BARRE OPERA HOUSE

The Barre Opera House is a historic 1899 theater with a seating capacity of 645 (plus wheelchair spots), located on the second floor of Barre City Hall at 6 N. Main Street in Barre, Vermont. It serves as the primary performing arts facility for Central Vermont in the self-described "Granite Capital of the World."

The Opera House hosts around 50 public events per year, including presented performances, community concerts, theater, and dance. It is the home venue for the Vermont Philharmonic, Green Mountain Youth Symphony, Vermont Fiddle Orchestra, and Moving Light Dance. Events attract over 25,000 visitors annually.

The opera house opened on August 23, 1899, after the previous City Hall burned in 1898. It originally seated 1,000 patrons and hosted notable figures including Helen Keller, Eugene Debs, John Philip Sousa, and President William Howard Taft. The doors closed in January 1944 and reopened in October 1982. A 1993 renovation restored balcony seating and raised capacity to its current 645 seats.