 Detroit Opera House overlooksGrand Circus Park. | |
 Interactive map of Detroit Opera House | |
| Former names | Grand Circus Theater (1960s–1985)[note 1] Broadway Capitol Theater (1934–1960s) Paramount Theater (1929–1934) Capitol Theater (1922–1929) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1526 Broadway Street Detroit,Michigan |
| Coordinates | 42°20′11″N83°2′55″W / 42.33639°N 83.04861°W /42.33639; -83.04861 |
| Type | Opera |
| Capacity | 2,700 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | January 22, 1922 |
| Renovated | 1996 |
| Website | |
| Detroit Opera official site | |
Detroit Opera House | |
| Part of | Grand Circus Park Historic District (ID83000894) |
| Designated CP | February 28, 1983 |
TheDetroit Opera House is an ornateopera house located at 1526 Broadway Street inDowntown Detroit,Michigan, within theGrand Circus Park Historic District. The 2,700-seat venue is the home of productions of theDetroit Opera and a variety of other events. The theatre was originally designed byC. Howard Crane, who created other prominent theatres in Detroit includingThe Fillmore Detroit, theFox Theater and theDetroit Symphony'sOrchestra Hall. It opened on January 22, 1922.
The building underwent an extensive restoration which took place under the control of Detroit-based architectural design firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. It reopened in 1996.
Over the years, opera has been presented at a variety of venues in Detroit - the Old Detroit Opera House (1869–1963) atCampus Martius,[1] 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.[2]
TheNederlander Organization, a major theatrical producer, began in Detroit with a 99-year lease on the Old Detroit Opera House in 1912.[3]
The present Detroit Opera House opened in 1922 and was known as theCapitol Theatre. It was among the first of several performance venues built around Detroit'sGrand 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.[2]
During the first few decades of its history the theater presented feature films along with live entertainment including artists such asjazz legendsLouis Armstrong andDuke 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.[4][note 1] 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, theMichigan Opera Theatre purchased the building and dubbed it theDetroit Opera House, after an extensive restoration and stage expansion. The reopening in 1996 was celebrated with a gala event featuringLuciano 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 fiveopera productions, five dance productions from touring companies, and a variety of othermusical and comedy events.[2]
The Opera House is featured prominently in the 2012 documentaryDetropia.
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