Opera in History

Related Topics: Musicals

Events in Music

Events 1 - 100 of 511

  • 1600-12-20 Ottario Rinuccini and Giulio Caccini's opera "Euridice" published
  • 1602-12-05 Giulio Caccini and Ottario Rinuccini's opera "Euridice" premieres at the Pitti Palace, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy)
  • 1607-02-24 Claudio Monteverdi's opera "L'Orfeo" premieres in Mantua, oldest opera still regularly performed
  • 1633-02-02 M Rossi's opera "Erminia sul Giordano" premieres in Rome
  • 1649-01-05 Francesco Cavalli's opera "Giasone" premieres in Venice (the most popular opera of the 17th century)
  • 1668-07-13 Van Marco Cesti's opera "Il Pomo d'Oro" (the Golden Apple or Tomato) premieres in Vienna
  • 1679-01-31 Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera "Bellerophon" premieres at the Palais-Royal in Paris
  • 1680-12-31 De Italiaanse Opera (The Italian Opera) theater opens on the Leidsegracht in Amsterdam with "La Fatiche d'Ercole per Deianira" by PA Ziani
  • 1682-03-09 De Italiaanse Opera (The Italian Opera) theater on the Leidsegracht in Amsterdam closes less than 1-1/2 years after opening
  • 1686-02-15 Jean Baptiste Lully's opera "Armide" premieres in Paris
  • 1689-12-30 Henry Purcell & Nahum Tate's opera "Dido & Aeneas" premieres at Josias Priest's girls' school in Chelsea, London

"Almira"

1705-01-08 George Frideric Handel's 1st opera "Almira" premieres in Hamburg, Germany

Vivaldi's First Opera

1713-05-17 Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi's first opera "Ottone in villa" opens at Teatro delle Grazie in Vicenza, Republic of Venice (now Italy)

The Limping Devil

1753-05-29 Joseph Haydn's first opera "Krumme Teufel" (The Limping Devil) premieres in Vienna

  • 1760-02-06 Niccolò Piccinni's opera buffa "La buona figliuola" (The Good-Natured Girl) first performed at the Teatro delle Dame, Rome, Italy, with an all-male cast

"Artaxerxes"

1762-02-02 Thomas Arne's opera "Artaxerxes" premieres at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London, England

  • 1762-10-05 Opera "Orfeo Ed Euridice" by Christoph Willibald Gluck is first produced in Vienna in front of Empress Maria Theresa.

Mozart's 1st Opera

1767-05-13 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's first opera "Apollo et Hyacinthus", written when he was 11 years old, premieres in Salzburg

  • 1767-12-16 Van Ritter von Glucks opera "Alceste" premieres
  • 1770-01-01 Date of action in the opera "Madeleine"

Music History

1771-06-02 "Armida", an operatic 'dramma per musica' by Antonio Salieri debuts at the Vienna Burgtheater

  • 1774-04-19 CW Glucks opera "Iphigenia in Aulis" premieres in Paris
  • 1775-04-23 Opera "Il Ré Pastore" (The Shepherd King) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is first produced in Salzburg
  • 1778-01-27 Niccolò Piccinni's tragic opera "Roland" premieres at Théâtre du Palais-Royale in Paris, France
  • 1781-01-23 Niccolò Piccinni's tragédie lyrique opera "Iphigénie en Tauride" (Iphigeneia in Tauris) first performed by Académie royale de musique at the Paris Opéra
  • 1781-01-29 Wolfgang Mozart's dramatic opera "Idomeneo" premieres at the Cuvilliés Theatre in Munich, Germany
  • 1782-07-16 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera "Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio)" premieres in Vienna with Mozart conducting
  • 1786-05-01 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera "Marriage of Figaro" premieres in Vienna with Mozart himself directing
  • 1787-06-08 "Tarare" an opera by Antonio Salieri premieres at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin in Paris, France
  • 1787-10-29 Opera "Don Giovanni", music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte premieres at the National Theater of Bohemia in Prague
  • 1790-01-26 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera "Cosi Fan Tutte" premieres at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria
  • 1791-09-06 Wolfgang Mozart's dramatic opera "La Clemenza di Tito" premieres at Estates Theatre, Prague
  • 1791-09-30 Mozart's opera "Magic Flute", with German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, premieres at Schikaneder's Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, Austria
  • 1792-02-07 Domenico Cimarosa's opera "Il Matrimonio Segreto" premieres in Vienna
  • 1794-03-03 1st performance of Joseph Haydn's 101st Symphony in D ("The Clock") at the Hanover Rooms, in London
  • 1797-03-13 Luigi Cherubini's opéra-comique "Médée" premieres at the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris, France
  • 1799-03-19 Joseph Haydn's oratorio "The Creation" ("Die Schöpfung") fisrt public performance premieres at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria

Beethoven's 1st Symphony

1800-04-02 1st performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's 1st Symphony in C

Silvana

1810-09-16 Carl Maria von Weber's opera "Silvana", starring his future wife Carone Brandt in the title role, premieres at the Nationaltheater in Frankfurt, Confederation of the Rhine (now Germany)

  • 1811-11-09 Karol Kurpiński's opera "Lucifer's Palace" premieres at the Warsaw Opera

Barber of Seville Commissioned

1815-12-15 Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (24) gets commission from Teatro Argentina to write his opera "Almaviva", later known as "Il barbiere di Siviglia" (The Barber of Seville)

Don Sanche

1825-10-17 1st opera by Franz Liszt, "Don Sanche" premieres in Paris

  • 1825-11-29 Gioachino Rossini's comic opera "Il barbiere di Siviglia" (The Barber of Seville) become 1st opera performed in Italian in US, staged at New York City's Park Theater
  • 1826-04-12 Weber's opera "Oberon" premieres in London
  • 1828-08-20 Gioachino Rossini's opera "Le Comte Ory" premieres in Paris
  • 1829-08-03 Gioachino Rossini's last and greatest opera "Guillaume Tell" (William Tell) premieres at Salle Le Peletier in Paris
  • 1830-01-28 Opera "Fra Diavolo" by Daniel Auber, premieres in Paris
  • 1830-03-04 Vincenzo Bellini's opera "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" premieres at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy
  • 1830-12-26 Gaetano Donizetti's opera "Anna Bolena" premieres in Milan
  • 1831-03-06 Vincenzo Bellini's opera "La Sonnambula" premieres at Teatro Carcano in Milan, Italy
  • 1831-11-21 Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera "Robert le diable" (Robert the Devil) premieres at the Paris Opéra
  • 1831-12-26 Vincenzo Bellini's opera "Norma" premieres in Milan
  • 1832-03-12 The ballet La Sylphide first premieres at the Opéra de Paris.
  • 1832-05-12 Gaetano Donizetti's opera "L'elisir d'amore" premieres in Milan

Die Eerste Walpurgisnacht

1833-01-10 Felix Mendelssohn's cantata "Die erste Walpurgisnacht" premieres in Berlin, Germany

"Lucrezia Borgia"

1833-12-26 Gaetano Dinozetti's opera "Lucrezia Borgia" premieres at La Scala Teatro in Milan, Italy

  • 1835-01-25 Vincenzo Bellini's opera "I Puritani" premieres in Paris
  • 1835-09-26 Gaetano Donizetti's opera "Lucia di Lammermoor" premieres at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (now Italy)
  • 1836-02-29 Giacomo Meyerbeers opera "Les Huguenots," premieres in Paris

Birthdays in Music

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 602

  • 1494-11-05 Hans Sachs, German composer, playwright, shoemaker, and inspiration for "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" opera by Richard Wagner, born in the Free Imperial City of Nürnberg, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1576)
  • 1561-08-20 Jacopo Peri, Italian composer and singer who wrote the 1st recognized opera "Dafne", born in Rome (d. 1633)
  • 1563-01-30 Franciscus Gomarus [Francois Gomaer], Dutch theologian, Calvinist minister, and academic, born in Bruges, Habsburg Netherlands (d. 1641)
  • 1567-05-15 Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer and pioneer in development of opera (L'Orfeo, espro della Beata Vergine), baptized in Cremona, Italy (d. 1643)
  • 1567-08-10 Girolamo Giacobbi, Italian singer, choirmaster, conductor, and composer of sacred music and opera, baptized in Bologna, Papal States (now Italy) (d. 1629)
  • 1582-05-01 Marco da Gagliano, Italian opera composer, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy) (d. 1643)
  • 1587-02-26 Stefano Landi, Italian opera composer (Il Sant'Alessio), and teacher, born in Rome, Papal States (d. 1639)
  • 1587-09-18 Francesca Caccini, Italian singer, composer (La liberazione di Ruggiero - widely believed to be oldest opera from a female composer), and teacher, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy) (d. after 1641)
  • 1602-02-14 Pier Francesco Cavalli, Italian opera composer, born in Crema, Lombardy, Republic of Venice (d. 1676)
  • 1649-02-23 John Blow, English organist, composer (Venus & Adonis), and Master of the Choristers (St Paul's Cathedral), baptized in Collingham, Nottinghamshire, England (d. 1708)
  • 1670-07-18 Giovanni Battista Bononcini, Italian opera-composer, born in Modena, Duchy of Modena and Reggio (now Italy) (d. 1747)
  • 1674-01-09 Reinhard Keiser, German opera conductor and composer, chiefly of operas and oratorios (Almira; Lukas-Passion), born in Teuchern, Electorate of Saxony (d. 1739)
  • 1685-06-30 John Gay, English poet and dramatist (The Beggar's Opera), born in Barnstaple, England (d. 1732)
  • 1690-02-01 Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian opera composer, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (d. 1768)
  • 1700-03-22 Giuseppe Sellitto, Italian opera composer, born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples (now Italy) (d. 1777)
  • 1704-05-07 Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor, opera composer (Der Tod Jesu), and Royal Kapellmeister to Frederick the Great (1740-59), born in Wahrenbrück, Brandenburg, Germany (d. 1759)
  • 1705-01-24 Farinelli [Carlo Broschi], Italian castrato (considered one of the great opera singers), born in Andria, Kingdom of Naples (d. 1782)
  • 1706-10-18 Baldassare Galuppi, Venetian composer (opera buffa), born on Burano, Venice (d. 1785)
  • 1707-02-07 Carl August Thielo, Danish composer, opera director, and court organist, born in Høsterkøb, Denmark (d. 1763)
  • 1711-01-12 Gaetano Latilla, Italian opera composer, born in Bari, Kingdom of Naples (d. 1788)
  • 1717-01-04 Antonio Maria Mazzoni, Italian opera composer, born in Milan, Lombardy, Austrian Empire (d. 1785)
  • 1727-03-30 Tommaso Traetta, Italian opera composer and bandleader (Farnace), born in Bitonto, Kingdom of Naples (d. 1779)
  • 1728-01-16 Niccolò Piccinni, Italian classical, opera, and sacred music composer (Roland; Buona Figliuola), born in Bari, Kingdom of Naples (d. 1800)
  • 1728-12-09 Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi, Italian opera composer, born in Massa, Tuscany, Italy (d. 1804)
  • 1729-10-17 Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, French opera composer (La belle Arsène), born in Fauquembergues, France (d. 1817)
  • 1730-06-14 Antonio Sacchini, Italian opera composer, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy) (d. 1786)
  • 1731-03-07 Jean-Louis Laruette, French musician and composer of comic opera, born in Paris, France (d. 1792)
  • 1734-12-18 Jean-Baptiste Rey, French conductor (Paris Opera) and composer, born in Lauzerte, France (d. 1810)
  • 1741-02-08 André Grétry, French opera composer, born in Prince-Bishopric of Liège (d. 1813)
  • 1746-02-27 Gian Francesco Fortunati, Italian opera composer and maestro di cappella of Parma, born in Parma, Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (d. 1821)
  • 1747-11-24 Felice Alessandri, Italian organist, harpsichordist, pianist, and opera composer, born in Rome, Papal States (d. 1798)
  • 1748-11-23 Etienne Joseph Floquet, French opera composer, born in Aix-en-Provence, France (d. 1785)

Antonio Salieri (1750-1825)

1750-08-18 Italian composer (Tarare; La Fiera), opera director (Habsburg Court, 1774-92), and Kapellmeister (Austrian Imperial Court, 1788-1824), born in Legnago, Republic of Venice

  • 1751-03-05 Jan Křtitel Kuchař, Czech organist, harpsichordist, mandolin player, composer, and opera conductor, born in Choteč, Bohemia, Habsburg Empire (d. 1829)
  • 1751-04-03 Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, French opera composer, born in Eymet, France (d. 1796)
  • 1754-05-15 Pierre Dutillieu, French-Italian opera composer, born in Lyon, France (d. 1798)
  • 1755-08-31 Johann Ignaz Walter, German opera singer and composer, born in Perutz, Bohemia (d. 1822)
  • 1761-08-16 Yevstigney Fomin, Russian opera composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1800)
  • 1762-02-19 Friedrich Franz Hurka, Bohemian operatic tenor, conductor, and composer, born in Merklin, Bohemia (d. 1805)
  • 1762-03-24 Marcos Portugal [Marcos Antonio da Fonseca Portugal], Portuguese-Brazilian opera, sacred music, and national anthem composer (Portugal - "Hymno Patriótico", 1809; Brazil - "Hino da Independência", 1822), born in Portugal (d. 1830)
  • 1767-10-21 Francesco Ruggi, Italian opera and sacred music composer, born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples (now Italy) (d. 1845)
  • 1771-03-01 Armand-Emmanuel Trial, French pianist and comic opera composer, born in Paris, France (d. 1803)
  • 1771-06-01 Ferdinando Paer, Italian opera composer (Agnese), and conductor (Paris Opéra-Italien, 1812-23), born in Parma, Duchy of Parma (now Italy) (d. 1839)
  • 1774-11-14 Gaspare Spontini, Italian opera composer and conductor (La Vestale), born in Maiolati, Papal State (now Maiolati Spontini, Italy) (d. 1851)
  • 1775-01-21 Manuel Garcia, Spanish opera singer and composer, born in Seville, Spain (d. 1832)
  • 1775-12-16 Francois-Adrien Boieldieu, French opera composer known as 'the French Mozart' (La dame blanche - The White Lady), born in Rouen, France (d. 1834)
  • 1779-01-22 Stefano Pavesi, Italian opera composer (Ser Marcantonio), born in Casaletto Vaprio, Duchy of Milan (d. 1850)
  • 1782-01-29 Daniel François Esprit Auber, French opera composer (Fra Diavolo), born in Caen, Normandy, France (d. 1871)
  • 1785-03-06 Karol Kurpiński, Polish composer (Pygmalion; Kalmora, or The Paternal Right of the Americans), conductor (Warsaw Opera, 1810-40), and pedagogue, born in Włoszakowice, Poland (d. 1857)
  • 1786-09-11 Friedrich Kuhlau, German-Danish opera composer (Elves Hall), born in Lüneburg, Lower Saxony (now Germany) (d. 1832)
  • 1787-11-17 Michele Carafa, Italian opera composer (Le nozze di Lammermoor), born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples (d. 1872)
  • 1790-03-15 Nicola Vaccai, Italian opera composer, born in Tolentino, Papal States (d. 1848)
  • 1791-01-28 (Louis Joseph) Ferdinand Hérold, French pianist, violinist, and composer of over twenty operas, born in Paris, Feance (d. 1833)
  • 1791-09-05 Giacomo Meyerbeer, German opera composer (Gott und die Natur - God and Nature), born in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia (now Germany) (d. 1864)
  • 1795-08-16 Heinrich August Marschner, German opera composer, born in Zittau, Saxony (d. 1861)
  • 1796-02-17 Giovanni Pacini, Italian opera composer (Saffo), and educator, born in Catania, Kingdom of Sicily (d. 1867)
  • 1797-11-29 Domenico Gaetano Donizetti, Italian opera composer (L'elisir d'amore; Lucia di Lammermoor), born in Bergamo, Cisalpine Republic (now Italy) (d. 1848)
  • 1800-11-14 Heinrich Dorn, German composer and opera conductor, born in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia) (d. 1892)
  • 1801-11-03 Vincenzo Bellini, Italian opera composer (La Sonnambula, Norma), born in Catania, Sicily (d. 1835)
  • 1803-11-29 Gottfried Semper, German architect (Semper Opera house), born in Altona, Duchy of Holstein, Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) (d. 1879)
  • 1804-01-12 Hippolyte Monpou, French organist and opera composer, born in Paris, France (d. 1841)
  • 1804-11-27 Julius Benedict, German opera composer (Protoghesi), born in Stuttgart, Germany (d. 1885)
  • 1805-01-04 Stephan Hale Alonzo Marsh, British born composer who worked in Australia (Australia's 1st opera), born in Sidmouth England (d. 1888) (or born 4 Feb 1806)
  • 1805-12-28 Tomás Genovés y Lapetra Spanish opera and zarzuela composer (The Abduction), born in Zaragoza, Spain (d. 1861)
  • 1806-01-03 (Gertrude) "Henriette" Sontag, later Countess Rossi, German operatic soprano (Carl Maria von Weber's "Euryanthe"), born in Koblenz, Rhin-et-Moselle, First French Republic (d. 1854)
  • 1808-03-24 Maria Malibran (née Garcia) Spanish operatic contralto and soprano, born in Paris, (d. 1836)
  • 1810-01-05 Auguste Mermet, French opera composer, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1889)
  • 1810-02-11 Loïsa Puget, French opera and salon song composer ("À la grâce de Dieu"), born in Paris, France (d. 1889)
  • 1811-08-05 Ambroise Thomas, French opera composer (Mignon), and music professor, born in Metz, France (d. 1896)
  • 1813-07-28 Alberto Mazzucato, Italian opera composer, born in Udine, Italy (d. 1877)

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

1813-10-10 Italian opera composer (Rigoletto, La Traviata), born in Busseto

  • 1814-02-21 Nicolo Gabrielli, Italian opera composer, born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples (d. 1891)
  • 1815-12-25 Temistocle Solera, Italian opera composer, born in Ferrara, Austrian Empire (d. 1878)
  • 1816-07-24 Józef Michał Poniatowski [Giuseppe Michele Luci], Poilsh-Italian-French nobleman, diplomat, operatic tenor, and composer, born in Rome, Papal States (d. 1873)
  • 1817-03-24 Aimé Maillart, French opera composer (Les Dragons de Villars), born in Montpellier, Hérault, France (d. 1871)

Charles Gounod (1818-1893)

1818-06-17 French composer (Faust; La reine the Saba; Funeral March of a Marionette), born in Paris

  • 1823-08-03 Francisco Barbieri, Spanish zarzuela opera composer (El Diablo en El Poder), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1894)
  • 1823-08-26 Wilhelm Troszel, Polish operatic bass, composer and voice teacher, born in Warsaw (d. 1887)
  • 1823-10-21 Emilio Arrieta, Spanish opera and zarzuela composer (Marina), born in Puente la Reina, Spain (d. 1894)
  • 1823-12-01 Ernest Reyer, French opera composer, born in Marseilles, France (d. 1909)
  • 1824-07-28 Jacopo Foroni, Italian opera composer (I gladiatori; Advokathen Panthelin), and conductor, born in Verona, Italy (d. 1858)
  • 1825-03-05 Hans Balatka, Moravian-American conductor (Milwaukee Musikverein; Chicago Oratorio Society), author (Condensed History of Music), and composer, born in Hoffnungsthal bei Olmütz, Moravia (d. 1899)
  • 1830-06-02 Olivier Métra, French composer of ballets, light opera, and popular waltzes (Esperance!), and conductor, born in Reims, France (d. 1889)
  • 1831-02-26 Filippo Marchetti, Italian opera composer, born in Bolognola, Papal States (d. 1902)
  • 1832-10-22 Leopold Damrosch, German-American composer, and conductor (New York Oratorio Society; New York Symphony), born in Poznań, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1885)
  • 1834-08-17 Peter Benoit, Flemish composer (De Leie; Rubens Cantata: Requiem), and conductor, born in Harelbeke, Flanders (d. 1901)
  • 1835-10-07 Felix Draeseke, German composer (Christus: Mysterium in a Prelude and Three Oratorios), born in Coburg, Germany (d. 1913)
  • 1836-07-11 Antônio Carlos Gomes, Brazilian opera composer, first from outside of Europe with successful career in Italy, born in Campinas, São Paulo, Empire of Brazil (d. 1896)
  • 1837-06-23 Ernest Guiraud, French opera composer (Piccolino; Sylvie), arranger (Bizet), and teacher, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1892)
  • 1841-04-25 Pauline Lucca, Austrian operatic soprano, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1908)
  • 1842-02-24 Arrigo Boito, Itlaian opera composer (Mefistofele), and librettist (Verdi's "Falstaff"; Ponchielli's "La Gioconda"), born in Padua, Italy (d. 1918)
  • 1842-03-22 Carl Rosa, German-born violinist and composer (founder of the Rosa opera company that toured UK and US), born in Hamburg, German Confederation (now Germany) (d. 1889)

Jules Massenet (1842-1912)

1842-05-12 French opera composer (Werther; Manon), born in Montaud, France

Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)

1842-05-13 British composer (The Golden Legend; Onward, Christian Soldiers), major-generally remembered for his comic operas with W.S. Gilbert (The Pirates of Penzance:, H.M.S Pinafore; The Mikado), born in London

  • 1843-02-19 Adelina Patti, Italian opera soprano (Lucio), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1919)
  • 1843-05-29 Émile Pessard, French pianist, concert and comic opera composer, and teacher (Maurice Ravel, Jacques Ibert), born in Paris (d. 1917)
  • 1844-05-03 Richard D'Oyly Carte, English opera impresario (Gilbert & Sullivan operas), born in London (d. 1901)
  • 1845-01-15 Heinrich Vogl, German operatic heldentenor, born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria (d. 1900)
  • 1845-07-06 Ángela Peralta, Mexican operatic soprano, harpist, pianist, and composer, born in Mexico City (d. 1883)
  • 1845-12-25 Salvatore Auteri-Manzocchi, Italian opera composer (Graziella), born in Palermo, Kingdome of the Two Sicilies (d. 1924)

Weddings in Music

Carl Maria von Weber

1817-11-04 German composer Carl Maria von Weber (30) weds opera singer Caroline Brandt

Gioachino Rossini

1822-03-16 Italian opera composer (The Barber of Seville) Gioachino Rossini weds 1st wife, opera singer Isabella Colbran, in Bologna, Papal States (now Italy)

  • 1846-08-16 Italian "The Barber of Seville" opera composer Gioachino Rossini (54) marries 2nd wife, French model Olympe Pélissier (47) in Paris, France

Leontyne Price

1952-08-31 American operatic soprano Leontyne Price (25) weds American concert bass-baritone singer William Warfield (32); divorce in 1973

  • 1987-01-09 Opera impresario Sir Rudolf Bing (85) weds Carroll Douglass (45); annulled in September, 1989

Andrea Bocelli

1992-06-27 Italian pop-opera singer Andrea Bocelli (34) weds Enrica Cenzatti (23-ish); divorce 2002

Luciano Pavarotti

2003-12-13 Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti (68) weds Nicoletta Mantovani at Modena Italy's Teatro Comunale

  • 2004-04-29 "Gentlemen's Agreement" Oscar Best Supporting Actress Celeste Holm (87) weds opera singer Frank Basile (41) in Manhattan
  • 2005-07-21 Tennis star player Lleyton Hewitt (24) weds "Home and Away" TV actress Bec Cartwright (22) at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia
  • 2009-08-08 American pop-opera "Il Divo" singer David Miller (36) weds American soprano and theater actress Sarah Joy Kabanuck (30) in New York City
  • 2010-10-10 Actress and singer Alexa Vega (22) weds film producer Sean Covel (34) at the historical Homestake Opera House in South Dakota

Maximilian Schell

2013-08-20 Actor Maximilian Schell (82) weds opera singer Iva Mihanovic (35) in Carinthia, Austria

Benedict Cumberbatch

2015-02-14 British actor Benedict Cumberbatch (38) weds opera director Sophie Hunter (36) at the 12th century Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Mottistone, England

  • 2015-08-19 British pop-opera tenor Russell Watson (48) weds second wife Louise Harris (27) in mountain village of Benahavís, Spain

Deaths in Music

Deaths 1 - 100 of 493

  • 1560-11-07 Peter Lotichius Secundus [Peter Lotz], Neo latin poet (Opera omnia), dies at 32
  • 1576-01-19 Hans Sachs, German composer, playwright, shoemaker, and inspiration for "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" opera by Richard Wagner, dies at 81
  • 1609-02-07 Ferdinand I de' Medici, Italian Grand Duke of Tuscany (1587-1609), made Tuscany prosperous, introduced opera to Europe, dies at 59
  • 1629-02-13 Girolamo Giacobbi, Italian singer, choirmaster, conductor, and composer of sacred music and opera, dies at 61 (date approximate)
  • 1629-10-02 Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and mystic (founded Congregation of the French Oratory), dies at 54
  • 1633-08-12 Jacopo Peri, Italian composer and singer who wrote the 1st recognized opera "Dafne", dies at 71
  • 1641-01-11 Franciscus Gomarus [Francois Gomaer], Dutch theologian, Calvinist minister, and academic, dies at 77
  • 1643-02-25 Marco da Gagliano, Italian opera composer, dies at 60
  • 1643-11-29 Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer and pioneer in development of opera (L'Orfeo,espro della Beata Vergine), dies at 76
  • 1656-07-07 Michelangelo Rossi, Italian Baroque organist, violinist, and opera composer, dies at about 55
  • 1676-01-14 Pier Francesco Cavalli, Italian opera composer, dies at 73
  • 1723-02-26 Thomas d'Urfey, English songwriter and playwright who helped evolve ballad opera, dies at around 69-70
  • 1732-12-04 John Gay, English poet and dramatist (The Beggar's Opera), dies at 47
  • 1739-09-12 Reinhard Keiser, German opera conductor and composer, chiefly of operas and oratorios (Almira; Lukas-Passion), dies at 65
  • 1740-01-05 Antonio Lotti, Italian opera composer, dies at about 72
  • 1744-01-25 Domenico Natale Sarro, Italian opera composer, dies at 64
  • 1744-10-31 Leonardo Ortensio Salvatore de Leo, Italian opera composer, dies at 50
  • 1747-07-09 Giovanni Battista Bononcini, Italian opera-composer, dies at 76
  • 1752-07-20 John C Pepusch, English composer (Beggar's Opera), dies at about 85
  • 1759-08-08 Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor, opera composer (Der Tod Jesu), and Royal Kapellmeister to Frederick the Great (1740-59), dies at 55
  • 1768-10-31 Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian opera composer, dies at 78
  • 1777-08-23 Giuseppe Sellitto, Italian opera composer (Nitocri), dies at 77
  • 1779-04-06 Tommaso MFS Traetta, Italian opera composer (Farnace), dies at 52
  • 1782-07-15 Farinelli [Carlo Broschi], Italian castrato (considered one of the great opera singers), dies at 77
  • 1785-01-03 Baldassare Galuppi, Venetian composer (opera buffa), dies at 68
  • 1785-05-10 Etienne Joseph Floquet, French opera composer, dies at 36
  • 1785-12-08 Antonio Maria Mazzoni, Italian opera composer, dies at 68
  • 1786-10-06 Antonio Sacchini, Italian opera composer, dies at 56
  • 1793-12-20 Joseph Legros, French singer and composer who was the most prominent haute-contres (operatic tenor) of his generation, dies at 54
  • 1798-06-28 Pierre Dutillieu, French-Italian opera composer, dies at 44
  • 1798-08-15 Felice Alessandri, Italian organist, harpsichordist, pianist, and opera composer, dies at 50
  • 1800-05-07 Niccolò Piccinni, Italian classical, opera, and sacred music composer (Roland; Buona Figliuola), dies at 72
  • 1803-09-09 Armand-Emmanuel Trial, French pianist and comic opera composer, dies at 30
  • 1804-11-19 Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi, Italian opera composer, dies at 75
  • 1805-12-10 Friedrich Franz Hůrka, Bohemian operatic tenor, conductor, and composer, dies at 43
  • 1813-09-24 André Grétry, French opera composer, dies at 72
  • 1817-10-18 Etienne-Nicolas Méhul, French opera composer, dies at 54
  • 1821-12-20 Gian Francesco Fortunati, Italian opera composer and maestro di cappella of Parma, dies at 75
  • 1822-02-22 Johann Ignaz Walter, German opera singer and composer, dies at 66

Antonio Salieri (1750-1825)

1825-05-07 Italian composer (Tarare; La Fiera), opera director (Habsburg Court, 1774-92), and Kapellmeister (Austrian Imperial Court, 1788-1824), dies in Vienna at 74

  • 1829-02-18 Jan Křtitel Kuchař, Czech organist, harpsichordist, mandolin player, composer, and opera conductor, dies at 77
  • 1830-02-17 Marcos Portugal [Marcos Antonio da Fonseca Portugal], Portuguese-Brazilian opera, sacred music, and national anthem composer (Portugal - "Hymno Patriótico", 1809; Brazil - "Hino da Independência", 1822), dies at 67
  • 1832-03-12 Friedrich Kuhlau, German-Danish opera composer, dies at 45
  • 1832-06-10 Manuel Garcia, Spanish opera singer and composer, dies at 57
  • 1833-01-19 (Louis Joseph) Ferdinand Hérold, French pianist, violinist, and composer of over twenty operas, dies from tuberculosis at 41
  • 1834-08-08 Silvestro Palma, Italian opera composer, dies at 80
  • 1834-10-08 François-Adrien Boieldieu, French opera composer known as 'the French Mozart' (La dame blanche - The White Lady), dies at 58
  • 1835-09-23 Vincenzo Bellini, Italian opera composer (La Sonnambula, Norma), dies at 33
  • 1836-09-23 María Malibran (née García) Spanish operatic contralto and soprano, dies from head injuries several months after falling from a horse at 28
  • 1839-05-03 Ferdinando Paer, Italian opera composer (Agnese), and conductor (Paris Opéra-Italien, 1812-23), dies at 67
  • 1847-12-29 William Crotch, British child prodigy organist, composer (Palestine Oratorio), and educator (Royal Academy), dies at 72
  • 1850-07-28 Stefano Pavesi, Italian opera composer (Ser Marcantonio), dies at 71
  • 1851-01-24 Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini, Italian opera composer and conductor (La Vestale), dies at 76
  • 1853-10-30 Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (Triple Oratorio:, Putifar-Giuseppe-Giacobbe), dies at 66
  • 1854-06-17 (Gertrude) "Henriette" Sontag, later Countess Rossi, German operatic soprano (Carl Maria von Weber's "Euryanthe"), dies at 48
  • 1857-09-18 Karol Kurpiński, Polish composer (Pygmalion; Kalmora, or The Paternal Right of the Americans), conductor (Warsaw Opera, 1810-40), and pedagogue, dies at 72
  • 1858-09-08 Jacopo Foroni, Italian opera composer (I gladiatori; Advokathen Panthelin), and conductor, dies during cholera epidemic at 34
  • 1861-06-05 Tomás Genovés y Lapetra Spanish opera and zarzuela composer (The Abduction), dies at 55
  • 1861-12-14 Heinrich August Marschner, German opera composer, dies at 66
  • 1864-05-02 Giacomo Meyerbeer, German opera composer (Gott und die Natur - God and Nature), dies at 72
  • 1867-12-06 Giovanni Pacini, Italian opera composer (Saffo), and educator, dies at 71
  • 1869-06-15 Albert Grisar, Belgian comic opera composer, dies at 60
  • 1871-05-12 Daniel François Esprit Auber, French opera composer (Fra Diavolo), dies at 89
  • 1871-05-26 Aimé Maillart, French opera composer (Les Dragons de Villars), dies at 54
  • 1872-07-26 Michele Carafa, Italian-French opera composer, and educator (Paris Conservatoire, 1840-58), dies at 84
  • 1873-07-04 Józef Michał Poniatowski [Giuseppe Michele Luci], Poilsh-Italian-French nobleman, diplomat, operatic tenor, and composer, dies at 58
  • 1878-04-21 Temistocle Solera, Italian opera composer, dies at 62
  • 1880-01-27 Edward Middleton Barry, English architect (Covent Garden Opera House), dies at 49
  • 1882-02-02 Fabio Campana, Italian composer and opera director, dies at 63
  • 1882-06-24 Joseph Joachim Raff, German opera composer (Cavatine), dies at 60
  • 1883-08-30 Ángela Peralta, Mexican operatic soprano, harpist, pianist, and composer, dies of yellow fever at 38
  • 1885-02-15 Leopold Damrosch, German-American composer, and conductor (New York Oratorio Society; New York Symphony), dies at 52
  • 1885-06-05 Julius Benedict, German opera composer (Protoghesi), dies at 80
  • 1887-03-02 Wilhelm Troszel, Polish operatic bass, composer, and voice teacher, dies at 63
  • 1888-01-21 Stephan Hale Alonzo Marsh, British born composer who worked in Australia (Australia's 1st opera), dies at 83
  • 1889-04-30 Carl Rosa, German-born violinist and composer (founder of the Rosa opera company that toured UK and US), dies at 47
  • 1889-07-04 Auguste Mermet, French opera composer, dies at 79
  • 1889-10-22 Olivier Métra, French composer of balletss, light opera, and popular waltzes (Esperance!), and conductor, dies at 59
  • 1891-06-14 Nicolò Gabrielli, Italian opera composer, dies at 77
  • 1892-01-10 Heinrich Dorn, German composer and opera conductor, dies at 91
  • 1892-05-06 Ernest Guiraud, French opera composer (Piccolino; Sylvie), arranger (Bizet), and teacher, dies at 54
  • 1893-08-07 Alfredo Catalani, Italian operatic composer, dies at 39
  • 1894-02-11 Emilio Arrieta, Spanish opera and zarzuela composer (Maria), dies at 70
  • 1894-02-17 Francisco Barbieri Spanish zarzuela opera composer (El Diablo en el poder), dies at 70
  • 1895-01-10 Benjamin Godard, French violinist, orchestral and opera composer (Symphonie légendaire; Jocelyn), dies at 45
  • 1896-02-12 Ambroise Thomas, French opera composer (Mignon), and music professor, dies at 84
  • 1896-04-30 Antonio Cagnoni, Italian opera composer, dies at 68
  • 1896-09-16 Antônio Carlos Gomes, Brazilian opera composer, first from outside of Europe have a successful career in Italy, dies at 60
  • 1899-04-17 Hans Balatka, Moravian-American conductor (Milwaukee Musikverein; Chicago Oratorio Society), author (Condensed History of Music), and composer, dies at 74

Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)

1900-11-22 British composer (The Golden Legend; Onward, Christian Soldiers), major-generally remembered for his comic operas with W.S. Gilbert (The Pirates of Penzance:, H.M.S Pinafore; The Mikado), dies of heart failure at 58

  • 1901-01-16 Jules Barbier, French opera librettist (b. 1825)

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

1901-01-27 Italian opera composer (Rigoletto, La Traviata), dies at 77

  • 1901-04-03 Richard D'Oyly Carte, British opera impresario (Gilbert & Sullivan operas), dies at 56
  • 1902-01-18 Filippo Marchetti, Italian opera composer, dies at 70
  • 1902-02-02 Emanuil Manolov, Bulgarian composer (Siromahkinia - 1st Bulgarian opera), dies at 42
  • 1905-05-29 Leon Francis Victor Caron, French-Australian composer (Caron Opera Company), dies at 55
  • 1906-07-29 Alexandre Luigini, French violinist, conductor (Lyon Grand Théâtre, 1877-97; Opéra-Comique Paris, 1897-1906), composer (Ballet égyptien), and pedagogue, dies at 56
  • 1906-09-01 Giuseppe Giacosa, Italian playwright, poet, and librettist (Puccini's "La bohème", "Tosca", and "Madama Butterfly"), dies at 58
  • 1908-11-08 Victorien Sardou, French playwright, several of which were adapted as operas (Fedora, Tosca; Madame Sans-Gene), dies at 77
  • 1912-03-15 Louis van Westerhoven, Dutch actor, singer and opera director (Youth), dies at 58