American Opera Society
| Company type | Non-profit organization |
|---|---|
| Industry | Opera, Performing arts |
| Founded | 1950 |
| Founder | Allen Sven Oxenburg, Arnold Gamson |
| Defunct | 1970 |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Key people | Allen Sven Oxenburg (Artistic Director), Arnold Gamson (Music Director and principal conductor), Samuel Barlow (board president) |
| Products | Concert and semi-staged opera performances |
The American Opera Society (AOS), based in New York City, was an organization dedicated to presenting concert and semi-staged opera performances from 1951 until 1970. It significantly contributed to the resurgence of bel canto opera after World War II, particularly through its highly praised renditions of seldom-performed compositions by Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Vincenzo Bellini. The AOS was also responsible for introducing numerous operas to U.S. audiences, including the American premieres of Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd, Giuseppe Verdi's Giovanna d'Arco, George Frideric Handel's Hercules, and Hector Berlioz's Les troyens.
History
Established in 1950 by Juilliard alumni Allen Sven Oxenburg and Arnold Gamson, Oxenburg maintained the role of Artistic Director throughout the organization's existence. Gamson served as Music Director and principal conductor from 1951 through 1960 and returned in the late 1960s for significant productions, including a 1967 staging of Handel's Giulio Cesare featuring Montserrat Caballé. During much of the 1950s, composer Samuel Barlow held the position of board president.
The AOS initially concentrated on Renaissance and Baroque operas performed within private residences. Its inaugural production was Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, staged in a Manhattan mansion's drawing room for an audience of fifty in 1951. As interest grew, performances moved to larger spaces, with Carnegie Hall eventually becoming the company's main venue. Throughout the 1950s, under Gamson’s leadership, the group specialized in rarely performed operas, including many U.S. premieres such as Gluck's Le cadi dupé.
Oxenburg demonstrated a keen eye for emerging artists, facilitating the New York debuts of many distinguished singers like Teresa Berganza, Montserrat Caballé, Eileen Farrell, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Maureen Forrester, Marilyn Horne, Leontyne Price, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Joan Sutherland, Carol Toscano, and Jon Vickers. He also arranged a notable 1959 production of Bellini's Il pirata starring Maria Callas, shortly after her departure from the Metropolitan Opera. In its concluding season, Beverly Sills appeared in Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment—marking its first New York performance in 27 years—in February 1970.
Due to financial challenges, Oxenburg was compelled to dissolve the AOS later that same year.