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 ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

W. Freeland Kendrick W. Freeland Kendrick (1873 – March 20, 1953
Accessed March 24, 2008.) was the

. The company was led by Artistic Director

Alexander Smallens Alexander Smallens (January 1, 1889 – November 24, 1972) was a Russian Empire-born American conductor and music director. Biography Smallens was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and emigrated to the United States as a child, becoming an ...

. Tracy served as the company's President and ran the business side of the organization while Smallens served as the company's primary conductor and made all of the artistic decisions. W. Attmore Robinson was later brought in to help Smallens with some of the artistic direction. The company performed between 10 and 15 operas every year during an annual season until it went bankrupt a year 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 ...

.

Performance history

The PCOC performed all of their productions at Philadelphia's Metropolitan Opera House (MOH) up through the spring of 1928. The company's first performance was of

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

's '' La bohème'' on November 6, 1924 with Anna Fitziu as Mimì, Romeo Boscacci as Rodolfo, Alfredo Gondolfi as Marcello, Emily Stokes Hagar as Musetta, and Smallens conducting. New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: ''Folder: Philadelphia Civic Opera Company'' Occasionally the company presented more rarely heard works, including the American premieres of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's '' Der Ring des Polykrates'' (February 10, 1927), Manuel de Falla's '' El amor brujo'' (March 17, 1927),

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

's '' Feuersnot'' (December 2, 1927), and Strauss's '' Ariadne auf Naxos'' (November 1, 1928). However, the company mainly presented works from the standard opera repertory. In the autumn of 1928 the company began performing at the Academy of Music instead of the MOH. Their first performance at the Academy was

Giuseppe 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'' on October 18, 1928 with Emily Roosevelt in the title role, Paul Althouse as Radamès, Julia Claussen as Amneris, Reinhold Schmidt as the King of Egypt, Nelson Eddy as Amonasro, and Smallens conducting. The PCOC continued to perform at the Academy up until financial problems forced the company to disband in 1930.

Collapse of the company

With the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the PCOC, like many other American arts organizations, began experiencing serious financial concerns. Although numerous efforts to assuage the company's problems were made, the company was forced to declare bankruptcy in April 1930. One last effort to revive the company was made the following Fall when the company gave its last performance,

Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera '' Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained hi ...

's ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'', on October 30, 1930 with

Aroldo Lindi Aroldo Lindi, born Gustav Harald Lindau, (26 May 1888 – 8 March 1944) was a Swedish operatic tenor who enjoyed an international career, appearing at La Scala and at Covent Garden from 1925. In the United States, he appeared with the Philadelphia ...

as Canio, Helen Jepson as Nedda, and

John Charles Thomas John Charles Thomas (September 6, 1891December 13, 1960) was an American opera, operetta and concert baritone. Biography John Charles Thomas was born on September 6, 1891 in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a Methodist minister of ...

as Tonio. One reason for its collapse was noted: :"Last spring when the Philadelphia Civic Opera Company disbanded .there was given an obituary luncheon at which Conductor Alexander Smallens, now assistant leader of the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

, called opera in Philadelphia a "bataille des dames" (battle of ladies). The time had come, he said, when every lady with a lot of money felt that she should have her own opera company. His reference was to three local troupes which had announced ambitious schedules at the beginning of the season: the Pennsylvania Grand Opera Company (president: Mrs. Houston Dunn) which succumbed with the stock-market crash in the fall; his own Philadelphia Civic Opera Company (president: Mrs. Henry M. Tracy) which had bravely survived six seasons; the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company (president: Mrs. Joseph Leidy).""Music: Up Go Curtains", ''Time'', November 3, 1930

Notable singers

* Paul Althouse *

Georges Baklanoff Georgy Andreyevich Baklanoff, known as Georges Baklanoff (sometimes spelled Baklanov; 6 December 1938) was a Russian operatic baritone who had an active international career from 1903 until his death in 1938. Possessing a powerful and flexible v ...

* Julia Claussen * Nelson Eddy * Anna Fitziu * Helen Jepson *

Aroldo Lindi Aroldo Lindi, born Gustav Harald Lindau, (26 May 1888 – 8 March 1944) was a Swedish operatic tenor who enjoyed an international career, appearing at La Scala and at Covent Garden from 1925. In the United States, he appeared with the Philadelphia ...

* Maybelle Marston *

George Rasely George Rasely (October 27, 1890, St. Louis, Missouri – 3 January 1965, Lawrence, Kansas) was an American tenor who had an active career in operas, concerts, and musicals during the first half of the 20th century. He was also a frequent perf ...

*

Marie Sundelius Marie Sundelius (born Marie Sundborg; 4 February 1882 – 27 June 1958) was a Swedish-American classical soprano. She sang for many years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and later embarked on a second career as a celebrated voice tea ...

*

John Charles Thomas John Charles Thomas (September 6, 1891December 13, 1960) was an American opera, operetta and concert baritone. Biography John Charles Thomas was born on September 6, 1891 in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a Methodist minister of ...

Notes

References

"Music: Philadelphia Opera"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', December 12, 1927
"Music: Up Go Curtains"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', November 3, 1930
"Civic Opera Succeeds"
''