15 Phantom Of the Opera Theme Party Ideas
If you’re planning to throw a Phantom of the Opera party and need some inspiration to carry out the theme, you’ve come to the right place. You’ll get lots of ideas for easy decorations, food and drink recipes that are sure to wow your guests.
I love to throw parties with a theme.
And this Phantom of the Opera party is one of my all time favorites!
With the dramatic black, red and white color scheme and all the romantic details, it’s perfect for any glam event.
In my case, it was an elegant Halloween masquerade party.
But it would also work well for a wedding, New Year’s Eve party, prom or even a classy birthday or anniversary party.
Keep reading to get some Phantom of the Opera party ideas that you can use for your own event.
1 | Invitations
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I don’t normally send formal invitations for my Halloween parties, but if I were going to I would send something like this elegant one.
It is totally customizable and you can either have it printed or downloaded so you can send it electronically.
2 | What to wear
A Phantom of the Opera party is usually a formal event with suits or tuxes for the men and ball gowns for the women. Especially if you’re hosting it as a masquerade ball like the one in the show.
But if you don’t want to make it that formal, you can just have everyone wear masks.
I bought some and provided them at the door for people who forgot.
I like these gold ones* and these black lace ones*. Both go with the party colors, look elegant and have multiple different styles and sizes so everyone can find something they like.
And since they’re not very expensive, the masks also make great party favors for people to take home with them.
3 | Make An Entrance
I always like to add the element of surprise to the event entrance, by setting it up so you can’t see the whole room as soon as you walk in.
To do this, I hung black velvet curtains* between the front entryway and the rest of the room which gives the party a grand entrance.
Then pinned Phantom of the Opera mask pictures to the front of them to give guests a hint of what is coming next (You can get access to the free printables below).
4 | Put up an Opera House backdrop
Covering a wall with an opera house scene setter really makes the room feel like a theater.
My wall happened to be made up mostly of windows, so I used flood lights outside the windows to backlight it. It makes those balconies look like they have lights!
If you don’t have a wall of windows to use, you can hang the backdrop on a backdrop stand*, and put lights behind it to get the same effect.
Unfortunately, the scene setter that I used is no longer available, but you could do something similar with one of these: (click the images to find them on Amazon)
Just remember to get one that’s at least 7 or 8 feet tall and wide. Otherwise, it won’t be big enough to make a statement.
You can learn more about installing scene setters HERE.
5 | Hang Curtains Around The Room
Hanging floor to ceiling black velvet drapes* around the walls makes the room look like the inside of a theater and gives the room a luxurious feel.
If you need to divide the room into sections, you can also use these to create “walls” where there aren’t any.
And they work well for hiding the edges of your scene setter if necessary.
I use the same type of backdrop stands* to do this as for hanging the opera house scene setter. However, you could also attach curtain rods, PVC or copper pipe to the ceiling or walls if you are able to drill holes (which would be less expensive).
6 | Decorate the ceiling
To take your party decorations to the next level, you need to decorate the ceiling as well as the walls.
Since my Phantom of the Opera part was for a Halloween party, I hung creepy cloth from the ceiling to make it look like spider webs. Which gives the room that old abandoned theater vibe.
If your party isn’t for Halloween, you might want to go with less spooky decor by hanging lots of balloons or a swagged fabric ceiling cover.
In any case, hanging some extra chandeliers also helps to draw your eye up. And is a reminder of the giant chandelier that fell during the show.
If your room doesn’t have real ones, you can buy party chandeliers with flameless candles to give the same effect.
7 | Light lots of candles
Using candelabras and candles of different heights adds to the romantic mood and pays homage to the underground lair of the Phantom.
I like to mix and match different styles and colors of candleholders to add interest and give the room a mis-matched, vintage look.
Hanging crystals from them makes them sparkle even more.
While I really like the look of real candles, you need to be careful about where you put them.
I had to move these ones because they were too close to the dance floor and in danger of being knocked over.
Starting a fire is definitely not what you want at a party!
If you are using real candles (like I did), make sure they aren’t too close to the curtains or any fabric hanging from the ceiling.
Also put lit candles in places that won’t get bumped into. That keeps them from accidentally getting knocked over.
To make sure that you don’t have a fire hazard, use flameless candles* instead. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, often are made of real wax, and many even have a remote control for easy “lighting”.
8 | Put up black and red Christmas trees
If you are hosting a Halloween or Christmas party, then putting up black Christmas trees on either side of the opera house scene setter is a good way to cover the edges.
I decorated it with red flameless tealights and faux red roses so that it went with the color scheme.
9 | Use Layers on the Table
Cover the tables with a red tablecloth* and a black lace overlay* to create a vintage feel.
Since my party was for Halloween, the lace tablecloth just happened to have a spider web design*, but a regular lace table cloth would work just as well.
If you can’t find an actual tablecloth you like, you can also buy black lace fabric and cut it to the right size (which gives you lots of flexibility).
10 | Add Gold and Roses To The Table Setting
Adding gold to the table settings really ups the glam factor.
These table settings used black chargers*, gold-rimmed glass plates*, gold cutlery* and gold wine glasses*. If you want to save some money, you can try making our DIY gold stemmed wine glasses instead of buying them.
Black napkins with a sparkly napkin ring* and a red rose* finish off the Phantom of the Opera party table setting.
I used fake roses so that I could put them out ahead of time and didn’t have to worry about them wilting. Believe it or not, these ones* are made of wood!
11 | Accessorize the Plates
To add a little more of the Phantom of the Opera to the table settings, print out some music onto parchment colored paper. You can get the printables below.
Then cut it out in a circle that fits on top of the charger but under the dinner plate.
Because both of the plates were clear glass in the middle, the music shows right through.
If you want more variety, you can do the same thing with a print out of the Phantom of the Opera mask.
Or if you want to use both, alternate the place settings so that some have the music background and some have the mask background.
12 | Create An Inexpensive Centerpiece
You can make inexpensive table centerpieces using empty black wine bottles and a few flowers. Because the wine bottles have small openings, you only need a few flowers to fill them, which helps to keep the cost down.
For my Halloween event, I used fake red and black roses in the vases (the same wood ones that are on the table settings). However real flowers would work just as well.
For a non-Halloween version of the event, you might want to replace the black roses with babies breath which would also look good together.
13 | Add a Candy Buffet
A candy buffet is an easy way to add more of the black, white and red colors to your room.
Fill apothecary jars with the candies and put them out on the buffet for easy and edible decor.
The final product is an elegant Halloween look that didn’t cost a lot of money and looks great!
14 | Phantom of the Opera food ideas
For my parties, I don’t want to be rushing around at the last minute preparing food.
So I look for recipes that are easy and can be made ahead of time.
It makes the party prep much less stressful.
Opera charcuterie board with meat slice roses
This charcuterie board mixes fruit, cheese and meats to give your guests a great selection of finger foods to choose from.
To add some Phantom of the Opera touches, shape the meat slices into roses and use a mask or rose-shaped cookie cutter to cut some of the cheese slices.
Masquerade meatballs
These sweet and sour meatballs are a tasty appetizer that can be made ahead of time and served in a crockpot.
And the red sauce fits right in with the Phantom of the Opera party color scheme.
Christine’s chicken piccata with mushrooms
This chicken piccata recipe is an easy main course that looks sophisticated and tastes delicious.
Made with chicken that isn’t breaded and topped with mushrooms, it’s a lighter twist on the original version.
Sparkling chandelier salad
This side recipe is a sparkling salad made with red berries, white goat cheese, and a homemade vinaigrette.
It’s easy to put together and tastes divine.
Bow tie pasta salad
Pasta salad is another easy-to-make side dish that actually tastes better if it is made in advance.
And when you make it with this black and white bow tie pasta, it goes perfectly with the Phantom of the Opera decor.
Phantom of the Opera cupcakes
I always prefer to make cupcakes rather than cake for my parties. They are just so much easier to serve.
These Phantom of the Opera cupcakes are dessert and add to your party decor.
I love desserts that do double-duty!
Black forest mini pavlovas
If you don’t want your dessert to be too theme-y, then try out these black forest mini pavlovas.
They’re also made in individual servings, look very elegant, and taste like a lighter version of black forest cake.
15 | Cocktail ideas
Prosecco or champagne
For an easy cocktail, serve Prosecco or Champagne in coupe glasses.
The vintage shape of the glasses helps set the mood.
And topping the drinks with edible gold stars* makes them look really pretty.
Red wine sangria
Red wine sangria is a big batch cocktail that is made ahead of time and served like a punch.
Which is why I love to serve it at parties. It’s just so easy!
You can also make a non-alcoholic version by substituting red grape juice for the wine.
Gold champagne Jello shots
I don’t think any party is complete without Jello shots.
They’re easy to make in big batches, can be stacked in the refrigerator (so they don’t take up much space) and you don’t have to worry about them getting spilled.
Plus everyone loves them! And these gold champagne ones look pretty, too!
Other party themes you might like
Have comments or questions on our Phantom of the Opera theme party ideas? Tell us in the section below.
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This post was originally published on October 28, 2015 but was updated with new content on September 6, 2023.
I am decorating for a grad prom with the Phantom of the Opera theme and would love to know where I might find an opera house scene setter! could you please tell me where you found yours? Thank you!
Hi Andrea…That sounds like an awesome prom! I got the opera house scene setter at stumpsparty.com. It comes in 2 pieces…this is the link to the top half and this is the link to the bottom half. There’s a few different sizes depending on how big you want it to be and how much you want to spend. I bought the 48″ x 134″ ones so that together they would fill the height of an 8′ wall. Good luck with it!
I wish I had a way to post a picture for you of my Phantom of the Opera photo op that I created for our ‘Music of the Night’ themed New Year’s Eve Ball, 2017. Would make a great photo op for Prom! Please let me know if there’s some way I could do it. Love Phantom themes!!
Update: Here is Pamela’s Phantom of the Opera party picture:
What a great photo op!!
Hi Pam…If you want to send it to me by email, I can post it for you. I would love to see it!
Where did you get the clear plate with the gold rim? I have looked every where and cannot find them
Hi Jodi…I got the larger plates with the jagged gold edges from zgallerie.com. They also have a smaller sized plate with the same pattern. The smaller ones I used with the gold band came from One Kings Lane and unfortunately, it looks like they don’t have them available any more. I did find another one at wayfair.com that’s not exactly the same but might work. Hope this helps! Wanda.