On this day in 1876 Amilcare Ponchielli‘s opera La Gioconda [from which our doyenne derived her nom de plume] premiered in Milan.

Born on this day in 1889 conductor Adrian Boult

Born on this day in 1902 conductor Josef Krips

Born on this day in 1906 tenor Raoul Jobin

Born on this day in 1910 tenor Paul Kuen

Born on this day in 1921 tenor Franco Corelli

Born on this day in 1929 bass-baritone Walter Berry

Born on this day in 1930 baritone John Reardon

Born on this day in 1947 tenor Walter Raffeiner

Happy 68th birthday mezzo-soprano Bruna Baglioni

Born on this day in 1949 soprano Sabine Hass

Happy 62nd birthday mezzo-soprano Diana Montague

Happy 58th birthday baritone Anthony Michaels-Moore