an early detective fiction; and uses the multiple narrative device, where some of the characters talk about their experience with the mystry that the main character is trying to unfold.

As I'm not going to give any detail of the plot (so as not to spoil it) I will just quote what the author himself once said regarding to it: "This is the story of what a Woman's patience can endure, and what a Man's resolution can achieve".

So if you want to read a masterpiece, this is the book. Besides you can find The Woman in White in a TV-film by director Tim Fywell (1997), and the Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical of the same name, among many other things.

DRAWING: F. W. Waddy's caricature of Collins with Frederick Walker's striking poster of The Woman in White.

A video-message from Howard Donald

On chacking the official site of Take That I found the following band announcement:

Take That regret to inform their audience that band member Howard Donald will be unable to perform at tonight's show in Vienna due to sustaining a chest injury whilst performing on tour with the band in Europe. Howard is now in recovery in a hospital in Vienna. He says "I'm really disappointed and upset that this has happened, as I've never had to miss a show before, it's unbelievably frustrating being sat in a hospital when I should be onstage with the guys". At Howard's request the band are going to go ahead with the show tonight in Vienna without him. "Our friend's health is of the utmost priority and we wish him a speedy recovery, we'll make sure tonight's show is still a fantastic experience for the fans". Most importantly Howard would like all Take That supporters to know he will return to the tour just as soon as the doctors allow it.

It seems that Howard got injured in one of the concerts and so as not to stop the tour he encourange the rest of the members of the band to carry on with the show without him. I can imagine how hard this might have been for Howard himself as he is so fond of the band; but, of course, his health is more important.

I've read in the fans reviews of the show in Vienna, that it opened with a video message where Howard appeared in his hospital bed, appologising for being unable to perform that night (you can watch that video just clicking on the titled of this enry). The following is a picture of the concert that Take That gave in Vienna, and it is a little poignant to watch without our beloved Howard Donald. We all be praying for your recovery, so get well soon, Howe!

PHOTO: Take That in Vienna, yesterday 26 October 2007

Stardust 2007

Today I've gone to the cinema to see Stardust, a film by Matthew Vaughn, which is based on a graphic novel by British science fiction and fantasy novelist, Neil Gaiman.

The story is about Tristan Thorn, a young man who lives in a village sorrounded by a wall that separates the world of the humans from the world of magic. One day he decides to cross the wall to bring a shooting star to the woman he loves, the beautiful and cold Victoria Forester. But soon he realises that what he thought would be a meteorite is actually a beautiful woman called Yvaine. She is a fallen star who is being chased after by the powerful Lamia who was once the witch-queen of Carnadine and now lives hidden from the outside world with her two sisters, Marmo and Empusa, in a canyon in Stormhold. The three witches are after the heart of the star to gain eternal life and beauty. But Lamia is not the only one to search the star because the two living princes of Stormhold need something that she has to become the new king of the world of magic. In their escape from their persecuters, Tristan and Yvaine will meet the fearsome Captain Shakespeare and Sal's slave girl; and together will face many other adventures that will show them what true love really is, and the truth of Tristan's origins, a secret that will change his fate forever.

If you are lovers of fantasy films, like myself, you are going to love this movie, because it has all the ingredients to become the film of the year: an interesting plot, a great cast (Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Robert de Niro, Rupert Everett, Peter O'Toole, Sienna Miller, Charles Cox and Ian McKellen), and Ilan Eshkeri's beautiful soundrack which includes a song by Take That!

Stardust, based on the best-selling graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess, takes audiences on an adventure that begins in a village in England and


VIDEO: Take That's videoclip Rule the World, from the motion picture film Stardust (2007)

The "Beautiful World Tour" stops in Spain in a single concert in Barcelona!

Yesterday I went to the concert of my life; a concert that I've waited more than ten years to see: the concert of Take That in their tour around Europe.

Take That, a British boy band that really smashed in the 90's, have come back after splitting up in that cold distant morning of February 13, 1996, leaving behind a bunch of fans tatally devastated and heartbroken.


I couldn't believe my ears when my sister told me that they had come back as they had once promised us; and I was even more surprised to find out that they've decided to include Barcelona in their European Tour. They never did that before. They never tour in Spain as if the Spanish fans didn't exist for them; so why shoud they do that now? I couldn't help wondering myself. But anyways, I was pleased; that was excellent news for me. I couldn't miss the chance to see them in live, to enjoy the shows that have made them so special for so many people of my generation; to be in the same place as Gary, Howard, Jason and Mark, sharing that special gift that music is for the spirit. And yeah, they were great, they made a great concert. They sang many of the classics that brought them to the top charts together with the great songs of their last album Beautiful World. They moved us with the power of an olddy of the size of Back for Good, or Jason Orange's first chance to sing as the lead voice in the beautiful song Wooden Boat from their last album; they made us jump from our sits singing along with them and waving our hands at the rhythm of Give Good Feelings, Shine, Pray and Never Forget. To me they were as powerful as they were in their golden years; as if the time had never passed away and this long rest had never existed.

The only thing that I regret now is not having jump into the arena when they moved to the B-stage which was placed at the center of the Palau Sant Jordi. That would have been the chance of my life of seeing them close, from no more than ten meters of distance... but that is just a minor thing. Today I remember that great experience that lasted no more than two hours and which I will keep with me for the rest of my life. We, the Spanish fans of Take That, have been, at last, blessed with a great concer in our homeland. Take That forever!

PHOTO: Photography of the concert of Take That in the Palau San Jordi, taken by myself last Saturday 20 October 2007.