Detroit boasts its very own Detroit Opera House, a magnificent Italian Renaissance style building. Currently home to Detroit Opera, formerly known as Michigan Opera Theater, the Detroit Opera House is a top destination to see opera productions, ballet performances, and traveling Broadway shows.
Oct. 25 marks World Opera Day, an annual holiday celebrating the cultural impact of opera. In its honor, we explore the history of opera houses in Detroit.
The First Opera House was located in Campus Martius.
In 1869, the first Detroit Opera House opened to serve a growing city. But it was more than just a music center — in 1881 J.L. Hudson opened his first department store inside of the building. But the opera house was short lived, as a devastating fire destroyed it — along with most of the city block — in 1897. Within a year of the fire, the opera house was rebuilt on the same site. Through the early 20th century, it gave Detroit a hub for theater and opera. But interest in opera declined with the rise of motion pictures. By the time it closed in 1935, the theater’s offerings were plays, movies, and the occasional burlesque show.
The current Detroit Opera House is the fifth opera house in Detroit’s history.
Others included the Whitney Grand Opera House (1886-1928), which was eventually renamed Garrick Theater. This was where Harry Houdini’s famous final performance took place.
The building now known as the Detroit Opera House opened as a movie theater.
It was a movie palace called the Capitol Theatre. Inspired by grand opera houses of Europe, the elaborate theater featured crystal chandeliers, a marble staircase, and lavish carpeting.
Howard Crane designed the building.
The architect behind other iconic Detroit buildings such as the Fillmore Detroit, Fox Theater, and the Lafayette Building took on the task of designing Capitol Theatre. His design for Orchestra Hall is acoustically perfect, and Crane gave Detroit Opera House the same quality.
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It was built for $2.25 million.
In 1922, construction of the building cost $2.25 million, which is equivalent to about $30.8 million today.
It was once the fifth largest theater in the world.
When the Capitol Theatre opened in 1922, it was the fifth largest theater in the world. More than 4,500 people attended the opening gala, crowding the aisles and hallways despite the inadequate seating.
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Walsh College started in the building.
To provide extra income during slower seasons, Capitol Theatere rented out office spaces. One of their earliest tenants was Walsh College, which in September of 1922 held its first classes in two rooms on the sixth floor. Tuition for the first students cost a mere $60 a semester.
It started showing ‘talkies’ in 1928
The Jazz Singer, widely regarded as the first “talkie,” premiered Oct. 6, 1927. In 1928, Detroit’s Capitol Theatre installed equipment to show movies with sound for the first time. Yet over the next few decades as Detroiters moved to the suburbs and more modern theaters opened, the Capitol’s audiences gradually decreased until the theater was forced to close in 1978.
A 19-year-old made it into a rock concert theater.
After the Capitol Theatre was closed for a few years, 19-year-old David Grossman reopened the building in 1981 as a rock concert theater called Grand Circus Live. The first major event was a 50-hour Rock-a-thon, and for four years notable names such as Bon Jovi and Cyndi Lauper graced the stage.
The building caught on fire in the mid-Eighties.
In 1985, a fire broke out forcing Grand Circus Live to close for what seemed like the final time. As the theater sat empty, thieves stole artifacts and stained glass. Meanwhile neglect and Michigan’s extreme weather changes took their toll on the historic building.
The Michigan Opera Theatre organization bought it for $250,000.
In 1988, Michigan Opera Theatre general director David DiChiera saw the building’s potential and purchased it to become their home theater. The company, which had been putting on productions at other venues (Music Hall and the Masonic Temple), had been operating since 1971. Major renovations took place to convert the theater into a suitable space for opera productions.
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The Detroit Opera House as we know it opened in 1996.
Eleven years after being left to neglect, the Detroit Opera House opened in 1996 with legendary Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening gala concert. In 2022, Michigan Opera Theatre would rebrand to Detroit Opera. The organization says it made the decision to show its “commitment to be in and of its vibrant and creative home city.”
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