The spine-tingling tale of Federici, the ghost of the Princess Theatre

Legend has it this famed opera singer was seen giving his final bows on stage at the Princess Theatre minutes after he died.

1888 wood engraving of Federici. Picture: State Library Victoria

It seems fitting that the historic Princess Theatre where the smash-hit Andrew Lloyd Webber musical was staged has its very own “Phantom of the Opera”.

British opera singer and actor Frederick Baker, aged 38, known by his stage name Federici, was performing in a production of the opera Faust on March 3, 1888 when tragedy struck.

Federici is the subject of the second episode in the Haunted Melbourne series of the In Black and White podcast on Australia’s forgotten characters, out today.

It was during the finale in which Federici, playing Mephistopheles, descended to ``hell’’ amid smoke and flames that he suffered a heart attack while being lowered through a trapdoor.

And while many ghost stories don’t emerge until decades after the person’s death, the first sighting of Federici’s ghost was reported the very night he died.

The Princess Theatre in Melbourne. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Ben Oliver, founder of Melbourne’s Drinking History Tours, says Federici was rushed backstage to the green room after his heart attack, and resuscitation was attempted, but he died soon after.

He says neither the audience nor cast realised what had happened and management waited until after the final curtain call before breaking the tragic news.

“But when management told the actors what had happened, the actors asked, ‘Well, when did this happen?’ And they said, ‘Well, after his final scene, we took him backstage but he passed away,’” Oliver says.

Federici died at the Princess Theatre in 1888.

“And the actors said, ‘Well, no, that’s impossible, because Federici was onstage with us giving his curtain call to the audience.’

“So this is, I guess you might say, the first sighting of the ghost of Federici. Moments after his death, he allegedly is back on stage with his fellow actors giving one final bow to the audience.”

The spirit of the Italian-born singer has been supposedly haunting the theatre enthusiastically ever since, with many reported sightings over the years by performers and staff.

In 1888, Ernest St Clair, who replaced Federici in the role, swore that every time he stepped forward to take his bow at the end of the performance, unseen hands pulled him back.

In a longstanding tradition, a seat was always saved for Federici’s ghost on each opening night of each new production, as it was for the much-loved classic Phantom of the Opera, which tells of an entity believed to haunt a Paris opera house.

A seat was left vacant for the ghost of Federici on the opening night of Phantom of the Opera, produced by John Frost and Tim McFarlane. Picture: Craig Borrow

Many people claim to have seen the ghost clearly, and he’s been described as a ``tall, well-built man with distinguished features dressed in evening clothes with a long cloak and top hat’’.

It’s been reported some of our biggest names in showbiz, including Bert Newton, Marina Prior and Lisa McCune, have experienced eerie encounters that may be Federici’s ghost.

“Whether you believe in ghosts or not, when you have that number of people who all claim to have heard or felt or seen something, particularly when they’re quite well-known, it makes it hard to challenge the veracity of these claims,” Oliver says.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW WITH BEN OLIVER IN THE IN BLACK AND WHITE PODCAST ON ITUNES, SPOTIFY OR WEB.

Don’t miss the first story and podcast in our Haunted Melbourne series: Does the ghost of Jack the Ripper haunt Hosier Lane?

See In Black & White in the Herald Sun newspaper Monday to Friday for more stories and photos from Victoria’s past.