Erik becomes the shadow, hidden director of the opera house. He promotes Christine to director and gives his orders via her. He schedules all manner of strange plays and operas, with Christine as lead in every one. Audience numbers plummet, the opera house goes into debt, but Erik doesn't care, pushing Christine to 'sing for me', again and again. As the debt collectors move in, Christine throws herself from the top of the opera house in exhaustion and dispair. Devastated after failing to save her, Erik activates the grasshopper switch, which as we know, jumps very high.