🎼 Stars of the Paris Opera House

Carlotta Giudicelli and Ubaldo Piangi are the resident leading singers at the Opéra Populaire in The Phantom of the Opera. They appear in operas such as Hannibal and Il Muto. Not only frequent stage partners, they are also romantically involved, which adds vanity, melodrama, and humor to their presence.

🎤 Carlotta – The Prima Donna

Carlotta is a flamboyant, temperamental star — demanding and proud, often clashing with the managers or Christine, whom she sees as a rival. The role is typically sung by a classically trained soprano, showcasing vocal agility and power. The Phantom despises her and humiliates her in Il Muto by sabotaging her voice, reducing her to a frog-like croak. Though comic in her vanity, Carlotta is technically skilled — until the Phantom intervenes.

🎙 Piangi – The Tenor (and the Target)

Ubaldo Piangi, her partner, is the company’s Italian tenor. Cast in grand heroic roles, he is often played with exaggerated humor: over-the-top costumes in Hannibal, a heavy Italian accent, and comic stage presence. The Phantom never mocks Piangi’s singing, only his weight and appearance, suggesting that Piangi is musically competent but visually ridiculed.

💀 Piangi’s Fate in Act II – Don Juan Triumphant

In most replica productions, Piangi is killed offstage before his entrance in Don Juan Triumphant. The Phantom strangles him and takes his place, disguised as Don Juan, luring Christine into the climactic confrontation.

⚖ Variations in Non-Replica Productions

In some non-replica stagings, the sequence of events is adjusted. While specifics vary by production, the consistent dramatic outcome remains: the Phantom still replaces Piangi to create the climactic, tension-filled reveal.

💞 More Than Stage Partners

Offstage, Carlotta and Piangi are also a couple. Their shared ego and flamboyance make them a unit — inseparable in success and insecurity. As comic foils, they contrast with the central Christine–Raoul–Phantom triangle, reminding the audience that opera itself thrives on exaggeration, vanity, and theatrical spectacle.