New Ford Center for Arts and Learning
at the Detroit Opera House
to Open April 27, 2006
* * *

DETROIT, Michigan, March 28, 2006…The Detroit Opera House is pleased to announce the grand opening of the Ford Center for Arts and Learning, an arts education resource for the entire community, on Thursday, April 27, 2006. An open house will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for all to attend. The grand opening of the Ford Center for Arts and Learning coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the Detroit Opera House opening, and a special concert performance commemorating the occasion.

The Ford Center is located in the six-story Broadway Street office tower of the Detroit Opera House (1526 Broadway, Detroit, MI, 48226). The facility, which has been vacant since the mid 1970s, has been renovated and transformed into a dedicated center for arts education and performance, featuring the Allesee Dance and Opera Resource Library, the Floy and Lee Barthel Costume Shop, the Marion and David Handleman Learning Studio, the Margo V. Cohen Center for Dance and the DaimlerChrysler Theater, as well as an expanded ground-level retail space for the Michigan Opera Theatre Boutique.

“Opening the Ford Center for Arts and Learning is the realization of a dream some 35 years in the making,” said Dr. David DiChiera, Founder and General Director of Michigan Opera Theatre. “I’ve always believed that education and outreach are an essential component of our work at Michigan Opera Theatre, and this new facility will allow us to expand our offerings, and touch even more lives with the arts.”

Michigan Opera Theatre, ranked among the nation’s 10 largest opera companies by audience and annual operating budget, was founded in 1971. The company started as an educational component of the Detroit Grand Opera Association, originally called Overture to Opera, which facilitated the Metropolitan Opera’s annual visits to Detroit. Firmly rooted in arts education, Michigan Opera Theatre and its award-winning Department of Community Programs, led by Karen VanderKloot DiChiera, have been an innovative industry leader in education and community outreach.

The new Ford Center for Arts and Learning was made possible by the completion of Michigan Opera Theatre’s New Century Fund capital campaign, The Crowning Achievement, which exceeded its $20 million goal in June of 2004. Funds from the campaign have also enabled Michigan Opera Theatre to construct a new parking center adjacent to the Detroit Opera House, and create an endowment fund for continued fiscal stability and growth.

Michigan Opera Theatre estimates the total construction cost of the new Ford Center for Arts and Learning at $9.5 million, bringing the overall cost of the Detroit Opera House (including the new Detroit Opera House Parking Center) to $79.5 million.

The new Ford Center for Arts and Learning was designed by Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. Walbridge Aldinger has served as general contractor for the project, supervising numerous subcontractors, including 21st Century Salvage, Inc., Amalio Corp., Architectural Building Components, Inc., Architectural Southwest Stone Co., Brinker Team Construction Co., Continental Interiors, Inc., Detroit Door and Hardware, Dixon Incorporated, Edgewood Electric, Inc., Eugenio Painting Company, Gardiner C. Vose, Inc., International Building Products, Inc., IXL Glass Company, JD & M Building Co., MBM Fabricators, Otis Elevator Company, Progressive Mechanical, SA Comunale, Schreiber Corporation, Spray On Fireproofing, Inc. and Western Waterproofing.

The Ford Center for Arts and Learning

DaimlerChrysler Theater
The sixth floor of the Ford Center will be a dedicated black-box theater, with flexible stage and seating capabilities ideal for small and experimental productions, as well as community outreach performances. The theater will also be available for rental by local theatre troupes and community organizations and for other intimate events. The DaimlerChrysler Theater is named in honor of a generous gift from the DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund.

Margo V. Cohen Center for Dance
The fifth floor of the Ford Center has been designated the Margo V. Cohen Center for Dance, and will serve as the center of all dance activities at the Detroit Opera House. A designated studio space, the Cohen Center will provide rehearsal space to visiting dance companies, and also a perfect location for dance master classes and auditions. The Margo V. Cohen Center for Dance has been established by a grant from the Cohen Family Philanthropic Fund at the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan.

Marion and David Handleman Learning Studio
The fourth floor of the Ford Center will serve as a technology lab and classroom space for numerous learning programs including courses in vocal health and performance, as well as various components of the Michigan Opera Theatre Department of Community Programs’ award-winning Learning at the Opera House series. Private instruction in voice and piano will also be administered in this space. The studio is named in honor of a generous gift from David Handleman.

Floy and Lee Barthel Costume Shop
The third floor of the Ford Center is occupied by the Floy and Lee Barthel Costume Shop. This state-of-the-art space has become home to Michigan Opera Theatre’s costuming department, and provides the department with space for fitting, alteration and costume realization. The costume shop will also provide adequate space for learning programs focused on costume design and production for the stage. The costume shop is named in honor of a generous gift from Floy and Lee Barthel.

Allesee Dance and Opera Resource Library
The second floor of the Ford Center is designated the Allesee Dance and Opera Resource Library, and will become home to a large collection of media ranging from books and libretti to audio and video recordings. The library is named in honor of a generous gift from Robert and Maggie Allesee.

Michigan Opera Theatre Boutique
The Ford Center’s street-level space has been transformed into retail space to allow for the expansion of Michigan Opera Theatre’s Boutique. The shop will feature a wide range of opera and dance related gifts including books, libretti, posters, clothing, recordings and videos, among other items. This new dedicated space allows the boutique to relocate from the Detroit Opera House’s grand lobby, creating more space for patrons as well as boutique items.

The Ford Center for Arts and Learning at the Detroit Opera House is named in recognition of a generous gift from the Ford Motor Company Fund.

Open House
An open house featuring tours of the new Ford Center for Arts and Learning, light refreshments, and demonstrative performances and learning activities will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, 2006. The public is welcome. Media are asked to schedule visits with the Michigan Opera Theatre department of public relations, by calling (313) 237-3403 or emailing dblackburn@motopera.org.

Peripheral Events
In conjunction with the Ford Center for Arts and Learning open house, and the 10th anniversary of the Detroit Opera House, Michigan Opera Theatre will host a special 10th Anniversary Concert, celebrating a decade of divas, drama and dreams, April 27, 2006, at 7:30 p.m. The concert will feature artists from the company’s spring productions of Aida and Cinderella, singing a variety of opera’s biggest arias. Tickets range from $10-$35, and are available at the Detroit Opera House ticket office, and by phone at (313) 237-SING (7464).

In celebration of both the 10th anniversary of the Detroit Opera House and the 35th anniversary of Michigan Opera Theatre, the company will open its spring opera season with a new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida (April 22-30).

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