The Michigan Opera Theatre is changing its name after more than 50 years.

The company will now be called the Detroit Opera and will take up the new name when its returns to the Detroit Opera House on April 2.

According to CEO Wayne S. Brown and Artistic Director Yuval Sharon the name change is the next step in a rebranding process.

In a statement Sharon said, “I think the timing really does feel right. After the 50th anniversary of the organization, it’s a good moment to take stock of who we are, where we’ve been and where we would like to go. Coming to the organization during the pandemic, it was very clear to me that Detroit is our anchor. It’s a great moment to really double down on our commitment to this community.”

He added, “This is the moment to say, ‘What matters to us? And what kind of art do we want to offer the community?’ I think the answer is to continue to offer art that really is of Detroit, and feels like it’s rooted in what this community is about. And I think the name change happening now feels like a real commitment to what that future can be.”

This season the company will present new productions of “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” and “La Boheme” and CEO Brown noted, “The name Detroit aligns with these productions. These two specific productions coming out will be exported to other communities. ‘La Bohème’ will be exported to other communities; ‘X’ will go to four other opera companies throughout the country. So that Detroit name will make it very clear about from where these works are emanating.”