Manhattan Opera Company
Encyclopedia
The Manhattan Opera Company was an opera
company based in New York City
. Active from 1906 until 1910, it was founded by Oscar Hammerstein I
.
The company began operations in 1906 at the Manhattan Opera House
on 34th Street
in New York City
. Hammerstein built the house with the initial intent of making it a home for performances solely of opera in English
; before construction was completed, however, he chose to shift the company's focus, deciding instead to present great operas in their original languages. The casts were to be drawn from the ranks of the greatest singers of the era. William Guard
was hired to be the company's press representative, remaining in that capacity until the organization folded.
The Manhattan Opera Company opened its first season on December 3, 1906, with a performance of Vincenzo Bellini
's Norma
; Cleofonte Campanini
served as the artistic director. Many of the greatest opera stars of the era appeared with the company during its four year history; among the most notable were Nellie Melba
, Lillian Nordica
, Luisa Tetrazzini
, Ernestine Schumann-Heink
, Giovanni Zenatello
, Lina Cavalieri
, Mary Garden
, John McCormack, Lalla Miranda
, Alessandro Bonci
, Charles Dalmorès
, Giovanni Polese
, Maurice Renard
, Alice Zeppilli
, and Nicola Zerola
. Many of them made their American debuts for Hammerstein. The repertory tended to French opera
, then being neglected by the competing Metropolitan Opera
, and to novelties. Among the latter were Pelléas et Mélisande
featuring Garden, Elektra
, and Louise
.
Hammerstein's company was a huge success, and provided damaging competition to the Metropolitan Opera
; eventually this led to the resignation of Heinrich Conried
as the latter company's general director, after which it was greatly reorganized. Nevertheless, after giving 463 performances of 49 different operas during its existence, the Manhattan Opera Company suddenly folded in 1910. For years the reason remained a mystery; more recently it has been discovered that Hammerstein and the directors of the Metropolitan, led by Otto Kahn, entered into a contract
ual agreement which led to the dissolution. Under the terms of the contract, negotiated by his son Arthur, Hammerstein was paid a flat sum of $1,200,000, in exchange for which he promised to stage no opera in the United States for the following ten years. It is widely believed that Hammerstein took the deal because the mounting costs of running the company were taking their toll on his finances, and he was going bankrupt.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
company based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Active from 1906 until 1910, it was founded by Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I was a businessman, theater impresario and composer in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America...
.
The company began operations in 1906 at the Manhattan Opera House
Manhattan Center
The Manhattan Center building, built in 1906 and located at 311 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, houses Manhattan Center Studios , its Grand Ballroom, and the Hammerstein Ballroom, one of New York City's most renowned performance venues...
on 34th Street
34th Street (Manhattan)
34th Street is a major cross-town street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, connecting the Lincoln Tunnel and Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Like many of New York City's major crosstown streets, it has its own bus routes and four subway stops serving the trains at Eighth Avenue, the trains at...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Hammerstein built the house with the initial intent of making it a home for performances solely of opera in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
; before construction was completed, however, he chose to shift the company's focus, deciding instead to present great operas in their original languages. The casts were to be drawn from the ranks of the greatest singers of the era. William Guard
William Guard
William J. Guard was an Irish-born American opera publicist.A native of Limerick, Guard was brought to the United States as a child, later being educated there. He worked as a journalist for numerous important newspapers for some time, and was engaged by the Manhattan Opera Company as a press...
was hired to be the company's press representative, remaining in that capacity until the organization folded.
The Manhattan Opera Company opened its first season on December 3, 1906, with a performance of Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
's Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
; Cleofonte Campanini
Cleofonte Campanini
Cleofonte Campanini was an Italian conductor. His brother was the tenor Italo Campanini.Born in Parma, Campanini studied music at that city's conservatory, making his debut with a performance of Carmen, also in Parma, in 1883...
served as the artistic director. Many of the greatest opera stars of the era appeared with the company during its four year history; among the most notable were Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
, Lillian Nordica
Lillian Nordica
Lillian Nordica was an American opera singer who had a major stage career in Europe and her native country....
, Luisa Tetrazzini
Luisa Tetrazzini
Luisa Tetrazzini was an Italian coloratura soprano of great international fame.Tetrazzini's voice was remarkable for its phenomenal flexibility, thrust, steadiness and thrilling tone...
, Ernestine Schumann-Heink
Ernestine Schumann-Heink
Ernestine Schumann-Heink was a celebrated Austrian, later American, operatic contralto, noted for the size, beauty, tonal richness, flexibility and wide range of her voice.- Early life:...
, Giovanni Zenatello
Giovanni Zenatello
Giovanni Zenatello was an Italian opera singer. Born in Verona, he enjoyed an international career as a dramatic tenor of the first rank. Otello became his most famous operatic role but he sang a wide repertoire. In 1904, he created the part of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly.-Career:Zenatello...
, Lina Cavalieri
Lina Cavalieri
Lina Cavalieri was an Italian operatic soprano and diseuse known for her grace and beauty.-Biography:...
, Mary Garden
Mary Garden
Mary Garden , was a Scottish operatic soprano with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century...
, John McCormack, Lalla Miranda
Lalla Miranda
Lalla Miranda was an Australian coloratura soprano who was primarily active in Belgium, France, and Great Britain. Born in Melbourne, she was the daughter of opera singers David Miranda and Annetta Hirst and the older sister of opera singer Beatrice Miranda. After studies in London and Paris, she...
, Alessandro Bonci
Alessandro Bonci
Alessandro Bonci was an Italian lyric tenor known internationally for his association with the bel canto repertoire. He sang at many famous theatres, including New York's Metropolitan Opera, Milan's La Scala and London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.-Career:A native of Cesena, Romagna, Bonci...
, Charles Dalmorès
Charles Dalmorès
Charles Dalmorès was a French tenor. He enjoyed an international operatic career, singing to public and critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic during the first two decades of the 20th century.-Biography:...
, Giovanni Polese
Giovanni Polese
Giovanni Polese was an Italian operatic baritone who had an active international singing career from 1894-1928. He achieved the height of his success in the United States in the years 1908-1916 in the cities of Boston, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, and again from 1926-1928 in Chicago...
, Maurice Renard
Maurice Renard
-Overview:Maurice Renard was born in Châlons-en-Champagne.He was the author of the archetypal mad scientist novel Le Docteur Lerne - Sous-Dieu [Dr. Lerne - Undergod] , which he dedicated to H. G. Wells...
, Alice Zeppilli
Alice Zeppilli
Alice Zeppilli was a French operatic soprano of Italian heritage who had an active international singing career from 1901 to 1930. The pinnacle of her career was in the United States where she enjoyed great popularity between 1906 and 1914; particularly in the cities of Chicago, New York, and...
, and Nicola Zerola
Nicola Zerola
Nicola Zerola was an Italian operatic tenor who had an active international career from 1898-1928. He began his career in his native country, but was soon heard in concerts and operas internationally during the first years of the 20th century...
. Many of them made their American debuts for Hammerstein. The repertory tended to French opera
French Opera
French opera is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions, containing works by composers of the stature of Rameau, Berlioz, Bizet, Debussy, Poulenc and Olivier Messiaen...
, then being neglected by the competing Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
, and to novelties. Among the latter were Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
featuring Garden, Elektra
Elektra (opera)
Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal...
, and Louise
Louise (opera)
Louise is an opera in four acts by Gustave Charpentier to an original French libretto by the composer, with some contributions by Saint-Pol-Roux, a symbolist poet and inspiration of the surrealists....
.
Hammerstein's company was a huge success, and provided damaging competition to the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
; eventually this led to the resignation of Heinrich Conried
Heinrich Conried
Heinrich Conried was a theatrical manager and director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.-Biography:...
as the latter company's general director, after which it was greatly reorganized. Nevertheless, after giving 463 performances of 49 different operas during its existence, the Manhattan Opera Company suddenly folded in 1910. For years the reason remained a mystery; more recently it has been discovered that Hammerstein and the directors of the Metropolitan, led by Otto Kahn, entered into a contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
ual agreement which led to the dissolution. Under the terms of the contract, negotiated by his son Arthur, Hammerstein was paid a flat sum of $1,200,000, in exchange for which he promised to stage no opera in the United States for the following ten years. It is widely believed that Hammerstein took the deal because the mounting costs of running the company were taking their toll on his finances, and he was going bankrupt.