1870

The year 1870 stands as a decisive rupture in the construction of the Paris Opera House, a project begun under the Second French Empire and intended to be the most magnificent lyric theater in the world. The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War and the subsequent Siege of Paris brought the grand building works to an abrupt halt just as they were about to be prosecuted most vigorously. The unfinished edifice, its foundations already laid with exceptional depth and strength to withstand the waterlogged soil, was suddenly put to new and unexpected uses, transforming from a symbol of imperial ambition into a practical military asset. This interruption, though temporary, had profound and lasting consequences, for it not only delayed the completion of the Opera but also created the conditions under which the building would later become a refuge for the mysterious Erik, the Opera Ghost.

Construction Interrupted and the Building's Wartime Use

The events of 1870 interrupted work on the Opera House at a critical juncture. The building, which had been under construction since 1861, was still far from complete, its exterior covered by a wooden shell with thousands of small panes of glass. When the war broke out, the new Opera House was converted into a vast military storehouse, filled with a heterogeneous mass of goods to support the war effort. This was a stark contrast to its intended purpose as a temple of music and dance. The building's vast cellars, designed for the storage of scenery and properties, were instead used to hold military supplies. This period of military use, however, was relatively brief, and the damage done to the structure was slight, but it marked the first time the Opera's subterranean spaces were put to a purpose far removed from the artistic.

The Commune and the Balloon Station

After the Siege of Paris, the building fell into the hands of the Paris Commune, the revolutionary government that briefly ruled the city in 1871. The Communards, as they were known, put the Opera House to yet another unexpected use: the roof was turned into a balloon station. This was part of the Commune's efforts to communicate with the provinces, using Montgolfier balloons to carry incendiary proclamations to the departments. The choice of the Opera's roof for this purpose was practical, as it was one of the highest points in the city, but it also symbolized the radical transformation of the building's role. The Commune's occupation of the Opera was short-lived, but it left a lasting mark on the building's history, particularly in the cellars, where the Communards constructed a state prison and a network of secret passages, known as the Communists' Road, which would later play a crucial role in Erik's domain.

Erik's Secret Role in the Foundations

The interruption of 1870 and the subsequent events of the Commune were not merely historical footnotes; they were directly connected to the novel's central mystery. Erik, the Opera Ghost, had been one of the chief contractors under Philippe Garnier, the architect of the Opera, and had worked on the foundations before the works were officially suspended. When the war and the Commune halted construction, Erik continued to work by himself, using his extraordinary skills as an architect and magician to build a secret dwelling within the double case of the foundation walls. The chaos of 1870 and the Commune provided the perfect cover for his clandestine activities, allowing him to create the House on the Lake, the torture-chamber, and the labyrinthine passages that would become his kingdom. The year 1870, therefore, is not just a date in the building's history; it is the moment when the Opera's cellars began to acquire the hidden layers that would later conceal Erik's tragic love story.

Significance in the Narrative

In the narrative of The Phantom of the Opera, the year 1870 serves as a historical anchor, grounding the fantastic events of the novel in a real and turbulent period. The Persian, who knew Erik's secrets, explains that Erik was able to build his house because he was one of the contractors during the construction, and the suspension of works during the war and the Commune allowed him to work undisturbed. The year 1870 thus explains how Erik, a man without a country and without a face, could create a hidden world beneath the most public of Parisian institutions. It also underscores the theme of the building as a palimpsest, with layers of history—imperial ambition, wartime necessity, revolutionary fervor—buried beneath the surface, just as Erik's own tragic story is buried beneath the Opera's glittering facade. The year 1870, therefore, is not merely a date but a turning point that made the Opera Ghost possible.