Firmin Richard and Armand Moncharmin

Firmin Richard and Armand Moncharmin are the joint managers of the Paris Opera House who take over from MM. Debienne and Poligny and immediately find themselves at war with the Opera Ghost. Their partnership is an unlikely one: Moncharmin, a wealthy man with no musical knowledge, chooses Richard, a distinguished composer, as his active partner, and together they must navigate the ghost's demands, which escalate from a reserved box to a monthly allowance of twenty thousand francs. Their story is one of mounting frustration, mutual suspicion, and eventual, grudging accommodation with the supernatural force that rules their theater.

Formation of the Partnership

Armand Moncharmin, who wrote voluminous Memoirs during his co-management, did not know a note of music, but he called the minister of education and fine arts by his Christian name, had dabbled in society journalism, and enjoyed a considerable private income. He was a charming fellow who showed intelligence by selecting the best possible active manager: Firmin Richard, a distinguished composer of successful pieces who liked nearly every form of music and every sort of musician. Richard's only faults were a masterful manner and a hasty temper. The two men took over the Opera with delight, initially dismissing the ghost story as a joke, but their skepticism was soon challenged by a series of incidents that proved the ghost was not to be ignored.

The Ghost's Demands and the Managers' Resistance

On their first day, Richard received a letter in red ink, written in a clumsy, childish hand, demanding the return of Box Five and threatening that if they did not comply, they would live in peace no longer. The letter was accompanied by a cutting from the Revue Theatrale, and Moncharmin received an identical one. They laughed, assuming it was a prank by their predecessors, and sent Box Five to Debienne and Poligny. But when the ghost sent a thank-you note and then a demand for the 240,000 francs annual allowance, Richard's patience snapped. He sold Box Five, only to have the ghost retaliate by causing a scandal in the box, which led to the dismissal of the box-keeper, Mme. Giry. The managers' resistance culminated in their decision to watch a performance from Box Five themselves, where they saw a shape that Moncharmin described as a death's head and Richard as an old woman, but they found nothing when they entered the box.

The Escalation of the Conflict

The ghost's ultimatum, delivered in a letter before the Saturday performance of Faust, demanded the return of Box Five, the casting of Christine Daae as Margarita, the reinstatement of Mme. Giry, and the payment of the monthly allowance. Richard, enraged, refused, and the ghost made good on his threat to curse the house. During the performance, Carlotta, singing in place of the absent Christine, croaked like a toad, and the managers, sitting in Box Five, heard the ghost's voice whisper, "She is singing to-night to bring the chandelier down!" The chandelier crashed into the stalls, killing the concierge who had replaced Mme. Giry. The managers were horrified and, in the aftermath, became increasingly paranoid, suspecting each other of complicity in the ghost's schemes.

The Magic Envelope and the Safety-Pin

The ghost's financial demands led to the famous magic envelope affair. The managers, determined to catch the blackmailer, placed twenty thousand francs in an envelope and handed it to Mme. Giry, who was to deliver it to the ghost's box. They watched the envelope, but when they opened it, they found it contained worthless Bank of St. Farce notes. The next month, they tried again, this time with Richard wearing the envelope in his coat-tail pocket, pinned with a safety-pin. Moncharmin, suspecting Richard, insisted on watching him closely, but when they reached their office, the notes were gone, and the pin remained. Richard accused Moncharmin of theft, and Moncharmin accused Richard of a practical joke. Their partnership was strained to the breaking point, and they were on the verge of calling in the police when the ghost, having achieved his purpose, returned the money with a note: "With O. G.'s compliments."

The Aftermath and the Memoirs

After the return of the money, the managers agreed to drop the matter, and Moncharmin, in his Memoirs, described the ghost's behavior as a joke that had gone too far. He continued to believe that Richard had been the culprit, while Richard was convinced that Moncharmin had invented the whole affair to revenge himself for a few jokes. The Persian, however, explained to the narrator that Erik had returned the money because he no longer wanted it, having relinquished his marriage to Christine Daae. The managers' story illustrates the futility of resisting the ghost, whose trap-door tricks and ventriloquism made him an invisible and invincible adversary. Their partnership, though tested, survived, but it was forever marked by the suspicion and fear that the ghost had sown between them.