“Opera Grand Rapids, after 40 years of wandering through town, has reached its promised home,” writes Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk in Tuesday’s (2/16) Grand Rapids Press (Michigan). “Opera Grand Rapids on Tuesday began moving into the Betty Van Andel Opera Center, a $2.5 million building erected to become the company’s first permanent home in its 42-year history. … The two-story building opening this week at 1320 E. Fulton St. includes such amenities as a costume shop, prop storage, rehearsal rooms, meeting rooms, a library, offices and a permanent box office. The 14,000-square-foot building, built by McGraw Construction, is intended to house all of the company’s operations apart from its public performances, which will continue in DeVos Performance Hall. … After decades of rehearsing in a series of empty storefronts, church basements and other unused corporate facilities, a two-story tall, 60-foot by 80-foot space will give the company a permanent rehearsal hall. Finding open, available space to rehearse has been an ongoing challenge for years.” Members of the Grand Rapids Symphony serve as the orchestra for Opera Grand Rapids.
Posted February 18, 2010
