Boston Opera House

Boston Opera House is a historic theater and performing-arts venue at 539 Washington Street in Boston, Massachusetts. Although its current name emphasizes opera, the building has had several distinct identities and uses since its opening. It was constructed as the B.F. Keith Memorial Theatre, a lavish movie palace and vaudeville venue associated with the Keith-Albee theater chain. The building was designed by the prominent theater architect Thomas W. Lamb and dedicated to Benjamin Franklin Keith, a major figure in American vaudeville. The Radio-Keith-Orpheum company, generally known as RKO, was formed shortly before the theater opened and became its owner. The theater opened on October 29, 1928, presenting first-run motion pictures alongside live vaudeville. By 1929 it had shifted to film exhibition alone and became one of Boston's leading movie houses. It was commonly known as RKO Keith's Theatre and retained that identity for much of the mid-century period. In 1965, Sack Theaters acquired the property and renamed it the Savoy Theater. The operator also converted part of the stage area into a smaller cinema, creating a second auditorium separated from the original theater space by a masonry wall. The building's most important transformation came in 1980, when it closed as a movie theater and became the home of Sarah Caldwell's Opera Company of Boston. The venue was renamed the Boston Opera House, and the company undertook work to adapt and restore the theater with assistance from Boston arts patron Susan Timken. The opera company had produced performances in rented locations since 1958, but operating a large, aging theater created substantial financial and maintenance obligations. After approximately a decade at the venue, the company closed because of financial difficulties, leaving the building without a stable operator or adequate resources for upkeep. During the 1990s the unheated building suffered serious deterioration. Water intrusion damaged the electrical systems and decorative plasterwork, while stored costumes belonging to the former opera company were lost when the roof and interior conditions failed. In 1996 the former opera company relinquished ownership. Preservation efforts gained momentum in 1999, when the Boston Landmarks Commission granted the building landmark status with support from Mayor Thomas Menino and Senator Edward Kennedy. Kennedy had a personal historical connection to the property because his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, had been an original RKO financier. After several unsuccessful or delayed redevelopment proposals, Clear Channel's live-entertainment division, now associated with Live Nation, agreed to lead a major rehabilitation. Expanding the stage house into the narrow area between neighboring buildings led to a lengthy legal dispute with residents of the adjacent Tremont on the Commons condominium, particularly over fire-safety concerns. The project ultimately proceeded, and the theater underwent a reported $38 million restoration. It reopened on July 16, 2004, with The Lion King, establishing the renovated building as a major Boston destination for touring Broadway productions, concerts, dance, and other live events. The contemporary venue is owned by Boston Opera House Ventures, LLC, associated with Boston businessmen Don Law and David Mugar. Its principal tenants and users have included Broadway Across America, Boston Ballet, and Boston Uprising. Boston Ballet has presented its annual production of The Nutcracker at the theater since 2005 and made the venue its permanent home in 2009. The building also continues to host touring musicals, concerts, and other performances. Despite its name and its design history, the restored venue has primarily operated as a broad entertainment and performing-arts house rather than as a regular opera venue.

The building now called Boston Opera House opened on October 29, 1928, as the B.F. Keith Memorial Theatre. It was conceived as an elaborate movie palace and vaudeville theater in the Keith-Albee chain and was designed by Thomas W. Lamb, one of the leading American theater architects of the period. The theater honored Benjamin Franklin Keith, whose business helped establish vaudeville as a major form of commercial entertainment. The Radio-Keith-Orpheum company was organized shortly before the opening and became the property's owner, leading the theater to be identified soon afterward with the RKO name. In its first season, the building combined first-run films with live vaudeville. The format was short-lived: by 1929 the venue had become a movie theater exclusively. For several decades it operated as one of Boston's major cinema palaces, variously carrying B.F. Keith's and RKO Keith's branding. The building remained an important Washington Street entertainment site through the middle of the twentieth century, even as the economics of movie exhibition changed. Sack Theaters acquired the property in 1965 and renamed it the Savoy Theater. The company also altered the building by inserting a masonry partition across the proscenium area and creating a smaller cinema in the former stage space. This intervention reflected the growing preference for multiplex-style exhibition, but it also changed the configuration of the original theater. In 1980 the venue ceased operating as a movie house and was adapted for opera. It became the Boston Opera House and served as the principal home of Sarah Caldwell's Opera Company of Boston. Caldwell's organization had presented opera in rented facilities since 1958, and the move gave it a dedicated, high-capacity theater. The property was acquired and renovated with assistance from arts patron Susan Timken. The new identity was culturally significant for Boston, but the building's size and condition imposed costs that were difficult for the opera company to sustain. The Opera Company of Boston closed because of financial problems around 1990–1991. Its failure left the building dark, unheated, and vulnerable to neglect. Water entered the structure, damaging electrical equipment and the decorative plasterwork in the auditorium. Costumes accumulated by the company over many years were stored under the compromised roof and were lost. In 1996 the former opera company relinquished ownership, creating uncertainty about whether the theater could be preserved or redeveloped. Preservation advocates and city officials subsequently worked to protect the building. Mayor Thomas Menino and Senator Edward Kennedy assisted efforts that resulted in landmark designation by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1999. Kennedy's involvement had a historical connection to the site: his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, had been an original financier and founder associated with RKO. Landmark status helped establish a preservation framework while leaving the property in need of a financially viable rehabilitation plan. A number of proposed redevelopment schemes were delayed or failed before Clear Channel's live and concert division agreed to renovate the theater. The work required enlarging the stage house into a constrained space between neighboring buildings. That proposal produced a multiyear court dispute with the Tremont on the Commons condominium, whose residents raised fire-safety concerns. The dispute was ultimately resolved and the project proceeded. The restoration, reported as costing $38 million, repaired the severely damaged interior and restored the auditorium's ornamental character while adapting the property for modern touring productions. The venue reopened on July 16, 2004, with The Lion King. Its post-restoration business model emphasized Broadway tours, concerts, dance, and other large-scale live events. The theater's development agreement included an obligation to present opera for fourteen days annually, but the restored building has generally functioned as a broad entertainment venue rather than a regularly programmed opera house. Boston Opera House Ventures, LLC, associated with Don Law and David Mugar, is identified as the current owner. Major users have included Broadway Across America, Boston Ballet, and Boston Uprising. Boston Ballet began presenting its annual The Nutcracker production at the venue in 2005 and designated it as the company's permanent home in 2009. The theater therefore represents several successive eras of Boston entertainment: vaudeville and film, neighborhood cinema, resident opera, historic preservation, and contemporary touring performance.

• 2009

  Boston Ballet establishes a permanent home

  [1]Boston Opera Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Boston Ballet made the theater its permanent home after several years of performances there.

• 2005

  Boston Ballet begins annual Nutcracker performances

  [1]Boston Opera Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Boston Ballet began presenting its annual production of The Nutcracker at the theater.

• 2004

  Reopening after major restoration

  [1]Boston Opera Houseen.wikipedia.org

  The restored theater reopened with The Lion King and entered its current era as a major touring-entertainment venue.

• 1999

  Landmark designation

  [1]Boston Opera Houseen.wikipedia.org

  The Boston Landmarks Commission granted the building landmark status after a preservation campaign involving city and federal political support.

• 1996

  Former opera company relinquishes ownership

  [1]Boston Opera Houseen.wikipedia.org

  The former Opera Company of Boston gave up ownership of the deteriorating property.

• 1990

  End of the resident opera-company era

  [1]Boston Opera Houseen.wikipedia.org

  The Opera Company of Boston ceased operations because of financial difficulties, leaving the venue without a stable resident operator.

• 1980

  Reopening as the Boston Opera House

  [1]Boston Opera Houseen.wikipedia.org

  The building became the home of Sarah Caldwell's Opera Company of Boston after closing as a movie theater.

• 1965

  Renaming as the Savoy Theater

  [1]Boston Opera Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Sack Theaters acquired the property, changed its name, and created a second cinema in the former stage area.

• 1929

  Conversion to film-only exhibition

  [1]Boston Opera Houseen.wikipedia.org

  The theater stopped presenting vaudeville and operated primarily as a first-run movie house.

• 1928

  Opening as the B.F. Keith Memorial Theatre

  [1]Boston Opera Houseen.wikipedia.org

  The theater opened on October 29 as a movie palace and vaudeville venue associated with the Keith-Albee chain and RKO.

A historic Boston theater positioned as a restored, multipurpose performing-arts and live-entertainment venue, combining landmark architecture with Broadway touring productions, ballet, concerts, and other major events.

• Musical theater · 2004

  Touring Broadway productions

  The restored venue is a major Boston stop for national touring productions of Broadway musicals. Its large auditorium and expanded stage-house capacity support technically demanding shows with substantial scenery, lighting, sound, and backstage requirements. The theater reopened in 2004 with The Lion King, a production that symbolized its transition from a deteriorated historic property into a modern touring venue.

• Ballet and dance · 2005

  Boston Ballet performances

  Boston Opera House serves as a principal performance venue for Boston Ballet. The company presents large-scale classical and contemporary dance programs in the restored auditorium, using the theater's stage, orchestra-pit capability, and audience capacity for major seasonal productions.

• Seasonal ballet · 2005

  The Nutcracker

  Boston Ballet's annual production of The Nutcracker has been presented at the theater since 2005. It became one of the venue's signature recurring engagements and contributed to Boston Ballet's decision to make the building its permanent home in 2009.

• Live events · 2004

  Concerts and live entertainment

  In addition to theater and dance, the venue hosts touring concerts and other large live events. This programming reflects the post-2004 operating model associated with the modern live-entertainment industry and broadens the theater's role beyond its opera-oriented name.

• Opera · 1980

  Opera performances

  Opera was the building's defining use between 1980 and the closure of the Opera Company of Boston, and the venue was designed and restored with opera in mind. Its current name and development agreement retain an opera association, although the restored venue has primarily hosted Broadway, ballet, concerts, and other events rather than operating as a regular resident opera house.

• 1999Boston Opera House preservation campaign

  Boston

  City officials and preservation supporters sought landmark protection for the deteriorating theater, helping secure Boston Landmarks Commission designation.

  Outcome. The building received landmark status, strengthening the preservation case while redevelopment and restoration plans continued.

  Source

• 2009

  Establishment as Boston Ballet's permanent homeStrategy

  Background

  Boston Ballet had presented The Nutcracker at the venue since 2005.

  Action taken

  The company made Boston Opera House its permanent home.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement reinforced the theater's role as a principal Boston venue for ballet and recurring large-scale dance productions.

  Source

• 2004

  Major restoration and reopeningGeneration change

  Background

  The building had suffered severe water, electrical, and decorative damage after the opera company closed and relinquished ownership.

  Action taken

  Clear Channel's live-entertainment division led a reported $38 million restoration, including work to enlarge the stage house and modernize the property for touring productions.

  Aftermath

  The theater reopened with The Lion King and became a prominent venue for touring Broadway shows, concerts, and dance.

  Reported restoration cost. $38 million (2004 restoration)

  Source

• 1980

  Conversion into an opera houseStrategy

  Background

  Sarah Caldwell's Opera Company of Boston needed a dedicated home after years of producing opera in rented theaters.

  Action taken

  The former movie theater was acquired, renovated, and renamed the Boston Opera House for the resident opera company.

  Aftermath

  The move gave the company a permanent venue but exposed it to the high maintenance and operating costs of a large, aging theater.

  Source

• 1965

  Conversion to a two-auditorium cinema operationStrategy

  Background

  Sack Theaters acquired the former RKO venue as the economics of cinema exhibition were changing.

  Action taken

  The operator renamed the theater the Savoy Theater and inserted a masonry wall to create a smaller cinema in the stage area.

  Aftermath

  The property continued as a movie venue under a more multiplex-oriented configuration until its 1980 conversion.

  Source

• 1929

  Shift from vaudeville and film to film-only programmingStrategy

  Background

  The theater opened with both motion pictures and live vaudeville during a period when large movie palaces commonly combined the formats.

  Action taken

  By 1929, the venue had converted to showing films alone.

  Aftermath

  It operated for more than five decades as a major Boston movie theater before its later conversion to opera.

  Source

1. 1Boston Opera Houseen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Boston Opera House Study Report, Boston Landmarks Commissionboston.gov