🕯️ Detailed Descriptions

The lair of the Phantom, the mysterious figure who haunts the Paris Opera House, is most often described as being in the fifth cellar (B5) beneath the Palais Garnier. This phrasing appears in Gaston Leroux’s original novel, where characters descend through multiple underground levels, and it is also found in official audition materials for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production (“Phantom’s residence: fifth cellar under the Paris Opera House”).

The sixth cellar (B6) has a different association. After the suppression of the Paris Commune in 1871, stories circulated that Communards had hidden in the opera’s unfinished lower levels, only to become trapped and unable to escape. Though not an official prison, this gave the sixth cellar a dungeon-like reputation in later retellings.

Architecturally, the exact basement count of the Palais Garnier is not straightforward. Some sources, including Mireille Ribière’s research, suggest six levels, while others describe only five. A scale model at the Musée d’Orsay confirms the existence of deep subterranean structures but does not clearly match the “fifth cellar” terminology used in fiction and theatrical materials.

🏛️ Architectural Context

Completed in 1875, the Palais Garnier is a monumental Beaux-Arts structure with an extensive underground complex. A scale model of the opera house as it appeared at its opening is on permanent display at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

This model excludes later additions such as Marc Chagall’s 1964 ceiling painting, which was installed over the original Lenepveu ceiling, and the now-iconic chandelier. The chandelier itself weighs more than 7,000 kg, supported by counterweights in the roof structure. In 1896, one of these counterweights fell during a performance, tragically killing a concierge — an event that partly inspired Leroux’s famous chandelier crash.

🔍 Real-World Inspiration and Access

Modern researchers and urban explorers have documented the deep cellars of the Palais Garnier. One vivid account from Messy Nessy Chic includes photos of a square shaft with a ladder leading to a water reservoir, maintained for fire suppression. This “underground lake” almost certainly inspired Leroux’s descriptions of the Phantom’s lair.

🗼 Historical Sidebar: Eiffel Tower Dispute

In some non-licensed productions, rooftop scenes have featured the Eiffel Tower in the background. Architect Charles Garnier would have been outraged: he opposed the Eiffel Tower’s construction, dismissing it as a grotesque metal skeleton. He joined the ranks of prominent critics who protested against the project during its early years.