A pity too, it was a real loss to the screen. Susanna Foster who had a lovely soprano voice gave up her career soon after this most acclaimed of her films. Might have made a living doing that as well.

Sculpting was a hobby of his and as you can see he was quite good at it. The bust of Susanna Foster that Claude Rains stole from Eddy's dressing room is something that Nelson Eddy actually did. Another one of his interests was sculpture. Consequently The Phantom of the Opera and the arias he sings here always had a special place in his affections. But Eddy always loved the grand opera, it could easily been his career path. He always viewed himself as a singer first, films were something he did to get publicity for his concert tours. Unlike his screen partner at MGM, Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy came from the opera to the cinema. A task rendered considerably easier by the presence of Nelson Eddy and Susanne Foster. We can make it as much about opera as the phantom haunting the Paris Opera. When Universal decided to remake Lon Chaney's classic silent version of the opera, sound opened up a rather obvious vista for the film.

Phantom of the opera fanart