Built at an elevation of 8,500 feet in 1878 by Welsh and Cornish miners seeking their fortunes in Colorado gold, the Central City Opera House stage has hosted performers including Buffalo Bill Cody, the P.T. Barnum Circus, Lillian Gish and Beverly Sills. World-renowned baritone Samuel Ramey began his career on this stage in 1963, and Mae West’s engagement for the 1949 theater season famously came with demands for two white Cadillac limousines to be available to her at all times.

With seating for 550, the interior décor of the National Historic Landmark building boasts trompe l’oeil murals by San Francisco artist John C. Massman. The stone structure was designed by Denver architect Robert S. Roeschlaub, and is home to the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program, which serves as a national model for the training of young opera singers.

Performances scheduled for July and August include Verdi’s La Traviata, the Tony Award-winning Man of La Mancha by Leigh, Darion and Wasserman; Benjamin Britten’s The Prodigal Son and Joseph Bodin de Boismortier’s Don Quixote & The Duchess. An official Opera Bus is available from Denver-area locations for select Wednesday and Sunday matinees. Artistic director Pelham Pearce announces that in addition to summer festival performances at the historic opera house, the 2015 season will extend to shows held in Denver and throughout Colorado.