Prologue

Sold. Your number, sir? Thank you
Lot 663, then, ladies and gentlemen
A poster for this house's production of "Hannibal" by Chalumeau
Showing here.

Do I have ten francs? Five then. Five I am bid
Six, seven. Against you, sir, seven
Eight. Eight once. Selling twice
Sold, to Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny
Lot 664: a wooden pistol and three human skulls
From the 1831 production of "Robert le Diable" by Meyerbeer
T en francs for this. Ten, thank you
Ten francs still. Fifteen, thank you, sir Fifteen I am bid
Going at fifteen. Your number, sir?

665, ladies and gentlemen
A papier-mache 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
Showing here.

May I start at twenty francs? Fifteen, then?
Fifteen I am bid. Sold, for thirty francs to the Vicomte de Chagny
Thank you, sir.

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?

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 repaired it and wired parts of it for the new electric light
So that we may get a hint of how it may look when reassembled.
Perhaps we may frighten away the ghost of so many years ago
With a little illumination, gentlemen?