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 1849 poet Emma Lazarus.
Happy National Ice Cream Day!
Happy 81st birthday actress Diana Rigg.
Born on this day in 1868 soprano Florence Foster Jenkins.
Born on this day in 1821 mezzo-soprano, pedagogue and composer Pauline Viardot.
Born on this day in 1914 soprano Eleanor Steber.
Born on this day in 1911 actress, dancer and singer Ginger Rogers.
Happy 40th birthday to Broadway’s Laura Benanti.
Happy Bastille Day!
Born on this day in 1924 tenor Carlo Bergonzi.
Born on this day in 1895 soprano Kirsten Flagstad.
Born on this day in 1931 actor and crooner Tab Hunter.
Happy 50th birthday tenor Jonas Kaufmann.
Born on this day in 1929 baritone Eberhard Waechter.
>Born on this day in 1912 soprano Christel Goltz.
Born on this day in 1899 film director and producer George Cukor.
Born on this day in 1917, 1915 or, most likely, 1910, soprano Dorothy Kirsten.
Born on this day in 1889 writer, filmmaker and designer Jean Cocteau.
Happy Independence Day All U.S. Parterrians!
Happy 80th birthday mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbaender.
Born on this day in 1714 composer Christoph Willibald von Gluck.
On this day in 1933 Richard Strauss’ Arabella premiered in Dresden.
Born on this day in 1685 playwright and librettist John Gay.
Born on this day in 1911 composer Bernard Herrmann.
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
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.
