February 29:
On this day in 1836 Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots premiered in Paris.
Birthday anniversaries of composer Gioachino Rossini (1792) and singer Dinah Shore (1916).Happy 90th birthday soprano Reri Grist.Broadway baby
Born on this day in 1948 actress and singer Bernadette Peters.
On this day in 1910 prima ballerina Anna Pavlova made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Coppelia (on a double bill with Werther!).On this day in 1862 Gounod’s La Reine de Saba premiered in Paris.
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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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.
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.
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.