Detroit Opera House

History

The Detroit Opera House, at Broadway and Madison by Grand Circus Park, opened on January 12, 1922, as the Capitol Theater, a 4,250-seat vaudeville and movie palace designed by C. Howard Crane. Detroit Opera’s own history says it later became the Grand Circus Theater, closed in the late 1970s, and was chosen in 1989 as the future home of Michigan Opera Theatre. A full restoration reopened the building on April 21, 1996, with a gala that included Luciano Pavarotti; Dame Joan Sutherland cut the ribbon. In 2022 the company renamed itself Detroit Opera, matching the theater. The house is now billed as the Detroit Opera House—The David DiChiera Center for the Performing Arts.