Arts at Altitude

“Denver sizzles with culture, from spectacular settings like the unparalleled outdoor venue Red Rocks Amphitheatre, to the new, Daniel Libeskind-designed wing of the Denver Art Museum, to a vast array of choices in theatre, visual art, music, dance and film,” says Denise Montgomery, Director of Denver’s Office of Art, Culture and Film.

Surprised? Don’t be. Denver’s role as a venue for the arts is widely recognized, a position that consistently attracts international stars from the worlds of music, dance, theater and film.

To add to the excitement, a cultural building boom has recently marked the city’s commitment to the arts. The Denver Art Museum recently opened the amazing Frederic C. Hamilton Building, the first structure in the US designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation also selected plans created by Studio Daniel Libeskind to guide the reconstruction of the World Trade Center.

A sense of élan and a spirit of artistic rebirth have infused Denver with a new energy, making it the ideal setting for a cultural resurgence that includes a flourishing, effervescent performing arts community, represented perfectly by the Denver Performing Arts Complex located in thriving LoDo—Lower Downtown Denver. If you want to find the pulse of Denver, it’s right here.

This collection of theaters, a Grand Ballroom, multi-media production studio, voice research laboratory and graduate acting school are part of a performing arts complex that is regarded as the largest in the nation housed beneath one roof. Its seating capacity ranks second only to Lincoln Center. The Complex covers four square city blocks and is home to nine theatres united by a stunning 80-foot glass arch spanning a two-block area. The new 2,400-seat lyric theater within the Auditorium structure is the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.

World class productions and premieres are staged regularly at the Arts Complex by The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Opera Colorado, Colorado Ballet, Denver Brass, Colorado Children’s Chorale, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance and the Denver Young Artists Orchestra.

A number of major Broadway tours—including such heavy hitters as Sunset Boulevard and The Lion King—choose Denver Center Attractions and its stages to launch their road companies. Similarly, The Denver Center Theatre Company (DCTC), 1998 TONY award-winner for Outstanding Regional Theatre, has seen many of its productions thrive well beyond Denver’s city limits—among them, Black Elk Speaks, Veterans Day, Love Janis, It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, The Quick-Change Room, The Immigrant (both the play and the musical), The Laramie Project and TANTALUS.

The Colorado Symphony Orchestra (CSO), presents a wide variety of symphonic performances. Each season, approximately 325,000 people of all ages attend CSO concerts, including its Masterworks series of classic programs, CSO Presents series of pops concerts, family, holiday and summer parks concerts, as well as a full range of youth concerts at Boettcher Concert Hall and throughout metro-Denver. The CSO recently named acclaimed conductor and concert pianist Jeffery Kahane as its new Music Director, succeeding Music Director Laureate Marin Alsop.

The Colorado Children’s Chorale, made up of five choirs and an extensive outreach program that inspires thousands of children each year, also makes its home at the Performing Arts Complex. In addition to countless performances with Colorado’s finest performing arts organizations, the Chorale has performed for numerous dignitaries, including Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama, Presidents, and First Ladies of the world and toured internationally, from the People’s Republic of China to the capitals of Europe.

The first performance of the Colorado Ballet’s 2005 season heralded the opening of the magnificent Ellie Caulkins Opera House with an original adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, created exclusively for Denver by acclaimed choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. The Ballet, one of the state’s most celebrated companies, is used to showcasing high profile choreographers, and has achieved a level of artistic success that never fails to deliver outstanding, daring performances.

If you love opera, Denver is home to two outstanding opera companies. Opera Colorado is earning critical praise for its innovative interpretations of traditional opera fare under the leadership of Artistic Director James Robinson and General Director Peter Russell. Making its home at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, Opera Colorado occupies the new Ellie Caulkins Opera House as its new home. And located just 40 miles west of Denver high in the Rockies, Central City Opera makes its home in a lovingly restored Victorian opera house built during the town’s mining heyday. Central City Opera is known as one of the premiere summer opera festivals in the United States.

In this dynamic Western city, you don’t have to look far to find something special. Throughout the metropolitan area, you’ll find first-rate arts facilities such as the recently completed Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver, a multi-venue facility serving the student body and the Denver community at large. The Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver recently completed construction of new permanent quarters designed by London-based architect David Adjaye. The Museum of Outdoor Art, winner of the American Institute of Architecture Award, showcases site-specific works—based on the concept of environmental synthesis—commissioned by prominent regional, national and international artists.

As a community, Denver is also a national model for arts funding. Back in 1988, voters throughout the metropolitan area created the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (www.scfd.org) to provide a consistent source of unrestricted funding for scientific and cultural organizations. Since then, the SCFD has funded over 300 organizations via a 0.1% retail sales tax (one penny on every $10). From regional cultural attractions such as the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Zoo, to the smallest community-based non-profit arts groups, the SCFD has distributed over $30 million annually to support metro-Denver’s cultural scene.

Local groups such as Curious Theater, The Lida Project, Saint Martins Chamber Choir and Ars Nova Singers have flourished thanks to this funding and regularly receive accolades for their dazzling performances. The annual Denver International Film Festival showcases filmmakers and original works from all over the globe, including world premieres.

You’ll find that a strong collective of artists from multiple disciplines and backgrounds call Denver home. Multi-cultural programs and exhibits celebrating Denver’s large African American and Latino communities include El Centro Su Teatro, Chicano Humanities and Arts Council, The Spirituals Project and Café Nuba. The Museo de las Americas, located in the heart of Denver’s Latino community, is dedicated to wide-ranging exhibits of art representing a variety of Latin American countries.

There are many facets that make a city a thrilling, vibrant destination—culture, outstanding hotels, innovative restaurants. In Denver, the spirited cultural reawakening makes it easy to fall in love. Your job? Sit back, relax, and wait for the curtain to rise.