Meg Giry

Last updated

Meg Giry is one of the fictional characters from Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera . In the story, she is Madame Giry's oldest daughter.

Contents

Description

In the novel she is described as having “eyes black as sloes, hair black as ink, a swarthy complexion and a poor little skin stretched over poor little bones". She is also, in the novel, portrayed as a young girl who adores having her own way and attention. Due to her mother's role as the keeper of Box Five, Meg occasionally acts as a source of information about the ghost to the other ballet girls. She is described by the author in the prologue as "the most charming star of our admirable corps de ballet."

Madame Giry is compelled to work for the Phantom because he left her a letter that told her that Meg (should she deserve it) would become Empress. Early in the novel, it is explained in the Prologue that Meg Giry, after the story's events, had indeed become the Baroness de Castelot-Barbezac.

In the Andrew Lloyd Webber adaptation, she is Christine's good friend and her personality is much sweeter, caring and innocent showing genuine concern for Christine's claim of an Angel of Music (really the Phantom) coaching her. Meg is more curvaceous and has blonde hair and blue eyes.

In contrast to the musical version, in the novel, it is never mentioned that she is friends with Christine Daaé, and the only reference she makes about Christine is when confronted with the news that Christine was singing in the opening Gala, she tells Count Phillipe de Chagny that it was impossible for her to have a "divine voice" let alone become a success, that "six months ago she sang like a crock/rusty hinge".

In Susan Kay's novel Phantom , she is mentioned briefly through Erik’s point of view; as she is telling Christine of the Opera Ghost he listens to her story.

"Never you mind how I know. I just do, that’s all. We know a lot about the Opera Ghost, Ma and I, but it isn’t safe to talk about it here. And you’d better believe me for your own good- he doesn’t like people who don’t know how to show a proper respect, and when he’s angry terrible things happen."

"What sort of things?" I heard real alarm enter the other voice now.

"Awful things!" said Meg cheerfully, "truly awful. The floor in our dressing room starts to run with blood..."

Up in box five I blinked in surprised amusement. That was a new one! Little Giry should be writing Gothic novels, not prancing around the stage dressed as a water nymph!

"...disembodied hands come out of the wall and crawl across the stage," continued Meg with glee, "and people just disappear and are never seen again. Like Joseph Buquet."

Musical

In the musical Meg Giry is the one who suggests to the theatre managers to put Christine in the leading role of the opera Hannibal once leading lady Carlotta Giudicelli is spooked by the Phantom's threats. Her mother, Madame Giry agrees and supports the decision. Normally she and Christine would be part of the ballet ensemble led by Madame Giry. At the end of Christine's performance, Christine confides in Meg in the musical number "Angel of Music" that she has been coached by a mysterious tutor who is calling her to him. Meg dismisses her claims, but after Christine's disappearance, comes to believe in the Phantom's powers, in part due to her mother's experiences with the Phantom as a young man.

At the end of the musical, Meg finds the Phantom's mask that he had used to cover his disfigured face resting on his chair in his abandoned underground lair, and holds it.

Love Never Dies

Meg has a larger role in the sequel musical, Love Never Dies , where she craves the Phantom's recognition of her talent and is in love with him, but he ignores her entirely and continues to obsess over Christine. She now has a difficult relationship with her mother, who forced Meg into prostitution so they could support their establishment. She becomes jealous of her best friend Christine after working so hard for the Phantom's recognition and failing. After being disregarded by The Phantom and feeling unappreciated by her mother, she kidnaps Christine's child, Gustav, and threatens to kill him. A grieving, suicidal Meg goes on to rant about being used and cast aside then brings the gun to her head before accidentally shooting Christine and fleeing the scene.

Actresses

Related Research Articles

<i>The Phantom of the Opera</i> (novel) 1909 novel by Gaston Leroux

The Phantom of the Opera is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in Le Gaulois from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierre Lafitte. The novel is partly inspired by historical events at the Paris Opera during the nineteenth century, and by an apocryphal tale concerning the use of a former ballet pupil's skeleton in Carl Maria von Weber's 1841 production of Der Freischütz. It has been successfully adapted into various stage and film adaptations, most notable of which are the 1925 film depiction featuring Lon Chaney, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical.

<i>The Phantom of the Opera</i> (1986 musical) 1986 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber

The Phantom of the Opera is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe and a libretto by Lloyd Webber and Stilgoe. Based on the 1910 French novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux, it tells the tragic story of a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, masked musical genius living in the subterranean labyrinth beneath the Paris Opéra House.

<i>The Phantom of the Opera</i> (2004 film) 2004 film by Joel Schumacher

The Phantom of the Opera is a 2004 musical romantic drama film based on Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1910 French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux. Produced and co-written by Lloyd Webber and directed by Joel Schumacher, it stars Gerard Butler in the title role, with Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson, Minnie Driver, Simon Callow, Ciarán Hinds, Victor McGuire, and Jennifer Ellison in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Daaé</span> Fictional character

Christine Daaé is a fictional character and the female protagonist 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.

<i>Phantom of the Opera</i> (1976 musical) 1976 musical by Ken Hill

Phantom of the Opera is a musical with lyrics and a book by Ken Hill. It is based on the 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. Hill wrote the original lyrics to the music of Giuseppe Verdi, Charles Gounod, Jacques Offenbach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Carl Maria von Weber, Gaetano Donizetti, and Arrigo Boito. It premiered in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, in 1976, and had a West End production in 1991. and further international productions

<i>Phantom</i> (musical) Musical by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit

Phantom is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Arthur Kopit. Based on Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, the musical was first presented in Houston, Texas in 1991.

<i>Phantom</i> (Kay novel)

Phantom is a 1990 novel by Susan Kay, based on the 1910 Gaston Leroux novel The Phantom of the Opera. It is a biography of the title character Erik.

Don Juan Triumphant is the name of a fictional opera written by the title character in the 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera. In the 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the concept is expanded as an opera within a musical and the performance of it plays a major role in the storyline. The fictional piece draws major inspiration from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's famous 1787 work Don Giovanni, yet the Phantom's opera is depicted as far more bleak and dark.

<i>The Phantom of Manhattan</i>

The Phantom of Manhattan is a 1999 novel by British writer Frederick Forsyth, written as a sequel to the 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux. It is widely know to have been written at the request of Andrew Lloyd Webber as material for a potential sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.

Adaptations of <i>The Phantom of the Opera</i>

There have been many literary and dramatic works based on Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, ranging from stage musicals to films to children's books. Some well known stage and screen adaptations of the novel are the 1925 film and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ; Susan Kay's 1990 Phantom is one of the best known novels and includes in-depth study of the title character's life and experiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madame Giry</span> Fictional character

Madame Giry is a fictional character from Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera. She is a fairly intermediate character in the novel, although her role is much increased in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical. Madame Giry is also a character in the 2010 musical Love Never Dies, a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.

Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny is a fictional character and one of the protagonists of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera.

Erik (<i>The Phantom of the Opera</i>) Fictional character

Erik is the title character from Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, best known to English speakers as The Phantom of the Opera. The character has been adapted to alternative media several times, including in the 1925 film adaptation starring Lon Chaney, the 1943 remake starring Claude Rains, the 1962 remake starring Herbert Lom, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summer Strallen</span> British actress (b. 1985)

Summer Peta Vaigncourt-Strallen is an English actress who has performed various roles on stage and screen. Her most notable theatre credits include Meg Giry in the West End production of Love Never Dies and Maria von Trapp in Andrew Lloyd Webber's revival of The Sound of Music at the London Palladium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Buquet</span> Fictional character

Joseph Buquet is a fictional character in The Phantom of the Opera, the 1910 novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. He appears in many film and stage adaptations of the story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Millar</span> English actress and singer

Irene Mary Wetton, better known by her stage name Mary Millar, was an English actress and singer best remembered for her role as the second actress to play Rose in the successful BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances from 1991 to 1995 and for originating the role of Madame Giry in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera

<i>Love Never Dies</i> (musical) 2010 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Love Never Dies is a romantic musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and a book by Lloyd Webber, Ben Elton, Frederick Forsyth, and Slater. It is a sequel to the long-running 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera and was loosely adapted from Forsyth's 1999 novel The Phantom of Manhattan.

Tener Brown is an American ballet coach of New Jersey Ballet. She is a former ballet dancer of American Ballet Theatre and actress.

<i>The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall</i> 2011 British film

The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall is a 2011 British concert film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera, which in turn was based on the 1910 French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.

"'Til I Hear You Sing" is a song from the musical Love Never Dies, the 2010 sequel to the 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera. It was originally performed by Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom during the London run and was recorded with him for the original London cast album. Ben Lewis performed the song in the Australian production and its 2012 live stage film and 2018 cast album.

References

  1. ↑ POTO Onstage Archived 2009-03-08 at the Wayback Machine , phantom-media.info - accessed May 10, 2009
  2. ↑ Willis, John; Hodges, Ben (1 July 2008). Theatre World 2005-2006: The Most Complete Record of the American Theatre. Applause Theatre & Cinema. p. 79. ISBN   978-1-55783-708-0.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.