Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/January

7 January 1897 – The Teatro Amazonas, an opera house in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil, held its first opera performance with Ponchielli's La Gioconda.
13 January 1979 – The Australian-born soprano, Marjorie Lawrence died in Hot Springs, Arkansas, at the age of 71. She was particularly known for roles in Wagner's operas until her stage career was cut short by polio in 1941.
17 January 1901 – Pietro Mascagni's opera, Le maschere, premiered simultaneously in six Italian opera houses.
23 January 1890 – Édouard Lalo's opera, Le roi d'Ys, received its American premiere at the French Opera House in New Orleans.
22 January 1883 – Carlo Baucardé (pictured), who created the title role in Verdi's Il trovatore, died in his native Florence at the age of 58.
27 January 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the composer of The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, and The Magic Flute, was born in Salzburg.
27 January 1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, one of Italy's greatest opera composers, died in Milan at the age of 87.
31 January 1994 – Barcelona's historic opera house, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, was destroyed by fire.

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/February

10 February 1910 - The celebrated soprano and actress Maria Cebotari was born in Chişinău.
14 February 1952 – Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress received its American première at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
16 February 1922 – The Welsh baritone, Sir Geraint Evans, was born in Cilfynydd.
17 February 1912 – Roma, the last of Massenet's operas to premiere in his lifetime, opened at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
24 February 1776 - Milan's Teatro Regio Ducal which had seen the premieres of Mozart's Ascanio in Alba, Mitridate, re di Ponto, and Lucio Silla was burned down following a carnival gala.
24 February 1711 - Handel's opera Rinaldo premiered at The Queen's Theatre in London.
27 February 1897 – The American contralto, Marian Anderson (pictured), was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
29 February 1792 – Italian composer Gioachino Rossini was born in Pesaro.

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/March

March is Women's History Month

1 March 2010 – Kaija Saariaho's opera Émilie premiered at the Opéra de Lyon with Karita Mattila, in the title role.
2 March 1961 – Simone Young (pictured), the first woman to conduct at the Vienna State Opera, was born in Sydney, Australia.
3 March 1875 - Georges Bizet's Carmen had its world premiere at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.
6 March 1853 – Fanny Salvini-Donatelli starred in the world premiere of Verdi's La traviata.
16 March 1894 – Sibyl Sanderson sang the title role in the world premiere of Massenet's Thaïs.
17 March 1665 – Élisabeth Jacquet was born in Paris. Her Céphale et Procris was the first opera by a woman composer to be performed at the Paris Opera.
20 March 1952 – Birgitta Svendén, mezzo-soprano and General Manager of the Royal Swedish Opera, was born in Porjus, Sweden.
23 March 2006 – Sarah Caldwell, American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director, died in Portland, Maine.
28 March 1911 – Myfanwy Piper, the librettist of Benjamin Britten's operas The Turn of the Screw, Owen Wingrave, and Death in Venice, was born in London.

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/April

3 April 1925 – Jean de Reszke (pictured), one of the most prominent tenors of the late 19th century, died in Nice at the age of 75.
12 April 2008 – The Oslo Opera House was officially inaugurated by King Harald V of Norway.
13 April 1845 – Richard Wagner completed the full score of Tannhäuser.
14 April 1759 – The Baroque composer George Frideric Handel famous for his operas, oratorios, and concerti grossi died in London at the age of 74.
21 April 1889 – Puccini's second opera, Edgar, had its world premiere at La Scala.
23 April 1857 – Ruggero Leoncavallo, the composer of Pagliacci was born in Naples.
26 April 1951 - Ralph Vaughan Williams' opera The Pilgrim's Progress had its world premiere in London with Inia Te Wiata as John Bunyan.
29 April 1774 – Austrian soprano Anna Gottlieb, the first Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute, was born in Vienna.

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/May

3 May 2005 – Lorin Maazel's opera 1984 had its world premiere at London's Royal Opera House.
5 May 1726 – Handel's opera Alessandro premiered at the King's Theatre in London with the celebrated Italian castrato singer Senesino in the title role.
8 May 1895 – Henry Clifford, an opera by the Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz, premiered at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.
10 May 1901 – The German tenor Max Lorenz, a famous interpreter of Wagnerian roles, was born in Düsseldorf.
18 May 1910 – The French opera singer and composer Pauline Viardot (pictured) died in Paris at the age of 89.
19 May 1894 – Verdi's last opera, Falstaff, received its first UK performance with Arturo Pessina in the title role.
22 May 1813 – The composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig. Twenty years later, he was to complete his first opera, Die Feen.
25 May 1869 – The Vienna State Opera House was officially inaugurated with a performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/June

3 June 1875 – Georges Bizet, the composer of Carmen, died in Bougival, France, at the age of 36.
4 June 1966 – Italian mezzo-soprano, Cecilia Bartoli, was born in Rome.
6 June 1928 – Die ägyptische Helena by Richard Strauss had its world premiere at the Dresden Semperoper.
11 June 1913 – The popular American mezzo-soprano, Risë Stevens, was born in New York City.
13 June 1801 – Vienna's Theater an der Wien was officially inaugurated. Amongst the world premieres which have taken place there are Beethoven's Fidelio and Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow.
14 June 1884 – The celebrated Irish tenor, John McCormack (pictured), was born in Athlone.
21 June 1868 – Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg had its world premiere at the National Theatre Munich conducted by Hans von Bülow.
22 June 1910 – British tenor, Sir Peter Pears, was born in Farnham, Surrey. He created the leading tenor roles in Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes, Albert Herring, Billy Budd, The Turn of the Screw and Death in Venice.

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/July

1 July 1995 – Powder Her Face, an opera by Thomas Adès and based on the scandalous life of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, had its world premiere at the Cheltenham Music Festival.
5 July 1953 - Titta Ruffo, considered one of the greatest Italian baritones of his generation, died in Florence at the age of 76.
6 July 1845 – Soprano Ángela Peralta, a leading figure in the operatic life of 19th century Mexico, was born in Mexico City.
11 July 1937 - George Gershwin, the composer of Porgy and Bess, died in Los Angeles at the age of 38.
13 July 1924 – The Italian tenor Carlo Bergonzi, admired for his warm timbre and elegant phrasing, was born in Vidalenzo, near Parma.
17 July 1852 – Salvadore Cammarano, who wrote the libretto for Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, died in his native Naples at the age of 51.
22 July 1847 – Verdi's opera I masnadieri had its world premiere at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. The performance was conducted by Verdi himself, with Jenny Lind (pictured) singing the role of Amalia.
30 July 1793 – The Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon, Portugal's leading opera house, was opened by Queen Maria I.

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/August

1 August 1831 – The Italian baritone and prominent singing teacher, Antonio Cotogni, was born in Rome.
2 August 1921 – The famous Italian tenor, Enrico Caruso died in Naples, the city of his birth, at the age of 48.
3 August 1778 – La Scala, Italy's leading opera house, was inaugurated with the world premiere performance of Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.
13 August 1876 – The Bayreuth Festspielhaus was inaugurated with a performance of Das Rheingold, beginning the first performance of the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen.
22 August 1862 – Claude Debussy, the composer of Pelléas et Mélisande, was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
24 August 1817 – Soprano Nancy Storace (pictured), who created the role of Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze de Figaro died in London at the age of 50.
27 August 1868 – The Danish tenor Erik Schmedes, particularly known for performances in Wagner's operas, was born in Gentofte, near Copenhagen.
28 August 1850 – Richard Wagner's opera, Lohengrin, had its world premiere at the Staatskapelle, Weimar in a performance conducted by Franz Liszt.
30 August 1953 – Gaetano Merola, the Italian conductor and founder of San Francisco Opera, died in San Francisco while conducting a performance of Madame Butterfly.

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/September

1 September 1854 – The German composer, Engelbert Humperdinck, best known for his opera Hänsel und Gretel, was born in Siegburg.
10 September 1659 – Henry Purcell (pictured), the composer of some of the earliest English operas including Dido and Æneas, King Arthur, and The Fairy-Queen, was born in London.
14 September 1872 – The Teatro Dal Verme opened in Milan. The theatre saw the world premieres of Puccini's Le Villi in 1884 and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in 1892.
16 September 1977 – The celebrated Greek soprano, Maria Callas, died in Paris at the age of 53.
23 September 1835 – The Italian bel canto composer Vincenzo Bellini, whose operas include La sonnambula, I puritani, and Norma, died in Paris at the age of 33.
25 September 1886 – Alfred Cellier's comic opera Dorothy premiered at London's Gaiety Theatre with Marion Hood in the title role.
28 September 1968 – The prominent Spanish tenor, Plácido Domingo, made his Metropolitan Opera debut when he substituted for Franco Corelli in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur.
30 September 1791 – Mozart's opera The Magic Flute received its world premiere at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna.

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/October

15 October 1932 – San Francisco Opera inaugurated the new War Memorial Opera House with a performance of Tosca. Claudia Muzio (pictured) sang the title role.
18 October 1810 – The celebrated Italian tenor Mario (Cavalier Giovanni Matteo de Candia, Marquis of Candia) was born in Cagliari.
19 October 1701 – La púrpura de la rosa, the first known opera to be composed and performed in the Americas, premiered at the Viceroy's Palace in Lima, Peru.
20 October 1973 – The Sydney Opera House was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
22 October 1987 – John Adams' opera Nixon in China had its world premiere at the Houston Grand Opera in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris.
24 October 1948 – Franz Lehár, the composer of The Merry Widow, died in Bad Ischl, Austria.
27 October 1922 – Rita Fornia, the soprano who created the role of the Abbess in Puccini's Suor Angelica, died in Paris at the age of 44.
29 October 1787 – Mozart's opera Don Giovanni had its world premiere at the Estates Theatre in Prague, with Luigi Bassi in the title role.

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/November

3 November 1864 - George Alexander Macfarren's Helvellyn had its world premiere at the Covent Garden Theater in London.
12 November 1898 – Enrique Granados' opera María del Carmen had its world premiere at the Teatro de Parish in Madrid.
13 November 1868 – Gioachino Rossini, the composer of The Barber of Seville, La Cenerentola, William Tell and 36 other operas, died in Paris at the age of 76.
17 November 1898 – Umberto Giordano's opera Fedora had its world premiere in Rome conducted by Giordano himself with Gemma Bellincioni in the title role.
17 November 1936 – The celebrated contralto, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, died in Los Angeles at the age of 75.
27 November 1758 – Senesino (pictured), the Italian castrato singer who created 17 leading roles in Handel's operas, died in Siena, the city of his birth, at the age of 72.
27 November 1880 – Rome's main opera house, the Teatro Costanzi (now known as the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma), was officially inaugurated with a performance of Rossini's Semiramide.
29 November 1797 – Gaetano Donizetti, the composer of Lucia di Lammermoor, La fille du régiment, and L'elisir d'amore was born in Bergamo.
30 November 1866 – The tenor and opera impresario, Andreas Dippel, was born in Kassel, Germany.

Portal:Opera/Selected anniversaries/December

1 December 1921 – Aureliano Pertile made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Cavaradossi in Tosca, with Maria Jeritza in the title role.
7 December 1863 – Pietro Mascagni (pictured), the composer of Cavalleria rusticana, was born in Livorno.
14 December 2003 – Venice's famous opera house La Fenice, which had been destroyed by a fire in 1996, was officially re-opened with a concert of music by Beethoven, Wagner, and Stravinsky.
16 December 1965 – The Italian tenor, Tito Schipa, known for the beauty of his voice and his intelligent singing, died in New York at the age of 77.
19 December 1890 – Tchaikovsky's opera The Queen of Spades had its world premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg conducted by Eduard Nápravník.
24 December 1871 – Verdi's opera Aida had its world premiere at the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo with Teresa Stolz in the title role.
25 December 2005 – Birgit Nilsson, one of the great 20th century Wagnerian sopranos, died in Bjärlöv, a small village near Kristianstad, at the age of 87.
31 December 1990 – The celebrated Australian soprano, Joan Sutherland, made her final stage appearance during a gala performance of Die Fledermaus at London's Royal Opera House.