January 28, 1909: The Opera War was still raging in Philadelphia!

Just 2 days before, on Tuesday, the great divas Luisa Tetrazzini and Marcella Sembrich had gone head to head in "Rigoletto" and "La Nozze di Figaro" (Gustav Mahler, conductor!).

Both shows were well attended - in fact the Inquirer reported that the box office receipts showed that between the two opera houses, Philadelphians had spent $20,000 on tickets!

#theatrehistory #operahistory #operawars #mahler #tetrazzini #phillyhistory

NEW EPISODE! "Hammerstein's Opera House, Part One" is no available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or whatever app you use to get your pods on!

Our subject is the impresario Oscar Hammerstein, and how the "Opera War" with his rival, the Metropolitan Opera Company, spread all the way to Philadelphia.

#theaterhistory #theatrehistory #operahistory #operawars #OscarHammerstein #phillytheatre #podcasts #phillyhistory #themetphilly #themetphiladelphhia