7 unusual stories about the Opéra Garnier

There are few ceilings in Paris as famous as that of the Opéra Garnier painted by Chagall. But few know the story behind this masterpiece. In February 1960, André Malraux, then Minister for Cultural Affairs, attended a performance of Daphnis et Chloé at the Paris Opera, set by Marc Chagall. Not a great fan of opera, the minister contemplated the ceiling, decorated since 1875 by Jules-Eugène Lenepveu. This gave him the idea of asking his friend Chagall to create a new fresco to cover the historic dome. The project provoked passionate debate between supporters and detractors, and the artist himself hesitated. However, Chagall took the plunge enthusiastically in 1962, and the work, a symphony of colours, a tribute by the painter to music, his passion, was inaugurated in September 1964.

Carp in the basement, rats in the attic, the only thing missing was bees on the roof. For over 30 years, the Opéra Garnier has been home to 5 beehives at the foot of the great dome, housing between 25,000 and 50,000 bees depending on the season, and producing golden honey every year. It's a great opportunity for the Opera to contribute to Paris's biodiversity and preserve bees, which are so important to the environment. But where did these bees forage? In a flower radius of around 3 km: the gardens of the Tuileries, the Champs Elysées and the Invalides. Nor was it uncommon to see them twirling around on private balconies. Contrary to popular belief, the conditions were favourable: no pesticides in public gardens, sequential flowering, reduced temperature variations, water resources, floral diversity and no industrial pollution. The hard work of our beekeepers has for a long time enabled the Palais Garnier to sell tasty, flowery, light honey to the public. And the good news is that the beehives are due to make a comeback on the roofs of the Palais Garnier in 2025!

The thirteenth opera house to be built in Paris, is Garnier cursed? The superstitious have been of this opinion ever since a sad evening in 1896, during a performance of Faust. That evening, the 7-tonne counterweight of the auditorium's huge chandelier fell on the audience, and a woman sitting in seat 13 lost her life. The ‘curse’ could have ended there, but it is said that in 1932 a little rat from the corps de ballet fell from a gallery and landed on the 13th step of the grand staircase, leaving a splinter in the middle of the step. Finally, there's the story of Ernest, the ‘Phantom of the Opera’, who is said to have haunted the building since 1873... No wonder there's no dressing room number 13 at the Opéra Garnier!

The most famous of ghosts has been the subject of much ink since it first appeared in Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera. First published as a serial between 1909 and 1910, the novel was published in 1911. Leroux is said to have been inspired by mysterious events that took place at the Palais Garnier, the setting of the story, in the 19th century: the tutu of dancer Emma Livry was set on fire in 1862, a stagehand was found hanged but his rope could not be found, an unknown man booked dressing room number 5 every night, and the great chandelier fell in 1896 (see above)... This fantastic detective story recounts the terrifying events attributed to the ghost of Erik, a composer and ventriloquist, who hid in the underground lake of the Palais Garnier and in dressing room number 5. Today, the Phantom of the Opera still brings his legend to life at the Paris Opera and delights visitors. There are even guided tours on the subject.

Legend or reality? For Gaston Leroux, there's no doubt, as he wrote in the preface to his novel: "The Phantom of the Opera did exist. He was not, as has long been believed, the inspiration of artists, the superstition of directors, the fallible creation of the excited brains of the corps de ballet girls, their mothers, the ushers, the cloakroom attendants and the concierge. Yes, he existed, in the flesh, although he gave himself all the appearances of a real ghost, in other words a shadow.

In the fifth basement of the Opéra Garnier, some ten metres below the stage, lies a veritable artificial lake with crystal-clear waters. Occupying around a quarter of the total surface area of the basement, this mysterious pool took shape in 1881, when the opera house was being built. That year, the architect Charles Garnier encountered a major problem, just as he was in the process of building his life's work: work on the foundations encountered the water table, and the site was flooded.

But Garnier was not to be deterred, and in fact showed great ingenuity by deciding to build reservoirs to channel the seeping water while stabilising the building. It was a daring solution, but an effective one. The vaulted structure, made entirely of brick, even served as a water reserve in the event of a fire. Nowadays, only the Paris fire brigade has the chance to take a dip in it during training. Legend also has it that carp have taken refuge here...

You may have asked yourself this question, but the answer is clear: no, all those banks scattered around the Palais Garnier since the 19th century are not there by chance. Traditionally, the 9th arrondissement of Paris is a rather bourgeois business district, and its residents are therefore regular visitors to the Opéra. Whether they are ballet lovers, opera enthusiasts or simply want to show off, the wealthiest Parisians take advantage of the opportunity to show off their formal wear, including their finest jewellery. The banks were built so that these privileged spectators could collect their jewellery from their safes just before the show. As soon as the evening was over, they quickly returned to the banks, which were open late into the evening to welcome customers as they left the opera.