An incomplete list of The Phantom of the Opera’s offstage appearances 

When Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera opened in 1986, the Phantom already had a long history of haunting. Based on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, the musical we all know and love followed a series of other adaptations, including the 1925 silent film starring Lon Chaney and Ken Hill’s 1976 musical, which kickstarted Andrew and Cameron Mackintosh’s own Phantom journey.

But for most of us, The Phantom of the Opera inside our minds is the one singing ‘Music of the Night’ and crashing chandeliers while Christine sings his arias and hits notes high enough to shatter glass.

And part of the reason this Phantom is the one singing songs in our heads is because he didn’t just make an impression on stage. Over the years, the Phantom has made his way out of his lair and onto the screen. The show’s music has soared up the charts and across the internet. The characters have been referenced in cartoons, hit shows, music videos and lyrics. All in all, The Phantom of the Opera has been part of some pretty pivotal pop culture moments. It would be impossible to mention every one of them, but here’s our incomplete guide to some of Phantom’s real-world hauntings.

In the charts

Released in 1986 before Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera opened, the title song from the musical was recorded by Steve Harley – front man of 1970s rock band Cockney Rebel – and the show’s original Christine, Sarah Brightman, peaking at number 7 in the UK singles chart. That was the first time the Phantom music escaped the theatre, but it wouldn’t be the last.

In 2002, Finnish metal band Nightwish recorded their own version of ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ with band members Tarja Turunen and Marko Hietala singing the roles of Christine and the Phantom. The live version of their duet received huge critical acclaim, and the official video of their 2005 performance has been viewed on YouTube 60 million times (and counting.)

From heavy metal to electric violin, 2010 America’s Got Talent breakout star Lindsay Stirling’s Phantom medley – the video for which sees Stirling perform in a variety of Phantom-inspired costumes and settings, including a snow-covered cemetery and an empty theatre –was released in 2012. Stirling’s trademark choreographed violin performance of a number of Phantom songs has, to date, been viewed 73 million times on YouTube.

These power house performances aside, the character of the Phantom has also inspired music videos and song lyrics, from Meatloaf’s 1993 ‘I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)’ video to Backstreet Boys 1997 Halloween-inspired ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’ video.

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On the screen

Several years after it was first recorded, that Lindsay Stirling Phantom medley appeared in the 2019 opening episode of Netflix’s Umbrella Academy, a four-season series about a dysfunctional family of superheroes. Sharp-eared Phantom fans might have recognised the soundtrack, which was also used in the Umbrella Academy trailer.

Another streamer smash-hit to include that iconic Phantom overture was Yellowjackets, Amazon Showtime's darkly funny mystery series about a group of girls’ soccer players who survive a plane crash. Those familiar chords creep in during a 2021 first season episode, just as adult Misty Quigley – played in the show by Christina Ricci – is about to commit a criminal offence (no spoilers). 

Again, it’s not just the Phantom’s music that has found its way on screen.TV shows including Family Guy, The Simpsons and The French Prince of Bel Air have all referenced Phantom, while a Season 3 episode of Sex and the City from back in 2000 saw Carrie Bradshaw run into her ex, Mr Big, at the actual opera, before running out, saying “…I felt like I’d just seen The Phantom of the Opera.” Sex and the City and The Phantom of the Opera? Talk about a cultural crossover.

‍Part of the culture

Music videos and TV shows are all well and good, but it doesn’t get much bigger than the greatest sporting show on earth. The 2024 Paris Olympics opened, as every Olympics does, with a ceremony designed to showcase the very best of its host city. And you know who lives in Paris, right?

Yes, perhaps the biggest indicator of the ways in which The Phantom of the Opera has become embedded into popular culture came just a few weeks ago, when the Phantom overture featured in the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Even as part of a medley, the crash of those first chords was instantly recognisable. And when those opening notes are part of a theatrical show, watched by dignitaries and sports fans from across the world? Well, perhaps even the Phantom could be happy with that.