If you’re visiting Central City this summer, you’ll notice the Williams’ Stables is closed for renovations. While the Stables is under construction, the performances and programs it typically hosts will still be part of the festival — just a few doors away.
Opera Notes, our free pre-show talks with the creative team from each opera, will be held one hour before curtain inside the Opera House.
Short Works will be held at St. James Church, three doors west of the Stables and across the street from the Opera House.
If you have questions about events or locations, contact the box office at (303) 292-6700, or [email protected].
The Williams’ Stables, Reimagined
Built in 1876, the Williams’ Stables once housed the horses and carriages that brought guests to the Teller House Hotel and the Opera House. Under the ownership of Sheriff Dick Williams, the building became a local institution. In later decades, the Stables were cleared out on performance nights to host square dances, already transforming into a gathering place for the community.
Central City Opera acquired the building in 1953, and it has since served as rehearsal space, a venue for pre- and post-show performances and a home base for our apprentice artists in training. But it has never fully lived up to its potential.
That’s about to change.
A Year-Round Cultural Hub for Central City
We are in the first phase of transforming the Williams’ Stables into a 100-seat black box theater and year-round cultural space: intimate, flexible and unlike anything else in the region. The renovated Stables theater will feature flexible seating, a bar, a lighting booth and dressing rooms, all designed to preserve the building’s historic character while ensuring accessibility for every visitor.
Our vision is a space where opera, theater, live music, talks and new works happen not just during the summer festival but throughout the year. This new cultural hub will bring thousands of additional visitors to Central City, and fresh energy to every season.
Why Now?
This summer’s work isn’t just a renovation — it’s a rescue. The north wall is deteriorating and water is entering the structure. If we don’t act now, the building’s future is at risk. Structural repairs and stabilization are underway this summer, with interior renovations to follow. Construction drawings are complete and critical seed funding is in place, including a $275,000 federal grant.
But there is more work to do, and we need your help to get there.
Support Central City Opera
Renovating the Williams’ Stables is one part of a larger effort to build CCO’s future. Your gift to Central City Opera powers the performances, preservation work and artist training that make projects like the Stables renovation a reality. Give today!
For more information, contact Megan Quilliam, Director of Development, at [email protected].