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 1797 composer Gaetano Donizetti.
Born on this day in 1923 actress Gloria Grahame.
La Cieca invites you to peruse some of the remarkable deals in electronics, books, DVDs, computers and cell phones available at Amazon.com.
Happy 63rd birthday cartoonist Roz Chast.
Born on this day in 1896 composer Virgil Thomson.
Born on this day in 1848 soprano Lilli Lehmann.
Happy Thanksgiving USA Parterrians from La Cieca (pictured, left.)
On this day in 1898 Pietro Mascagni’s Iris premiered in Rome.
Born on this day in 1694 writer and philosopher Francois-Marie Arouet (known as Voltaire.)
On this day in 1808 Beethoven’s Fidelio premiered in Vienna.
Born on this day in 1926 singer and actress Dorothy Collins.
Born on this day in 1911 actor, choreographer and director Charles Walters.
Born on this day in 1926 soprano Maralin Niska Dice.
Happy 83rd birthday actress Joanna Barnes.
Born on this day in 1926 soprano Leonie Rysanek
On this day in 1940 the animated film Fantasia produced by Walt Disney and starring Leopold Stokowski (not pictured) was released.
Born on this day in 1939 soprano Lucia Popp.
Born on this day in 1917 soprano Gertrude Grob-Prandl.
On this day in 1970 the Richard Rodgers–Martin Charnin musical Two By Two opened on Broadway.
Born on this day in 1922 actress and singer Dorothy Dandridge.
Born on this day in 1912, more or less, actress and playwright June Havoc.
Happy 81st birthday soprano Gwyneth Jones.
Born on this day in 1958 actor Trace Beaulieu.
Born on this day in 1494 composer, poet and cobbler Hans Sachs.
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.
