Detroit Opera House
1526 Broadway,
Detroit,
MI
48201
1526 Broadway,
Detroit,
MI
48201
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Many views of the auditorium can be seen in a concert by the young Italian pop group Il Volo, which is currently being shown on Public Broadcasting stations as a fund-raiser. Entitled “Il Volo in Flight,” the concert has also been released as a DVD.
“This has been the sole venue for all of the Michigan Opera Theater Productions”? Not by a long shot. Since its first full length production in 1970 until it moved into its present location in 1996, the Detroit Opera Theater performed in a variety of Detroit venues including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Masonic Auditorium, the Fisher Theatre, and most especially, the Music Hall, which was its home for many years and was the first former movie theater that the DOT restored and saved from demolition. Whoever wrote that Detroit History article is very misinformed.
Also, that picture above is a little misleading; it shows really what is the rear wall of the theater, part of the new stagehouse that was part of the renovation of the former Grand Circus into the Detroit Opera House.
The tragedy though, is that so many other once nearby similarly grand palaces – especially the Madison, the Michigan, the United Artists, and the Adams – are either gone or probably beyond rehabilitation.
Opera House is having a very important place in Detroit History. This has been the sole venue for all of the Michigan Opera Theater Productions and for other events as well, is the fifth largest theater in the world during the time when it was built. The building is just gorgeous, every seat on the main floor provides a good view. The staff is really very friendly they direct you very nicely and help whenever you need.
Here are two 1982 photos of the Grand Circus:
Photo1
Photo2
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre with Jason Robards and George Segal was released in June of 1967.
Here is a 1967 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2plzju
Here is the Grand Circus Theater circa 1962.
I toured this theater yesterday and it’s a beauty. Marvelously restored, with a really harmonious color scheme. Worth a visit if you’re in Detroit.
This is a recent photo of the Detroit Opera House.
Here is a history page for the Detroit Opera House.
According to the film “Badassss”, the legendary blaxploitation film, “Sweet Sweetbacks Badasss Song” premiered here in 1970.
On the 4th, the Opera House cafe suffered a minor fire as reported in this article in Crain’s
Where it said that in 1989 they also purhcased the Madsion, what did they do for the theatre?
Albert Kahn Assosiates was the firm that did the restoration.
Whoops, Here It Is
Here is a pictue of the former Capitol, but was called Grand Circus at the time, Circa 80’s, I am guessing after the fire.
My favorite downtown theatre after the Michigan. As the Broadway-Capital & later the Grand Circus this theatre played mostly horror movies. When KING KONG was revived it played here. And other movies like I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE. Later when the downtown theatres were losing out to big neighborhood theatres the Grand Circus tried other kinds of movies. With the increased popularity of ‘Art Houses’ the Grand Circus booked the great Indian director Satyajit Ray’s DEVI. A far cry from the likes of ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS. And later (perhaps an omen of its present incarnation) a film of Pucini’s LA BOHEME with Mirella Freni & Gianni Raimondi. But the theatre’s greatest day was getting the world premier of the greatest SCI-FI movie of all time: INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.