Christine Daaé is a fictional character and the female
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of
Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel ''
The Phantom of the Opera'' and of the various adaptations of the work.
Erik, the Phantom of the Opera and
Viscount Raoul de Chagny both fall in love with her.
Character history
Biography
Christine Daaé was born in a town near
Uppsala
Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Loc ...
, Sweden. Her mother died when she was six years old. Raised by her father, they travelled through rural Sweden, wandering from fair to fair, where he played the violin and she sang. They were discovered at one of these fairs by Professor Valérius, who took them to
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
and then to Paris, providing for Christine's education.
Christine was extremely close to her father, who told her Scandinavian fairy-tales; the tale of the "Angel of Music" was her favorite. Christine entered the
Paris Conservatoire and trained for four years to become an opera singer to please her father and Mamma Valérius, the bedridden wife of the late Professor. However, by the end of the four years, she had lost her passion for singing and the music.
When Christine arrived at the
Opéra Garnier, she was described as "sounding like a rusty hinge", but one person found the beauty hidden in her voice. When
Erik, the Phantom of the Opera began to tutor her, he told her that he was the "Angel of Music" of whom her father had spoken. She believed him, and he inspired her soul back into her voice. Having been singing small roles with the Opera for some months without making much impression on audiences, Christine had a spectacular success at a gala at the opera in place of the singer
Carlotta, who had fallen ill. Christine's singing was described as "
seraph
A seraph ( ; pl.: ) is a celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and in the fif ...
ic".
Christine became torn between her loyalty and sympathy for her mentor, Erik, and her love for her childhood friend
Viscount Raoul de Chagny.
In the Lofficier translation of the novel, Christine's age is given as 15 years old. However, this is a mistranslation of a passage that says her heart was "as pure as that of a 15-year-old". The evidence of Christine's childhood friendship with Raoul, and her studies at the Paris Conservatoire, put her age at 21 years old.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical ''The Phantom of the Opera''
Christine is a chorus / ballet girl, who becomes the object of obsession, passion and love for the mysterious Phantom of the Opera. He becomes her mentor, and with his help, she is chosen to replace the company's prima donna, Carlotta. When she falls in love with her childhood sweetheart, Raoul, the Phantom kidnaps Christine in a jealous rage and drags her down to his lair. She is forced to choose between the Phantom and Raoul, but her compassion for the Phantom moves him to free them both and allow them to flee. In the original West End and Broadway productions, she was portrayed by
Sarah Brightman.
2004 film
The
film version of the musical follows the musical's script closely, but Christine's age is reduced. Her gravemark says that she was born in 1854, and the beginning of the movie shows the setting as 1870, making her about 16 years old when the events of the movie take place.
Father's name
In the novel and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Christine's father's first name is never revealed. In the novel, he is simply referred to as "Daddy" or "Daddy Daaé." In the 2004 movie, he is called Gustave, and in
Sarah Brightman's music video version of "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again", his name is Charles.
Films
The novel has been adapted several times. The first film iteration was produced in Germany in 1915, with
Nils Chrisander (1884–1947) as the Phantom and
Aud Egede-Nissen (1893–1974) as Christine. Many critics consider the film of 1925 by
Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle ; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a German-American film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films.
Regarded as one of the ...
's
Universal Pictures
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
as the most successful. The role of the Phantom played here by
Lon Chaney. The same studio tried in 1943 with a
sound film
A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...
of
Arthur Lubin
Arthur Lubin (July 25, 1898 – May 11, 1995) was an American film director and producer who directed several ''Abbott & Costello'' films, ''Phantom of the Opera (1943 film), Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), the ''Francis the Talking Mule'' series a ...
to follow this success. The film used to a large extent the still existing scenes of the silent film.
Claude Rains
William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British and American actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. He was the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Academy Award nominations for Academy Award for Best Supp ...
played the Phantom.
In 1960, a Spanish society turned a very free adaptation of the subject under the title ''El Fantasma de la Operetta'' . In 1962, British production company
Hammer Films focused on the horror genre.
Another adaptation was produced in 1974 by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
, who moved the event to New York and significantly altered the story to be more
Faust
Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
ian. This film was released as ''
Phantom of the Paradise'', with
Jessica Harper in the Christine-esque role of Phoenix, and
William Finley as the eponymous Phantom.
The
1989 version,
Jill Schoelen played Christine opposite
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. Englund is best known for playing the villain Freddy Krueger in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise. Englund has received multiple accolades and honors, incl ...
in the title role.
In 1998, Italian horror film director
Dario Argento
Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. His influential work in the horror film, horror and giallo genres during the 1970s and 1980s has led him to being referred to as the "Master of the ...
cast his daughter
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
as Christine.
In 2004,
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher (; August 29, 1939 – June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated from Parsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designe ...
produced a
film version inspired by the musical of
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...
. This iteration starred
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never ...
and
Emmy Rossum
Emmanuelle Grey Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. The accolades she has received include a Saturn Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award, an Independ ...
as the Phantom and Christine. Originally, there was already a filming based on the musical in the early 1990s, with
Michael Crawford
Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer.
Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...
and
Sarah Brightman reprising their roles from the stage production as the Phantom and Christine. Brightman was married to Lloyd Webber at the time, but shortly before the planned pre-production the marriage was dissolved and the filming was cancelled.
Popular movies
Loose Adaptations
Basis
Towards the end of his life, Leroux claimed the character was based on a real opera singer "whose real name I hid under that of Christine Daaé". It is likely he was referring to the Swedish singer
Christina Nilsson
Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, also called Christine Nilsson (20 August 1843 – 22 November 1921) was a Swedish operatic dramatic coloratura soprano. Possessed of a pure and brilliant voice (B3-F6), first three then two and a ha ...
(1843-1921) (sometimes known as "Christine Nilsson"), whose real life heavily reflects details in the fictitious Christine Daaé's history. Nilsson, like the fictional Daaé, was born in rural Sweden, and both were discovered by a well-to-do patron performing in a Swedish marketplace: Nilsson singing along to her brother's violin playing in
Ljungby
Ljungby () is the Urban areas in Sweden, central locality of Ljungby Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden, with 15,785 inhabitants in 2015.
Ljungby was instituted in 1829 as a ''köping'', or ''market town'', and did not become a municipality o ...
, Daaé singing along to her father's violin playing in (fictitious) Ljimby. Both were taken under the protection of a family named "Valerius" in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
, and both were brought to Paris by their respective patrons for operatic training. Even the rivalry between the youthful and inexperienced Christine Daaé and the seasoned veteran diva Mme Carlotta, and specifically the replacement of Carlotta with Daaé in the role of Marguerite in
Gounod
Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
's
Faust
Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
, loosely reflects the public competition between Christina Nilsson and the older
Caroline Miolan-Carvalho over the role at the
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...
in 1868-1869, even to the point of using ideas and language from contemporary reviews of Nilsson's performances.
Actresses
The first actress to portray Christine Daaé was
Aud Egede-Nissen in the 1916
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
silent version by Ernst Matray, ''
Das Gespenst im Opernhaus'' or ''Das Phantom der Oper''.
*
Mary Philbin played Christine in the 1925
American silent version by
Rupert Julian
Rupert Julian (born Thomas Percival Hayes; 25 January 1879 – 27 December 1943) was a New Zealand cinema actor, director, writer and producer. During his career, Julian directed 60 films and acted in over 90 films. He is best remembered for di ...
, ''
The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to:
Novel
* The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux
Characters
* Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...
''.
*
Susanna Foster played Christine DuBois in the 1943
Technicolor
Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...
version, ''
Phantom of the Opera''.
*
Heather Sears played Christine Charles in the 1962 version of ''
The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to:
Novel
* The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux
Characters
* Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...
''.
*
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...
played Christine in the 1983 TV movie version.
* Christina Collier played her in
Ken Hill's camp-classical
musical version in 1984.
* Glory Crampton originated the role in the much revived
Maury Yeston
Maury Yeston (born October 23, 1945) is an American composer, lyricist and music theorist.
Yeston has written the music and lyrics for several Broadway musicals and is also a classical orchestral and ballet composer. Among his Broadway music ...
and
Arthur Kopit
Arthur Lee Kopit (; May 10, 1937 – April 2, 2021) was an American playwright. He was a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for ''Indians (play), Indians'' and ''Wings (play), Wings''. He was also nominated for three Tony Awards: Best Play for ...
1990 musical ''
Phantom''.
*
Jill Schoelen played Christine Day in
Dwight H. Little's
1989 film version.
*
Asia Argento
Asia Argento (; born Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento; 20 September 1975) is an Italian actress and filmmaker. The daughter of filmmaker Dario Argento, she has had roles in several of her father's features and achieved mainstream success with ...
played her in the
1998 film.
* Claudia Cota played her twice in ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (musical 2000) by Morris Gilbert in Mexico and Player her on Phantom of the Opera (musical 2009) in Argentina by
Harold Prince
Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre.
One of the foremost figures in 20th-century theat ...
.
*
Teri Polo
Theresa Elizabeth Polo (born June 1, 1969) is an American actress. She starred as Pamela Martha Focker (née Byrnes) in the ''Meet the Parents'' trilogy, Helen Santos in ''The West Wing'', and played the role of police officer Stef Adams Foster ...
took the role in the
1990 television miniseries version.
* American
Janet Marie Chvatal performed the role in 1991–1992 in the German version of
Das Phantom der Oper in Vienna, Austria.
Lloyd Webber musical actresses
*
Sarah Brightman debuted the role in the 1986
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...
musical on Broadway and in the West End
*
Patti Cohenour debuted the role in the 1986 Broadway production, alternating with Sarah Brightman. Cohenour was thus the first American Christine and went on to reprise the role for the Canadian production.
*
Claire Moore was Brightman's alternate in the West End production and took over the role when she left.
*Lee Hye kyong and
Kim Soo Hyun played Christine debuted the role Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Korean Production in Seoul year 2001.
*
Rebecca Caine
Rebecca Caine (born 25 November 1959) is a Canadian light lyric soprano, and musical theatre performer.
Life and career
Caine was born in Toronto, Ontario and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She is the daughter o ...
debuted the role in the Canadian production (1989) and featured on the Canadian Cast album.
*
Marina Prior
Marina Prior (born 18 October 1963) is an Australian soprano and actress with a career mainly in musical theatre. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original Christine Daaé in the Australian premiere of ''The Phantom of the Opera (1986 mus ...
originated the role in the Australian production.
*
Rebecca Luker
Rebecca Luker (April 17, 1961 – December 23, 2020) was an American actress, singer, and recording artist, noted for her "crystal clear operatic soprano" and for maintaining long runs in Broadway musicals over the course of her three-decade-lo ...
was the original understudy in the Broadway production and later took over the role and played opposite
Steve Barton
Steven Neal Barton (June 26, 1954 – July 21, 2001) was an American actor, singer, dancer, teacher, choreographer, and stage director. He worked internationally in the United States, London, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. He is most well k ...
and
Cris Groenendaal as the Phantom.
*
Lisa Vroman
Lisa Vroman (born 1956) is an American lyric soprano and stage actress.
Vroman's mother and stepfather teach music, and her father was a singer. She graduated from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in 1979. She earned a master of fin ...
was a principal Christine on Broadway and the first US tour and also served as the alternate Christine in the third US tour
*
Josie Walker was the alternate in the first UK tour.
*
Emmy Rossum
Emmanuelle Grey Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. The accolades she has received include a Saturn Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award, an Independ ...
played her in the 2004
film version of the Lloyd Webber musical.
*
Sierra Boggess first played Christine in the 2006 version of the Lloyd Webber musical, ''
Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular''. In 2010 she originated the role in Lloyd Webber's sequel, ''
Love Never Dies''. She next played Christine in the 25th Anniversary concert, ''
The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall
''The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall'' is a 2011 British concert film adaptation of the 1986 stage musical ''The Phantom of the Opera'' by Andrew Lloyd Webber, itself based on the novel by Gaston Leroux.
To celebrate the 25th ...
'', in 2011, on Broadway in 2013 and 2014, and in Paris to celebrate the show's 30th anniversary in 2016.
* Elizabeth Loyacano was Boggess's alternate in the Las Vegas production
*
Katie Hall played Christine in the 25th anniversary UK tour
*
Samantha Hill served as alternate for the role during Boggess' tenure, and took over the lead on Broadway from 2012 to 2013.
*
Kimilee Bryant played the role in the Lloyd Webber musical on Broadway (1994–95; 1998; 2009–2012 occasionally) and in the Swiss (in German; 1995–96), U.S. National Tour (1996–98) and Toronto (1999) productions.
*
Gina Beck played the role in the Lloyd Webber musical in London.
*
Sofia Escobar played the role of Christine Daaé, in The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, from 2010 to 2013.
*
Jennifer Hope Wills played Christine in the Lloyd Webber musical on Broadway and on a Canadian tour of the musical.
*
Julia Udine played Christine on Broadway in the Lloyd Webber musical from 2014 to 2016, after playing the role in the North American tour in 2013–2014.
*
Ali Ewoldt played Christine on Broadway in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical from 2016 to November 2018. She is the first Asian-American actress to be cast in the lead role.
*
Anna O'Byrne played Christine in the Australian productions of Phantom of the Opera and Love Never Dies and reprised her role in the West End production of Phantom
* Kaley Ann Voorhees played Christine in the Lloyd Webber musical on Broadway from November 2018 to October 2019.
*
Meghan Picerno played Christine in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway from October 2019 to January 2022 and in the 2019 world tour.
* Kelly Mathieson played Christine at the original theatre,
Her Majesty's Theatre
His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...
in London's West End from 2017 until the closing of the original production in 2020.
*
Holly-Anne Hull played Christine on the UK and Ireland tour 2020 for a mere 13 performances before the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
shut down the tour. She is transferring to the West End in Her Majesty's Theatre as the alternate Christine with performances commencing from 27 July 2021. In January 2023 she took over the role as the principal actress and left the cast in July that same year.
*
Lucy St Louis began playing Christine in Her Majesty's Theatre with performances commencing from 27 July 2021.
* Emilie Kouatchou was Christine on Broadway from her first performance on October 27, 2021 to the final Broadway performance on April 16, 2023. She is the first Black actress to portray the role in the Broadway production.
*
Celinde Schoenmaker played Christine in ''The Phantom of the Opera'' in the West End and Greece and is set to reprise her role in a concert version of ''Love Never Dies'' in 2023.
* Lily Kerhoas took over the role of Christine on the West End in July 2023.
References
External links
*
The Phantom of the Operafree e-book, Project Gutenberg
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daae, Christine
Characters in The Phantom of the Opera
Female characters in film
Female characters in literature
Fictional opera singers
Fictional singers
Fictional Swedish people
Fictional viscounts and viscountesses
Literary characters introduced in 1909
Orphan characters in literature
Female characters in musical theatre
Fictional ballet dancers
de:Das Phantom der Oper#Hauptcharaktere