Marigny Opera House, also known as the Church of the Arts, is an opera house and performing arts center in

Faubourg Marigny The Faubourg Marigny ( ; sometimes called The Marigny) is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Its boundaries, as defined by the City Planning Commission, are North Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue to the n ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, Louisiana. The Marigny was originally a Catholic parish church known as Holy Trinity Catholic Church. It was closed by the

Archdiocese of New Orleans The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans ( la, Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae, french: Archidiocèse de la Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Arquidiócesis de Nueva Orleans) is an ecclesiastical division of the Roman Catholic Church spanning Jefferson ...

in 1997. After adaptation and renovation, it was reopened as an opera house in 2011. A resident professional contemporary ballet company, Marigny Opera Ballet, was founded there in 2014. OperaCréole, founded in 2008, also produces works there.

History

Holy Trinity Church

In 1847 Catholic priest J.M. Masquelet purchased a property on the corner of Dauphine Street and St. Ferdinand Street in

for $3,000 to build a parish church. He commissioned the architect Theodore Giraud to design the church building. The following year the structure was dedicated as Holy Trinity Church, a Catholic church serving the German immigrant community of the neighborhood. Mary at night beside Holty Trinity Marigny Opera House

Mary at night beside Holty Trinity Marigny Opera House

The original church was destroyed in a fire in 1851. In 1853 a new church is built under the direction of Fr. Matthias Schifferer. In the late 1860s New Orleans suffered from an outbreak of

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, which killed two of the church's priests. In 1873 a chapel was built and dedicated to

St. Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

, whom the congregation credited with ending the outbreak. In 1876 the parish established St. Roch Cemetery at the site. Holy Trinity opened a Catholic School in 1871, run by sisters of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

order. The school became a free parochial school in 1910. The church was damaged by

Hurricane Betsy Hurricane Betsy was an intense and destructive tropical cyclone that brought widespread damage to areas of Florida and the central United States Gulf Coast in September 1965. The storm's erratic nature, coupled with its intensity and minim ...

in 1965. In 1997 Holy Trinity was closed and deconsecrated by the

. In 1999 the Archdioceses removed the stained glass windows and organ from the building. The structure was badly damaged by flooding from

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

in 2005.

Marigny Opera House

In 2011 the church building was bought by Dave Hulbert and Scott King, who converted it into a performing arts venue, and renamed it as the Marigny Opera House. In 2011 it hosted the New Orleans Fringe Festival. The Marigny Opera House was officially opened on January 2, 2012. It is supported by the Marigny Opera House Foundation, a non-profit organization. The Marigny is used as a performance venue for dance, theatre, opera, jazz, and classical music performances. Marigny Opera House interior 10 Sept 2016 before Steamcog Concert 01

In 2014 the Marigny Opera Ballet, a resident professional contemporary ballet company, formed at the Marigny. The Marigny also operates as a wedding venue. Celebrity weddings, including the weddings of

Solange Knowles Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, performance artist, and actress. Expressing an interest in music from an early age, Knowles had several temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, wh ...

and Alan Ferguson and of

Lake Bell Lake Siegel Bell (born March 24, 1979) is an American actress, screenwriter and director. She has starred in various television series, including '' Boston Legal'' (2004–2006), ''Surface'' (2005–2006), ''How to Make It in America'' (2010–2 ...

and Scott Campbell, have been celebrated at the Marigny.

Representation in other media

*In 2013

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used the Marigny as a set for the music video for their song "

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

References

{{authority control Former Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Faubourg Marigny German-American culture in Louisiana Opera houses in Louisiana Performing arts centers in Louisiana Theatres in New Orleans Roman Catholic churches completed in 1853 Music venues completed in 2011 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States