On This Day
On this day in 1913 soprano Frieda Hempel sang her second performance at the Metropolitan Opera, the Queen in Les Huguenots opposite Emmy Destinn, Enrico Caruso, Dinh Gilly, Léon Rothier and Adamo Didur.
Born on this day in 1923 actress Valentina Cortese.
A Baroque Valentine’s with Opera Lafayette | Feb | DC & NYC
Celebrate love in all its guises with tender ballads, amorous duets, cheeky verses, and bawdy drinking songs plus food, cocktails and wine.
On this day in 1950, the Metropolitan Opera performed their new production of Fledermaus with a cast including Patrice Munsel, Risë Stevens, Ljuba Welitsch, Set Svanholm and John Brownlee.
On this day in 1954 the Harold Arlen–Truman Capote musical House of Flowers opened on Broadway.
Born on this day in 1936 actress Mary Tyler Moore.
Happy 86th birthday to the sublime Dame Maggie Smith.
Born on this day in 1901 actress Marlene Dietrich.
Happy 82nd birthday soprano Adriana Maliponte.
Happy 39th birthday soprano Sonya Yoncheva.
On this day in 1950 José Ferrer and Gloria Swanson opened a Broadway revival of Twentieth Century.
Happy 74th birthday soprano Edita Gruberova.
Born on this day in 1858 composer Giacomo Puccini.
Happy 83rd birthday to actress, political activist and environmentalist Jane Fonda.
Born on this day in 1898 actress and singer Irene Dunne.
Born on this day in 1915 singer Edith Piaf.
On this day in 1969, a legend portrayed a legend, when the André Previn musical Coco presented Katharine Hepburn as Coco Chanel.
On this day in 1960 Georg Solti made his Met debut conducting Tannhäuser, featuring baritone Hermann Prey, also debuting, as Wolfram.
Born on this day in 1770 a forgotten composer named Ludwig van Beethoven.
Happy 86th birthday soprano Raina Kabaivanska.
Born on this day in 1884 actress and playwright Jane Cowl.
On this day in 2009 Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury headlined the first Broadway revival of A Little Night Music.
Born on this day in 1915 singer and actor Frank Sinatra.
Born on this day in 1919 noir dame par excellence Marie Windsor.
Born on this day in 1914 actress Dorothy Lamour.
STEMdiva status
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.
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.