What they describe sounds an awful lot like Carpel Tunnel Syndrome that he's developed which is affecting his playing the violin. We see him first being told after 20 years he's being given the sack by the company. Of course Phantom of the Opera is really made by the performance of Claude Rains as the mild mannered, inoffensive Eric Claudin, a violinist in the Paris Opera who is crushing out big time on Susanna Foster. Another fine role for him even though he only has one scene is in Cyrano de Bergerac where he plays the very sly and all knowing and discerning Cardinal Richelieu. Barrier played equally well as villains or as a good guy as he is here.

He was a more than competent player, his career probably suffering because he was a bit too much like Warren William who was himself a poor man's John Barrymore. This may have been Edgar Barrier's best film role.

The scenes involving this are nicely staged by director Arthur Lubin, more known for doing Abbott and Costello comedies. Baritone Nelson Eddy and Inspector of the Surete Edgar Barrier have an uneasy rivalry going for the affections of Foster. This Phantom of the Opera has a bit of comedy in it as well. 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.

Imdb the phantom of the opera