On this day in 1961 premier danseur Rudolf Nureyev defected from the (then-) Soviet Union to the west via Paris
Birthday anniversaries of tenor Armand Tokatyan (1894),
sopranos Helen Traubel (1899) and Gladys Kuchta (1923),
conductors Willi Boskovsky (1909) Henryk Czyz (1923) and Sergiu Comissiona (1928),
and composer Lucia Dlugoszewski (1934)
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.
Celebrate love in all its guises with tender ballads, amorous duets, cheeky verses, and bawdy drinking songs plus food, cocktails and wine.
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.
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.
