Founded in 1971, MOT did not have a permanent home for the first two and a half decades of its existence. In 1989, the company purchased the former Capitol Theater, a 4,000-seat movie palace that had fallen into disrepair. It was converted into a 2,700 seat opera house, which opened in April of 1996.

April 27 will also see the opening of the new Ford Center for Arts and Learning within the opera house. It includes smaller theaters and a studio, library, costume shop, and store.

Tickets for the concert are $10-$35, and are available though the Detroit Opera House ticket office, by calling 312-237-SING, or at www.michiganopera.org.