the phantom in the phantom of the opera crossword

Note that EXCEPT and GLUTEI (both of which I initially botched) are major connectors between the center and the corners of the grid. Other than that, steady progress, though in a disconnected way: NW, then NE, then SW, then (finally) center, and (finally finally) SE. And then later: ADD ON for TAG ON (25A: Include as an extra) and GLUTES for GLUTEI ( 27D: Muscles strengthened by squats). Then EXEMPT for EXCEPT ( 22D: Not counting). Eventually sorted the AGATE business out ( 1A: It has rock bands), but not before putting in GURU for LAMA ( 24D: Asian spiritual guide). Sadly, only one of these was right, and cleaning up that little mess was more work for my brain than it ought to have been. I started out by crossing GEODE with ' ERES TU' ( 5D: 1974 lyric repeated after 'Como una promesa'). It's a meaty puzzle, but there's nothing particularly brutal about it.

I was slow on this one, but that's almost entirely due to the fact that I have residual head cold nonsense going on between my ears.

The phantom in the phantom of the opera crossword