Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Opera house in Denver, United States.
The Ellie Caulkins Opera House is an opera house in downtown Denver with four seating levels accommodating roughly 2,225 spectators. The space includes orchestra seating, loges, mezzanine, and balcony sections offering different views of the stage.
The building opened in 1908 as part of the Municipal Auditorium and served as a key venue for the city. Following a complete interior renovation, it reopened in 2005 with modern amenities and updated facilities.
The house is named for Ellie Caulkins, called "Denver's First Lady of Opera", and her family gave $7 million toward the lyric opera house built inside the old Newton Auditorium. Opera Colorado opened its first season there on November 3, 2005 with Carmen, starring Denyce Graves in the title role.
The venue sits within the Denver Performing Arts Complex with multiple entrances and good accessibility in the downtown area. On-site dining options allow visitors to eat before catching a show.
The auditorium's original proscenium was portable: in place it made a 3,326-seat theatre, and raised it opened the stage to circuses and rodeos with seating for 12,000. In 1921 radio station 9ZAF broadcast a full-length opera, Flotow's Martha, from here, the first such broadcast.
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