The Opening

The new curtains of the Wieting Opera House parted for the first time at 8 o’ clock on the evening of Sept. 12, 1912. A capacity “house,” all dressed for the gala occasion (especially those in the box seats), had paid $1.50, $2.00 or $2.50 per ticket to see the Sheehan English Opera Company’s presentation of “Il Trovatore.” The show featured Joseph F. Sheehan, “America’s Greatest Tenor” and a supporting cast of more than one hundred.

Mrs. P. G. Wieting, who was giving the new theatre to the people of Toledo in memory of her husband, was introduced on the stage by H. J. Stiger, who had looked after her interests in the construction of the building, which had begun in the spring of 1912.