THE BELLVILLE OPERA HOUSE--
The upper floor of the Bellville Village Hall was jumping one recent Saturday night—up there in what is known as the “Opera House”.
The current village hall was built in 1877/78 for the town meetings and jail. About 100 of us had our own ‘town meeting’ that recent Saturday night.
Sitting in chairs plushly cushioned in red velvet with the tall vintage windows adorned in heavy matching drapes we tapped our toes and clapped our hands and ultimately gave a standing ovation to the Michigan quartet, Steppin’ In It for their rousingly quirky musical performance.
They are four young guys with the energy of an orchestra and were performing on
a gaily decorated stage which is mostly a sleeping asset in the town’s 130 year old center of government on the village green.
Robert Bell arrived here from the east in 1816, laid out the town and called it BELLville naturally.
“In fact, in the 1800s around here most towns had ‘opera’ houses” explained local historian Don Palm. Most also had small “opera” companies. Our “Bellville Operetta” was still performing as evidenced by a 1921-22 picture in Don’s archives.
Like many old buildings things changed over the years. Movies replaced “operas” in the 1920s and 30s. “They continued to be popular until folks around here got cars and could drive to Mansfield for more modern facilities,” Palm explained.
Through the mid 1930s all formal functions of the Bellville High School were held in the opera house; graduations for example. Then, the school built its own auditorium and things changed again.
By the 1970s the “opera” facility had fallen into dis-repair and was used for storage while there were continuous efforts to repair its leaky roof.
In 1976 the building was named to the National Register of Historic Places and it was completely renovated in 1978 after a $9,000 fundraising campaign. Then, for awhile, the Bellville Drama Club was active—performing the old stand-by Arsenic and Old Lace in 1981.
It continues to be available for rental but a difficult stairway is a drawback; even with its one-person electric lift. Mansfield area musical promoters Fate Christan and Melanie Seaman have been the most active users over the past several years with their Highlands of Ohio Celtic Music Society.
Their next show at the “Opera House” will be January 31st, 2008 and will feature AMERICAN GYPSY.
Check here for more information: http://www.highlandsofohio.com/information.html
The upper floor of the Bellville Village Hall was jumping one recent Saturday night—up there in what is known as the “Opera House”.
The current village hall was built in 1877/78 for the town meetings and jail. About 100 of us had our own ‘town meeting’ that recent Saturday night.
Sitting in chairs plushly cushioned in red velvet with the tall vintage windows adorned in heavy matching drapes we tapped our toes and clapped our hands and ultimately gave a standing ovation to the Michigan quartet, Steppin’ In It for their rousingly quirky musical performance.
They are four young guys with the energy of an orchestra and were performing on
a gaily decorated stage which is mostly a sleeping asset in the town’s 130 year old center of government on the village green.Robert Bell arrived here from the east in 1816, laid out the town and called it BELLville naturally.
“In fact, in the 1800s around here most towns had ‘opera’ houses” explained local historian Don Palm. Most also had small “opera” companies. Our “Bellville Operetta” was still performing as evidenced by a 1921-22 picture in Don’s archives.
Like many old buildings things changed over the years. Movies replaced “operas” in the 1920s and 30s. “They continued to be popular until folks around here got cars and could drive to Mansfield for more modern facilities,” Palm explained.
Through the mid 1930s all formal functions of the Bellville High School were held in the opera house; graduations for example. Then, the school built its own auditorium and things changed again.
By the 1970s the “opera” facility had fallen into dis-repair and was used for storage while there were continuous efforts to repair its leaky roof.
In 1976 the building was named to the National Register of Historic Places and it was completely renovated in 1978 after a $9,000 fundraising campaign. Then, for awhile, the Bellville Drama Club was active—performing the old stand-by Arsenic and Old Lace in 1981.
It continues to be available for rental but a difficult stairway is a drawback; even with its one-person electric lift. Mansfield area musical promoters Fate Christan and Melanie Seaman have been the most active users over the past several years with their Highlands of Ohio Celtic Music Society.
Their next show at the “Opera House” will be January 31st, 2008 and will feature AMERICAN GYPSY.
Check here for more information: http://www.highlandsofohio.com/information.html
No comments:
Post a Comment