"It was the evening on which MM. Debienne and Poligny, the managers of the Opera, were giving a last gala performance to mark their retirement. Suddenly the dressingroom of La Sorelli, one of the principal dancers, was invaded by half-a-dozen young ladies of the ballet, who had come up from the stage after "dancing" Polyeucte..." The Phantom of the Opera is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in Le G...