Click on image to zoom in
Giulio Gatti-Casazza and Oscar Hammerstein throw puppets labeled “Tenor, Second Tenor, Contralto, Baritone, Basso, Mezzo Soprano, [and] High Soprano” at each other.
Comments and Context
Operas in New York City once were popular attractions, with many productions in many theaters through the year. In opera season international stars would sing and prominent conductors lead orchestras. Similarly, talents from America and abroad launched careers on New York opera stages, especially after the advent of phonographs.
The traditional rivalry between German and Italian operas was particularly intense. The adulation of celebrated singers and conductors, the occasional premiers of some productions, and publicity battles went unmatched in New York until, perhaps, the performances of Frank Sinatra in the 1940s and Jerry Lee Lewis in the 1950s.
The Prussian immigrant Oscar Hammerstein established more than a dozen opera theaters in his career. In 1906 the jewel in his crown was the Manhattan Opera House. Two years later the Italian impresario Giulio Gatti-Casazza moved to New York City to manage the Metropolitan Opera… and the race was on. Each man specialized in the music of northern Europe and Italy, respectively.
Every season the opera houses fought over the most prominent composers, the public’s favorite singers (again, especially after home record-players were in vogue), and lavish productions.
The rivalry between the German and Italian operas was a favorite theme of Puck‘s cartooning founder Joseph Keppler, who been in the theater in his native Vienna. In 1908, when Gatti-Casazza made his debut, Puck echoed the glorious musical battles of old.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1908-11-11
Creator(s)
Glackens, L. M. (Louis M.), 1866-1933
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
Grand opera opens. [November 11, 1908]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o289106. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Glackens, L. M. (Louis M.), 1866-1933. Grand opera opens. [11 Nov. 1908]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o289106.
APA:
Glackens, L. M. (Louis M.), 1866-1933., [1908, November 11]. Grand opera opens.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o289106.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
