Philadelphia Civic Opera Company

The company's first performance was of Giacomo Puccini'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.

[3] 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's Feuersnot (December 2, 1927),[4] and Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos (November 1, 1928).

Their first performance at the academy was Giuseppe Verdi'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.

[3] With the onset of the Great Depression, the PCOC, like many other American arts organizations, began experiencing serious financial concerns.