On this day in 1816 the Teatro San Carlo in Naples was destroyed by fire.
On this say in 1947 Christian Dior unveiled a “New Look”, helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world.
On this day in 55 A.D., Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman emperorship, died under mysterious circumstances in Rome, clearing the way for Nero to become Emperor.
On this day in 1940, the first “Tom & Jerry” cartoon debuted.
Born on this day in 1888 English actress Edith Evans.
Born on this day in 1908 American swimmer and actor Buster Crabbe.
On this day in 1649 the claimant King Charles II of England and Scotland was declared King of Great Britain by the Parliament of Scotland.
On this day in 1919 Mary Pickford, D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks launched United Artists.
On this day in 1968 Golden Rainbow, starring Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, opened at the Shubert Theater.
On this day in 1960 La Dolce Vita, directed by Federico Fellini and starring Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg, premiered in Italy.
On this day in 1933, the sisters Christine and Léa Papin murdered their employer’s wife and daughter in Le Mans, France.
On this day in 1893 Puccini’s Manon Lescaut premiered in Turin.
On this day in 1861 Friedrich Hebbel’s Siegfrieds Tod premiered in Weimar.
On this day in 1661, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, was ritually executed after having been dead for two years.
On this day in 1781 Mozart’s Idomeneo premiered in Munich.
On this day in 1813 Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was first published in the United Kingdom.
On this day in 1302 Dante Alighieri was exiled from Florence, where he served as one of six priors governing the city.
On this day in 1833 Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia premiered in Milan.
On this day in 1533 Henry VIII of England secretly married his second wife Anne Boleyn.
On this day in 41 AD Roman Emperor Caligula was assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards, who then proclaimed Caligula’s uncle Claudius as Emperor.
Happy 82nd birthday to American actress, singer, and dancer Chita Rivera.
On this day in 1521 Emperor Charles V opened the Diet of Worms.
On this day in 1904 Leos Janacek‘s Jenufa premiered in Brno.
On this day in 1949 J. Edgar Hoover gave Shirley Temple a tear gas fountain pen.
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.
