Happy 61st birthday soprano Sumi Jo

On this day premieres of Giacomo Meyerbeer‘s Robert le Diable in Paris (1831)
and Pietro Mascagni‘s Iris in Rome (1898)

Our Own JJ in The Observer in 2016:

When Bard SummerScape announced the centerpiece of its 2016 music festival would be a revival of Mascagni’s 1898 lyric tragedy Iris, it struck me as little more than a pleasant opportunity to hear a faded old score more often discussed than performed. But after Sunday afternoon’s performance I am here to tell you that Iris is the most fucked up opera I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen Dog Days.

Birthday anniversaries of baritone Jacques Jansen (1913)
bass Günter Reich (1921)
director Peter Hall (1930)
and tenor Jerome Pruett (1941)

Happy 74th birthday mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Laurence
Happy 72nd birthday conductor Kent Nagano