Central City Opera

This is the view my husband and I saw as we drove on Interstate 70, headed up into those Rocky Mountains in the distance, towards, Gilpin County, where we had tickets to attend an opera at the oldest operating Opera House in the United States.  

At exit 243 we entered Central City Casino Parkway and took a 12-minute scenic drive up to the 8,510-foot elevation of the old gold mining town of Central City, founded in 1859 during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush.  Central City was once called "The Richest Square Mile on Earth" due to the many gold mines that once operated in the area--over 17,000 claims were made in this part of Gilpin County.

As soon as you approach Central City, many of its historic buildings become visible...

...and its pretty Main Street.

The town is very picturesque and interesting, and my husband and I both would like to come back one day to explore it more.  The fortunes of Central City declined after gold mining diminished, but in the 1990s casinos were open here, and in the adjoining town of Black Hawk, to form the Central City/Black Hawk Historic District.  Black Hawk has developed casinos at a faster rate than Central City and therefore has more revenue, but the town of Central City is more quaint and historical.

Many of Central City's buildings have historical markers that tell interesting and colorful stories about their history, such as the one above.  Click on it to enlarge the photo to read about the Rose Haydee building.

The Central City Opera House was built in 1878 by Welsh and Cornish miners who had brought the rich tradition of music with them from their hometowns. Prominent Denver architect Robert S Roeschlaub designed the elegant stone building and San Francisco artist John C Massman added elaborate trompe l'oeil murals to the interior.

Unfortunately, productions of this 550-seat opera house soon closed as the mining industry left the region and the population dwindled, and sadly the opera house fell into disrepair. In 1932, some interested opera patrons restored the Opera House to its former glory, and legendary actress, Lillian Gish, came to play her role as Camille, in the production of the same name, which launched an annual tradition of summer festivals that continues to this day. This National Historic Landmark has hosted performances of the nation's fifth-oldest opera company since this 1932 re-opening, hosting such famous artists as Mae West, Beverly Sills, Helen Hayes, and Denyce Graves, among others.

We saw one of our favorite operas in Central City, Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata. Directed by Elise Sandell, and conducted by John Baril, this production starred Ellie Dehn as Violetta, Ryan McPherson as Alfredo, and Troy Cook as Giorgio Germont. No photos are allowed during the opera, but I took this photo of the final bows to the audience's enthusiastic standing ovations.  



We enjoyed this sell-out opera very much and seeing it in this historical building made me feel as if I was also viewing a part of our nation's history. We will definitely return next summer for not only an opera but also a musical, or two. It is wonderful knowing this treasure box gem is in close proximity to us, and an additional theater along with those in Denver, in which to enjoy the arts. We saw many operas when we lived in New York City, both the Metropolitan Opera and City Opera, and we are happy that we have some choices here in Colorado to continue seeing live performances.

Do you enjoy visiting performing arts complexes around the country and the world? What places have you visited and the performances you would recommend? 

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