Manhattan Opera Company

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.

Under the terms of the contract, negotiated by his son Arthur, Hammerstein was paid a flat sum of $1.2 million, 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.