The Opera House (Toronto)
Encyclopedia
The Opera House is a music venue in Toronto
, Canada
. It is one of the city's most historic performing venues, opening in 1909. It has also been a cinema and a live theatre venue. It is located at 735 Queen Street East, east of downtown in the Riverdale
neighbourhood.
stage. Seating almost 700 it was the main entertainment venue in the primarily working class neighbourhood. As films eclipsed vaudeville the theatre was turned into a cinema, operating as the La Plaza Theatre for many decades and later under a series of other names.
As multiplex
es made large single screen venues no longer viable as a cinemas, it became a performing arts venue. In the late 1980s it was home to the successful gospel musical Mama, I Want to Sing!
. In the early 1990s it became The Opera House music venue.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is one of the city's most historic performing venues, opening in 1909. It has also been a cinema and a live theatre venue. It is located at 735 Queen Street East, east of downtown in the Riverdale
Riverdale
-Places:United States*Riverdale, California, in Fresno County*Riverdale, Mendocino County, California*Riverdale, Georgia*Riverdale, Chicago, Illinois*Riverdale, Illinois, in Cook County*Riverdale, Iowa*Riverdale, Anne Arundel County, Maryland...
neighbourhood.
History
It opened in 1909 as a vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
stage. Seating almost 700 it was the main entertainment venue in the primarily working class neighbourhood. As films eclipsed vaudeville the theatre was turned into a cinema, operating as the La Plaza Theatre for many decades and later under a series of other names.
As multiplex
Multiplex (movie theater)
A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens, typically three or more. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into smaller ones, or more auditoriums are added in an...
es made large single screen venues no longer viable as a cinemas, it became a performing arts venue. In the late 1980s it was home to the successful gospel musical Mama, I Want to Sing!
Mama, I Want to Sing!
Mama, I Want to Sing! is an upcoming American musical film written and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, produced by Vision Films and CodeBlack Entertainment, and distributed by 20th Century Fox's Fox Faith division...
. In the early 1990s it became The Opera House music venue.