ˌPhantom of the ˈOpera, The BrE AmE
(1910) a book by the French writer Gaston Leroux about a frightening man whose face has been disfigured (↑ disfigure ) and who wears a ↑ mask to hide it. He ↑ kidnap s a beautiful ↑ opera singer because he loves her. Several films and plays have been based on the story, and Andrew ↑ Lloyd Webber made it into a successful ↑ musical in 1986.