Music History on November 20

Fidelio

1805 Ludwig van Beethoven's "Fidelio", his only opera, premieres at Vienna's Theater an der Wien

Mahler's 1st Symphony

1889 Gustav Mahler premieres his 1st Symphony at the Vigadó Concert Hall, Budapest, Hungary; it is not well received and he revises it several times before publishing 9 years later

Grisélidis

1901 Dramatic opera "Grisélidis" by Jules Massenet, Armand Silvestre and Eugène Morand premieres the Opéra-Comique in Paris, France

  • 1911 Gustav Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" (Song of the Earth) premieres in Munich, conducted by Bruno Walter

Rope Dancers

1957 Morton Wishengrad's dramatic play "Rope Dancers", starring Art Carney, Siobhán McKenna, and Theodore Bikel, premieres at Cort Theatre, NYC; runs for 189 performances

Shostakovich's String Quartet

1964 Dmitri Shostakovich's 9th/10th String Quartet premieres in Moscow

  • 1965 Cyril Ornadel and Leslie Bricusse's musical "Pickwick", based on Charles Dickens' novel "The Pickwick Papers', featuring Harry Secombe and Charlotte Rae, closes at 46th St Theater, NYC, after 56 performances

Caberet

1966 John Kander and Fred Ebb's "Cabaret" opens at Broadhurst Theater, NYC; runs for 1166 performances, wins 8 Tony Awards

George Harrison

1976 George Harrison appears on "Saturday Night Live": haggling with Lorne Michaels; performing "Here Comes the Sun" and "Homeward Bound" with Paul Simon; and airing two music videos

Stop and Smell the Roses

1981 Ringo Starr releases album "Stop and Smell the Roses" in the UK

Marilyn: An American Fable

1983 Musical "Marilyn: An American Fable", loosely based on life of Marilyn Monroe, starring Alyson Reed and Scott Bakula, opens at Minskoff Theater, NYC; runs for 17 performances

  • 1994 New Vaudevillian revue "The Flying Karamazov Brothers Do the Impossible" opens at Helen Hayes Theater, NYC, for a limited run of 50 performances
  • 1994 Revival of Michael Cristofer's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning stage drama "The Shadow Box", starring Mary Alice, opens at Circle in Square Theatre, NYC; runs for 49 performances

Anthology 1

1995 Apple Records releases The Beatles "Anthology 1" (double CD/triple LP), the first of a 3-part series of rare recordings and outtakes by the Beatles; set covers the years 1955-64, as well as new collaboration "Free as a Bird" - a John Lennon demo augmented by additional lyrics and performances by the surviving three; album tops Billboard chart in US and peaks at no. 2 in UK

  • 1995 David Hare's stage drama "Racing Demon", set amongst clergy of the Church of England, opens at Vivian Beaumont Theater, NYC; runs for 48 performances

Ivanov

1997 Revival of Anton Chekov's stage drama "Ivanov", starring Kevin Kline, opens at Vivian Beaumont Theater, NYC; runs for 51 performances

Josh Groban

2001 Josh Groban releases his debut album "Josh Groban"; sales exceed over 5 million units

  • 2015 XL/Columbia releases "25", 3rd studio album by Adele (Grammy Award for Album of the Year, 2017; 2016 Billboard Album of the Year); features the singles "Hello" and "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)"

Elton John

2022 Elton John completes the North American leg of his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour" at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California