On This Day

Baritonal shift

On this day in 1986 baritone Thomas Hampson made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Count Almaviva.

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Debuting baritone Thomas Hampson was outstanding as the Count-he’s very tall and handsome, a fine actor, and his good-sized voice was handled with an adroit technique that made child’s play of the role’s demands.

Birthday anniversaries of composer Camille Saint-Saens (1835)
contralto Mary Jarred (1899)
sopranos Marcelle Bunlet (1900)
and Irmgard Seefried (1919)

Happy 86th birthday soprano Joan Carden
Happy 68th birthday mezzo-soprano Sally Burgess
Happy 60th birthday soprano Christiane Oelze

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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