Atlanta Opera Move to the Suburbs Is Historic

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:

Before he decided to open a high-end Japanese restaurant in a generic strip mall in southern Cobb County last year, chef Tomohiro Naito considered Midtown ("too expensive to rent") and then an industrial area of Decatur (too much competition from established Chinese eateries).

"I heard this location [on Cobb Parkway] was very favorable," Naito says amid a recent noon-hour rush at Tomo, now touted as one of the best restaurants in metro Atlanta. The proximity to several mega-malls and affluent shoppers was an attraction, he said, and I-285 and I-75 are just around the corner. And there was also the new Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, under construction nearby in this booming part of the county.

"[I] thought about all the good clientele coming before and after shows," he says. "People who are educated and enjoy nice things know they have to pay for it."

The Atlanta Opera is betting its future that Naito is right. After a turbulent 27-year history, the opera company is moving to Cobb. Beginning in fall 2007, it will make the new arts center's 2,750-seat Williams Theatre its home.

The move is historic: It marks the first time a major-city opera company will leave its established location within a city and move all its performances to a suburb, according to Opera America, a service organization based in New York. And though metro Atlanta's reputation may be that of one large, sprawling landmass, for the opera, being in Cobb County could present an uncertain bundle of financial, sociological and political ramifications.

It appears the old cities are losing their monopoly on culture.With most people living in suburbs this is going to become a huge trend.If you read one article today this is it.