The American Opera Company was the name of four different opera companies active in the United States. The first company was a short-lived opera company founded in New York City in February, 1886 that lasted only one season. The second company grew out of the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, and was active from the mid-1920s up until 1930 when it went bankrupt not too long after the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

. The third opera company was a short lived company located in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

from 1946 through 1950.

Jeannette Thurber's American Opera Company

The first American Opera Company was founded in 1886 by well known arts patron Jeannette Meyers Thurber who had just founded the

National Conservatory of Music of America The National Conservatory of Music of America was an institution for higher education in music founded in 1885 in New York City by Jeannette Meyers Thurber. The conservatory was officially declared defunct by the state of New York in 1952, altho ...

a few months earlier. Based in New York City, the American Opera Company was under the musical direction of Theodore Thomas, with Gustav Hinrichs and Arthur Mees as his assistant conductors, and Charles E. Locke was the business manager. It rented the premises of the Academy of Music in New York City for local performances during 1886. It also toured, playing in April, May, and June 1886 in, among other cities, Boston, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. The repertoire included

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''Aida'',

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's ''Lohengrin'', and

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's ''Faust''. In August, the company announced an ambitious plan to travel to Paris, a trip that never came about. A succinct statement of Thurber's vision for the American Opera Company appeared in August, 1886, when she was cited as

... ecognizingthe fact that the true conception of a national opera is opera sung in a nation's language and, as far as practicable, the work of a nation's composers, nd that she hoped��in time to develop and patronize American composers.

Financial difficulties led to a reorganization and name change to the "National Opera Company" in December 1886 and, ultimately, bankruptcy in March, 1887.

Rochester's American Opera Company

In the mid-1920s, a professional touring opera company emerged from the innovative productions of

Vladimir Rosing Vladimir Sergeyevich Rosing (russian: Владимир Серге́евич Розинг) (November 24, 1963), also known as Val Rosing, was a Russian-born operatic tenor and stage director who spent most of his professional career in the United ...

and

Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Zachary Mamoulian ( ; hy, Ռուբէն Մամուլեան; October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an American film and theatre director. Early life Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire, to a family of Armenian descent. H ...

at the

in Rochester. Its mission was to perform operas in English to popular audiences nationwide. First known as the Rochester American Opera Company, the group made its New York City debut in April 1927 at the Guild Theatre. It won the support of many wealthy and influential backers, including financier

Otto Kahn Otto Hermann Kahn (February 21, 1867 – March 29, 1934) was a German-born American investment banker, collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. Kahn was a well-known figure, appearing on the cover of ''Time'' magazine and was sometime ...

, opera stars

Mary Garden A Mary garden is a small sacred garden enclosing a statue or shrine of the Virgin Mary, who is known to many Christians as the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady, or the Mother of God. In the New Testament, Mary is the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Mary ...

and

Marcella Sembrich Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska (February 15, 1858 – January 11, 1935), known professionally as Marcella Sembrich, was a Polish coloratura soprano. She is known for her extensive range of two and a half octaves, precise intonation, charm, porta ...

, and socialite

Edith Rockefeller McCormick Edith Rockefeller McCormick (August 31, 1872 – August 25, 1932) was an American socialite, daughter of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. She and her husband Harold Fowler McCormick were prominent in Chicago society, supporting many ...

. By the time the company performed for President Coolidge and 150 members of Congress at Washington D.C.'s Poli's Theater in December 1927, the company was known as the American Opera Company. The American Opera Company strictly adhered to a non-star policy, developing instead a unity of ensemble whereby a singer might have a leading role one night and a supporting role the next. A number of important singers emerged out of the company, including future

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

stars

John Gurney (bass-baritone) John R. Gurney (June 13, 1902 — August 6, 1997) was an American bass-baritone who had an active career as an opera, concert, vaudeville, and musical theatre performer from the 1920s through the 1940s. He was a principal artist at the Metropoli ...

, Helen Oelheim,

Thelma Votipka Thelma Votipka (December 20, 1906 – October 24, 1972) was an American soprano who sang 1,422 performances with the Metropolitan Opera, more than any other woman in the company's history (her nearest rival, Mathilde Bauermeister, sang 1,062) ...

Charles Kullman Charles Kullman (January 13, 1903February 8, 1983), originally Charles Kullmann, was an American tenor who enjoyed a wide-ranging career, both in Europe and America. Life and career Charles Kullman was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and be ...

, Nancy McCord and

Gladys Swarthout Gladys Swarthout (December 25, 1900 in Deepwater, Missouri – July 7, 1969 in Florence, Italy) was an American mezzo-soprano opera singer and actress. Career While studying at the Bush Conservatory of Music in Chicago, a group of friends arran ...

. Future 1930s Broadway stars Natalie Hall and Bettina Hall were also among the principals, as was Hollywood's

George Houston (actor) George Fleming Houston (January 11, 1896 – November 12, 1944) was an American B-western film actor and accomplished singer in the early half of the 20th century. Early life, World War I service Born and raised in Hampton, New Jersey, hi ...

. The company was known for the youth and attractiveness of its performers. During January and February 1928 the American Opera Company brought seven weeks of opera to Broadway at New York's

Gallo Opera House Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...

, including a notable adaptation of ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

'' with a new libretto by music critic for ''The New Yorker'' Robert A. Simon and sets by designer

Robert Edmond Jones Robert Edmond Jones (December 12, 1887 – November 26, 1954) was an American scenic, lighting, and costume designer. He is credited with incorporating the new stagecraft into the American drama. His designs sought to integrate scenic ele ...

. In addition to new English productions of familiar operas, the company subsequently premiered several works composed by American composers, including ''The Sunset Trail'' by

Charles Wakefield Cadman Charles Wakefield Cadman (December 24, 1881 – December 30, 1946) was an American composer. For 40 years he worked closely with Nelle Richmond Eberhart, who wrote most of the texts to his songs, including ''Four American Indian Songs''. She also ...

, ''The Legend of the Piper'' by

Eleanor Everest Freer Eleanor Everest Freer (14 May 1864 – 13 Dec 1942) was an American composer and philanthropist. Life Eleanor Everest was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of Cornelius Everest and Ellen Amelia (Clark) Everest, and studied singing in Paris with ...

, and ''Yolanda of Cyprus'' by

Clarence Loomis Clarence Loomis (December 13, 1889 July 3, 1965), an American composer, pianist, and teacher, was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Biography He studied piano and composition at the American Conservatory in Chicago and also privately in Vienn ...

. Three ambitious North American tours were completed, with the opera company performing in 42 cities across the United States and Canada, but the Crash of 1929 caused bookings for the Fall 1930–31 season to disappear. The American Opera Company won an official endorsement from President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

in February 1930 in a letter to the Speaker of the House, calling for it to become "a permanent national institution", but Presidential support was not enough as the country sank further into the Great Depression. Among the company's last performances were a two week run at the famous Casino Theatre on Broadway just before the beloved New York theater's demolition in early 1930."'Yolanda' Sung by Americans" in the ''New York Times'', January 9, 1930, pg 28.

Trenton's American Opera Company

The American Opera Company in Trenton was founded in 1937 by conductor H. Maurice Jacquet. It presented two performances only that year before disbanding.

Philadelphia's American Opera Company

The American Opera Company in Philadelphia was founded in 1946 by conductor Vernon Hammond. It closed in 1950.

Notes and references

{{authority control Culture of Manhattan Culture of Philadelphia Musical groups established in 1886 Musical groups disestablished in 1887 Musical groups disestablished in 1930 Musical groups established in 1937 Musical groups disestablished in 1937 Musical groups established in 1946 Musical groups disestablished in 1950 Musical groups from Philadelphia New York (state) opera companies Pennsylvania opera companies