Detroit Opera House

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Over the years, opera has been presented at a variety of venues in Detroit - the Old Detroit Opera House (1869–1963) at Campus Martius,{{cite journal| last=Bluestone| first=Daniel M.| date=September 1988| title=Detroit's City Beautiful and the Problem of Commerce| journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians| volume=XLVII| number=3| pages=245–62| doi=10.2307/990300| jstor=990300}} the Whitney Grand Opera House (Garrick Theatre) at Griswold Street and Michigan Avenue, and the New Detroit Opera House (1886–1928) at Randolph and Monroe Streets.{{cite web| title=Detroit Opera House| url=http://www.broadwayindetroit.com/engine.cfm?i=40| publisher=Broadway in Detroit| access-date=2014-02-25| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328055842/http://www.broadwayindetroit.com/engine.cfm?i=40| archive-date=2014-03-28| url-status=dead}}

The Nederlander Organization, a major theatrical producer, began in Detroit with a 99-year lease on the Old Detroit Opera House in 1912.{{cite web| url=http://nederlander.com/AboutNederlander.html| publisher=The Nederlander Organization| title=About Nederlander| access-date=2014-02-25| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813214202/http://www.nederlander.com/AboutNederlander.html| archive-date=2009-08-13| url-status=dead}}

The present Detroit Opera House opened in 1922 and was known as the Capitol Theatre. It was among the first of several performance venues built around Detroit's Grand Circus Park. When it opened, the Capitol was reportedly the fifth largest movie theater in the world, seating about 3,500 people. In 1929, the Capitol Theater became the Paramount Theater, and in 1934, the Broadway Capitol Theater.

During the first few decades of its history the theater presented feature films along with live entertainment including artists such as jazz legends Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Later the Broadway Capitol converted to a movies-only policy. Following a minor restoration in the 1960s, the building became the 3,367-seat Grand Circus Theatre.{{cite web| title=Detroit Opera House| url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2033| last=Krefft| first=Bryan| access-date=2014-02-25}}{{refn|group=note|name="name"|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. What is now The Fillmore Detroit Theatre (1925) arose on the same site at 2115 Woodward.{{Cite book| last1=Hauser| first1=Michael| first2=Marianne| last2=Weldon| title= Downtown Detroit's Movie Palaces (Images of America)| year=2006| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0PaZi_DuxegC&q=central+theatre| publisher=Arcadia Publishing| page=125| isbn=978-0-7385-4102-0}}}} The theater closed in 1978 after surviving several years exhibiting second-run and soft-core porn films. It reopened again briefly in 1981, but closed after a minor fire in 1985 caused damage.

In 1988, the Michigan Opera Theatre purchased the building and dubbed it the Detroit Opera House, after an extensive restoration and stage expansion. The reopening in 1996 was celebrated with a gala event featuring Luciano Pavarotti and other noted artists. The Detroit Opera House is now configured with seating for an audience of 2,700. Since 1996, the opera house has annually hosted five opera productions, five dance productions from touring companies, and a variety of other musical and comedy events.

The Opera House is featured prominently in the 2012 documentary Detropia.

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;Citations

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;Other sources

• {{cite journal| last=Eisenstein| first=Paul| date=February 1997| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W2YEAAAAMBAJ| title=Relighting the Footlights: The Detroit Opera House renovation recaptures the golden age of the American stage| pages=46–49| journal=Popular Mechanics| issn=0032-4558}}
• {{cite book| last1=Hill, Eric J.| first2=John| last2=Gallagher| title=AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture| year=2002| publisher=Wayne State University Press| location=Detroit| isbn=978-0-8143-3120-0| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/aiadetroitameric0000hill}}
• {{cite book| last1=Meyer| first1=Katherine Mattingly| first2=Martin C.P.| last2=McElroy| author3=Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A.| title=Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition| year=1980| publisher=Wayne State University Press| isbn=978-0-8143-1651-1| location=Detroit| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/detroitarchitect0000unse| page=52}}
• {{cite book| author-link=Robert Sharoff| last=Sharoff| first=Robert| title=American City: Detroit Architecture| publisher=Wayne State University Press| year=2005| location=Detroit| isbn=978-0-8143-3270-2| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_quVubxm6EMC&q=American+City:+Detroit+Architecture}}
• {{cite book| first1=Michele V.| last1=Ronnick| first2=Marlise| last2=Beaudoen| editor-last=Sobocinski| editor-first=Melanie Grunow| title=Detroit and Rome: building on the past| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uu7pQ5RYkpwC&q=capitol+theater| pages=122–123| publisher=Regents of the University of Michigan| location=Ann Arbor| year=2005| isbn=978-0-933691-09-4}}

• [http://www.michiganopera.org/ Detroit Opera House official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020010206/http://www.michiganopera.org/ |date=October 20, 2008 }}
• [http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2033 Detroit Opera House at Cinema Treasures]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061104020754/http://www.nederlanderdetroit.com/fisher/history.htm Nederlander Detroit]

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Category:Theatres in Detroit

Category:Music venues in Michigan

Category:Concert halls in Michigan

Category:Performing arts centers in Michigan

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Michigan

Category:Historic district contributing properties in Michigan

Category:Theatres completed in 1922

Category:Movie palaces

Category:Music venues completed in 1922

Category:Opera houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan