Born on this day in 1922 author and editor Helen Gurley Brown.
Born on this day in 1909 soprano Marjorie Lawrence.
Happy 79th birthday composer John Corigliano.
On this day in 1939 Lillian Hellman‘s The Little Foxes opened at the National Theatre, to run 410 performances.
Happy 58th birthday soprano Renée Fleming.
Happy birthday mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.
Happy birthday tenor Anthony Dean Griffey!
On this day in 1896 Oscar Wilde‘s Salomé premiered in Paris.
On this day in 1881 Jacques Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffman premiered in Paris.
Born on this day in 1885 composer Alban Berg.
Born on this day in actress 1920 (more or less) Lana Turner.
On this day in 1940 Walt Disney‘s film Pinocchio premiered at the Center Theater in New York City.
On this day in 1969 Jerry Herman‘s musical Dear World opened at the Mark Hellinger Theater, to run 132 performances.
On this day in 1887 Verdi’s Otello premiered in Milan.
On this day in 1943 Bertolt Brecht’s play Der gute Mensch von Sezuan premiered in Zurich.
On this day in 1939, Bette Davis won her second Academy Award for Best Actress for Jezebel.
Happy 94th birthday to the “Grand Dame of Dish,” journalist Liz Smith.
Happy birthday director/choreographer/librettist John De Los Santos.
Born on this day in 1921 tenor and film star Mario Lanza.
Happy 89th birthday Broadway producer Hal Prince.
On this day in 1595 Romeo and Juliet is thought to have been first performed.
Premiere on this day in 1830: the opera Fra Diavolo.
Born on this day in 1756 composer and musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
On this day in 1784 Benjamin Franklin expressed unhappiness over the eagle as America’s symbol.
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.
