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.
Born on this day in 1933 Welsh actress Siân Phillips.
Born on this day in 1907 English author Daphne du Maurier.
On this day in 1832 Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore premiered in Milan.
On this day in 1965 the musical Flora, the Red Menace opened at the Alvin Theater in New York.
On this day in 1774 Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette became King and Queen of France.
On this day in 1868 the city of Reno, Nevada was founded.
Happy 31st birthday tenor Michael Fabiano!
On this day in 1718 the city of New Orleans was founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.
On this day La Cieca and faithful sidekick Dawn Fatale have arrived in Düsseldorf to hear Valer Sabadus sing Xerxes in a production by Stefan Herheim.
Born on this day in 1906 actress Mary Astor.
On this day in 1536 Anne Boleyn was arrested and taken to the Tower of London.
On this day in 1786 Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro premiered in Wien.
On this day in 1803 the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation.
Happy 90th birthday to French ballerina and actress Zizi Jeanmaire.
On this day in 1965 Barbra Streisand starred in the My Name is Barbra special on CBS.
On this day in 1989 the musical Starmites opened at the Criterion Theater in New York for 60 performances.
On this day in 1886 Sigmund Freud opened his practice at Rathausstrasse 7, Vienna.
On this day in 1184 BC (according to tradition) the Greeks entered Troy using the Trojan Horse.
On this day in 1961, Judy Garland sang a legendary concert at Carnegie Hall that has been called “the greatest night in show business history.”
Happy 80th birthday mezzo-soprano Fiorenza Cossotto!
On this day in 753 BC, according to tradition, Romulus and Remus founded Rome.
On this day in 1611: the first documented performance of Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth at the Globe Theatre.
On this day in 1927 Mae West was sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex.