On this day in 1910 Puccini’s La fanciulla del West had its world premiere at the Met.

Birthday anniversaries of composers César Franck (1822) and Olivier Messiaen (1908); librettist Philippe Gille (1831); baritone and teacher Otakar Kraus (1909); composer and conductor Morton Gould (1913); baritone Sesto Bruscantini (1919); tenor Dimiter Uzunov (1922); mezzo-soprano Vera Little (1928) and bass-baritone Michael Rippon (1938).