DERBY – The Sterling Opera House on Elizabeth Street would be best utilized for commercial entertainment, “essentially live music and comedy,” according to a presentation by a consultant Monday (Feb. 9).
“After this, additional types of programs would keep the lights on more often and engage more of the community:
- Meetings and events paying market-rate rent
- Occasional and carefully curated film programming
- Occasional community gatherings and civic events.”
The suggestions from the “findings and recommendations” slide featured in a presentation given to the Sterling Opera House Commission Monday by Evan Delli Paoli, a principal with Steinberg Hart, an architectural planning firm with seven offices in the U.S. and one in China.
Paoli’s company was hired by the city using a $100,000 state grant in May 2025 to provide a report on how to bring the 136-year-old Sterling Opera House back to life.
The mission of the Sterling Opera House Commission, according to the local ordinance that created it, is to recommend a comprehensive plan that details how to restore the building and recommend the best use for the city-owned property.
Paoli’s appearance in front of the commission Monday was to give a sneak peek at his company’s final feasibility report, which is 90 percent done, according to the commission.
Monday’s presentation was billed as a “progress report.”
There were no cost estimates provided during his presentation. Those could be coming within the next 30 days, officials said.
The complete discussion between Paoli, members of the commission, and the public can be viewed below.
Monday’s presentation was about two hours long and covered a lot of ground.
Most of the presentation was technical, and focused on the interior layout and renovation of the opera house – such as how to modernize it with HVAC systems, an elevator, and sprinklers while keeping its historic charm intact.
An example of the building’s charm – the “horseshoe” seating, as seen in the photo at the top of this story. The layout creates a feeling of intimacy between performers and the audience, Paoli said.
The presentation also featured a slide suggesting Derby find an operating partner to run or to help to run the facility.
What About Musicals?
This is not the first study nor group of citizens exploring how to bring the building back. State business records show four entities have been incorporated since 1984 to plan and fundraise. Three no longer exist.
Traditionally, the desire has been to emphasize musical theater at opera house.
In 2002, the vision was a “regional center for the performing arts.”
In 2009, Derby officials toured The Waterbury Palace Theater for inspiration.
In 2011, the vision was a performing arts center that could perhaps double as a wedding venue. The vision compared Sterling to the Albert Arnold Sprague Memorial Hall at Yale University in New Haven.
The latest recommended use for the opera house – essentially live music and comedy – attracted questions from the public during Monday’s meeting.
David Condon is the president of Sterling Opera House Restoration, Inc., the latest incorporated entity formed to help fund the restoration.
The Sterling Opera House Restoration, Inc. is the nonprofit group that will fundraise as much as possible to cover the restoration expenses.
Condon is a Valley native and said he is donating his time to see the opera house restored.
Condon asked Paoli about theatrical performances.
“At no point in the presentation did you mention theatrical performances. Are you removing those from consideration?” Condon asked.
Paoli said theatrical performances aren’t being excluded, but questioned whether the opera house project could afford the overhead rigging/theatrical fly system needed for those types of performances.
“Theatrical performances could still take the stage. You could still bring smaller stage sets and props on stage,” Paoli said. “It would not be, say, Broadway-style scale of theatrical performance.”
Broadway?
Responding to a question from Derby Town/Clerk Marc Garofalo, Paoli said a theatrical fly system could be expensive.
“Does the market really support all of the costs that would go into doing that?” Paoli asked. “We don’t want to set you up for an approach that would set you up for financial challenges.”
Garofalo, a former mayor whose administration played a role in getting the exterior of the opera house restored along with putting on a new roof, said a literal “Broadway” theater was never envisioned.
“To clarify, nobody ever said, no one, ever, I never heard anyone say that it has to be – no one even intended it to be – a Broadway theater,” Garofalo said. “Nobody ever said that in the 30 years I’ve been in discussions about the Sterling theater.”
Gino DiGiovanni, Jr. the chairman of the Sterling Opera House Commission, said a 2002 study envisioned a “typical Broadway theater.”
“Maybe for full-scale performances, but nobody ever believed it was going to be equipment like they have on Broadway,” Garofalo said.
Brian Coppolo, a member of the Sterling Opera House Commission, said that he hopes Center Stage Theatre, currently in Shelton, would become the “home company” at a renovated Sterling Opera House.
DiGiovanni said Derby has the final choice of what Derby wants or doesn’t want in the opera house. Steinberg Hart’s job was to analyze the market and give the commission and the city evidence of what might work.
The complete discussion from Monday’s presentation is embedded in the video above. It can also be viewed on the City of Derby’s website.
Next . . .
The Sterling Opera House Commission is scheduled to meet again on March 9.
The members appointed to the commission by the mayor with the approval of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen are (in addition to previously mentioned Coppolo and DiGiovanni) Dana Florenza, Carleigh Paecht and Karleen Guluzzy.