History of The Lyric Opera House
On the evening of October 31,1894, Emil Paur led the Boston Symphony Orchestra into the prelude to "Die Meistersinger von Nurenberg." It was the opening number of the gala concert celebrating Baltimore's new "Music Hall." Nellie Melba was to crown the evening with her rendition of Handel's "Sweet Bird" aria. Mr. T. Henry Randall, architect for the building joined the throngs backstage to be congratulated by Madame Melba on the hall's perfect acoustics.
No one could have had the foresight to predict the many and varied sounds to ring through this building during its first 75 years. Just 11 years later, Mike Sullivan of Boston and Joe Gans fought a draw at the Lyric . Gans, the lightweight champion suffered an injured left eye which eventually ended his career. In 1905, Baltimoreans were treated to a first exhibition of cooking by electricity at the Food Show in the Lyric.
Also in 1905, Ignace Jan Paderewski gave his third Baltimore performance. Enrico Caruso came to the Lyric with the Metropolitan Opera Company's production of "Marta." Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt and her party came from Washington to hear the celebrated tenor.
The list of speakers who have taken the spotlight in the Lyric is a chapter in American history. It includes William Jennings Bryan, Roald Amundsen, Richard E. Byrd, Charles A. Lindbergh, Calvin E. Coolidge, Amelia Earhart, Clarence Darrow, Will Rogers, and Herbert Hoover. Among the great names... the world-famed performers... there appear little known personages out of the past. Gus Schoenlein (known as Americus) wrestled with George Hackenschmit, the world's champion, in the Lyric late in 1906.
In 1908, Mr. Frederick Gottlieb offered the Lyric for sale to the city for the new Polytechnic Institute. (The offer was not accepted.)
Two years after its opening, Mr. Kilpatrick rode his two-wheeler bike down a flight of 150 steps as part of a bike festival. On summer evenings, the was decorated in beer garden fashion and polkas filled the air. General William Booth and Aimee Semple McPherson found converts in Lyric audiences, as did Col. Robert Ingersoll who lectured on "How to Reform Mankind" in 1898.
Other great artists attested to the auditorium's superb acoustics. Conductors such as Pierre Monteux, Charles Munch, Eugene Ormandy, Fritz Reiner, Leopold Stokowski, Sir Thomas Beecham, and Erich Leinsdorf have complimented the exceptional sound qualities. The famed Leopold Stokowski said, "May I tell you that I and my orchestra enjoy playing to the audience in this hall more than to any…in this country." Sir Thomas Beecham rated it first in America.
Today’s acoustical experts rank the Lyric as one of the best acoustical auditoriums in the world. Leo L. Beranek, John Wiley and Sons, in his book "Music, Acoustics, and Architecture," writes: "The Lyric has a clear, warm, intimate sound with good brilliance. The hall is reasonably uniform acoustically, and orchestral music played in it is adequately loud.
”Two music critics who know the Lyric well find the sound very clear and beautiful and at the right loudness. For opera, because of its smaller size, they believe it to be superior to Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
”The Lyric is one of the better halls in our country. Let us hope that time will preserve it from the unceasing demand for new buildings with ever-larger seating capacities."
Thomas D. Perry, manager of the Boston Symphony Orchestra sums it up well with this statement, "I've always been so great an admirer of the Lyric , which it seems to me is one of the few halls in this country not only with good sound, but with a certain style and atmosphere and a tradition, if you will, that I hope we can help preserve."
Hypnotists, Hindu fakirs, and "Rasslers," the Lyric has seen them all. But the glory of the Lyric has always been music... the scores of musical greats, the world's great orchestras, opera companies, soloists, ballet stars and conductors... taking advantage of its world-renowned acoustics.
Over the years, many showcased events have been hosted at the Lyric (For a list of the stars to have appeared at the Lyric, click on entertainment). Operas and Broadway plays and musicals are among a long list of featured events at the Lyric. Comedians, magicians, motivational speakers, graduations, and even hypnotists have at one time or another performed here.
The Lyric's first 100 years of existence has included an array of highs and lows. In 1920, for instance, a group of Marylanders raised $250,000 to prevent the theatre from becoming an auto dealership. In the 1960's, Mayor Thomas D'Alessandro recommended it to be demolished because it had become extremely rundown. In 1982, the Lyric lost its primary tenant, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Yet on October 31, 1994, the Lyric Opera House reached its 100th anniversary, a milestone that cultural establishments rarely achieve. What makes the Lyric different than other theatres is that it changes with the times. An example of this is evident in 1982 with the move of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from the Lyric to the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Without the Symphony, the Lyric was left with a large hole in its schedule. The hole was plugged with additional operas (performed by the Baltimore Opera Company), Broadway musicals and plays, and touring entertainers. Broadway productions like "Showboat", "Evita", "Cats" and "The King and I" along with the magic of David Copperfield, the comedy of Jackie Mason, are just some of the events that filled the Lyric's 2,564 seats almost every night.
When the Symphony left in 1982, the Lyric became a more viable facility for a variety of shows. By the early 1990's, the Lyric had a new identity - the Baltimore home of Broadway and opera. During the 1993-1994 season, 200 dates were utilized for the first time. The Lyric has also undergone several renovations and expansions. After a $14 million renovation that began in 1979, the Lyric reopened in 1982 as a major multipurpose venue, specializing in grand opera and Broadway style shows.
A new entrance, lobby, seating arrangement, boiler room and backstage facilities were completed by the end of the decade.
In 1997, a three story building was constructed that houses new stage level dressing rooms, a rehearsal room, new ticket offices, and administrative offices for the Baltimore Opera Company and the Lyric. Unfortunately, at the end of 2008 the Baltimore Opera Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Since then the Lyric has been making strides to continue bringing quality opera to Baltimore.
The acoustics of the Lyric are world-renowned, and conductors and performers alike have attested to this fact from the beginning. Indeed, it is because of these unique acoustical qualities that so many people, over the years, were eager to renovate the Lyric.
The Lyric's auditorium has been registered on the National Register of Historical Places since 1986. The exterior of the facility, however, remains free of the Register’s guidelines so modernization can continue without restriction. Not only is The Lyric a cultural and architectural landmark, it is a world landmark when judged in terms of its sound. Baltimore¹s Lyric Opera House has hosted a steady stream of great moments since 1894 and will continue to be the cultural and entertainment capital of the state of Maryland.
2010-2011 – Renovation of the Stage-house
The future is now for the final phase of The Lyric’s modernization, a plan developed in the mid-1970’s, to renovate and update the facility. Originally built as a concert hall and due to limitations of the stage-house and technical systems, The Lyric is unable to preserve its historic legacy and position to attract and support first class performing arts, educational and community-based events. That changes with the expansion of the stage area and the modernization of the back stage rigging system, as well as the following:
Installation of a fly tower that will lift the roof and the height of the stage from 62 feet to 80 feet and the depth will increase from 32 feet to 38 feet.
Safety improvements to the stage-house and upgrades to the mechanical system
Replacement of wood grid with steel grid and new power distribution
Concurrently, replacing the existing “hemp” or sandbag system, which cannot handle heavy loads and modern equipment, with a mechanical counterweight system.
Improvements to fire separation in the stage-house/auditorium.
Upgrades of stage equipment including new lights and sound system and new lighting and sound positions.
New stage curtains.
Preservation and maintenance of historical aspects of the auditorium including new lighting, recarpeting and repainting.
Replacing orchestra pit with a restructured pit, saving much in time, labor and money for each production.
The Lyric gratefully acknowledges those who supported the capital campaign including:
The State of Maryland
The City of Baltimore
The Baltimore County Commissions on Arts and Sciences
The Middendorf Foundation, Inc.
France-Merrick Foundation
The Whiting Turner Contracting Company
The John J. Leidy Foundation
The Emmert Hobbs Foundation, Inc.
MedStar
Suntrust Bank
Wachovia Bank
Verizon
Kemp Family Foundation
Van Dyke Family Foundation