On this day in 1974 Britten‘s Death in Venice had its American Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera. Tenor Peter Pears and baritone John Shirley-Quirk made their debuts.

Three Broadway Openings on this day:

Bock/Harnick’s The Apple Tree (Barbara Harris, Alan Alda, and Larry Blyden) in 1966;
Ahrens/Flaherty‘s Once on This Island in 1990
The ABBA musical Mamma Mia in 2001.

Birthday anniversaries of composer Baldassare Galuppi (1706), conductor Otto Ackermann (1909), tenor Alexander Young (1920), sopranos Camilla Williams (1922) and Berit Lindholm (1934), and baritone Barry McDaniel (1930)

Happy 87th birthday soprano Catarina Ligendza
Happy 79th birthday tenor Henry Price
Happy 77th birthday soprano Margarita Castro Alberty

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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