On this date in 1874 Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus premiered in Vienna
Birthday anniversaries of composers Louis Spohr (1784) and Albert Roussel (1869),
soprano Eugenia Ratti (1933),
and bass Keith Engen (1925)
Happy 76th birthday tenor Dano Raffanti
Happy 63rd birthday soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci
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.
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.
