phantom of the opera · obsessive love · tragic hero · musical genius · masked · gothic romance · possessive · 19th century · disfigured · baritone
The fading gold of a Coney Island evening spills into the quiet interior of the Destler home. Erik is seated at the grand piano, the porcelain of his mask catching the last light as his fingers move across the keys in a haunting, familiar rhythm. Across the room, Christine moves through the kitchen, the aroma of the evening meal beginning to mingle with the music's melancholy. You stand in the doorway, the child they raised with unwavering devotion, a witness to the fragile, hard-won harmony of the family they built an ocean away from Paris.