The Damrosch Opera Company was an American

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

company which existed from 1894 until 1900. The company was organized by

Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a German-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Ge ...

, and was meant to present

German opera Opera in German is that of the German-speaking countries, which include Germany, Austria, and the historic German states that pre-date those countries. German-language opera appeared remarkably quickly after the birth of opera itself in Italy. T ...

; in this capacity it did much to advance the cause of

Richard 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 music in the United States. Damrosch created the company to combat what he perceived to be the growing apathy, post-1890, of the general opera-going public to German opera. More specifically, his complaints were aimed against the management of the

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 ...

. The immediate impetus of the company's founding came when, in 1894, Damrosch presented concert performances of ''

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), WWV 86D, is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled (''The Ring of the Nibelung'', or ''The Ring Cycle'' or ''The Ring'' for short). It received its premiere at the on 17 August 1876, as p ...

'' and ''

Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), WWV 86B, is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on ...

''. Damrosch raised money for the company by selling his house in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and he spent the summer of 1894 travelling

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

to recruit singers. Among those with whom he signed contracts were

Johanna Gadski Johanna Emilia Agnes Gadski (15 June 1870/187222 February 1932) was a German soprano. She was blessed with a secure, powerful, ringing voice, fine musicianship and an excellent technique. These attributes enabled her to enjoy a highly successful ...

and Rosa Sucher, both of whom made their American debuts with the company; others included

Max Alvary Max Alvary (3 May 1856 – 7 November 1898), born as Maximilian Achenbach, was a German operatic tenor. Born in Düsseldorf, Germany, he was the son of the painter Andreas Achenbach, over whose initial objections he pursued his singing career. H ...

and

Emil Fischer Hermann Emil Louis Fischer (; 9 October 1852 – 15 July 1919) was a German chemist and 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered the Fischer esterification. He also developed the Fischer projection, a symbolic way of dra ...

. The company opened its eight-week season in New York with a performance of ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...

'' at the Metropolitan Opera, on February 25, 1895. Following this was an extensive tour; the season netted a profit of $53,000. The company remained in business for five more years. The second season saw the addition of

Milka Ternina Milka Ternina (born Katarina Milka Trnina, pronounced ; 19 December 1863 – 18 May 1941) was a Croatian dramatic soprano who enjoyed a high reputation in major American and European opera houses. Praised by audiences and music critics alike for ...

and

David Bispham David Scull Bispham (January 5, 1857 – October 2, 1921) was an American operatic baritone. Biography Bispham was born on January 5, 1857 in Philadelphia, the only child of William Danforth Bispham and Jane Lippincott Scull.W. Bispham, 274 Bo ...

to its rosters;

Katharina Klafsky Katharina Klafsky (19 September 1855 – 22 September 1896) was a Hungary, Hungarian operatic singer whose acclaimed international career was cut short by a chronic illness which proved fatal. Klafsky was born at Jánossomorja, Szent-János, Moso ...

and her husband

Otto Lohse Otto Lohse (21 September 1859 – 5 May 1925) was a German conductor and composer. Born in Dresden, Lohse studied with Hans Richter and Felix Draeseke at the Dresden Conservatory. In 1882 he became conductor of two music societies in Riga, the ...

also joined the company, but returned to Europe after the season's end. 1896 saw the premiere of Damrosch's own opera after ''

The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym ...

''. With the following season came a change of name and focus for the company; becoming the Damrosch-Ellis Company, it expanded its horizons to include both

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

French opera French opera is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions, containing works by composers of the stature of Rameau, Berlioz, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc and Messiaen. Many foreign-born composers have played a part i ...

in addition to German.

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th century, ...

and

Emma Calvé Emma Calvé, born Rosa Emma Calvet (15 August 1858 – 6 January 1942) was a French operatic soprano. Calvé was probably the most famous French female opera singer of the Belle Époque. Hers was an international career, and she sang regular ...

both joined the company at this time. But deficits had begun to accumulate after the second season, and mounted rapidly; these forced the company to close for good in 1900.

Footnotes

References

*David Ewen, ''Encyclopedia of the Opera: New Enlarged Edition''. New York; Hill and Wang, 1963.

External links

* {{authority control New York City opera companies Musical groups established in 1894 1894 establishments in New York (state)