Detroit Opera House - Photos Decor Detail
Detroit Opera House
This picture gallery is meant to showcase the amount of meticulous detail in the decor and design of the Opera House interior and exterior
The Proscenium Arch. An entire year was devoted to meticulously recasting plaster; a professor from Detroit's College for Creative Studies spent months on scaffolding, painting frescoes freehand; more than 850 color tests were performed in a lab to match the theater's original paint scheme. There are about 25 panels all the way across the arch. They depict industry and commerce in Detroit in the early 1920's.
Plaster ornament detail as seen on the Proscenium Arch
Plaster ornament detail as seen on the Proscenium Arch
Plaster ornament detail as seen on the Proscenium Arch
Plaster ornament detail as seen on the Proscenium Arch
Plaster ornament detail as seen on the Proscenium Arch
Plaster ornament detail as seen on the Proscenium Arch
Plaster ornamentation on arches left and right from stage
Plaster ornament detail as seen on side arches
Plaster ornament detail as seen on side arches
Plaster ornament detail as seen on side arches
Plaster ornament detail as seen on column between arches
In the bottom face of the center column you can see the glasses the plaster workers put on the face during renovations. This was in honor of Dr. David DiChiera, who founded Michigan Opera Theater.
Center column detail
More ornamentation detail
Auditorium ceiling details
A detail shot of a sunburst in the auditorium ceiling.
Auditorium ceiling details
Auditorium ceiling details
Auditorium ceiling details
"The curtain" - as of July 2023
Grand Hall staircase, rosette-laden railing.
Grand Hall staircase, rosette-laden railing.
The three big chandeliers inside the Grand Hall. The only time they ever left the building was during renovation in 1996. They were apparently too big and too heavy to steal when the building was abandoned for three years in the mid 80's
Grand Hall chandeliers
More Grand Hall detail
Grand Hall ornamentation detail
The Bellini Opera Theater asked Italian Sculptor, Giuliano Zuccato, to create a bust of Vincenzo Bellini, known as the “Sicilian Swan” for the elegance and beauty of his music. The sculpture was donated by its sculptor and placed in the Grand Lobby of the Detroit Opera House to honor this great composer and as a symbol of the Bellini Opera Theater. The unveiling of the sculpture took place on the stage of the Detroit Opera House on Friday, May 20, 2011, prior to Michigan Opera Theater’s 7:30pm production of Rigoletto. The Bellini Opera Theater was formed in 2010 for the purpose of bringing opera to people in many different venues
Seating detail
Plaster detail by the Broadway lobby
The fireplace inside the man's restroom
The lovely terra cotta facade along Broadway
Detail of the Broadway facade
Detail of the Broadway facade
Griffin-like creatures adorn the Broadway Terracotta facade
Detail of the Broadway Terracotta facade
Detail of the Broadway Terracotta facade