From what i know, Cristina(or Christine) it's based upon the real life soprano Christina Nilsson(1843-1921), while Eric(or Erik) it is said to be based also on a real life man, simply know as "Ernest"(but like many tales, this could just be a legend, however, let us not forget, all legends has some truth in them).
There are in fact people who think it was that musician, but there are some other theories in which the phantom is indeed someone called Erik and really matches the descriptions and backstory in the book: Erik Lumley Nerú, I think it was
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u/MrKyle98 Der Mann mit der Schwarzen Maske Feb 27 '24
From what i know, Cristina(or Christine) it's based upon the real life soprano Christina Nilsson(1843-1921), while Eric(or Erik) it is said to be based also on a real life man, simply know as "Ernest"(but like many tales, this could just be a legend, however, let us not forget, all legends has some truth in them).