The Opera House (Toronto)
The Opera House is a music venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the city's most historic performing venues, opening in 1909.[1] 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.
 The Opera House in 2015. | |
| Former names | La Plaza Theatre Acropolis Dundas Cinema Ellas |
|---|---|
| Address | 735 Queen Street E Toronto ON M4M 1H1 |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Coordinates | 43.658949°N 79.348752°W |
| Type | Theater/Music Venue |
| Capacity | 950 (680 Main Floor and 270 Balcony) |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1909 |
| Opened | 1909 |
| Website | |
| theoperahousetoronto.com | |
History
The building opened in 1909 as the La Plaza Theatre, an Edwardian vaudeville 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, continuing to use the name La Plaza Theatre until the 1960s, and later under a series of other names.[2][3]
As multiplexes made large single screen venues no longer viable as 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 was renamed "The Opera House" and became a music venue. It has been thing of lore that in 1996, Baby Jane, including band members: Steve Angel, Cam Clark, James Dunning, Kevin Karmody and Nick Pickett played, and won a band competition that is marked as the launching point to their illustrious legacy.
Other uses
- The venue was used for the filming of the music video for the Headstones song, "Smile and Wave".[4]
- The venue was used for the filming of the 1998 music video for the Barenaked Ladies song, "Brian Wilson".[5]
- The venue was used for the filming of a scene in the 2000 film Loser in which the band Everclear performed a concert.[6]
- The venue was used for the filming of the music video for The Tragically Hip song, "My Music at Work".[7]
References
- Doug Taylor (2016). Toronto's Local Movie Theatres of Yesteryear: Brought Back to Thrill You Again. Dundurn Press. pp. 14, 88, 89. ISBN 9781459733428.
- "History". Opera House. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- "Toronto's la Plaza Theatre (The Opera House) on Queen East". 4 September 2014.
- "Casting Call Headstones want you Smiling & Waving". Archived from the original on 1997-10-21. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- "Barenaked Ladies videoshoot open to fans". Archived from the original on September 3, 2000. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- "Everclear shooting film in T.O." Archived from the original on January 9, 2001. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- "Tragically Hip Video At MuchMusic Today". Chart Attack. Archived from the original on June 25, 2003. Retrieved May 4, 2020.