Opera chief dies in house fire

Opera chief dies in house fire

News

norman lebrecht

May 01, 2024

Local newspapers report the death of Serge Gaymard in a fire in his house on rue Jacquart in Reims.

Gaymard, 68, was director of the Opéra de Reims from 2000 until last year.

Staff at the Opéra are in total shock at the tragic event.

Investigators say the likely cause of the fire was smoking in bed.

Comments

  • zandonai says:

    Life imitates art.
    Was he listening to Götterdämmerung or Immolation Scene when the fire started?

  • OSF says:

    That’s tragic, but smoking in bed is definitely not advisable.

    • tenorlove says:

      If I remember correctly, there was a huge fire in the 1980s in San Diego caused by someone smoking in bed. 35 houses burned down and multiple deaths. After that, California banned cedar shake shingle roofs, because they made the fire spread so rapidly.

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