Philadelphia Grand Opera Company

Its first production, Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, opened on December 18 of that year at the Academy of Music with Regina Vicarino in the title role, Forrest Lamont as Edgardo, and Ettore Martini conducting.

[2][3] Both of the Hammers ran the business side of the company, with William running the Box Office and Kathryn hiring artists, putting together sets and costumes, and sometimes directing productions.

[4] The company's first performance at the Academy of Music was a production of Verdi's Aida on October 28, 1926, with Vera Curtis in the title role, Jerome Uhl as the King of Egypt, John Sample as Radames, and Marta Wittkowska as Amneris.

Highlights of that second season included productions of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca with Martha Attwood in the title role and Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana with Lisa Roma as Santuzza.

Highlights of the 1928–1929 season included Franco Leoni's L’oracolo with Ivan Steschenko [uk] as Uin-Sci and Adamo Didur as Cim-Fen, Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila with Sample as Samson and Madame Cahier as Dalila, Jules Massenet's Manon with Hope Hampton in the title role and Ralph Errolle as Des Grieux, Eleanor Painter as Carmen, Il trovatore with Frances Peralta as Leonora, and The Barber of Seville with Josephine Lucchese as Rosina.

[4] A highlight of these years was the United States premiere of Alban Berg's Wozzeck on March 19, 1931, with Ivan Ivantzoff in the title role, Anne Roselle as Marie, Gabriel Leonoff as the Drum Major, Sergei Radamsky as Andres, Bruno Korell as the Captain, Ivan Steschenko [uk] as the Doctor, and Leopold Stokowski conducting.

[1] The PGOC's final performance was a production of Aida on April 14, 1932, with Roselle in the title role, Aroldo Lindi as Radames, Cyrena van Gordon as Amneris, and Leo de Hierapolis as the King of Egypt.

[9] The Curtis Institute of Music was also experiencing financial difficulties at that time and rumors of its imminent closing, which never occurred, were circulating in 1932.

The production starred Frank Guarrera in the title role, Lisa di Julio as Gilda, and Eugene Conley as the Duke of Mantua.

Other productions that first season included Puccini's La bohème (with Rosanna Carteri as Mimì, Jan Peerce as Rodolfo, and Virginia MacWatters as Musetta), Faust (with Robert Rounseville in the title role, Nicola Moscona as Méphistophélès, and Ellen Faull as Marguerite), Puccini's Madama Butterfly (with Licia Albanese as Cio-cio-san, Walter Fredericks as Pinkerton, Margaret Roggero as Suzuki, and Cesare Bardelli as Sharpless), Italo Montemezzi's L'amore dei tre re (with Beverly Sills as Fiora and Ramón Vinay as Avito), Il barbiere di Siviglia (with MacWatters as Rosina, Guarrera as Figaro, and Cesare Valletti as Almaviva), Cavalleria rusticana (with Maria Gasi as Santuzza), Pagliacci (with Fredericks as Canio and Eva Likova as Nedda), and Aida (with Astrid Varnay in the title role, Kurt Baum as Radamès, Claramae Turner as Amneris, and John Lawler as the King of Egypt).

Many notable singers performed with the company during its history including, John Alexander, Thelma Altman, Salvatore Baccaloni, Cesare Bardelli, Gaetano Bardini, Daniele Barioni, Ara Berberian, Frances Bible, John Brownlee, Giuseppe Campora, Richard Cassilly, George Cehanovsky, Anita Cerquetti, Eugene Conley, Fernando Corena, Viorica Cortez, Mary Costa, Mary Curtis Verna, Jon Crain, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Enrico di Giuseppe, Mignon Dunn, Pierre Duval, Otto Edelmann, Rosalind Elias, Edith Evans, Jean Fenn, Giulio Fioravanti, Nicolai Gedda, Leyla Gencer, Bonaldo Giaiotti, Tito Gobbi, Thomas Hayward, Jerome Hines, Laurel Hurley, Raoul Jobin, Robert Kerns, Dorothy Kirsten, Flaviano Labò, Albert Lance, Brenda Lewis, Thomas LoMonaco, Chester Ludgin, Cornell MacNeil, Jean Madeira, Elaine Malbin, Adriana Maliponte, Susanne Marsee, Robert Merrill, Anna Moffo, Licinio Montefusco, Irene Kramerich, Sonia Leon, Barry Morell, Nicola Moscona, Herva Nelli, Birgit Nilsson, Roberta Peters, Louis Quilico, Luciano Rampaso, Nell Rankin, Regina Resnik, Graciela Rivera, Elinor Ross, Jane Shaulis, Giulietta Simionato, Joanna Simon, Eleanor Steber, Teresa Stratas, Brian Sullivan, Giuseppe Taddei, Ferruccio Tagliavini, Pia Tassinari, Blanche Thebom, Giorgio Tozzi, Norman Treigle, Gabriella Tucci, Richard Tucker, Giuseppe Valdengo, Frank Valentino, Luigi Vellucci, and Jon Vickers to name just a few.

The PGOC's last performance was of Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus on December 6, 1974, with Joseph Venezia as Alfred, June Fiske as Adele, Eileen Schauler as Rosalinde, Robert Goodloe as Eisenstein, and Carlo Moresco conducting.