They tend to dress up more for performances at the Garnier than at the 20th-century granite and glass opera house at Bastille, opened in 1989.

WSJ: Raising the Opera Curtain: A Bird's-Eye View of the Palais Garnier

Sir Terry, like Sir Peter, comes from modest origins in Merseyside, but whereas the quiet, lean Sir Terry still collects visitors personally from the lobby of Tesco's shabby headquarters in Cheshunt, the charismatic, rotund Sir Peter directs Sainsbury's fortunes from a glass-and-steel office block in central London and seems most at home at the Royal Opera House, where he is a director.

ECONOMIST: Face value