He brought music and beauty to Detroit.
Dr. David DiChiera, the founder and longtime director of the Michigan Opera Theatre, has died at his home in Detroit. He was 83 years old and had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2017.
He announced his retirement shortly afterward.
Prior to the Detroit Opera House, he established the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts with assistance from the Kresge Foundation and Detroit Renaissance, saving the historic building from demolition. In 1993, he purchased the abandoned Grand Circus movie theater. Over the years, he raised more than $75 million to renovate the building and establish the Detroit Opera House and a permanent home for MOT.
His image was painted and sculpted into some of the art work by workers who restored the old building.
The Opera House opened in 1996 with performances by Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland. It became the sparkplug for a cultural and economic renaissance in that part of downtown Detroit.
DiChiera was born in McKeesport, Pa. in 1935 to Italian immigrant parents. He was raised in Los Angeles. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1956 from UCLA where his activities as a pianist and composer garnered him the Atwater Kent and Gershwin Awards. He also received a Fulbright scholarship for musical studies in Italy. He received a PhD in Musicology from UCLA while also serving as an instructor there in 1962.
He ran opera’s in Dayton, and in California.
DiChiera is survived by his daughters Lisa and Cristina, and 3 grand-children.
A public visitation and funeral service will take place Friday at the Detroit Opera House. The visitation will begin at 11 a.m., followed by the service at 1 p.m., for David DiChiera, father of the Detroit Opera House, who brought music and art to the people.