The story
Detroit Opera began in 1961 as the educational outreach arm, Overture to Opera (OTO), of the Detroit Grand Opera Association, the organization responsible for the Metropolitan Opera's visits to Detroit.
The David DiChiera era (1963–2014)
In 1963, Michigan Opera Theatre's (MOT) Founder and General Director, David DiChiera took over the program, then in its third year. OTO first presented opera to the public as a collection of scenes and acts. It did not produce its first full-length production until 1970, with the staging of The Barber of Seville at the Detroit Institute of Arts. OTO transformed into a professional opera company after establishing a board of trustees in 1971, and in 1973, the company officially changed its name to Michigan Opera Theatre. 1977 marked the founding of MOT's Department of Community Programs by Karen VanderKloot DiChiera. The company became known for its casting which often featured a blend of established artists as well as young-up-and-coming American opera singers from a diversity of backgrounds, a tradition that continues to this day. The company was among the first to stage Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess in 1975 as well as Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha in 1983.
MOT also established an international reputation for the staging of rarely performed operas such as the North American premiere of Armenian composer, Armen Tigranian's, Anoush in 1981, Stanisław Moniuszko's The Haunted Castle in 1982, and Polish composer Karol Szymanowski's King Roger in 1991.
In 1989 the decision was made to purchase MOT's current home, the Detroit Opera House. Originally called the Capitol Theatre, the building, designed by C. Howard Crane, was in need of extensive restoration. The company eventually gained enough money to purchase the entire block encompassing the neighboring Roberts Fur building, which the company demolished in 1993 to make way for the 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m2) stage house. The monumental task which became known as "The Detroit Opera House Project" took approximately 7 years to complete and was supported by local individuals, corporations, foundations and unions. Luciano Pavarotti was also a major contributor to the campaign, bringing the attention of the public to the project at large by promising to sing at the opening of the new opera house, donating large amounts of money to the cause, and by making various appearances around Detroit in performances designed to raise money for the project.
In April 1996, MOT celebrated the opening of its new home with a gala event which received international coverage. Among the guests at the gala were opera stars Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Irina Mishura, Helen Donath, Marcello Giordani, Gregg Baker, Alessandra Marc, and Elizabeth Parcells, conductor Steven Mercurio, and actor Roddy McDowall. The evening also featured a Fanfare for the Detroit Opera House by American composer William Bolcom which had been especially commissioned for the Gala. In 1996 MOT also added a permanent dance season to its repertoire with performances by the American Ballet Theatre and the Cleveland San Jose Ballet.
In 2005, the company staged the world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s Margaret Garner, based on Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved.
In 2014, founder and longtime general director DiChiera stepped down as president and CEO and became artistic director. Wayne S. Brown became president and CEO in 2014. DiChiera retired as artistic director in 2017.
The Wayne S. Brown era (2014–2024)
During Brown’s tenure, the opera company focused increasingly on producing operas that reached diverse audiences residing in and around the city of Detroit, such as Robert Xavier Rodriguez’s Frida and Mieczysław Weinberg's The Passenger in 2015, and Daniel Sonenberg's The Summer King in 2018. He also oversaw the rebranding to Detroit Opera in 2022.
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Brown oversaw the recruitment of Yuval Sharon as artistic director in 2020. Sharon’s tenure began as operas were closing their doors nationwide in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In October 2020, the company produced Twilight: Gods, an adaptation of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung that was performed in Detroit Opera House Parking Center. In 2021, the company produced Anthony Davis’ X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, which marked its first revival since its 1986 premiere. Innovative opera productions have included La bohème in 2022, which presented Puccini’s four-act opera in reverse order, and The Valkyries, which staged Wagner’s Die Walküre with 3D computer graphics alongside live performance. Roberto Kalb became music director of the company in November 2022. In 2023, Brown was inducted into Opera America’s Opera Hall of Fame.
The Patty Isacson Sabee era (2024–present)
Since January 2024, Patty Isacson Sabee has served as Detroit Opera’s president and CEO. In December 2025, the company announced the scheduled departure of Sharon as its artistic director at the end of the 2025–2026 season, two years before the end of his contract. The company faced financial challenges, including reduced financial support from major foundations, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and varying audience reactions to Sharon's programming ideas. Sharon stated publicly his understanding of the situation:
"They really tried to make it work. But it was just not the artistic vision that I agreed to. I would just feel like kind of a lame duck artistic director — at which point I'm not serving the organization."
In April 2026, the company announced the extension of Kalb's contract as music director through June 2030.
From Wikipedia’s article on Detroit Opera, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4