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The Hidden Mechanics Behind the Opera’s Brilliance
Yesterday, we hid in the prompter’s lair… Today, we explore everything hidden behind the splendor of an opera: a human and technical adventure unfolding far from the audience’s eyes. Discover the Opéra as you’ve never seen it before!
A World Beneath the Stage
At the Palais Garnier, the machinery spans over five floors—from the stage to the foundations—plunging nearly 80 meters deep and stretching 60 meters wide. It is a vertical maze of metal walkways, narrow staircases, and concealed trapdoors. Motorized platforms and stage elevators allow sets and singers to appear or vanish within seconds. Some trapdoors measure over 10 meters long and can lift entire landscapes of scenery. Birthed from Renaissance ingenuity, this network of pulleys, counterweights, and precisely calibrated gears, can summon anything from the flight of a god to the opening of the underworld.
Today, we lift the curtain on this fascinating machinery. To accompany the tour, a curated playlist captures these mechanics in motion: from Ravel’s Boléro, building tension like the moments before an entrance, to Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, a sonic portrait of a stagehand chasing a rebellious set piece.
Did you know?
Beneath the Palais Garnier’s auditorium lies a water reservoir the size of a football field. While it plays a crucial role in stabilizing the building—constructed above an underground water table—it also inspired a legend: the famous subterranean lake from Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. No ghosts lurk in this mysterious space, but fish do, introduced by mischievous Parisian firefighters who regularly train in the main tank.
After descending into the depths of the building, tomorrow we’ll rise to the stage to explore one of the most legendary ballets of all time…