Happy 85th birthdays administrator Speight Jenkins and composer Philip Glass.
Celebrity of the Year
Born on this day actresses Carol Channing (1921) and Tallulah Bankhead (1902).
Mmes. Channing and Bankhead are pictured at the 1951 “Celebrity of the Year” ceremony, which, you guessed it, was won by Gloria Swanson (center).On this day in 1974 Verdi”s I Vespri Siciliani had its first onstage Metropolitan Opera performance.Birthday anniversaries of librettist Felice Romani (1788), composer Franz Schubert (1797) and tenor Mario Lanza (1921).
WindyCityOperaman
Dan Soda (Windy City Operaman) is a Chicago native whose first visit to opera was at age 17 and Massenet’s Werther with Troyanos and Kraus. Nothing was ever the same. Opera and concert performances, recordings and video are an obsession. He prepares Parterre Box’s daily birthday and anniversary tributes. He also enjoys concerts, live theater and movies.
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A Baroque Valentine’s with Opera Lafayette | Feb | DC & NYC
Celebrate love in all its guises with tender ballads, amorous duets, cheeky verses, and bawdy drinking songs plus food, cocktails and wine.
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
STEMdiva status
Ahead of a special boozy, bawdy Valentine’s Day concert, artistic director of Opera Lafayette Patrick Quigley speaks with soprano Maya Kherani about her journey from MIT to rising American Baroque star.