Issue No. 23

Opera cake
In 1955 great French pastry chef
Cyriaque Gavillon worked at the
legendary Dalloyau bakery in Paris,
trading since 1682 and supplier to
the court of Versailles. Gavillon, a
genius with patisserie, wanted to
make something that, in taking one
bite, would give a taste of the whole
cake. He worked on layers and
tastes and came up with a
wonderfully sophisticated cake.
Made with layers of almond sponge
cake (known as Biscuit Joconde -
Mona Lisa - in French) soaked in
coffee syrup, layered with ganache
and coffee buttercream, and
covered in a chocolate glaze. His
wife told him it reminded her of the
Paris Opera House, with its golden
balconies and deep red velvet
seating. The Opera cake was born.
The Google team zoomed in on the photos
and incredibly, after more than 50 years
the image was revealed, a tiny baby, the
son of Chagall (above left) an emotional
moment for the grown-up son.
Below it hangs an enormous, 340 light, 7-
ton bronze and crystal chandelier designed
by Garnier. In 1896 a counterweight, used to
lift it for cleaning, fell into the audience and
killed a theatre-goer. It was partly this
which inspired the famous tale of the
Phantom of the opera by Gaston Leroux in
1910. In fact go there today and you’ll see a
door marked for the Phantom’s box!
The stage is the largest in Europe and can
hold up to 450 artists! When you visit there
are often rehearsals ongoing so you can’t
always get into the auditorium all the time
but may have to wait to see it. In the Grand
Foyer, lined with mirrors and lights is just
like the Gallery of Mirrors at Versailles, and
it’s easy to imagine it in the 19th century,
thronging with jewelled, wide gowned
ladies and top-hatted gents. It was as much
then, if not more so, about showing off your
wealth as it was about seeing an opera.
You can take a tour (self-guided or guided)
to enjoy it in all its splendour and of course
you can see an opera there – but book in
advance, tickets sell like hot cakes!
How and where to get tickets from: There
are a wide range of performances year
round from ballet and opera, both classical
to modern and a range of prices from 15
Euros to hundreds of Euros.
Book online at: www.operadeparis.fr
Guided tours take place in English each day
at 11:00 and 14:30. Reserve online at Opéra
Garnier or via tour companys like Cultival.
Fans of Escape Game might like to know
you can take part in an immersive journey
in the footsteps of the Phantom of the
Opera, animated by actors in period
costume! Book online at OperadeParis