How the 5,000-pound Academy of Music chandelier gets cleaned
Every three years, the majestic chandelier descends for an extraordinary cleaning process. A team of four dedicates nearly a week to meticulously dust and polish 23,000 crystals.
A shining star at the Academy of Music doesn’t croon or belt, but tinkles. One recent afternoon, the dazzling 2½-ton chandelier at the historic opera house descended from its perch and hovered just above the red velvet seats, spinning slowly as 23,000 crystals softly jostled to emit a gentle and rarely heard chime.
What’s that sound?
It’s cleaning day.
“You can hear all the elements of the chandelier tinkling together, so it’s actually making music, almost joyfully, while it’s being cleaned,” said Matías Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts, which oversees the Kimmel Center performance venues, including the Academy of Music.
About every three years, the 20-foot-tall chandelier gets a full check-up that requires a four-person team and five to six days. Every single crystal is meticulously dusted and polished, and each of the roughly 195 lamps — custom bulbs emulating gas flames — is tested and replaced as needed. The entire process costs around $15,000.
“This community comes together to help preserve the Academy of Music,” Tarnopolsky said. “It needs love and care and attention, and that means a lot of time, expertise, and money.”
Installed as part of the original opera house structure in 1857, the fixture from Philadelphia light company Cornelius & Baker has illuminated countless operas, ballets, and Broadway shows. It has undergone several upgrades over 167 years, from going electric in 1900 to receiving some inauthentic additions (a golden ball and spear) in the 1950s.
One crucial update came in 1957 with the installation of an electric winch to raise and lower the chandelier in minutes. Before then, bringing it down took four hours and the strength of 12 people; now it can safely descend in less than two minutes, no manual labor required.
For its 150th birthday, the chandelier took a trip to the south of France for a $1.7 million restoration with renowned lighting experts Mathieu Lustrerie. It returned to Philadelphia 13 months later, more closely resembling its original structure, losing the ball and spear.
As stagehands — members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 8 — stood on scaffolding and tended to each crystal, Tarnopolsky observed in awe from the bare stage. He had never seen the chandelier so close up.
“The first time I walked into this building was onto the stage, I was being shown around [and] I was immediately drawn to the chandelier,” he said. “The chandelier was like this massive cloud of diamonds lighting up the place. It drew my eye and captivated my heart.”
The cleaning came just in time for the organization’s Great Stages Gala last weekend, which included a reception on the Academy of Music stage. The chandelier hung low to showcase its freshly bright glow.