Editing Emma Abbott (section)

===Abbott English Opera Company===
On February 23, 1877, Abbott made her American operatic début in New York, once again portraying Marie. In 1878 she and her husband Eugene Wetherell, organized an opera company known by her name (the Emma Abbott Grand English Opera Company<ref>{{Cite web|title=Opera program - Emma Abbott Grand English Opera Company in Lucretia Borgia; The Mikado; Bohemian Girl; Il Travatore; Crispino; Linda of Chamouni; ; Mignon; Chimes of Normandy {{!}} Digital Pitt|url=https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt:31735068203722/viewer#page/1/mode/2up|access-date=2020-11-24|website=digital.library.pitt.edu}}</ref>), which toured extensively throughout the United States.<ref name="BDA1906" /> It was the first opera company formed by a woman in the United States. Her husband ran the business end of the company and she managed the artistic side, often starring in the productions.<ref>{{Cite book|last=MARTIN|first=SADIE E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4vDNO25ScscC&q=eugene|title=THE LIFE AND PROFESSIONAL CAREER OF EMMA ABBOTT|date=1891|language=en}}</ref>

The company garnered a reputation among the public for quality productions and was quite successful. Among the notable roles that Abbott sang with the company are Juliette in [[Gounod]]'s ''[[Roméo et Juliette]]'', Virginia in ''[[Paul et Virginie]]'', Josephine in ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'', the title role in [[Flotow]]'s ''[[Martha (opera)|Martha]]'', Amina in [[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]]'s ''[[La Sonnambula]]'', and Violetta in ''La Traviata'', a role to which she apparently no longer objected,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> however, instead of singing ''Addio del passato'', she made Violetta expire with ''[[Nearer, my God, to Thee]]''.<ref>''The Musical Times'', May 1891, p. 274.</ref>

Throughout her career, she retained artistic control over her troupe, which sometimes numbered 60. Although the company's repertoire included works from the French, Italian and English operatic literatures, they always performed in English. Many of the works were abridged and interpolated songs were commonplace. For this reason the company and Abbott were not popular with many music critics who were unhappy with the changes to the standard repertoire. However, the company was incredibly popular with the public and was consistently financially successful. Abbott herself became known among Americans as 'the people's prima donna'.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>