Michigan Opera Theatre had world-class talent, a bold new artistic director, and a dwindling audience that wasn’t getting any younger.

Carrying centuries of tradition in a city defined by reinvention, we reintroduced it with a new name, a new look, and a new voice. One that sounded less like dusty velvet and more like now.

Some traditionalists didn’t love it. A lot more newcomers bought tickets. And somewhere, a powdered-wig-wearing Italian ghost smiled. Probably.