Story of the Old Opera House and Actress Helena Modjeska
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Campus Martius has seen a lot of construction and demolition since Augustus Woodward planned it to be the focal point of the new Detroit after the fire of 1805.
In front of you the behemoth Compuware building, completed in 2003, hides all traces of the cultural center that was once the heart of Campus Martius: the old Detroit Opera House. It was built in 1869, burned down in 1897 and rebuilt immediately, and then demolished in 1966.
Famous actors and opera singers from all over the country and Europe performed at the Opera House. One such actress was Helena Modjeska of Poland.
Helena Modrzejewska, a very accomplished actress and a beautiful woman, came to America in 1876 with her husband, a young son and a group of friends seeking a new, simpler life in California. A year later, renamed Helena Modjeska, she gave her first American performance in San Francisco. She was 37 and her knowledge of English was still rather rudimentary. Nevertheless, her brilliant rendition of Adrienne Lecouvreur had the audience standing and moved to tears.
The famous Shakespearean actress performed in the Detroit Opera House many times and was a frequent subject of articles in Detroit newspapers. During a typical, three- to four-day-long Detroit engagement Modjeska played in up to five different plays. At the end of January 1892 for example, Modjeska played Rosalind in As You Like It in the Saturday matinee, and the same day, Lady Macbeth in the evening performance; both to glowing reviews. She was the first artist in the US to use her own train car to travel; this allowed her to often play every day in a different city.
Her tours, and she did 23 of them, were very demanding. To stay fit and trim the great actress took long walks, swam, rode horses, and bathed every morning in ice-cold water to treat her nerves. This popular 19th-century regimen, known as the “Kneipp Cure” made her on occasion gravely sick; nevertheless, she adhered to it religiously.
A consummate artist, Modjeska lived to act. During her career that spanned over four decades and two continents, she played over 260 roles. Although while in America Modjeska reportedly never shed her strong accent, she was not only one of the most appreciated actors of her time but also an important force in the American theatre.
Throughout her life, Modjeska maintained strong ties with the Polish community and remained a great Polish patriot and a champion of independence for Poland. She often traveled to the partitioned Poland and performed there. When in Detroit, she entertained Polish-American visitors and attended St. Albertus Catholic Church. Modjeska died in California, but at her request was buried in her beloved city of Kraków, Poland.
Even though the building where audiences came to admire this great Polish-American actress was named the Detroit Opera House, it was also a community center. Temperance movement meetings were held there, as well as film festivals. Interdenominational church services, parades and political demonstrations regularly took place in front of the building, right around you here in Campus Martius.
The Opera House was notable not only for performances by the famous Modjeska, but also as a center for culture, religion, and politics.
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Detroit has an existing building called the Detroit Opera House, but there was another before it, now remembered as the Old Detroit Opera House. The Old Opera House was located at the head of Campus Martius and was at the hub of culture in Detroit. The Opera House was built in 1869 and burned down in 1897. It was rebuilt immediately and reopened the next year. This second version of the Opera House stood until 1966, though in later years it was occupied by Sam’s Cut-Rate Department Store. The Opera House was a large building, and it also housed the first Hudson’s department store during the 19th century.
Naturally, the Opera House was also a venue for staging operas, musicals, and plays. Famous actors and opera singers from all over the nation and Europe performed at the Opera House. One such actress was Helena Modjeska of Poland.
The famous Shakespearean actress came to perform there many times and was a frequent subject of articles in Detroit newspapers. She was a true celebrity, but humble enough to visit with fans, especially if they were of Polish heritage. The Detroit Free Press reported that she would visit with Polish Americans and attend St. Albertus Polish Catholic Church when in town.
Helena Modrzejewska, a very accomplished Polish actress and a beautiful woman, came to America in 1876, with her husband count Karol Chłapowski, a young son Rudolf, who later became a famous bridge builder, known as Ralph Modjeski, and a group of artist friends. They sought a new, simpler life in California where they planned to live off the land. However, the group of enthusiasts lacked agricultural knowledge and their farming enterprise in Anaheim failed. A year later, to save the group from financial peril Helena decided to go back on stage. It was not easy at first and took a lot of perseverance, as she was completely unknown in the U.S. However, this experienced actress used to adulation from her Polish fans, and to playing to packed houses in Warsaw or Kraków, was no stranger to artistic and personal challenges. After a crash course in English and some lobbying, Modjeska was given a chance to perform at the California Theatre in San Francisco. She was 37 and her knowledge of English was still rather rudimentary, nevertheless, her brilliant rendition of Adrienne Lecouvreur had the audience standing and moved to tears. Immediately after this first success engagements came and soon fame followed. It was just before her American debut that the actress agreed to shorten her last name to Modjeska, to make it more palatable for the American audience.
A consummate artist, Modjeska lived to act. During her career that spanned over four decades and two continents, she played over 260 roles, her most favorite being Maria Stuart in Schiller’s tragedy of the same name and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. Although while in America Modjeska reportedly never shed her strong accent, she was not only one of the most appreciated actors of her time but also an important force in the American theatre. Critical of the American star system, she promoted the idea of a state-funded national American theatre patterned on European models and plays written by American playwrights.
During her American career, Modjeska was very aware of the importance of advertising as well as of a youthful physical appearance in her line of work. During her 1889-1890 tour with one of the best American actors, Edwin Booth, she mused in a letter: “I know I have not lost any of my powers, and my talent is now in its vigor, but I fear the people will look for wrinkles on my face and what is worse, they will find some. The wrinkles on a woman’s face are a marvelous cooling agent in the stream of enthusiasm.” During this tour, she was a co-star with equal billing and a contract for $1,500 a week.
Modjeska stopped playing Juliet a year after her first grandson was born, at the age of 48, but as we read in the articles about her published in the Detroit newspapers, she was still admired for her slender figure, beautiful hair and nothing “matronly” about her appearance when she was approaching sixty.
The actress understood very well what her status as a celebrity required of her. That is why, even if she was not fond of small dogs, on the suggestion of her agent she acquired a pug; she also agreed that her son Ralph would pretend to be her younger brother. Her obituary in The Detroit Free Press of April 1909 states her age as 65 although the actress, who was born in 1840 in Kraków, was really 69 when she died. She also understood the need to stay fresh for the audience. After establishing herself as a leading Shakespearean actress in the US, she sought engagements in England, where she successfully toured four times. She also regularly performed in the Polish cities of Kraków, Poznań and Lwów (now Ukraine) always inspiring awe and patriotic fervor. Being admired by the English in the Shakespearean repertoire meant the ultimate success for Modjeska, but the actress also knew very well that new triumphs would make her even more desirable to American audiences.
When the Opera House was not in use as a theater, it was a common meeting place for all sorts of groups. Supporters of the temperance movement had meetings in the building. There were all-day film festivals showcasing international travel destinations. There was even an interdenominational Thanksgiving church service where people of all faiths joined together. Campus Martius was often the site of celebrations and political protests. It was one place in the city where all Detroiters could come together to enjoy a host of activities or make a political statement. Campus Martius has changed a lot over the years. The Old Detroit Opera House was demolished in the 1960s, and later the buildings surrounding it were demolished as well. The once-bustling hotspot for culture is now a looming office building and a far cry from the beautiful building that so often hosted Poland’s most beloved actress and a champion of the cause of Poland’s independence.
Even though the building was named the Detroit Opera House, it was also a community center. There were temperance movement meetings, film festivals, and interdenominational church services in the Opera House, and parades and political demonstrations regularly took place right around you in Campus Martius. The Opera House was notable not only for performances by the famous Modjeska, but also as a center for culture, religion, and politics.