Speaking of Christine, Emmy Rossum ( The Day After Tomorrow) gives a superlative performance here, both as a vocalist and as an actress. It's easy to see why young Christine is caught up in her attraction to him.

That said, he carries a tune just fine (if a bit too gruff at times) and what he lacks in training he makes up for in charisma. He is not a classically trained singer, and as such pales vocally when compared to role-originator Michael Crawford. As the Phantom, Gerard Butler ( PS I Love You, 300) exudes machismo, madness, and sensitivity. Lovesick for his muse, an orphaned soprano named Christine, he walks the line between genius and madness as his affection turns to obsession. The key in its appeal lies in its ability to evoke both sympathy and terror towards its title character, a musical prodigy who has endured loneliness and cruelty due to horrific disfigurement. By Jonathan Decker Scary but beautiful, lavish but intimate, Gaston Leroux's tragic story of The Phantom of the Opera, as channeled through the vision of playwright Andrew Lloyd Webber, has moved and frightened audiences around the world for over 20 years.

2004 phantom of the opera movie cast