Central City CO interior Opera House unused unposted vintage chrome Postcard A71
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The Central City Opera House is located in the Central City/Black Hawk Historic District in Central City, Colorado, United States. It was constructed in 1878.[3] It has offered operatic and theatrical productions that drew prominent actors and performers in the late 19th-century, and in the early 20th-century it was a motion picture theater.
The opera house was designated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[2][a]
Construction and subsequent renovations[edit]
In 1877, the citizens of Central City formed the Gilpin County Opera House Association to fundraise for the state's first opera house.[2][6] Denver architect Robert S. Roeschlaub designed the Renaissance Revival stone and brick structure,[2] with a crescent-shaped balcony and arched windows.[7] San Francisco artist John C. Massman painted a mural to the ceiling with a central medallion that features the sky, surrounded by a large geometrical patter, and trompe-l'œil architectural moldings.[2]
It was built by Welsh and Cornish miners and town residents, who had a tradition of music.[8][9] The opera house is kept cool during the summer by a creek flows that through a flume under the building.[7] Electricity was installed in 1896 and it was renovated, without structural changes, in 1903.[2]
In 1929 a dedicated band of Denver preservationists and music lovers formed the Central City Opera House Association to perform a renovation and re-open the opera house. It was a volunteer-driven effort led by Ida Kruse McFarlane, Edna Chappell and Anne Evans that resulted in an extensive restoration of the Opera House in 1932.[6] In the 1980s and 1990s, the entire structure was restored, including the foundation and replacement of the 1920-era lighting relic by a computerized lighting system. In 1999, wooden chairs were replaced with plush new theater seating.[citation needed]
Productions and cinema[edit]
With the 1878 grand opening, Central City was Colorado's cultural capital until another opera house, Tabor Grand Opera House, opened in 1881. The Opera House was not turning a profit and it expanded its repertoire to include theater productions to increase its revenues. They featured prominent 19th-century actors such as Joseph Jefferson, Edwin Booth, Madame Januschek and Fannie Barlow.[2] In addition, Buffalo Bill performed here as well as P. T. Barnum's circus.[6][10]
Peter MacFarlane, who was a contractor for the original construction and the contractor for the 1903 renovation, became the principal owner of the Opera House by 1910, when he opened it as a motion picture theater. The Opera House closed in 1927.[2]
The opera house was donated to the University of Denver in May 1931 by MacFarlane's heirs and restoration was organized by the newly formed Central City Opera House Association.[2] The summer of 1932, actress Lillian Gish opened the newly restored opera house with Camille.[2][6] It began a tradition of offering summer opera and theater festivals, which have become nationally recognized.[2]
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The Central City Opera company was also formed that year.[11] It is the fifth oldest opera company in the United States.[8] One of its popular performances is The Ballad of Baby Doe, which tells the story of wealthy mine-owner Horace Tabor and his second wife Baby Doe Tabor. It was first performed in 1956.[7] In 2001, it was the first opera company in the United States to produce Gloriana of Elizabeth I by Benjamin Britten. Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville was performed by the Central City Opera in 2015.[12]
Samuel Ramey and Beverly Sills have performed at the opera house. It was noted by Daniel Rule, who managed the Central City Opera company, that 29 of the performers of the Metropolitan Opera in New York had performed at Central City. The Central City Opera House Association owns 30 Victorian houses in town that are used during the summer to board singers who perform at the opera house.[7] Up until 2000 all of the operas were performed in English. Central City Opera now performs all of its operas in their original languages.[7]
The opera house continues to offer several operatic productions each summer and screenings of silent and classic films.[12][13]
Popular culture[edit]
It was a film location for the movie The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox starring Goldie Hawn and George Segal.[10]
It was also referenced in chapter 9 of On the Road by Jack Kerouac, mentioning the opera Fidelio and interactions with the performers in a wild night in Central City as the western opera world intersected with the Beat Generation.
Central City Opera House History
The Central City Opera House was built in 1878 by Welsh and Cornish miners. This National Historic Landmark, centerpiece of the historic gold mining town of Central City, has hosted performances of the nation’s fifth-oldest opera company (after the Metropolitan Opera, Cincinnati Opera, San Francisco Opera and Chautauqua Opera) since 1932. As the second oldest summer opera company (following Chautauqua Opera), Central City Opera’s national summer festival attracts patrons from all over the country and abroad to enjoy intimate opera in its 550-seat opera house.
In 1877, the citizens of Central City organized a fundraising drive for a grand new opera house befitting the gold mining town’s reputation as “the richest square mile on earth.” Many of the town’s residents were miners from Wales and Cornwall, who brought with them a rich tradition of music from their homeland. Prominent Denver architect Robert S. Roeschlaub provided an elegant, understated design for the stone structure of the Opera House, and San Francisco artist John C. Massman added elaborate trompe l’oeil murals to the interior.
Her early glory years following the 1878 grand opening were short-lived. When the Central City mines were played out, the Opera House fell into disrepair. Fortunately, a volunteer-driven effort led by Ida Kruse McFarlane, Edna Chappell and Anne Evans led to an extensive restoration of the Opera House in 1932. That summer, the legendary actress Lillian Gish opened the newly restored opera house with Camille, launching an annual tradition of summer festivals in Central City that continues to this day.
Opening Night, 1932
Lillian Gish
Early festivals featured both opera and theater; more recently, the summer festival has been a celebration of traditional and progressive works. In addition to Lillian Gish, other stars of the opera and stage have performed in the Central City summer festivals, including Beverly Sills, Jerome Hines, Helen Hayes, Samuel Ramey and Catherine Malfitano. Successful commissions for the company include the American classic The Ballad of Baby Doe by Douglas Moore premiered in 1956, the popular one-act opera The Face On The Barroom Floor by Henry Mollicone premiered in 1978 and Gabriel’s Daughter premiered in 2003, also composed by Henry Mollicone.
1956 The Ballad of Baby Doe
1949 Mae West in Diamond Lil (photo by Louise Pote)
Central City Opera’s prestigious Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program, founded by Artistic Director Emeritus John Moriarty, has served for more than four decades as a national model for training young singers.
Today, the Central City Opera House features modern comforts with plush seating, installed in 1999. Continuing a tradition from 1932, many of the chairs commemorate Colorado pioneers, notable performers and opera supporters. Illustrious names like Horace Tabor, Buffalo Bill and Beverly Sills are carved on the backs of the seats.
Opening Night at Central City Opera. Featured in Central City Opera’s 75th anniversary book, “Theatre of Dreams, The Glorious Central City Opera- Celebrating 75 Years.”
The interior of the Central City Opera House
Central City Opera acknowledges that we gather and operate on the traditional lands of the Cheyenne, Ute and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ past, present and future. Further, we honor and acknowledge that 48 contemporary tribal nations are historically tied to the lands that make up the state of Colorado. As part of our commitment to Colorado history, we are dedicated to continue learning how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit, as well.