Did you know that one of North America’s best collections of historic stage scenery was hiding in the Tabor’s attic? Neither did we! In 2020, historic stage scenery expert Wendy Waszut-Barrett, Ph.D., of Historic Stage Services discovered hand-painted curtains and drops dating as far back as 1879, safely stowed in the attic of the Opera House. Read this incredible story in a recent New York Times article, “A Hidden Trove Gives a Glimpse of Opera in the Wild West”!
Surprise Discovery: Tabor Collection Is Finest In North America
The Tabor Opera House Preservation Foundation hired Wendy to lead two free workshops in 2020. She and a team of community volunteers pulled more than 250 individually painted compositions from 1879-1902 out of hiding. They unrolled the mysterious drops, cleaned them, and cataloged them.
Only then did Wendy and the Foundation realize the full impact of her discovery—a collection so old, so large, and so well-preserved by Colorado’s dry air that its historical significance surpassed all other known collections on the continent. Even more are still in the attic, difficult to remove, and waiting to be seen for the first time since electricity came to the United States.
The Foundation is now working with Wendy to determine the best way to display this scenery safely and preserve it for the next century.
Read Wendy’s blog, Dry Pigment, for more details on this spectacular collection.
What They Said About the Scenery in 1879
An 1879 Leadville Weekly Herald article about the opening of the Tabor Opera House, “Description of Leadville’s New Place of Amusement” mentioned the scenery:
Mr. Lamphere, one of the finest scenic artists in the west, has charge of the scenes, their preparation and management, and he promises to produce as fine an effect as can be had in any of the larger theatres of the east, even including New York and Philadelphia, in both of which places he has at times been engaged….
The drop curtain is a master piece from the brush of Mr. Lamphere, and represents a glorious mountain scene, at the base of which is a fine old castle, with a stream running at the foot: alongside of the water is a rugged road, which ends in the windings of a canon. Arrangements have been completed to open this new place of amusement on the night of the twentieth of this month, with the Jack Langrishe troupe, which attracted such large houses in Denver recently.
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