"Il Fantasma dell'Opera" from the official website

Il Fantasma dell'Opera
(The Phantom of the Opera)
from the Official Dario Argento website

The official Dario Argento website has put up an official area for the film. Unfortunately (for those of us who are not fluent in Italian), the entire site and all of the information is written in Italian.
BUT! In my endeavor to do my utmost to bring the most up-to-date and inside Julian information that I can to you, I have brought my moderately adequate knowlege of the French language (similar, but hardly the same) to bear on the information from the site, and the resulting (undoubtedly flawed and rough) translations are here for you. If you do happen to speak/read enough Italian to do a better job of translating than I have, please feel free to submit an improved translation: I would be grateful to have one! (Thanks to MARIAGRAZIA for help on polishing these translations.)
[You can also try the AltaVista translation service by going to http://www.altavista.com/ and entering the address of the Argento site (http://www.darioargento.org/) on their translations page. Make sure to set the translation for Italian to whatever your preferred language is. You should then be able to view the whole site in (rough) English (or whatever).]

Now, for those troublesome Italian pieces. (I'll give you both the original and my attempt at translating...) (BTW, if you do happen to visit the official Phantom site and notice an error in my translation, please let me know.)

Il Fantasma, fotografato durante una pausa del film. Interpretato da Julian Sands, inglese di 37 anni, lanciato nell'85 da James Ivory con "Camera con vista". Argento lo definisce: "lunare, potente, alieno. Bravo e perfetto per il ruolo del Fantasma. Ne abbiamo parlato e discusso per quasi dieci anni".

The Phantom, photographed during a break in filming. Played by Julian Sands, English, 37 years old (sic), seen in 1985's James Ivory film "Room with a View". Argento says of him: "lunar, powerful, alien. Great and perfect for the role of the Phantom. We had spoken about and discussed this for about 10 years."

JULIAN SANDS (IL FANTASMA)
Con alle spalle una carriera che vanta oltre 40 interpretazioni. Julian Sands ha attraversato generi e opere di autori molto diversi tra loro. Basterebbe pensare a "Camera con vista" (1985) di James Ivory e all'horror "Warloch", oppure al controverso "Il pasto nudo" (1992) di David Cronenberg e allo sconcertante "Boxing Helena" (1993) di Jennifer Lynch. Sands ha frequentato la Britain School of Speech and Drama e a 15 anni ha debuttato in teatro con la Forum Theatre Company. Al cinema ottiene il suo primo ruolo in "Broken English" di Derek Jarman cui seguono ben presto "Privates on Parade" di Michael Blakemore e l'acclamato "Urla del silenzio" (1984) di Ronald Joffè. Tra i numerosi altri film interpretati, da ricordare "Oxford Univeristy" (1984) di Robert Boris, "The Room" di Robert Altman, "Il sole anche di notte" (1990) di Paolo e Vittorio Taviani, "Aracnofobia" (1990) di Mark Mashall e i due titoli di Mike Figgis, "Via da Las Vegas" (1996) e il piu' recente "Complice la notte" (1997). Ha lavorato anche in film per la televisione diretti da registi come Paul Schrader, Martha Coolidge e Mary Lambert.

JULIAN SANDS (THE PHANTOM)
With a career including over 40 roles, Julian Sands has transcended genres and works by very different authors. Thoughtful in "Room with a View" (1985) from James Ivory and horrific in "Warlock", appearing in the controversial "Naked Lunch" (1992) from David Cronenberg and in the disturbing "Boxing Helena" (1993) from Jennifer Lynch. Sands attended the Britain School of Speech and Drama, and at 15 years old he debuted in theatre with the Forum Theatre Company. He had his first film role in "Broken English" by Derek Jarman, followed by "Privates on Parade" by Michael Blakemore and the acclaimed "The Killing Fields" by Ronald Joffe. Among his numerous film roles, we have to remember "Oxford Blues (Oxford University)" (1984) by Robert Boris, "The Room" by Robert Altman, "Il sole anche di notte" (1990) by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, "Arachnophobia" (1990) by Mark Mashall, and two films by Mike Figgis, "Leaving Las Vegas" (1996) and his most recent "One Night Stand" (1997). He has also appeared in television movies by such directors as Paul Schrader, Martha Coolidge and Mary Lambert.
(Hey! How'd I do? ;})

And, (and most difficult) the synopsis for "Il Fantasma dell'Opera":
(this one was way over my head, and while my two hours worth of working with it yielded some bits that made sense, it refused to surrender. It was a valiant and pitched battle on both sides. Then I called in the reinforcements. Thanks to aacmedjdj@aol.com for coming to my rescue with the translation. (and a bit of help from David M. again!)

Un neonato, dentro un paniere che galleggia nelle acque turbinose di un fiume sotterraneo, viene messo in salvo da due topi... "Cosi per circostanze fortuite, un'alleanza misteriosa è appena nata tra il bambino abbandonato e gli abitanti delle tenebre". (Gaston Leroux) Parigi, 1877. Nel grande teatro dell'Opera alcuni operai che eseguono dei lavori vengono improvvisamente divorati da una forza misteriosa. Sul palcoscenico del teatro deserto, la giovane Christine Daae (Asia Argento) sta provando una scena. Il Fantasma (Julian Sands), dal volto bello e nobile, è completamente rapito da tanta bravura e bellezza. Christine, anche se attratta dal gentile corteggiamento del Barone Raoul De Chagny (Andrea Di Stefano), rimane affascinata dalle attenzioni che il Fantasma le dedica. Nel frattempo l'Opera continua ad essere funestata da incomprensibili avvenimenti: un'altra persona sparisce, uccisa nei sotterranei del teatro. Christine una sera sostituisce la primadonna Carlotta (Nadia Rinaldi). L'interpretazione è sublime. Un vero trionfo. La giovane cantante s'incontra con il Fantasma nei sotterranei oscuri del teatro e saranno travolti dalla passione... Il Fantasma è determinato a lanciare la carriera di Christine e per far questo dovrà eliminare l'ingombrante Carlotta. Quando giunge il suo momento, Christine si esibisce superbamente. Solo che irrompe in scena il derattizzatore del teatro, accusando pubblicamente la giovane di essere "la puttana del Fantasma"...

A newborn baby in a basket floating on the turbid waters of an underground river, is rescued by two rats, “And thus by chance a mysterious alliance is immediately formed between the abandoned baby and the inhabitants of the underworld." (Gaston Leroux) Paris, 1877. In the great opera house some workers going off-duty are suddenly devoured under mysterious circumstances. On the stage of the deserted theater, the young Christine Daae (Asia Argento) is rehearsing a scene. The Phantom (Julian Sands), with a handsome and aristocratic face, is completely enraptured by such skill and beauty. Christine, even as she is attracted by the genteel courting of the Baron, remains fascinated by the attentions the Phantom devotes to her. In the meantime, the opera continues to be fraught with incomprehensible events: another person dead, murdered in the theater underground. One evening Christine replaces the prima donna Carlotta (Nadia Rinaldi). Her performance is outstanding. A real triumph. The young singer meets the Phantom in the dark underground, and they are both overcome with passion.....The Phantom is determined to launch Christine’s career, and to do that he must eliminate the cumbersome Carlotta. When her moment arrives, Christine performs magnificently.
Then the theatre's rat-catcher bursts onto the stage. He accuses Christine of being 'the Phantom's whore'.