on his work with the Pittsburgh Symphony until 1904. Just before leaving that orchestra, he returned to Broadway with his first major hit, Babes in Toyland (1903). Two more successes followed, Mlle. Modiste (1905) and The Red Mill (1906), which solidified Herbert as one of the best-known American composers. He was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1908. Although Herbert's reputation lies with his operettas, he also composed two grand operas. He searched for several years for a libretto that appealed to him, finally finding one by Joseph D. Redding called Natoma that concerned a historical story set in California. He composed the work from 1909 to 1910, and it premiered in Philadelphia on February 25, 1911, with soprano Mary Garden in the title role and the young Irish tenor John McCormack in his American operatic debut. The opera was repeated as part of the company's repertory during the next three seasons. It also enjoyed performances in New York City, making its debut there on February 28, 1911. Herbert's other opera, Madeleine, was a much lighter work in one act. On January 24, 1914, it had its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, but it was not revived beyond that season. During this period, Herbert continued to compose operettas, producing two of his most successful works, Naughty Marietta (1910) and Sweethearts (1913). He also became progressively more involved with Irish-American organizations: in 1908 he joined the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (becoming president in 1916), the oldest Irish association in New York, and in 1911 he became a member of the American Irish Historical Society. In early 1916, he became the founding president of the Friends of Irish Freedom and became active in the cause of Irish nationalism. Another operetta, Eileen (1917, originally entitled Hearts of Erin), was the fulfillment of Herbert's desire to compose an Irish-themed operetta and a tribute to his grandfather's novel Rory O'More. The piece is set during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and contains a rich score; it debuted in time to mark the first anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland. This was the end of Herbert's greatest period of producing full scores for operettas. In late 1916 Herbert also orchestrated "Soldiers of Erin", an English language version of what would later be adopted as the Irish national anthem; it was widely performed in the US from early 1917. By