The company eventually gained enough money to purchase the entire block encompassing the neighboring Roberts Fur building, which the company demolished in 1993 to make way for the 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m 2) stage house. Howard Crane, was in need of extensive restoration. In 1989 the decision was made to purchase MOT's current home, the Detroit Opera House Originally called the Capital Theatre, the building, designed by C. MOT also established an international reputation for the staging of rarely performed operas such as the North American premiere of Armenian composer, Armen Tigranian's, Anoush in 1981, Polish composer, Karol Szymanowski's King Roger in 1991, and the American premiere of Stanisław Moniuszko's The Haunted Castle in 1982. In 2005 the company staged the world premiere of Richard Danielpour's Margaret Garner, based on Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. The company was among the first to stage Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess in 1975 as well as Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha in 1983.

The company became known for it casting which often featured a blend of established artists as well as young-up-and-coming American opera singers from a diversity of backgrounds, a tradition that continues to this day. 1977 marked the founding of MOT's Department of Community Programs by Karen VanderKloot DiChiera.

Overture to Opera officially became Michigan Opera Theatre in 1971 after it established a board of trustees, signifying its transformation into a professional opera company. It did not produce its first full-length production until 1970, with the staging of The Barber of Seville at the Detroit Institute of Arts. OTO first presented opera to the public as a collection of scenes and acts. In 1963, Michigan Opera Theatre's (MOT) Founder and General Director, David DiChiera took over the program, then in its third year. 4 The Allesee Dance and Opera Resource Libraryĭetroit Opera began as the educational outreach arm, Overture to Opera (OTO), of the Detroit Grand Opera Association, the organization responsible for the Metropolitan Opera's visits to Detroit.

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