When the Boston Symphony moved to Symphony Hall in 1900, the
Boston Music Hall closed. It was converted in 1900 to a design by Little and Browne, for use as a
vaudeville theater and operated under a number of different names, including the Music Hall and the Empire Theatre. The original organ, built in Germany, was removed in that renovation and rehoused in the purpose-built
Methuen Memorial Music Hall by 1909. In 1906, the venue was renamed the Orpheum Theatre. In 1915, the theater was acquired by the
Loew's Theatres. Loew's reopened the Orpheum in 1916 with a completely new interior designed by architect
Thomas W. Lamb. Operated by Loew's, the theater was at first a combination vaudeville and movie theater and later a straight first-run movie house. The Orpheum closed as a movie theatre on January 31, 1971. African-American business owner and activist Arthur Scott of Boston's
Dorchester neighborhood obtained a 10-year lease on the venue and became its general manager. It reopened as the Aquarius, a live concert hall, on May 27, 1971, with
James Brown headlining. The Aquarius name was used through at least January 1974, when the venue hosted a simulcast of
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II. From June 1971 to June 1978, the theater served as the home of the
Opera Company of Boston, under director
Sarah Caldwell, until that company moved to the current
Boston Opera House. It was the site of several significant American premiers including: Berlioz
Les Troyens (1972), Verdi
Don Carlos in the original five-act French version (1973), Prokofiev
War and Peace (1975), Berlioz
Benvenuto Cellini (1975), Sessions
Montezuma (1976), Glinka
Ruslan and Ludmila (1977), and the first major American production of Verdi
Stiffelio (1978). During that period, America's most popular diva,
Beverly Sills, made annual appearances, performing:
Norma,
La Traviata,
Daughter of the Regiment,
Barber of Seville,
I Capuletti ed i Montecchi,
Rigoletto, and
Don Pasquale. The first half of
The Police's 1995 double album
Live! was recorded at the Orpheum on November 27, 1979.
U2's performance at the theater in 1983 was recorded and broadcast on the
King Biscuit Flower Hour. In 1984, the original lineup of
Aerosmith re-formed with a performance at the Orpheum.
Tin Machine recorded a portion of their live album, entitled
Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby, at the theater on November 20, 1991. Portions of the March 3–4, 1992, shows at the Orpheum by the
Allman Brothers were used on their 1992 live CD
An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band: First Set and the cover photo was taken in front of the venue's marquee. Currently, the theater is owned by The Druker Company, Ltd. The contract to operate the Orpheum was acquired by Don Law, a Boston concert promoter, from the
Live Nation entertainment company, in 2009. Law announced a major renovation for the theater, after which it reopened in late 2009. Live Nation retains a stake in the operations of Law's company, Crossroads Presents. In 2019,
Citizens Bank announced a 10-year agreement with Crossroads Presents including "presenting partnership deals" for several venues, resulting in the theater being branded as the "Orpheum Theatre presented by Citizens". The entrance to the theater, since at least 1976, is the former alley entrance on Hamilton Place, replacing the original entrance on
Washington Street, which was converted into retail space. ==Image gallery==