Smith Opera House
Purpose
The Smith has served as the cultural anchor of our community for generations. As a gathering place where people from around the world can engage with the arts, exchange ideas, and work toward collective change, our magnificent Opera House embodies the power of shared experience and creative expression to bring us closer together.
Mission
With a diversity of partnerships, the Smith Center for the Arts hosts performances, events, and celebrations that catalyze creativity and engage the Finger Lakes community. The Smith is committed to the stewardship of its stunning theater and ensuring its relevance to today’s artists and audiences.
Vision
The Smith Board of Directors will create a future in which The Smith:
- Is the marquee performance venue in the Finger Lakes and established anchor of downtown Geneva.
- Galvanizes the cultural vibrancy of its community through its programming, resources, and by actively removing barriers to participation.
- Partners with other institutions and individuals to realize a collaborative, just, and sustainable community.
- Cultivates a robust network of staff, directors, volunteers, and patrons that shapes the institution’s evolution while maintaining its fiscal and organizational strength.
Billy Joel signing The Smith’s Steinway grand piano in 1996.
Since 1894, the Smith Opera House has been the heart of the Finger Lakes, providing quality performing arts and cultural experiences for both locals and visitors. With events open to the public, it stands as a symbol of historic preservation, non-profit dedication, and artistic excellence.
Did You Know?
The Smith has hosted concerts by Frank Zappa, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bruce Springsteen (twice!), Billy Joel, Trey Anastasio, and many, many more!
With seating for 950 on the orchestra floor and 450 in the balcony, the Smith Opera House is the perfect venue to experience the magic of live performances. This historic theater also features a grand 40x30-foot screen for film screenings.
While the Smith Center for the Arts brings many of the live performances to life, our stage also hosts events by outside promoters and local organizations like Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva Concerts, and the Geneva Light Opera.
The Smith Opera House History
The magnificent Smith Opera House opened on October 29, 1894, with a production of The Count of Monte Cristo, starring James O’Neill, father of playwright Eugene O’Neill. The Richardsonian Romanesque-style theater was the realization of local philanthropist and businessman William Smith's dream, built with the goal of bringing culture and entertainment to the Finger Lakes region.
Over more than 130 years, the Smith has operated under at least three different names and been saved from the wrecking ball at least twice. In two incarnations the Opera House served strictly as a “movie house,” including many years as the Schine Enterprises’ cutting edge “atmospheric movie palace.”
Paint restoration of the French crest in progress.
Today’s opera house reflects these different incarnations. A massive restoration project launched in 1994 set as its goal the renovation of the building’s exterior to its original 1894 facade, and the interior to its 1931 eclectic art deco opulence. A marquee was removed from above the outside doors, revealing detailed busts of William Shakespeare and Edwin Booth. Damaged from the marquee installation, the busts were recast. Glass doors were installed at the entranceway to simulate its original open air atmosphere.
Inside, the decorative aspects of the theater were restored in exquisite detail. Just as in the 1930s, the twinkling stars of the blue-sky theater remain to delight patrons to this day.
Today, many Finger Lakes performing arts organizations consider the Smith their home and young people get their first taste of the “big time” while performing on our stage in many companies and ensembles. Presenting 21st-century productions in a 19th-century building is a challenging task. However, recent major capital improvements have enhanced the theater's functionality, including upgrades to the artists' dressing rooms, patron restrooms, and modifications to entryway doors and theater seats to accommodate wheelchair users. These vital updates are carefully designed to respect and preserve the integrity of the building's original structure and its Art Deco renovation.
