Film editor Ramon Caballero, once dubbed by Becket the Amargosa Opera House film curator, and now a member of the AOH’s board of directors, revealed in a short video a painting Becket had given him many years ago.Ĭonboy introduced video tributes by two artists who were relative newcomers to Death Valley Junction. She also presented the Amargosa Opera House nonprofit with an original painting by Becket, called “Circus.”Īmargosa Opera House President Fred Conboy said the painting would eventually be displayed in a museum the AOH has planned.Īina Balgavis, who photographed Becket and the Opera House over a period of 27 years, contributed a montage of some of her candid shots of Becket and Becket’s longtime partner, Tom ‘Wilget’ Willet. Lothian Skelton, widow of famed comedian Red Skelton, recalled her long friendship with Becket. The program included live dancing and video tributes to Becket as well as reminiscences. The audience learned from dancer Myrna Galle Van Buren that those figures represented Les Sylphides, which Van Buren and Becket danced together at Radio City Music Hall in the 1940s. Near the stove is painted a little cluster of ballerinas waiting to take the stage. 10 paid tribute to Becket’s dauntless pursuit of her creative dream, including the painting of the murals that, over the course of seven years in the 1970s, transformed those white walls into an incredible audience of the past. On special occasions such as this, it’s filled with bouquets of flowers. Swathed in tulle, these days it is occupied only by the memory of Marta Becket, who passed away in January 2017 at the age of 92. That same potbellied stove stood sentinel, now surrounded by the famous murals that cover every inch of wall and ceiling.Ī seat in the front row of the velvet-upholstered traditional theater seating is permanently reserved. The attendees were curious, skeptical, and ultimately surprised.įifty years later an audience of longtime friends and fans knew what to expect but the old Opera House still had a few surprises in store for the recent sold-out celebration of its 50th anniversary. A potbellied stove, already an antique, radiated warmth up near the stage as the audience settled in. They sat in round wire chairs in an auditorium that seemed huge because the walls were bare and white. That night she danced to an audience of 12. It was to be her first official performance here, the beginning of an endeavor most people, back then, said she must be mad to undertake. Outside the double entry doors of the renovated old company town auditorium, her husband stood flagging down passersby on the lonely desert road in an effort to fill the house. 10, 1968, and transplanted New York dancer Marta Becket was lacing up her toe shoes backstage at the newly-christened Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction. This photo from this past fall shows guests arriving for the season-opening performance.

The Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction, California recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with a sold-out special event.

Amargosa opera house reviews