Born on this day in 1932 director and designer Jean-Pierre Ponnelle

Born on this day in 1743 composer Luigi Boccherini.

Born on this day in 1843 soprano Adelina Patti.

Born on this day in 1897 baritone (and Brigitte’s father) Willi Domgraf-Fassbänder.

On this day in 1914 Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini premiered in Turin.

Happy 78th birthday tenor Vladimir Atlantov.

Happy 74th birthday mezzo-soprano Stefania Toczyska.

Happy birthday to superfan Fotis Caragiannopoulos.

* “Welcome as it may be to find Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s infamous 1975 Eurotrash production of the work, presented as The Steersman’s Dream, (which held the War Memorial stage for three of the company’s five presentations of the piece) banished, presumably forever…” San Francisco Chronicle.

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