The Bijou Opera House, also known as the New Opera House, was an opera house in Twin Peaks, Washington which replaced the destroyed Old Opera House in 1918.
History[]
Plans for rebuilding the Old Opera House began in 1915 after tenor Enrico Caruso refused to perform in Twin Peaks, deeming the town undeserving of his presence.[1]
Caruso was the first to perform at the Bijou upon its completion in 1918,[1][note 1] performing arias from Rigoletto, La Boheme, Tosca, Pagliacci, among other favorites of James Packard.[2] Paderewski was also known to have performed at the opera house.[1]
The Bijou also served as a venue for vaudeville acts, such as the Marx Brothers and W. C. Fields.[1]
It became the town's first movie theater in 1925 with a double bill of Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush and Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin.[2] It was also the first in town to be capable of screening talkie films. At a 1929 screening of The Jazz Singer, the town's last living Civil War veteran "succumbed to a fatal rictus" upon hearing Jolson singing in the film.[1]
The Bijou's 1941 premiere of 49th Parallel was given credit for the town's rise in enlistment and the formation of the Citizens Brigade, later known as the Bookhouse Boys.[1]
It was later abandoned until a controversial 1969 performance by Guess Who.[2]
In 1982, Benjamin Horne restored the opera house according to the original architect's design and it began screening films once again.[2]
Appearances[]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Twin Peaks: Access Guide to the Town instead states that the Opera House was rebuilt specifically for Caruso in 1916, but he got lost and missed his performance.