Detroit Opera House

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Detroit Opera House

Detroit Opera House faces Grand Circus Park.
Location 1526 Broadway Street
Detroit, Michigan 48226
Flag of the United States United States
Type Opera
Opened January 22, 1922
Renovated 1996
Former name(s) Grand Circus Theater (1960s - 1985)
Broadway Capitol Theater (1934 - 1960s)
Paramount Theater (1929 - 1934)
Capitol Theater (1922 - 1929)
Capacity 2,700
Website Detroit Opera House official site

The Detroit Opera House is an opera house located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the venue for all Michigan Opera Theatre productions and other events. It opened on January 22, 1922.

The Opera House was designed by C. Howard Crane, the same man who designed other Detroit theatres such as The Fillmore Detroit, Fox Theater and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Orchestra Hall noted for its acoustic perfection.

Contents

[edit] History

The Opera House's backhouse extends along Madison Ave.
The Opera House's backhouse extends along Madison Ave.
Old Detroit Opera House on Campus Martius in 1907.
Old Detroit Opera House on Campus Martius in 1907.

The historic venues for Michigan Opera Theatre have been the Old Detroit Opera House (1869-1963) at Kennedy Square,[1] the Whitney Grand Opera House (Garrick Theatre) at Griswold and Michigan avenues, and the New Detroit Opera House (1886-1928) at Randolph and Monroe streets.[2]

Restored in 1996, the present Detroit Opera House (1922) at 1526 Broadway Street was originally known as the Capitol Theatre (1922). It was among the first of several performance venues built around Detroit's Grand Circus Park. When it opened, the theater was the fifth-largest in the world seating up to 4,250 people. The Capitol Theater's name changed to the Paramount Theater in 1929, and again changed in 1934 to the Broadway Capitol Theater.[2]

Artists who had performed in the building's first few decades included jazz legends Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Following a minor restoration in the 1960s, it became the 3,367 seat Grand Circus Theatre. After closing in 1978, reopening in 1981 and closing again in 1985, the Michigan Opera Theater revived the historic Grand Circus Theatre name in 1988; however, the name changed again to its present name as the Detroit Opera House.[2] The name Grand Circus Theatre may cause confusion, since another Grand Circus Theatre (1913-1924), originally known as the Central Theatre, once stood at 2115 Woodward Avenue. Then, what is now The Fillmore Detroit Theatre (1925) arose on the same site at 2115 Woodward.

After its extensive restoration, the present Detroit Opera House (1922) celebrated its 1996 gala featuring Luciano Pavarotti. The Detroit Opera House is now configured with seating for 2,700. Recently, the opera house has annually hosted five opera productions, five dance productions from touring companies, and a small number of other musical and comedy events.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Bluestone, Daniel M., Columbia University, (September 1988).Detroit's City Beautiful and the Problem of Commerce Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. XLVII, No. 3, pp. 245-62. Retrieved on May 18, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c DiChiera, David, Director.The Story of the Detroit Opera House.Michigan Opera Theatre. Retrieved on November 24, 2007.

[edit] References and further reading

  • Hauser, Michael and Marianne Weldon (2006). Downtown Detroit's Movie Palaces (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-4102-8. 
  • Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3120-3. 
  • Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4. 
  • Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3270-6. 
  • Sobocinski, Melanie Grunow (2005). Detroit and Rome: building on the past. Regents of the University of Michigan. ISBN 0933691092. 

[edit] External links

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