Wikipedia:WikiProject Opera/DYK Archive

Did you know ... related to opera ...

The hooks appeared on the talk of the Project Opera. Those until 23 September 2012 appeared before on the Main page. Then a daily DYK was created related to the given day, adding the new ones (marked by date of archive). As of September 2013, again only new ones are listed.

2024 edit

... that opera composer and librettist Joseph Redding (pictured) was also a chess polymath and lawyer who won a landmark decision before the United States Supreme Court? 7 May
... that soprano Olga von Türk-Rohn (pictured) was celebrated for her interpretations of Franz Schubert's lieder? 30 Apr
... that opera singer Charles Holland (pictured) spent much of his career in Europe as opportunities in classical music for African Americans were limited? 20 Apr
... that in opposition to his parents, opera star Joseph Schwarz began his career by running away from home to join a band of traveling minstrels? 18 Apr
... that Tilmann Köhler directed Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro in 2023 with playful "serious games" in which the women win by "wit, cleverness and presence of mind"? 29 Mar
Karsten Januschke's conducting of Offenbach's Die Banditen was described as producing a "lean, dry, delicate" sound with an ensemble of 22 soloists, including 11 tenors? 29 Mar
... that as music director of the Oper Hagen, Florian Ludwig promoted a wide repertoire that included contemporary operas such as Barber's Vanessa and crossover projects? 26 Mar
... that when Kelsey Lauritano portrayed Mozart's Cherubino, a reviewer from the FAZ noted her "almost metallic-brittle approach that spreads androgynous infatuation"? 26 Mar
... that American mezzo-soprano Cecelia Hall portrayed the lead male role in Mozart's Ascanio in Alba? 23 Mar
... that Grounded, an opera about drone warfare, was sponsored by General Dynamics, a major military contractor? 23 Mar
... that Caspar Richter co-founded an orchestra in Vienna and conducted it in performances of new musicals including Mozart! and Elisabeth? 3 Mar
... that the Soviet soprano Tamara Milashkina performed alongside her husband Vladimir Atlantov at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1975? 20 Feb
... that Stephen Gould performed three roles at the 2022 Bayreuth Festival: Tannhäuser, Siegfried and Tristan, earning him nicknames such as "Iron Man"? 7 Feb
... that Kaija Saariaho's 2021 opera Innocence includes traditional Finnish cow-herding calls? 4 Feb
... that before the age of thirty, Anna Nekhames performed the dual role of Venus and Chief of the Gepopo in Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre, one of opera's most demanding coloratura soprano parts? 26 Jan
... that Kihwan Sim from South Korea appeared as Mozart's Figaro at the Oper Frankfurt in the first production with the new music director, acting with a hint at the French Revolution? 12 Jan
... that a 1974 recording of Mozart's Così fan tutte with Ryland Davies as Ferrando was used in a 1995 film by the Salzburg Marionette Theatre? 9 Jan

2023 edit

... that Luca Salsi (pictured) performed leading roles in two operas in a row at the Metropolitan Opera, stepping in on 30 minutes' notice in Verdi's Ernani and singing as planned in Lucia di Lammermoor? 28 Nov
... that soprano Rachel Yakar, who received international attention in 1977 as Poppea with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, was also described as an "ideal" Mélisande and "a Mozartian at heart and in style"? 17 Nov
... that composer Guglielmo Zuelli (pictured), a former director of the Palermo Conservatory, spent time in prison before the age of eight? 3 Nov
... that Isabelle Cals, who turned to singing after a degree in Chinese, appeared as Wagner's Kundry in a production of Parsifal at the Stadttheater Minden? 28 Oct
... that when Robert Hale performed as Wagner's Wotan in Washington, a reviewer noted that he commanded "the spirit, from tragic grandeur to ironic detachment, from flooding tenderness to grim rage"? 14 Oct
... that soprano Vera Curtis was the first singer trained exclusively in the United States to perform with the Metropolitan Opera? 29 Sep
... that the tenor Graham Clark appeared at the Bayreuth Festival in 16 seasons, portraying the characters Loge and Mime in the 1988 Ring cycle? 17 Sep
... that as of 2018, the opera house in Harrington, Washington – which opened in 1904 – had never held an opera? 12 Sep
... that Le Vin herbé is a 1942 musical setting of the story of Tristan and Iseult by Frank Martin for twelve vocalists, seven strings and piano? 1 Sep
... that dramatic soprano Berit Lindholm (pictured) was said to have been called "that damn primary school teacher" by the director of the Royal Swedish Opera, and used it in the title of her memoir? 30 Aug
... that the "extreme lightness and luminous agility" of Michael McCown's voice in the roles of Britten's Tempter and Nebuchadnezzar has been likened to that of Peter Pears? 13 Aug
... that countertenor Christopher Lowrey's voice has been described as "packed with enough character to sink a battleship"? 4 Jul
... that international opera singer Soňa Červená (pictured) won the Alfréd Radok Award for Best Actress when she was 83 years old? 29 Jun
... that while Dmitri Shostakovich composed his opera Katyusha Maslova, Sergei Prokofiev was also contemplating an opera based on the same subject? 22 Jun
... that in Strauss's Elektra, Aile Asszonyi was said to be convincing as a woman close to madness? 5 Jun
... that actress Eula Morgan performed opera in her 1940s film roles, such as Madame Rinaldi in The Great American Broadcast? 30 May
... that several composers wrote coloratura arias specifically for the voice of Italian opera singer Maria Giustina Turcotti? 23 May
... that soprano Carolina White performed the title role in the United States premiere of Il segreto di Susanna at the Metropolitan Opera in 1911? 26 Apr
... that Erich Korngold's Die tote Stadt had simultaneous premieres in Cologne and Hamburg in 1920, one with Johanna Geisler and her husband Otto Klemperer? 16 Apr
... that the opera Omar, about the Muslim scholar Omar ibn Said, had its world premiere in a theater located less than a mile (1.6 km) from the site where he was sold as a slave? 6 Apr
... that a temple once housed the New York City Opera and New York City Ballet? 21 Mar
... that jazz composer Duke Ellington worked on his only opera, Queenie Pie, from the 1930s until his death in 1974 without finishing it? 17 Mar
... that as a last-minute substitute in a premiere performance at Oper Frankfurt, Elena Manistina sang from the side while the assistant director mimed onstage? 27 Jan
... that Volodymyr Kozhukhar, the chief conductor of the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv, led Lysenko's opera Taras Bulba and Shchedrin's ballet Carmen Suite. 12 Jan
... that soprano Galina Pisarenko studied economics, English, and Norwegian at the same time she was studying to become a professional opera singer? 12 Jan
... that after Domen Križaj from Slovenia was a prize winner in the singing competition Neue Stimmen, he moved to the Oper Frankfurt where he appeared as Massenet's Albert and Mozart's Papageno? 6 Jan

2022 edit

... that Quentin Oliver Lee landed a title role in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess on Broadway after a casting agent spotted him singing in a subway station? 30 Dec
... that Talia Or (pictured), who sang as the Voice of a Falcon at La Scala, was born in Israel and is based in Germany? 26 Dec
... that Azio Corghi composed his second and third operas with author José Saramago – the second for La Scala in Milan, and the third for a 1993 premiere at the Theater Münster? 17 Dec
... that in 2020 when Persian-Canadian countertenor Cameron Shahbazi performed in Written on Skin in Cologne, his "Luciferian charm" and "iridescent voice" were noted? 28 Nov
... that Enriqueta Legorreta (pictured), who was the first Mexican woman to appear as Sieglinde in Wagner's Die Walküre, became an award-winning environmental activist? 17 Nov
... that Sung Min Song, who was an informatics engineer in Seoul until age 26, performed the extreme tenor role of Arnold in Rossini's Guillaume Tell as his debut at the Saarländisches Staatstheater? 9 Nov
... that the Ukrainian composer Borys Lyatoshynsky (pictured) composed his second opera, Shchors in 1937–38, about a military figure from Ukraine who fought for the Soviet Red Army in the Ukrainian–Soviet War? 8 Nov
... that Silvia Hauer, a singer of Rossini's Rosina and Bizet's Carmen at Staatstheater Wiesbaden, performed the mezzo-soprano solo of Verdi's Requiem in 2022? 30 Oct
... that in 2021 Sarah Aristidou recorded Jörg Widmann's Labyrinth V, a wordless piece for her soprano voice with "ululations, sobs, jazz inflections and wild laughter"? 17 Oct
... that Ukrainian baritone Danylo Matviienko, who holds a master's degree in mathematics, appeared as Demetrius in Britten's opera A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Oper Frankfurt? 28 Sep
... that The Maiden in the Tower, the only opera by Jean Sibelius, was withdrawn after only three performances with the intention to revise it, which never happened? 23 Sep
... that when Francesco Lanzillotta conducted Dallapiccola's Ulisse at Oper Frankfurt in 2022, a reviewer noted that he "does not shy away from agglomerations of sound"? 22 Sep
... that Pier Giorgio Morandi first played as the principal oboist at La Scala in Milan, and conducted a 2019 recorded production of Verdi's Il trovatore at the Verona Arena, directed by Franco Zeffirelli? 9 Sep
... that Matti Lehtinen, a baritone of the Finnish National Opera and professor of singing at the Sibelius Academy, was the voice of God at age 93? 7 Sep
... that in the history of opera in Ukraine, Mykola Lysenko's historical Taras Bulba (title character pictured) was the first grand opera, but not performed during his lifetime because he refused a performance in Russian? 5 Sep
... that when the Canadian baritone Iain MacNeal appeared as Odysseus in Dallapiccola's Ulisse at the Oper Frankfurt, a reviewer noted that he portrayed the "character's self-exegeses"? 21 Aug
... that Victória Pitts from Brazil portrayed characters in all three parts of Puccini's Il trittico at the Oper Frankfurt in 2022, including Zita in Gianni Schicchi? 19 Aug
... that Rogers Covey-Crump, once the high tenor of the Hilliard Ensemble, is known as a leading Evangelist in Bach's Passions? 17 Aug
... that Colombian singer Juanita Lascarro became a soprano at the Oper Frankfurt, where she appeared as both Calypso and Penelope in a new production of Dallapiccola's Ulisse? 9 Aug
... that Avelina Carrera (pictured) made her debut at the Liceu in Barcelona in 1889, stepping in as Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin, and created the role of Maddalena in Giordano's Andrea Chénier at La Scala? 8 Aug
... that R. B. Schlather directed the world premiere of Hertzberg's chamber opera The Rose Elf in Brooklyn, as well as Cimarosa's L'Italiana in Londra and Puccini's Madama Butterfly at the Oper Frankfurt? 30 Jul
... that after the Italian soprano Fausta Labia (pictured) worked at the Royal Swedish Opera, she appeared as Mascagni's Iris at La Fenice in Venice and as Wagner's Sieglinde at La Scala in Milan? 26 Jul
... that French soprano Marguerite Vaillant-Couturier created the role of Micaëla in the world premiere of Lecocq's Le coeur et la main (pictured) in Paris in 1882? 23 Jul
... that soprano Sarah Traubel appeared as Inanna in Jörg Widmann's Babylon for the opening of the 2022 Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden? 23 Jul
... that after finding success in Poland and South America, soprano Adalgisa Gabbi performed at La Scala as Eva in the Italian premiere of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg? 22 Jul
... that Danish-born soprano Louise Janssen appeared at the Grand Théâtre de Lyon as Eva in the French premiere of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg? 21 Jul
... that the favourite role of Wilma Schmidt, who performed at the Staatsoper Hannover for more than five decades in German, Italian and Slavic operas, was the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier? 20 Jul
... that Lorenzo Passerini, who has conducted several operas in Sydney, revived Giordano's Fedora at the Oper Frankfurt? 26 Jun
... that the mezzo-soprano Wilhelmine Holmboe (pictured), who studied in Paris with Pauline Viardot and moved to Italy to perform, was one of the first Norwegian women to be acclaimed internationally for her singing? 25 Jun
... that Arnold Blackner was said to be the first person to sing over 3,000 miles on the telephone? 12 Jun
... that Paula Lizell, a former star of the Royal Swedish Opera, advanced from coloratura to dramatic Wagnerian roles?12 Jun
... that tenor Theo Lebow performed the roles of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Pablo Picasso in the world premiere of the opera 27? 10 Jun
... that at age 22, Yoel Gamzou from Tel Aviv conducted an orchestra that he had founded, playing his completion of Mahler's Tenth Symphony in Berlin? 9 Jun
... that when tenor Jonathan Tetelman appeared as Loris Ipanov in Giordano's Fedora, which had made Caruso famous, a reviewer called him ideal for the role? 8 Jun
... that Liva Järnefelt performed leading roles at the Royal Swedish Opera, such as Ortrud in Wagner's Lohengrin (pictured), and Bizet's Carmen, which she also performed for her 25th anniversary with the company? 7 Jun
... that when Nadja Stefanoff portrayed the title role of Giordano's Fedora at the Oper Frankfurt, one reviewer complimented the brilliance and agility of her voice, assertive even when singing softly? 27 May
... that Magna Lykseth appeared as Isolde (pictured) when Wagner's Tristan und Isolde was first performed at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1909? 25 May
... that when public radio stations aired Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in solidarity with Ukraine on 10 March 2022, the bass voice of Anthony Robin Schneider was heard live from Frankfurt and recorded from Auckland? 23 May
... that AJ Glueckert appeared at the Metropolitan Opera as Erik in 2017, described as a "clarion sensitive tenor", and at the Oper Frankfurt as Flamand in 2018, with "passionate power"? 21 May
... that a reviewer noted that when Leo Hussain conducted Weinberg's Die Passagierin at the Oper Frankfurt, the orchestra excelled in chamber music moments, hard beats and distorted entertainment music? 4 May
... that Germaine Bailac (pictured) created in 1911 the role of Phenice in Déjanire, the last opera by Camille Saint-Saëns, at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo? 30 Apr
... that the melody of Mozart's aria "Dove sono" from Le nozze di Figaro, asking "Where are those happy moments ...?", begins similarly to the Agnus Dei from his earlier Coronation Mass? 28 Apr
... that during a German charity concert for Ukraine, Slovakian singer Judita Nagyová performed a solo in the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony? 23 Apr
... that American soprano Emily Pogorelc went from winning the 2018 "Most Promising Talent" prize at Glyndebourne to appearing as Mozart's Cherubino at the Munich Opera Festival? 22 Apr
... that Monika Buczkowska, who appeared as a student at the Grand Theatre, Poznań, as Mozart's Susanna, was a soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at a charity concert for Ukraine at the Alte Oper? 20 Apr
... that the mezzo-soprano of Beth Taylor was the only lower voice when she appeared as Dardano in Handel's Amadigi, portraying her male character with fine vocal lines and "remarkable coloraturas"? 19 Apr
... that Katharina Konradi, a soprano born in Kyrgyzstan, made a recording of lieder with pianist Gerold Huber including settings by Lori Laitman of children's poems written in Terezin? 18 Apr
... that the titular character of Verdi's Nabucco, the opera that established his fame, is a combination of three historic rulers? 15 Apr
... that when soprano Rosina Buckman returned to New Zealand for a concert tour in 1922, the prime minister and a former prime minister spoke at the reception? 14 Apr
... that the Polish soprano Zofia Kilanowicz appeared as Roxana in Szymanowski's King Roger in Paris, and recorded Górecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs? 12 Apr
... that Vladyslav Buialskyi, a 24-year-old bass-baritone from Berdiansk, sang the State Anthem of Ukraine on the night of his debut with the Metropolitan Opera? 9 Apr
... that when Heather Phillips made her European debut in Rossini's Bianca e Falliero at the Oper Frankfurt, reviewers agreed that her nuanced coloraturas served to portray Bianca's development? 9 Apr
... that after the Ukrainian soprano Olga Bezsmertna won the Neue Stimmen competition in 2011 (pictured), she was engaged at the Vienna State Opera? 29 Mar
... that Rose Delaunay (pictured), a French operatic soprano who began her career at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, and her husband, an actor, celebrated their diamond wedding in 1937? 25 Mar
... that Stephan MacLeod's 2021 recording of Bach's Mass in B minor with ten singers was said to be "characterised by swift momentum, crisp articulation and benevolent attention to detail"? 21 Mar
... that when Lviv-born Maria Moscisca (pictured) performed the title role of Verdi's La traviata at the San Francisco Opera in 1913, a review described her as "the impersonation of grace and refinement"? 19 Mar 2022
... that operatic soprano Elena Tsallagova has been described as a natural actress who can make even looking around a corner interesting? 9 Mar 2022
... that New York's Wieting Opera House burnt down and was rebuilt on three separate occasions by its proprietors, John Wieting and Mary Elizabeth Wieting? 6 Feb 2022
... that Rudi Stephan was already composing the opera Die ersten Menschen when the 1908 drama about the first humans by Otto Borngräber, on which it is based, was banned in Bavaria? 4 Feb 2022
... that Elena Guseva's training as a choral conductor helped her analyse the score when playing Polina in Prokofiev's The Gambler at the Vienna State Opera? 30 Jan 2022
... that when Helena Braun visited New York "just for the trip", she sang the role of Brünnhilde in Wagner's Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera with four hours' notice? 17 Jan 2022
... that after George Alexander Albrecht collapsed when conducting Beethoven's Ninth Symphony during a New Year's concert, he returned to composing and began hospice work? 16 Jan 2022
... that Rogelio de Egusquiza's paintings of Tristan and Isolde (one pictured) arose from his decades-long fascination with the works of Richard Wagner? 14 Jan 2022
... that in Die Schneekönigin, an opera for children by George Alexander Albrecht after Andersen's "The Snow Queen", members of a children's choir play the roles of birds and ice crystals? 9 Jan 2022
... that bass-baritone Johann-Werner Prein took part in the 1994 premiere of Erwin Schulhoff's only opera, Flammen, which the Nazis had suppressed? 3 Jan 2022

2021 edit

... that Roland Böer (pictured), who made his debut at La Scala in Milan with Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, was the artistic director of the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte in Montepulciano? 17 Dec 2021
... that Fabian Kelly, a tenor focused on historically informed performance, was a soloist in Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine and Handel's Messiah? 17 Dec 2021
... that the Polish mezzo-soprano Agnieszka Rehlis, who sang in the Grammy Award–winning album Penderecki conducts Penderecki, was Verdi's Azucena in Zürich in 2021? 15 Dec 2021
... that Marie Litta started her own opera company in her early 20s, just a few years before her death in 1883? 30 Nov 2021
... that a reviewer from The Guardian noted after a concert at The Proms that Jonathon Heyward led Beethoven's Third Symphony "from memory – a fast and fearless performance"? 24 Nov 2021
... that Thomas Guggeis, who studied conducting and quantum mechanics, began at the Berlin State Opera as an assistant of Daniel Barenboim and became the youngest Staatskapellmeister there? 24 Nov 2021
... that Metropolitan Opera star John Gurney performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" for sporting events in which his son, racing driver Dan Gurney, competed? 19 Nov 2021
... that Elizabeth Reiter portrayed the double role of Renee, an "icy wife"; and Alice, an "insatiable lover"; in the German premiere of Olga Neuwirth's opera Lost Highway? 18 Nov 2021
... that Andreas Reize assumed the post of Thomaskantor as the first Swiss and the first Catholic since the Reformation? 12 Nov 2021
... that when La Folia Barockorchester made the first recordings of anonymous violin concertos found in the Dresden Hofkirche, they chose not to discover the identity of the composers? 29 Oct 2021
... that the title of La Passion selon Sade, an opera by Sylvano Bussotti, caused a scandal at its premiere and had to be changed for the next performance? 24 Oct 2021
... that Johann Adam von Questenberg (pictured), who worked for the Austrian Imperial Court, was an amateur lutenist who made his palace a music centre? 15 Oct 2021
... that Wolfgang Anheisser was the leading baritone at the Cologne Opera while simultaneously a member of East Berlin's State Opera? 1 Oct 2021
... that Jean-Paul Jeannotte, founder and first artistic director of the Opéra de Montréal, performed the role of Bobino more than 100 times, in the premiere on CBC TV and on stages on a Canada tour? 25 Sep 2021
... that Willi Brokmeier, who participated in the world premiere of Die Soldaten at the Cologne Opera, appeared as Beethoven's Jaquino on a tour to Japan? 22 Sep 2021
... that more than fifty years after Hilde Scheppan appeared in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the 1943 Bayreuth Festival, reviewer Alan Blyth called her "a dream of an Eva"? 18 Sep 2021
... that when conductor Hans Drewanz, a personal assistant to Georg Solti at the Oper Frankfurt, became Generalmusikdirektor in Darmstadt, he was the youngest GMD in Germany? 17 Sep 2021
... that the Alfred Fischer Hall, built as the machinery hall for a 1912 coal mine, was the venue for a concert performance of Beethoven's Fidelio in 2021? 16 Sep 2021
... that a review by Alan Blyth of tenor Christoph Strehl's performances described him as singing "with a Wunderlich-like strength and beauty"? 14 Sep 2021
... that Joe Hill, the last opera by Alan Bush, contains four songs by the real Joe Hill? 11 Sep 2021
... that Alfred Koerppen, who taught music theory and composition at the Musikhochschule Hannover, wrote the text and music of a 1951 opera after Virgil? 6 Sep 2021
... that Paul Armin Edelmann appeared in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni at Opera Ireland in 2009, while his brother Peter took the role of Leporello? 3 Sep 2021
... that the Romanian soprano Iulia Maria Dan was Hamlet's Ophelia in the Bregenz Festival's revival of Franco Faccio's revived opera Amleto? 2 Sep 2021
... that New Zealand opera singer Helen Medlyn's first performing role was as one of the Three Kings? 1 Sep 2021
... that Claus Guth, recognised internationally for directing the 1999 premiere of Berio's Cronaca del luogo at the Salzburg Festival, later received two Faust awards? 29 Aug 2021
... that Linda Watson, a dramatic soprano born in San Francisco who made a career in Europe, is proud of a Grammy nomination for Wagner's Ring cycle with her as Brünnhilde? 28 Aug 2021
... that Erich Witte was the first performer of the title role of Britten's Peter Grimes in Berlin? 27 Aug 2021
... that as general director of the Grand Theatre in Łódź, bass singer Kazimierz Kowalski led a worldwide television broadcast of Moniuszko's The Haunted Manor? 26 Aug 2021
... that Australian soprano Ada Baker toured India and China before becoming a singing teacher in Perth in 1889? 24 Aug 2021
... that Giedrė Šlekytė conducted a version of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte for children at the 2018 Salzburg Festival, and Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites at the Oper Frankfurt in 2021? 21 Aug 2021
... that the composer Francis Burt, who came from London and settled in Vienna, was inspired by the drumming of the Nigerian Ibo people? 21 Aug 2021
... that Vera Schoenenberg's performance in the title role of Kálmán's Die Csárdásfürstin at the Mörbisch Lake Festival was broadcast by German and Austrian stations? 19 Aug 2021
... that Gottfried Hornik, a baritone at the Vienna State Opera for 25 years, appeared in his signature role of Beckmesser from Aachen and Barcelona in 1976 to the Municipal Theatre of Santiago in 2001? 18 Aug 2021
... that mezzo-soprano Margarita Gritskova was José Carreras's partner for his farewell concert in Carnegie Hall? 17 Aug 2021
... that a reviewer wrote that Florian Boesch's 2011 recording of Winterreise with Malcolm Martineau was "one of the most powerful lieder albums of recent years"? 16 Aug 2021
... that Mika Kares returned to Finland to perform the title role of Boito's opera Mefistofele at the Savonlinna Opera Festival? 12 Aug 2021
... that soprano Heidi Grant Murphy, who has given over 200 performances at the Met, said that becoming a singer "takes work on your psyche, your innermost being"? 11 Aug 2021
... that a reviewer wrote that "few tenors on disc can rival the German Rainer Trost" about his 1992 performance as Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte in Paris, with conductor John Eliot Gardiner? 11 Aug 2021
... that in Inferno, an opera by Lucia Ronchetti premiered in 2021 at the Oper Frankfurt, the main character Dante has a speaking voice and an inner voice of four male singers? 7 Aug 2021
... that operatic soprano Natalia Shpiller was beloved by Joseph Stalin, and he frequently had her perform at the Moscow Kremlin to impress visiting dignitaries? 26 Jul 2021
... that when Ingrid Haubold recorded the role of Senta in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer, reviewer Alan Blyth found "a certain raw edge" of her soprano voice apt for the role? 23 Jul 2021
... that Ludwig Wüllner sang in the U.S. premiere of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder in 1910, conducted by the composer? 15 Jul 2021
... that Jane Margyl (pictured) began her stage career as a mime at the Folies Bergère, and became a leading singer of the Paris Opera? 6 Jul 2021
... that Henriette Spitzeder and her husband Josef Spitzeder appeared on stage as Mozart's Figaro and his bride Susanna? 27 Jun 2021
... that Rosa Ponselle blamed Metropolitan Opera star Giovanni Martinelli's poor singing on his love affair with French soprano and actress Colette D'Arville? 26 Jun 2021
... that the Theater Trier runs a series including the premiere of Zemlinsky's Sarema, the German premiere of The Voyage by Philip Glass, and the revival of Koanga by Frederick Delius? 15 Jun 2021
... that when Honor McKellar studied voice in England, Ralph Vaughan Williams called her "the girl who does things with the words"? 14 Jun 2021
... that soprano Estelle Liebling, the voice teacher of Beverly Sills and Meryl Streep, performed in more than 1600 concerts with John Philip Sousa and his band? 4 Jun 2021
... that concert pianist, composer, and opera librettist Leonard Liebling was the editor-in-chief of the Musical Courier from 1911 to 1945? 4 Jun 2021
... that soprano Joyce Mathis won the Marian Anderson Award in 1967 and the Young Concert Artists singing competition in 1968? 1 Jun 2021
... that Marie Desbrosses made her operatic debut at the Comédie-Italienne in Paris in 1776, and created the role of Marguerite in Boieldieu's La dame blanche there in 1822? 26 May 2021
... that in The Gamblers, Shostakovich tried to set Gogol's play word for word but gave up after one act, and Krzysztof Meyer completed the opera decades later? 13 May 2021
... that Boris Carmeli, a basso profondo born in Poland who made an opera career in Italy, appeared in the world premieres of Penderecki's Seventh Symphony and Stockhausen's Sirius? 12 May 2021
... that Helmut Branny, a double bassist of the Staatskapelle Dresden, conducted a recording of four bassoon concertos found in the library of the Dresden Court, including two by Antonín Reichenauer? 9 May 2021
... that Isabelle Andréani appeared as Bizet's Carmen (pictured in the role) first at the Opera de Marseille, and from 1960 in a production of the Opera de Paris? 8 May 2021
... that a Financial Times reviewer described Der Mieter (The Tenant), a German opera based on a French novel, as "a journey to the blackest regions of an anguished psyche in a hostile world"? 7 May 2021
... that Rosa Agthe (pictured) and her future husband performed the roles of Elsa and Telramund, respectively, in the world premiere of Wagner's Lohengrin, conducted by Franz Liszt in Weimar? 6 May 2021
... that John Thomas Douglass's Virginia's Ball, which premiered in 1868, is generally regarded as the first opera written by a black composer? 4 May 2021
... that soprano Florence Kirk's temperamental fit over her costume as Lady Macbeth led to the professional debut of opera star Regina Resnik who replaced her? 4 May 2021
... that Olena Tokar, a soprano of the Leipzig Opera from Ukraine, recorded Charmes, a collection of art songs by women including Clara Schumann and Vítězslava Kaprálová? 29 Apr 2021
... that Leontyne Price described her relationship with voice teacher Florence Kimball as "the most important relationship of my life. Like sex it was pure chemistry"? 27 Apr 2021
... that the Oper am Brühl was the venue for the world premiere of Telemann's Germanicus in 1704, when he was director of the opera house? 25 Apr 2021
... that Russian writer Leonid Andreyev's 1915 play He Who Gets Slapped was his most successful work in the US, spawning a silent film (1924), a novel, and an opera (1956)? 23 Apr 2021
... that Madame Gavaudan, a soprano of the Opéra-Comique in Paris, created the role of Benjamin in Étienne Méhul's Joseph? 19 Apr 2021
... that Aga Mikolaj, a soprano who studied with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, appeared as Mozart's Donna Elvira from San Francisco to Tokyo, and sang the Four Last Songs with "a degree of abandon and rapture"? 18 Apr 2021
... that Anja Petersen performed the role of the leading woman in the world premiere of Arnulf Herrmann's Der Mieter at the Oper Frankfurt? 15 Apr 2021
... that Marita Napier is the first South African opera singer to have performed lead roles in each of the four "Grand Slam" opera houses? 14 Apr 2021
... that Michael Hampe, who directed the Cologne Opera for 20 years, was the stage director for the world premiere of Henze's adaptation of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria at the Salzburg Festival? 11 Apr 2021
... that after Erna Schlüter had appeared as Elektra at the Royal Opera House, the composer, who was in the audience, told her that she was the fulfilment of the character? 9 Apr 2021
... that the pioneering Turkish soprano Mesude Çağlayan was presented a tiny doll of "Madama Butterfly" by the government of Japan for performing the Japanese title role in Puccini's opera? 8 Apr 2021
... that Jakob Grün (pictured), concertmaster of the Vienna Court Opera Orchestra from 1868 to 1897, played violin solos standing, in Hungarian tradition? 24 Mar 2021
... that the clarinetist Nicola Jürgensen portrayed the character of Eve with her basset horn in Karlheinz Stockhausen's Michaels Reise um die Erde in Vienna and New York City? 23 Mar 2021
... that the baritone Benjamin Appl, the last private student of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, was named Gramophone's Young Artist of 2016? 22 Mar 2021
... that Elsa Dreisig appeared at the Berlin State Opera in soprano roles from Diane in Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie to Natascha in the world premiere of Beat Furrer's Violetter Schnee? 18 Mar 2021
... that American financial executive Robert Glauber could watch an opera "infinite times"? 15 Mar 2021
... that although The Most Important Man was poorly received by critics, composer Gian Carlo Menotti thought it was one of his finest operas? 12 Mar 2021
... that Joachim Herz was the stage director of an unconventional production of the Ring cycle at the Leipzig Opera, completed in 1976, and of the opening performance of the restored Semperoper in 1985? 11 Mar 2021
... that William Wernigk performed four roles in Der Rosenkavalier during his decades at the Vienna State Opera, including the Innkeeper on a 1933 recording conducted by Robert Heger? 10 Mar 2021
... that Andréa Guiot appeared internationally in French soprano roles such as Mireille, Marguerite, Manon, and Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen, which she recorded alongside Maria Callas in the title role? 8 Mar 2021
... that Polly Batic appeared at the Salzburg Festival in roles such as Annina in Der Rosenkavalier from 1931 to 1937, and became a member of the Vienna State Opera in 1948? 8 Mar 2021
... that conductor Volker Wangenheim opened the Beethovenhalle in Bonn for music by Karlheinz Stockhausen on 15 November 1969, including the world premiere of Fresco for four orchestral groups? 5 Mar 2021
... that Libuše Domanínská, a soprano of Prague's National Theatre, performed in all of Janáček's operas, and a recording she made as his Jenůfa made his works better known beyond their home country? 25 Feb 2021
... that with compositions such as Con brio, clarinetist Jörg Widmann was ranked the third-most-performed contemporary composer in 2018? 24 Feb 2021
... that Peter Herrmann composed a Second Symphony that premiered at the Gewandhaus with Kurt Masur, and a Kant Pop Symphony that premiered at the Musikhochschule Leipzig, where he had taught for decades? 21 Feb 2021
... that Biserka Cvejić, a Serbian mezzo-soprano who appeared at the Vienna State Opera in 372 performances, made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1961 as Amneris in Verdi's Aida? 18 Feb 2021
... that Universalkünstler Arik Brauer created paintings in Fantastic Realism, songs in Austropop, stage sets for the Paris Opera, and house facades in Austria and Israel? 17 Feb 2021
... that Dorothee Manski, a soprano of the Berlin Court Opera, gave 335 performances at the Metropolitan Opera after being invited to appear there as the Witch in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel in 1927? 16 Feb 2021
... that music educator Siegfried Borris was dismissed from the Musikhochschule Berlin by the Nazis, but after World War II became a professor there and president of the Deutscher Musikrat? 12 Feb 2021
... that Konrad Rupf, a long-term singer of the Leipzig Opera, made his stage debut in 1955 as Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore and appeared as Tevje in Fiddler on the Roof in 2000? 11 Feb 2021
... that Anne Bierwirth has performed the alto part in Bach's Christmas Oratorio, and in a recording of the first Passion oratorio in German by Reinhard Keiser? 9 Feb 2021
... that Leon Rains, a bass singer who studied in New York City and Paris, took part in the world premiere of Salome and an early recording of Tannhäuser? 7 Feb 2021
... that after meeting Mira Mendelson, Sergei Prokofiev described his future wife as "just some girl who wants me to read her bad poetry"? 19 Jan 2021
... that Oscar Fritz Schuh created a new style to direct Mozart operas at the Vienna State Opera, focused on the psychology of the characters? 15 Jan 2021 Wikipedia 20
... that a few years after Pacini's opera La schiava in Bagdad premiered in Turin, Rosalbina Caradori performed the title role of the slave girl (pictured) in London? 13 Jan 2021
... that while Ute Trekel-Burckhardt was a leading mezzo-soprano of the State Opera of East Berlin, she appeared as the Rosenkavalier in Vienna, and in the premiere of Sutermeister's Le roi Béranger in Munich? 9 Jan 2021
... that Rosl Zapf, a mezzo-soprano of the Oper Frankfurt who took part in world premieres, appeared at the Salzburg Festival in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte conducted by Georg Solti? 8 Jan 2021
... that Enid Szánthó, a leading contralto of the Vienna State Opera, appeared as Erda in Wagner's Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festival in 1930, but was no longer invited by 1938? 2 Jan 2021

2020 edit

... that Rudolf Steglich, a musicologist who wrote his habilitation thesis on rhythm in 1930, was a co-editor of the Hallische Händel-Ausgabe, the critical edition of Handel's complete works, from 1955? 23 Dec
... that Gustav Classens, music director in Bonn from 1933, performed Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, Missa solemnis, and Ninth Symphony during his first two seasons, offering the Ninth in both? 16 Dec
... that when Johannes Chum, a tenor in operatic roles from Nerone to Lohengrin, performed in Harnoncourt's recording of Beethoven's Missa solemnis, a reviewer described his singing as "seraphic"? 16 Dec
... that Otto Jochum, the organist and later the director of the Augsburg Conservatory, received a German national composition prize for a sacred oratorio in 1932, but also composed patriotic anthems under the Nazi regime? 15 Dec
... that in Cassandre, an opera by Michael Jarrell based on the novel by Christa Wolf, Cassandra speaks and acts without singing? 14 Dec
... that The Alcestiad, an opera based on a Greek myth and written collaboratively by Thornton Wilder and composer Louise Talma, was premiered by the Oper Frankfurt in German? 14 Dec
... that Helmut Koch, who conducted Monteverdi's L'Orfeo in 1949, taught at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler", and continued the tradition of the Berliner Singakademie in East Berlin from 1963? 11 Dec
... that the soprano Nina Dorliak recorded works by Bach with her husband, the pianist Sviatoslav Richter, sung in Russian? 10 Dec
... that Marjon Lambriks, who studied voice in the Netherlands with Paula Lindberg (both pictured) and made a career in Vienna, recorded La traviata alongside Pavarotti? 9 Dec
... that countertenor David Cordier performed operatic title roles such as Handel's Giulio Cesare and one of the three sisters in Tri sestry by Péter Eötvös? 9 Dec
... that Hermann Schey, a Jewish bass-baritone, travelled regularly from Berlin to Amsterdam to perform in Bach's St Matthew Passion, and went into hiding there during World War II? 6 Dec
... that Rudolf Gerlach-Rusnak was the stage name of a tenor from Ukraine, with the first name chosen for his favourite role in La bohème? 3 Dec
... that Hermann Wiedemann, who sang the role of Beckmesser in Toscanini's recording of Die Meistersinger, appeared as Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier at the Vienna State Opera 196 times? 3 Dec
... that Swiss bass Peter Lagger performed in the world premieres of Louise Talma's Die Alkestiade at the Oper Frankfurt and of Penderecki's Magnificat at the Salzburg Festival? 2 Dec
... that Kwangchul Youn, a bass from South Korea, appeared as Gurnemanz in Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival, as Mephisto at the Vienna State Opera, and as King Marke at the Metropolitan Opera? 30 Nov
... that the Japanese mezzo-soprano Mihoko Fujimura, who appeared as Fricka at the Bayreuth Festival in 2002, toured Mahler's Resurrection Symphony with the CBSO conducted by Andris Nelsons? 26 Nov
... that Pierre Bleuse, who learned conducting after a career as violinist, was chosen by composer Michael Jarrell to lead his opera Cassandre, starring Fanny Ardant? 25 Nov
... that Maddalena Mariani Masi performed the title role of Ponchielli's La Gioconda in the 1876 world premiere at La Scala? 24 Nov
... that Saadet İkesus Altan studied music in Berlin, performed as a mezzo-soprano in Germany, and became the first female vocal coach and opera director in Turkey after her return home in 1941? 8 Nov
... that African-American contralto Marian Anderson (pictured) was denied permission by the Daughters of the American Revolution to sing at Constitution Hall in 1939, prompting thousands of its members to resign? 7 Nov
... that the opera Die Prinzessin Girnara, by composer Wellesz and librettist Wassermann, and based on a legend from India, premiered simultaneously at two opera houses in 1921? 5 Nov
... that Agnes Stavenhagen was the soprano soloist in the first performance of Mahler's Second Symphony in Munich, conducted by the composer? 5 Nov
... that Ita Maximowna, who trained as a painter in Paris and Berlin in the 1920s, began working in scenic and costume design after World War II and went on to work internationally? 3 Nov
... that Martin Egel appeared at the Bayreuth Festival from 1975 to 1986, including a three-year run as Donner in the Jahrhundertring? 1 Nov
... that in Bettina, the chamber opera's only solo singer portrays both Bettina von Arnim and Karoline von Günderrode, reflecting their friendship and Günderrode's suicide? 31 Oct
... that Katrin Lea Tag, named the 2020 Scenic Designer of the Year, created sets and costumes, for Die Schutzbefohlenen (production pictured) at the Burgtheater, and for Barrie Kosky's Salome at Oper Frankfurt? 29 Oct
... that soprano Hermine Finck became the third wife of Eugen d'Albert (couple pictured), who composed songs and a cantata based on The Little Mermaid for her? 25 Oct
... that Eli is an opera by Walter Steffens, who based the libretto on a mystery play by Nelly Sachs which dealt with the suffering of Israel? 24 Oct
... that Baptist Hoffmann, a leading baritone at the Berlin Court Opera, appeared as Jochanaan in the first production of Salome there in 1906? 22 Oct
... that Wiebke Lehmkuhl was the alto soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the 2017 opening of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg? 19 Oct
... that conductor Eugen Szenkar, who promoted works by Béla Bartók and Gustav Mahler in Germany, Russia, and Brazil, caused a "near riot" with the world premiere of The Miraculous Mandarin? 16 Oct
... that soprano Ilse Helling-Rosenthal, her husband, and two others formed a vocal ensemble that appeared as the soloists in Bruckner's Te Deum at the Leipzig Gewandhaus in 1920? 13 Oct
... that mezzo-soprano Marina de Gabaráin appeared as Bizet's Carmen in Scotland, and as Rossini's La Cenerentola in Glyndebourne in 1952, recorded the following year? 3 Oct
... that when Annette Jahns portrayed Bettina von Arnim in an opera by Friedrich Schenker, the role required her to scream as well as sing? 2 Oct
... that Robert Burg, a leading baritone at the Semperoper in Dresden between the First and Second World Wars, created the title roles of Busoni's Dr. Faustus and Hindemith's Cardillac there? 1 Oct
... that Hainer Hill, who took hundreds of photographs documenting Brecht's Berliner Ensemble, created the stage design for Hindemith's Mathis der Maler at the new Opernhaus Dortmund in 1966? 29 Sep
... that after contralto Florence Wickham made her debut in Germany, she was engaged for an American tour as Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal? 23 Sep
... that Hildegard Uhrmacher, a coloratura soprano who appeared as Mozart's Konstanze and Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Marie, titled her 2006 autobiography Hilde, du schaffst das (Hilde, you'll manage)? 22 Sep
... that Johanna André, who appeared in dramatic soprano roles such as Wagner's Isolde, took part in the 1882 world premiere of Parsifal? 11 Sep
... that contralto Simone Schröder performed as a soloist at the Bayreuth Festival while she was still studying, and went on to sing there in three different productions of Parsifal? 9 Sep
... that Hanna Ludwig appeared in the title role of Der Rosenkavalier at the Vienna State Opera, and in five roles at the first Bayreuth Festival after World War II? 8 Sep
... that Matthias Hölle, a regular bass singer at the Bayreuth Festival, appeared in the world premieres of Stockhausen's Donnerstag aus Licht and Samstag aus Licht at La Scala in Milan? 8 Sep
... that cellist, composer, and conductor Rudolf Hindemith was the brother of the famous Paul Hindemith, with whom he played in the Amar Quartet, but later used pseudonyms to hide the relation? 7 Sep
... that Jean Kurt Forest played violin in German film orchestras in the 1930s, defected to the Red Army in 1945, and composed operas and film scores from 1954 onwards? 3 Sep
... that Vera Little from Memphis, Tennessee, was for four decades a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she appeared as Bizet's Carmen and in the world premiere of Henze's Der junge Lord?2 Sep
... that Theodor Scheidl, who participated in the pentathlon at the 1906 Olympic Games and in the 1928 Bayreuth Festival, appeared as Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca to celebrate his 75th birthday? 2 Sep
... that Bernard Ładysz, a bass-baritone who performed in world premieres of Krzysztof Penderecki's music in Hamburg and in Salzburg, was the only Polish singer to appear with Maria Callas? 21 Aug
... that the comic opera Scalia v. Ginsburg is based on the friendship of the two U.S. Supreme Court justices and their shared love of opera? 16 Aug
... that Johannes Schüler conducted world premieres including Alban Berg's Three Orchestral Pieces in 1930, and Henze's Boulevard Solitude in 1952? 4 Aug
... that the Rheinsberg Music Academy, based at Schloss Rheinsberg, offered master classes by opera singer Waltraud Meier and stage director Harry Kupfer in 2019? 28 Jul
... that when Elza van den Heever made her debut as the Metropolitan Opera as the bald queen Elisabetta in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, she had her head shaved? 26 Jul
... that John Whitworth, a singing lay vicar at Westminster Abbey for 22 years, was praised for his "voice of great beauty, rich in the lower register, trumpet-toned in the upper"? 15 Jul
... that the musicologist Ulrike Liedtke, who founded and directed the Rheinsberg Music Academy, became president of the Brandenburg state parliament in 2019? 14 Jul
... that the earliest of the three surviving operas by Claudio Monteverdi, L'Orfeo from 1607, is the oldest extant opera still regularly performed today? 23 Jun
... that after joining her father's church choir at the age of six, contralto Portia White (pictured) grew up to become the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international fame? 12 Jun
... that the opera The Devil in Love by Alexander Vustin took 15 years to be completed and 30 more years to be premiered, debuting at the centenary of a Moscow theatre? 11 Jun
... that mezzo-soprano Grace Hoffman from Cleveland appeared as Brangäne in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at the Bayreuth Festival in 1957 and 1970? 10 Jun
... that Ferdinand Zellbell the Younger was the only co-founder of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music who was a professional musician? 10 Jun
... that for the centenary of Stravinsky's birth, Zoltán Peskó conducted three of the composer's stage works—The Flood, Renard, and Mavra—directed by Peter Ustinov at La Scala? 9 Jun
... that Ludwig Strecker was both director of the Schott music publishing house, and under a pen name the librettist of two of the most successful German contemporary operas of the 1930s? 8 Jun
... that the opera Doktor Johannes Faust by Hermann Reutter, which was premiered by the Oper Frankfurt in 1936, is based on a puppet play? 5 Jun
... that Cyrano de Bergerac by Eino Tamberg was the first opera to be broadcast internationally from Estonia? 4 Jun
... that American tenor Scot Weir sang Hans Zender's contemporary version of Schubert's Die Winterreise with chamber orchestra in a performance of the Hamburg Ballet? 1 Jun
... that music academy director Hermann Reutter composed "Hymne an Deutschland", which President Theodor Heuss suggested as a new German national anthem after World War II? 29 May
... that on Good Friday 2020, Benedikt Kristjánsson sang all roles in a chamber arrangement of Bach's St John Passion, broadcast live from the composer's burial place? 22 May
... that Franz Klarwein, a tenor at the Bavarian State Opera from 1942 to 1977, appeared in world premieres such as those of Capriccio by Richard Strauss and Die Harmonie der Welt by Paul Hindemith? 15 May
... that Hans Herbert Jöris conducted the world premiere of Giselher Klebe's one-act opera Das Rendezvous, composed for the 125th anniversary of the Staatsoper Hannover? 15 May
... that Anatoliy Mokrenko, a baritone and future director of the Ukrainian National Opera, performed in a Russian film based on Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor? 2 May
... that Naomi Munakata, who began singing in a choir at the age of seven, served as the choral conductor of the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo from 1995 to 2013? 27 Apr
... that Haroun and the Sea of Stories, an opera by Charles Wuorinen, is based on a children's novel by Salman Rushdie about free imagination in battle with thought control? 26 Apr
... that Elisabeth Lindermeier sang in performances of Wagner's Ring cycle at the Royal Opera House in London, conducted by her husband Rudolf Kempe and recorded in 1957? 25 Apr
... that Heinz Imdahl, a baritone at the Bavarian State Opera, appeared as Beethoven's Pizarro at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and as Wagner's Hans Sachs at the Philadelphia Opera? 24 Apr
... that Srećko Albini, a conductor at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, composed operettas that were also performed in Venice, London, and New York? 24 Apr
... that Le Concert Spirituel played Handel's open-air music at the Proms with an ensemble that comprised 18 oboes, 9 trumpets, 9 trombones, and strings? 22 Apr
... that Peter Minich was a lead tenor for Viennese operettas at the Volksoper in the 1960s and 1970s? 22 Apr
... that Renée Gilly studied under her parents and became a leading mezzo-soprano at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where she sang roles such as Bizet's Carmen? 21 Apr
... that soprano and voice teacher Henny Wolff performed lieder by Hermann Reutter at the inaugural Ferienkurse für internationale neue Musik in Darmstadt in 1946, with the composer at the piano? 16 Apr
... that Paul Mägi, principal conductor of the Estonian National Opera, conducted the first recording of Eino Tamberg's opera Cyrano de Bergerac? 13 Apr
... that the Dutch soprano Jo Vincent appeared in Willem Mengelberg's 1939 recording of Bach's St Matthew Passion, and in the world premiere of Britten's Spring Symphony in 1949? 10 Apr
... that Diether de la Motte, who taught composition and music theory in Berlin and Vienna, wrote an opera that premiered at the Staatsoper Hannover in 1970? 5 Apr
... that Gösta Neuwirth studied composition and musicology in Vienna, but wrote his dissertation on harmony in Schreker's opera Der ferne Klang in Berlin? 30 Mar
... that soprano Jessye Norman (pictured), whose voice was described as a "grand mansion of sound", performed at U.S. presidential inaugurations and sang La Marseillaise at the French Revolution's bicentennial? 29 Mar
... that besides his portrait photography, Étienne Carjat edited journals and published caricatures (example shown) in the popular press? 26 Mar
... that violinist Günter Kehr, director of the Peter Cornelius Conservatory from 1953, founded the Kehr Trio, a string trio that toured South America, North Africa, and the Near East? 16 Mar
... that baritone Michael Volle has appeared as Wagner's Hans Sachs at the Bayreuth Festival and was awarded Der Faust for portraying Wozzeck? 6 Mar
... that tenor and voice teacher Eliodoro Bianchi (depicted) performed in many world premieres of operas, with Rossini expressly writing two roles for him? 4 Mar
... that tenor Roberto Saccà has portrayed musicians in opera such as Haydn's Orfeo, Pfitzner's Palestrina, and Herbert Willi's Elias? 1 Mar
... that Hildegard Heichele, a soprano of the Oper Frankfurt known for performing Mozart roles, appears as Adele on a DVD of Die Fledermaus from the Royal Opera House? 23 Feb
... that Gustav Brecher, who conducted the world premieres of Jonny spielt auf and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the Leipzig Opera, was dismissed by the Nazis in 1933? 22 Feb
... that Dutch baritone John Bröcheler first sang concerts including world premieres, but was "discovered" for opera in a role of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda alongside Joan Sutherland? 21 Feb
... that the coloratura soprano Julia Bauer played five roles in Der Ring in Minden, including her on-stage portrayal of the Forest Bird in Siegfried? 19 Feb
... that Wolfgang Rehm worked on the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe from the beginning of the project in 1955 to its completion in 2007? 16 Feb
... that Elke Heidenreich, two-time winner of the Grimme television award, wrote the book Nero Corleone featuring a tomcat as the bullying protagonist? 15 Feb
... that the 2020 opera Eurydice was created by three geniuses? 15 Feb
... that musicologist Ulrich Konrad studied sketches that Wolfgang Amadé Mozart made for composition, and concluded that the composer planned his works more thoroughly than previously assumed? 13 Feb
... that Josef Protschka, who sang as a soloist in Stockhausen's Gesang der Jünglinge at age 12, later appeared in leading tenor roles in the Mozart cycle staged by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle at the Cologne Opera? 5 Feb
... that Italian soprano Carolina Crespi was born in Prague, appeared in Barcelona in a child role, met her husband in Paris, and performed with him in world premieres of operas at La Scala in Milan? 5 Feb
... that Canadian Yves Abel, the chief conductor of a German symphony orchestra, founded Opéra Français de New York, which focuses on rarely played French operas? 1 Feb
... that Reinhold Fritz of the Stuttgart Court Opera, who participated in world premieres such as Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss, was dismissed in 1933 because his wife was Jewish? 24 Jan
... that Jutta Hering-Winckler, a lawyer from Minden whose grandfather saw the premiere of Wagner's Ring cycle, "made the impossible possible" by organizing Der Ring in Minden? 21 Jan
... that Albert Lortzing (engraving shown), who adapted a 1733 French play for his German Spieloper Die Opernprobe, died the day after its successful premiere at the Oper Frankfurt on 20 January 1851? 20 Jan
... that Polish baritone Wacław Brzeziński (pictured) was praised in Italy for his performances as Rossini's Figaro and Verdi's Rigoletto? 19 Jan
... that American coloratura soprano Laura Aikin (pictured), who began her opera career in Berlin, appeared as Marie in Zimmermann's Die Soldaten at the 2012 Salzburg Festival? 10 Jan
... that after American baritone Raymond Wolansky appeared as a guest at the Staatsoper Stuttgart as Verdi's Rigoletto, he remained at the theatre for more than 30 years and made an international career? 9 Jan
... that Herbert Willi composed Montafon, a cycle of four concertos with orchestra – for trumpet, flute and oboe, clarinet, and horn? 7 Jan
... that Kurt Honolka's mid–20th century German translation of Smetana's Dalibor was still being performed in 2019 in a new Oper Frankfurt production? 5 Jan
... that tenor Carl Demmer was possibly Beethoven's first Florestan at the Vienna Court Opera, but failed to please the composer? 3 Jan

2019 edit

... that baritone Heiko Trinsinger of the Aalto Theatre appeared as Alberich in Der Ring in Minden, in which reviewers noted expressivity in every moment and a thunderous curse of the ring? 29 Dec
... that tenor Mirko Ludwig took part in the opening of Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie as a member of a vocal quintet? 28 Dec
... that soprano Irma Beilke appeared as Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio on 4 September 1945 in the first opera performance in Berlin after World War II? 22 Dec
... that Bernd Loebe, who began his career as a music journalist, received the 2018 International Opera Award in the category of Leadership in Opera? 15 Dec
... that American tenor Jeff Martin has appeared as the Astrologer in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre? 14 Dec
... that Siegfried Matthus composed the opera Judith for the reopening of the restored Semperoper, but it premiered at the Komische Oper Berlin, staged by Harry Kupfer? 13 Dec
... that Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, was a failure in its original form, but was revised partly at the behest of Carl Weinmüller, who then appeared in the premiere in the bass role of Rocco? 12 Dec
... that in Der Ring in Minden, the orchestra played at the back of the stage, and the singers all turned towards it to listen to the music at the end? 7 Dec
... that Ignaz Saal, for decades a bass with the Imperial Court Theatre in Vienna, performed the bass parts in the world premieres of Haydn's oratorios Die Schöpfung and Die Jahreszeiten? 3 Dec
... that Kathrin Göring portrayed both Fricka and Waltraute in Der Ring in Minden, and a critic called her scene in Götterdämmerung a highlight, noting her dramatic mezzo-soprano and intense acting? 1 Dec
... that baritone Hans Braun, who performed 75 roles at the Vienna State Opera, appeared as Mozart's Count Almaviva at the Royal Opera House and as Wagner's Wolfram at La Scala? 30 Nov
... that Isabelle Kabatu, a Belgian soprano of African origin, recorded the role of Dolly in Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari's opera Sly alongside José Carreras in the title role? 27 Nov
... that Frank Philipp Schlößmann designed the stage for Wagner's Ring cycle in Bayreuth in 2006, and more recently created a large illuminated ring framing the stage for the same work in Minden? 17 Nov
... that Renatus Mészár, who made his opera debut at the Munich Biennale and then was a member of the NDR Chor, has appeared as Wotan in Wagner's Ring cycle, including on DVD? 16 Nov
... that Christof Nel staged the world premiere of Thomas Brasch's play Rotter and the first production in German of Aulis Sallinen's opera Kullervo? 10 Nov
... that Belgian bass Tijl Faveyts, recognized internationally since his 2006 performance as Mozart's Sarastro at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, has portrayed both Fasolt and Hunding in Der Ring in Minden? 9 Nov
... that American tenor Joshua Guerrero stepped in at late notice to sing Almaviva in a Grammy Award-winning production of The Ghosts of Versailles? 31 Oct
... that Joseph Kupelwieser wrote the libretto for Schubert's Fierrabras, and was later held responsible by the composer for the opera's failure? 27 Oct
... that Werner Haseleu appeared as Moses in Schoenberg's Moses und Aron at the Staatsoper Dresden, and as Holofernes in the world premiere of Judith by Siegfried Matthus at the Berlin State Opera? 19 Oct
... that tenor Thomas Mohr, who performed the roles of Loge, Siegmund, and Siegfried in Der Ring in Minden, hosts concerts in his cowshed? 17 Oct
... that tenor Enea Scala has appeared in roles by Rossini, most recently in the title role of Otello, an opera which requires at least five tenors? 16 Oct
... that when Marie-Thérèse Gauley premiered the title role of Ravel's opera L'enfant et les sortilèges, he praised both her acting and her "ravishing voice"? 6 Oct
... that Andrea Ihle performed the role of Ännchen in Weber's opera Der Freischütz in the opening performance of the rebuilt Semperoper in Dresden? 28 Sep
... that Ulrike Sonntag, a soprano at the Staatsoper Stuttgart and an academic voice teacher in Stuttgart, recorded an oratorio by Fanny Hensel and psalm settings by Lili Boulanger? 17 Sep
... that lieder singer and voice teacher Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann's textbook for singers was recommended for general readers interested in "the human instrument"? 16 Sep Ulrike Sonntag, Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann
... that as general manager of the municipal theatres in Frankfurt, Harry Buckwitz staged plays by Brecht including Mutter Courage, and recruited Georg Solti for the opera? 9 Sep
... that the Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt manage stages for opera and drama in Frankfurt under one roof (pictured), in a building incorporating the ruins of the bombed former playhouse? 6 Sep
... that Ursula Boese, a long-time member of the Hamburgische Staatsoper, appeared as Stravinsky's Iocaste at La Scala, and at the San Francisco Opera in the presence of the composer? 6 Sep
... that in his opera Sirenen – Bilder des Begehrens und des Vernichtens, Rolf Riehm included instruments such as archaic wood planks, a musical saw, an accordion, and a piano? 3 Sep
... that John Pierce has performed Wagner roles internationally, such as Tannhäuser and Lohengrin at the Stadttheater Minden, and Tristan in Prague, Rotterdam, and Rio de Janeiro? 31 Aug
... that Barbara Zechmeister, who appeared in world premieres at the Oper Frankfurt, portrayed Clarissa in a recorded production of Weber's Die drei Pintos at the 2004 Wexford Festival? 30 Aug
... that the opera Behold the Sun by Alexander Goehr, about the Anabaptists in Münster, was premiered in an abridged version in German, but the BBC aired it in full in English? 26 Aug
... that Hermin Esser performed 14 tenor roles at the Bayreuth Festival dedicated exclusively to stageworks by Richard Wagner, beginning in 1966 as Froh and ending in 1981 as Tristan? 25 Aug
... that among the musical roles performed by Anke Sieloff at the Musiktheater im Revier are Maria in West Side Story, and a witch in the first German production of The Witches of Eastwick? 22 Aug
... that librettist Gerhard Müller and composer Georg Katzer wrote Antigone oder die Stadt in East Germany, but it premiered at the Komische Oper Berlin only after reunification? 19 Aug
... that the baritone Ernst Gerold Schramm was the voice of Christ for Karl Richter in Bach's St John Passion and St Matthew Passion? 18 Aug
... that Nicolas Joel, general manager of the Paris Opera from 2009 to 2014, directed Wagner's Ring in 1979 after having assisted Patrice Chéreau for the cycle's centenary? 16 Aug
... that Günther Leib, who often sang at the Halle Handel Festival, was called a "first rate Beckmesser" by The New York Times when he first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera? 8 Aug
... that Isoldé Elchlepp began her career as a protest song singer and later appeared as Wagner's Ortrud at the Bayreuth Festival and as Schoeck's Penthesilea at the Staatsoper Hannover? 6 Aug
... that Jeanne Laisné appeared as Aurore in the 1894 world premiere of Massenet's Le portrait de Manon, a sequel to his Manon? 4 Aug
... that East German Udo Zimmermann composed his fifth opera, Die wundersame Schustersfrau, based on a Spanish play by Federico García Lorca, on a commission for the West German Schwetzingen Festival? 2 Aug
... that Lilian Benningsen, a singer at the Bavarian State Opera for decades, appeared as Carolina in the world premiere of Henze's Elegie für junge Liebende (Elegy for Young Lovers)? 26 Jul
... that the oboist and composer Rolf Riehm taught music theory in Frankfurt from 1974 to 2000 and wrote an opera, Sirenen, for a 2014 premiere at the Oper Frankfurt? 20 Jul
... that the scenic design for Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen by Günther Schneider-Siemssen was shown at the Metropolitan Opera from 1986 to 2009? 15 Jul
... that Damiano Michieletto, known for directing Rossini's operas, recently staged Schreker's Der ferne Klang at the Oper Frankfurt, where the world premiere had been performed in 1912? 15 Jul
... that Bohumil Herlischka staged Schoenberg's Moses und Aron at the Hamburg State Opera, including a tour to Israel? 11 Jul
... that French-born Joe Bertony, who twice escaped from Nazi concentration camps, played a key part in the construction of the Sydney Opera House? 11 Jul
... that operatic bass Kieth Engen, who got his first role, Bluebeard, at the Bavarian State Opera because he was tall, also had a pop career under a pseudonym? 8 Jul
... that Werner Egk wrote the libretto for Irische Legende, his first opera after World War II, based on The Countess Cathleen by W. B. Yeats? 3 Jul
... that the German soprano Melanie Diener began her stage career in Mozart roles in 1996, and appeared as Isolde with the Canadian Opera Company and the Opéra national du Rhin in 2013? 3 Jul
... that John Casken's opera Golem won the 1991 Gramophone Classical Music Award for Best Contemporary Recording? 1 Jul
... that for his opera Stephen Climax, composer Hans Zender wrote a libretto which juxtaposes the life of Simeon Stylites with scenes from Ulysses by James Joyce? 30 Jun
... that the Hungarian coloratura soprano Sylvia Geszty (pictured) was a member of the Berlin State Opera in East Germany before joining the Stuttgart State Opera in the West? 29 Jun
... that the tenor Alfred Vökt, who performed in the premiere of Henze's Il re cervo, had a Doctor of Law degree? 26 Jun
... that Peter Hirsch conducted the premiere of the revised and complete version of Luigi Nono's Prometeo at La Scala in 1985? 25 Jun
... that theatre in Saarbrücken began as court theatre directed by Iffland, while plans for today's State Theatre were commissioned by Goebbels? 24 Jun
... that Ernst Christoph Dressler, an 18th-century operatic tenor, violinist, composer, and music theorist, composed a march on which Beethoven based his earliest published work? 23 Jun
... that after German tenor Herbert Schachtschneider was a prisoner of war in England during the Second World War, he remained in the country to study voice with a cousin of Arnold Schoenberg? 20 Jun
... that Elizabeth Bartlet's PhD thesis on Étienne Méhul was described as earning "the iconic status reserved for the few doctoral theses that are destined to change their chosen field"? 17 Jun
... that the artistry of Ruth-Margret Pütz, a leading coloratura soprano of the 1960s, was published in a 2018 Recital, including excerpts as Konstanze and Zerbinetta? 11 Jun
... that in 1959 the baritone Ernst Gutstein appeared as Ernesto in Haydn's Il mondo della luna, a role originally written for a castrato? 10 Jun
... that American opera singer Jennifer Holloway portrayed Grete in Der ferne Klang as a young girl whose lover leaves her, as a courtesan, and as an old woman who holds the returned lover while he dies? 7 Jun
... that a critic at The Musical Times described Ruth Hesse's performance as the Nurse in Die Frau ohne Schatten as "tirelessly ingenious"?2 Jun
... that the soprano Elżbieta Szmytka recorded Chopin's Polish songs and performed in Górecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, celebrating a century of Polish independence? 30 May
... that when directing Der Ring in Minden, Wagner's Ring Cycle at a municipal theatre, Gerd Heinz focused on the psychology in the interactions of the characters? 28 May
... that Troy is the first Turkish opera composed by a foreigner, the Romanian conductor Bujor Hoinic? 26 May
... that Celestina Casapietra, an Italian soprano at the Berlin State Opera, and the conductor Herbert Kegel were regarded as the glamour couple of the GDR in the 1960s? 24 May
... that Alfred Kirchner directed the world premiere of Martin Walser's play Ein Kinderspiel in 1971, and the U.S. premiere of Henze's We Come to the River at the Santa Fe Opera in 1984? 22 May
... that Giselher Klebe's opera Das Märchen von der schönen Lilie, on a libretto by his wife based on Goethe's fairy tale, was premiered at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen (pictured) 50 years ago today? 15 May
... that the bass-baritone Hans Günter Nöcker appeared in several world premieres of operas in Berlin, Schwetzingen, and Munich, where he created a stirring portrayal of Gloucester in Reimann's Lear? 4 May
... that Liselotte Hammes, a soprano with the Cologne Opera, appeared as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier at the Glyndebourne Festival alongside Teresa Żylis-Gara in the title role and Montserrat Caballé as the Marschallin? 3 May
... that Rosl Schwaiger appeared as Mozart's Blonde at the Salzburg Festival in 1945 and the Glyndebourne Festival in 1957? 30 Apr
... that Bent Norup, a Danish heldenbaritone, recorded the role of Orest live in France, alongside Ute Vinzing as Elektra and Leonie Rysanek as Chrysothemis? 29 Apr
... that the tenor Ferry Gruber performed at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich for 50 years, including in Prokofiev's Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen alongside Ingeborg Hallstein in 1960? 22 Apr
... that Margit Schramm appeared as Hanna Glawari, the "merry widow" in Lehár's operetta, more than 500 times? 21 Apr
... that Heinz Hoppe performed as a lyric tenor at the Hamburg State Opera, including world premieres, but became popular for operetta recordings and television shows? 16 Apr
... that when Hansgünther Heyme staged classic plays, Antigone was set in Calcutta, William Tell in Nazi Germany, and Hamlet ended with the prince on a metal trolley? 15 Apr
... that Patrick Lange, who conducted a Stephen Sondheim musical in a youth club production at age 16, became chief music director of the Wiesbaden State Opera at age 36? 12 Apr
... that the Dutch-Belgian composer Oscar van Hemel created two operas, one of them about a prostitute? 11 Apr
... that Siegfried Vogel, a bass at the Berlin State Opera from 1965, appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow? 10 Apr
... that Raphaëlle Boitel worked as a contortionist street performer at age eight to earn tuition for circus school? 8 Apr
... that Horst Laubenthal appeared in Mozart operas at the Glyndebourne Festival as Belmonte, in Paris as Tamino, and in Turin as Ottavio? 4 Apr
... that the soprano Melitta Muszely appeared as the four women Hoffmann loves in Felsenstein's production at the Komische Oper Berlin in 1958, and still sang recitals at age 80? 3ß Mar
... that in 2018 Lydia Steier, born in Hartford, Connecticut, became the first woman to stage Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Salzburg Festival? 27 Mar
... that the soprano Margit Bokor (pictured) created the role of Zdenka in Arabella by Richard Strauss at the Semperoper in Dresden in 1933, and performed the role in the UK premiere at the Royal Opera House? 22 Mar
... that the soprano and voice teacher Ria Ginster sang recitals at Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall, and recorded Rossini's Petite messe solennelle conducted by Sir John Barbirolli? 20 Mar
... that the Dutch musicologist Leo Riemens and the German physician Karl-Josef Kutsch wrote Großes Sängerlexikon, a biographical dictionary of opera singers, with 18,760 entries in 2012? 18 Mar
... that the conductor Marc Piollet recorded rarely performed symphonies by Norbert Burgmüller and Hugo Staehle, and a DVD of Carmen staged by Calixto Bieito? 15 Mar
... that the soprano Ursula Wendt-Walther appeared in more than 60 operatic roles at the Staatstheater Nürnberg, including Marei in the world premiere of Zemlinsky's Der Traumgörge? 13 Mar
... that Spas Wenkoff, first a tenor at a Bulgarian amateur theatre, appeared as Tristan at the Staatsoper Dresden, and was then invited to sing the role at the centenary Bayreuth Festival? 12 Mar
... that Alma Webster Powell earned a law degree from New York University while on a break from her operatic career? 11 Mar
... that Zuzana Marková's last-minute performance as Lucia di Lammermoor at Opéra de Marseille in 2014 was described as "dazzling" and praised for its depth of understanding? 11 Mar
... that Ruthilde Boesch, who performed as Mozart's Susanna and in 37 other roles at the Vienna State Opera, made five world tours of recitals with her second husband as her accompanist? 10 Mar
... that Robert Schunk, who performed minor roles at the Bayreuth Festival, stepped in successfully for Peter Hofmann as Siegmund in Die Walküre there? 10 Mar
... that at the height of her opera career Marlise Wendels sometimes sang in up to 300 performances in a single season? 8 Mar
... that the staged version of Henze's radio opera Ein Landarzt, closely based on a short story by Kafka, premiered at the Frankfurt Opera? 7 Mar
... that the tenor Ewandro Stenzowski went from early competition successes in Brazil to leading roles such as Rodolfo in La bohème at the Landestheater Detmold? 7 Mar
... that the soprano Claire Born appeared in Bayreuth as Wagner's Eva and Gutrune, and in Salzburg as Mozart's Countess and Donna Elvira? 4 Mar
... that bass-baritone Alfred Jerger, who appeared at the Salzburg Festival between 1922 and 1959, created the leading role of Mandryka in Arabella, an opera composed by Richard Strauss? 2 Mar
... that the Austrian actor and librettist Karl Lindau co-wrote The Nazi, a comedy, in 1895? 28 Feb
... that the soprano Julia Kleiter has appeared internationally in Mozart operas, as both Susanna and the Countess in Figaro, and both Papagena and Pamina in The Magic Flute? 27 Feb
... that the main venue of the Landestheater Detmold was built from 1914–18, after the 1825 court theatre of the Principality of Lippe burnt down? 26 Feb
... that among the Mozart roles sung by soprano Sophie Karthäuser (pictured) are Ilia, Tamiri, and Serpetta? 26 Feb
... that Vincent Boussard staged Manon for Vilnius, San Francisco, and Seoul, and I puritani for Liège and Frankfurt? 24 Feb
... that Genia Kühmeier appeared as Mozart's Pamina at the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, and recorded the soprano solo in Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem with Nikolaus Harnoncourt? 22 Feb
... that musician Taina Asili studied opera and fronted a hardcore punk band before starting the Afro-Caribbean group La Banda Rebelde? 20 Feb
... that Megan Marie Hart has performed on stage in Detmold, Germany, as Puccini's Tosca and was soprano soloist in Mahler's Resurrection Symphony? 16 Feb
... that soprano Ildikó Raimondi, who appeared at the Vienna State Opera in more than 40 roles including Pamina and Mimì, sang the role of Marzelline in the opening season of the Valencia Opera? 12 Feb
... that the bass-baritone Albert Dohmen appeared as Berg's Wozzeck at the Salzburg Festival in 1997, and as Wagner's Pogner at La Scala in 2017? 6 Feb 2019
... that bass singer Carlos Feller made his debut at the Teatro Colón in 1946, and at the Metropolitan Opera in 1988 in his signature role of Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte? 3 Feb 2019
... that Marianne Schech appeared as the Dyer's Wife in the U.S. premiere of Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss at the San Francisco Opera? 26 Jan 2019
... that Johannes Brahms attended the premiere of the operetta Die Göttin der Vernunft by Johann Strauss, but the composer himself did not, and heard about its reception only by telephone? 3 Jan 2019
... that the Ospedale degli Incurabili in Venice, where Johann Adolph Hasse was maestro di cappella, was founded as a hospice for sufferers from syphilis and other incurable diseases of the time? 3 Jan 2019

2018 edit

... that general manager Claus Leininger's tenure at the Musiktheater im Revier (pictured) in Gelsenkirchen was described as the period of the company's highest artistic accomplishment? 22 Dec 2018
... that Tadashi Suzuki, librettist for the opera Vision of Lear, also served as stage director and costume and lighting designer for its premiere at the 1998 Munich Biennale? 14 Dec 2018
... that Wolfgang Rennert conducted world premieres of operas, of Louise Talma's Die Alkestiade at the Frankfurt Opera, and of Rainer Kunad's Sabellicus at the Staatsoper Berlin, then in East Berlin? 14 Dec 2018
... that Angela Brower performed her signature role as Octavian at the Colombian premiere of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier? 10 Dec 2018
... that Toshio Hosokawa composed several operas based on Japanese Noh theatre, including Vision of Lear after Shakespeare? 7 Dec 2018
... that the mezzo-soprano Sophie Koch became known internationally when she appeared as Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden? 6 Dec 2018
... that Andreas Bauer has appeared in bass roles such as Mozart's Sarastro, Verdi's Philipp II of Spain, and Wagner's Marke, but also as Bluebeard and Ibn-Hakia? 4 Dec 2018
... that David Bennett was hired as general director of the San Diego Opera after his predecessor tried unsuccessfully to shut the opera company down? 3 Dec 2018
... that Renate Behle (pictured) made her operatic debut in 1968 and appeared as Sara in the premiere of Giorgio Battistelli's Lot at the Staatsoper Hannover in 2017? 1 Dec 2018
... that Lula Mysz-Gmeiner (pictured), a contralto and influential voice teacher from Transylvania, performed lieder written for her by Max Reger and other prominent contemporaries? 28 Nov 2018
... that Ignaz Kirchner (pictured) and Gert Voss often played opposite each other at the Vienna Burgtheater, in roles such as Shakespeare's Antonio and Shylock, and Tabori's Goldberg and Mr. Jay? 25 Nov 2018
... that Günther Morbach appeared in more than 180 operatic bass roles, including Mozart's Sarastro in the new Opernhaus Dortmund and in a Harald Weiss world premiere at the Staatstheater Braunschweig? 23 Nov 2018
... that Udo Zimmermann composed two operas about the resistance group White Rose, one while he was a student? 19 Nov 2018
... that in the fairy-tale opera Der Schuhu und die fliegende Prinzessin by Udo Zimmermann, two orchestras play on stage, representing two empires in conflict? 9 Nov 2018
... that the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (pictured) in Munich, a royal theatre for operettas in the 19th century, presented the German premiere of Harold Rome's musical Fanny in 1955? 3 Nov 2018
... that on her hundredth birthday, British soprano Carrie Tubb was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music? 3 Nov 2018
... that in his opera Tri sestry (Three Sisters), composer Péter Eötvös wants the three sisters from Chekhov's play to be sung by countertenors? 28 Oct 2018
... that the Bockenheimer Depot (pictured) in Frankfurt, built to house trams, is now a theatre which staged the German premiere of Olga Neuwirth's Lost Highway? 24 Oct 2018
... that Theater Bremen, the state theatre in Bremen for operas, plays, dance, and student programs, was selected as opera house of the year by Opernwelt in 2007? 21 Oct 2018
... that Beerbohm, a cat owned by the Gielgud Theatre, became famous for entering actors' dressing rooms, attacking props, and wandering across the stage during performances? 11 Oct 2018
... that in his 1994 opera La Belle et la Bête, Philip Glass wrote dialogue and music for soloists and ensemble to match the 1946 film by Jean Cocteau? 9 Oct 2018
... that tenor Daniel Behle had a single day to learn rarely performed romantic duets when he stepped in at short notice for a 2018 Rheingau Musik Festival concert with Annette Dasch? 5 Oct 2018
... that the palace theatre Schlosstheater Schönbrunn (hall pictured), commissioned by Maria Theresa, opened on 4 October 1747, the emperor's name day? 4 Oct 2018
... that Harry Kupfer, the stage director at the Komische Oper Berlin for decades, presented Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer at the 1978 Bayreuth Festival as a psychological drama? 3 Oct 2018
... that Rudolf Sellner engaged Richard Wagner's grandson to stage a Verdi opera as part of the opening of the Deutsche Oper Berlin? 27 Sep 2018
... that singer Elise Barensfeld is a possible dedicatee of Ludwig van Beethoven's Für Elise? 23 Sep 2018
... that Das goldene Kreuz (The Golden Cross), the second opera by Ignaz Brüll (pictured), was an immediate international success but was later banned by the Nazi regime? 14 Sep 2018
... that mezzo-soprano Sybille Specht appeared as La Belle in a chamber opera by Philip Glass at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz? 10 Sep 2018
... that Ramiz Kovaçi, a baritone at the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania, was also a jury member for a light music festival? 4 Sep 2018
... that Gaqo Çako was the lead tenor for more than three decades at the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania? 30 Aug 2018
... that opera singer Catherine-Nicole Lemaure was imprisoned overnight for refusing to perform? 20 Aug 2018
... that Marie Lehmann, one of the Rhinemaidens (pictured) at the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876, sang the soprano solo in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for the groundbreaking of the Bayreuth Festival Theatre? 13 Aug 2018
... that the Argentinian mezzo-soprano Alicia Nafé appeared in her signature role as Bizet's Carmen alongside Plácido Domingo in San Francisco, and at the Metropolitan Opera with Domingo as conductor? 9 Aug 2018
... that the mezzo-soprano Carla Henius performed in the premiere of Luigi Nono's Intolleranza 1960 at La Fenice, and had a composition by Dieter Schnebel written for her voice? 7 Aug 2018
... that Franz Schubert (pictured), a prolific composer of songs, symphonies and other works, gave only one public concert presenting his own works? 4 Aug 2018
... that Sara Hershkowitz, who usually appears on the opera stage as the Queen of the Night and Zerbinetta, parodied Donald Trump in Ligeti's Mysteries of the Macabre at the Lowlands Festival? 2 Aug 2018
... that Catherine Gayer, who was a coloratura soprano for four decades at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, premiered Nono's Intolleranza 1960 in Venice, and Reimann's Melusine at the Schwetzingen Festival? 1 Aug 2018
... that Kateryna Kasper appeared at the Los Angeles Opera as Belinda in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, staged by Barrie Kosky, and in Frankfurt as Antonida in Glinka's Iwan Sussanin, staged by Harry Kupfer? 30 Jul 2018
... that Liebe und Eifersucht (Love and Jealousy), an 1807 opera with libretto and music by E. T. A. Hoffmann, premiered in 2008? 27 Jul 2018
... that when Minna Lammert, Lilli Lehmann and her sister Marie rehearsed as the Rhinemaidens for the first performance of Das Rheingold in Bayreuth, Wagner thanked them "with tears of joy"? 25 Jul 2018
... that Petra Schmidt has performed operatic title roles such as Dvořák's Rusalka and Ponchielli's La Gioconda at the Musiktheater im Revier? 24 Jul 2018
... that mezzo-soprano Patricia Payne made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Ponchielli's La Gioconda, and took part in the first performance of Britten's Peter Grimes in New Zealand? 21 Jul 2018
... that the conductor Michael Hofstetter has performed and recorded rarely played operas at the Ludwigsburg Festival, including Salieri's Les Danaïdes? 20 Jul 2018
... that Sarah Louvion, playing principal flute with the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester, recorded 20th-century French music with solo flute by André Jolivet, Jacques Ibert, and others? 19 Jul 2018
... that in Der goldene Drache, the ninth opera by Péter Eötvös, five singers perform 18 characters, switching age and gender? 18 Jul 2018
... that French mezzo-soprano Isabelle Druet, a fan of reggae, performed with Les Arts Florissants at Carnegie Hall and has played as Carmen in Nancy and Düsseldorf? 10 Jul 2018
... that Cornelia Wulkopf made her operatic debut in the centenary production of Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Bayreuth Festival and recorded the alto part in Bach's Mass in B minor with Sergiu Celibidache? 8 Jul 2018
... that Britta Stallmeister, the Forest Bird in Bayreuth in 2001, appeared as Germa in a new chamber opera at the Schlachthof Wiesbaden in 2018? 6 Jul 2018
... that a reviewer found Maria Bengtsson (pictured) believable and expressive when she first performed the title role of Arabella by Strauss? 28 Jun 2018
... that Volker David Kirchner, who composed operas for the Wiesbaden State Theatre and a mass for the Mainz Cathedral, was the first recipient of the Rheingau Musikpreis? 25 Jun 2018
... that a decade after suggesting that opera houses should all be "blown up", the French composer Pierre Boulez (pictured) conducted the centenary production of Wagner's Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festival? 22 Jun 2018
... that soprano Christina Gerstberger recorded the role of Lisida in E. T. A. Hoffmann's Liebe und Eifersucht in a performance at the Ludwigsburg Festival? 13 Jun 2018
... that an opera was composed for mezzo-soprano Birgit Remmert – Iokaste by Stefan Heucke – in which the mother and wife of Oedipus is the only role? 27 May 2018
... that Katharina Magiera, a member of the Frankfurt Opera, has appeared as Lisa, a former SS officer in Auschwitz, in Weinberg's opera The Passenger? 23 May 2018
... that Bernardo De Pace, an Italian immigrant, started his own opera company and eventually performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York? 15 May 2018
... that German stage director Tobias Kratzer nominated two versions of Verdi's Rigoletto for an international competition, pretending to be an American woman in the first instance, and a Bulgarian in the second? 10 May 2018
... that mezzo-soprano Melinda Paulsen was the first to record songs by Nadia Boulanger and Ethel Smyth? 8 May 2018
... that Franz Schubert dedicated compositions to Cathinka Buchwieser (pictured), a soprano who appeared in Vienna as Mozart's Sesto and Elvira, and as Ferdinando Paer's Achille and Leonora? 29 Apr 2018
... that in 1851, the German soprano Anna Bochkoltz-Falconi appeared at La Scala in Milan in Pergolesi's Lo frate 'nnamorato? 28 Apr 2018
... that Elisabeth Speiser was the first to record Sandrina in Haydn's opera L'infedeltà delusa, and recorded Debussy's Ariettes oubliées? 25 Apr 2018
... that soprano Margarete Luise Schick, who performed roles such as Gluck's Iphigenie and Mozart's Zerlina with noted diction and acting, sang for the coronation of Leopold II? 23 Apr 2018
... that Antonello Manacorda, who made an award-winning recording of Schubert's symphonies with his Kammerakademie Potsdam, conducted Mozart operas at La Fenice and Meyerbeer's grand opera at the Frankfurt Opera? 21 Apr 2018
... that the tenor Julian Podger, who took part in the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, recorded the title role in Handel's last oratorio Jephtha? 4 Apr 2018
... that Otar Taktakishvili's opera Mindia was based on Vazha-Pshavela's epic poem The Snake-eater and premiered in 1961, the centenary of the poet's birth? 2 Apr 2018
... that Canadian soprano Kirsten MacKinnon, a winner of the Met Auditions, appeared as Fiordiligi at the Glyndebourne Festival, and as Meyerbeer's Inès at the Frankfurt Opera, staged as a space mission? 31 Mar 2018
... that Willem Ravelli was the voice of Christ in Bach's St Matthew Passion more than 400 times, including the first recording of the work conducted by Mengelberg? 30 Mar 2018
... that the baritone Johannes Hill was the voice of Jesus and Pilate in Bach's Passions, and of Pope Francis in the premiere of Laudato si'? 29 Mar 2018
... that Elsa Cavelti, who appeared in dramatic roles at the Opernhaus Zürich and taught voice at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt, was Wagner's Brangäne at La Scala? 25 Mar 2018
... that Zofia Posmysz (pictured), Auschwitz inmate No. 7566, wrote an audio play on her memories, which became the basis for her 1962 novel Passenger, a 1963 film, and a 1968 opera? 16 Mar 2018
... that Camilla Nylund (pictured) appeared as the Countess in Capriccio by Richard Strauss at the Frankfurt Opera, staged by Brigitte Fassbaender, who set the opera in Occupied France? 14 Mar 2018
... that Catherine Rückwardt, who was Generalmusikdirektorin at the Staatstheater Mainz for a decade and one of only four women in such a position in Germany, conducted a recording of the First Symphony by Hans Rott? 8 Mar 2018
... that Marcel Cordes, a German baritone known for Italian opera, appeared as the King in the first recording of Carl Orff's Die Kluge? 6 Mar 2018
... that the lyric soprano Anny Felbermayer, who performed 54 roles at the Vienna State Opera, created the role of Xanthe in Die Liebe der Danae by Richard Strauss at the 1952 Salzburg Festival? 1 Mar 2018
... that the bass Dmitry Belosselskiy appeared internationally in title roles, as Boris Godunov, Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra, and Ivan Susanin? 22 Feb 2018
... that Siegfried Lorenz, the first lyrical baritone of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, recorded 151 songs by Schubert and sang "with an enviable control of line and dynamics", according to Alan Blyth? 12 Feb 2018
... that the third opera by Alessandro Solbiati, Il suono giallo, is based on Wassily Kandinsky's experimental play The Yellow Sound and premiered in Bologna in 2015? 11 Feb 2018
... that in Nazi Germany, Karl Maria Zwißler conducted major works by composer Igor Stravinsky regarded as degenerate music, including the ballet The Firebird and the German premiere of Dumbarton Oaks? 9 Feb 2018
... that when soprano Lucy Crowe became ill, her replacement Sabina Puértolas had only three hours to rehearse before performing at the Royal Opera House in London? 3 Feb 2018
... that Ilona Durigo, one of the leading concert contraltos of her time, performed in the first recording of Bach's St Matthew Passion, conducted by Willem Mengelberg? 31 Jan 2018
... that Colette Lorand made her debut as Gounod's Marguerite in 1945, created Reimann's Regan in 1978, and retired as Janáček's Emilia Marty in 1983? 27 Jan 2018
... that the English tenor Mark Milhofer appeared as Mozart's Ferrando in Beijing and Moscow, and as Poppea's nurse in Berlin, dressed as a parody of Riff Raff? 18 Jan 2018
... that Diego Fasolis conducted L'incoronazione di Poppea at the reopened Staatsoper Unter den Linden, adding music by other composers of Monteverdi's time? 16 Jan 2018
... that soprano Cristina Pasaroiu played Manon in boots, even in bed with her lover? 13 Jan 2018
... that Wolfgang Stockmeier made around 150 recordings of organ music, taught at three music academies, and composed an opera on a libretto by Gabriele Wohmann? 12 Jan 2018
... that the Italian mezzo-soprano Armanda Degli Abbati appeared as Ortrud in Rome and as Amneris in Rio de Janeiro, had an affair with a Russian revolutionary, and trained Estonian singers? 4 Jan 2018
... that the dramatic soprano Catherine Foster, a former midwife, appeared as Brünnhilde at the Bayreuth Festival celebrating Wagner's bicentenary? 3 Jan 2018

2017 edit

... that Chiyuki Urano, a soloist and choir member of the Bach Collegium Japan, recorded songs by Russian amateur composers including Diaghilev with pianist Lera Auerbach? 30 Dec 2017
... that the musicologist Willi Gundlach, who founded the chamber choir of Dortmund University, trained volunteers to sing a Bach cantata in one day, including Part I of Bach's Christmas Oratorio? 25 Dec 2017
... that Peter G. Davis wrote after a performance of Risurrezione that Fiora Contino (pictured) "may be the last conductor on earth with the music of Alfano and his generation in her bloodstream"? 18 Dec 2017
... that Manfred Jung is remembered as Siegfried in Bayreuth's Jahrhundertring, but also sang all other tenor roles in The Ring? 14 Dec 2017
... that mezzo-soprano Mechthild Georg, a voice teacher at the Musikhochschule Köln, performed music by C. P. E. Bach at the first Rheingau Musik Festival? 27 Nov 2017
... that the musicologist Beatrix Borchard researched female musicians such as Clara Schumann, Amalie Joachim, and Pauline Viardot, and worked for the Goethe-Institut in Portugal, Romania, and China? 27 Oct 2017
... that the first opera by Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini premiered at the Theater Erfurt, the second at the Theater Basel, and the third at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2017? 26 Oct 2017
... that mezzo-soprano Patricia Johnson appeared as Eboli at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and created the roles of a Nabokov Princess and a Henze Baroness? 18 Oct 2017
... that Christof Loy received the Der Faust award for staging Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Frankfurt Opera? 12 Oct 2017
... that Nicholas Nabokov composed an opera Love's Labour's Lost, setting the same play by Shakespeare as the fictional hero of Mann's Doctor Faustus, "in a spirit of the most artificial mockery"? 4 Oct 2017
... that when operatic soprano Cynthia Clarey's voice lowered with age, she took up cabaret singing instead? 4 Oct 2017
... that Wolfgang Rihm's opera Dionysos, with a libretto by Rihm using only words by Nietzsche, was first performed at the Salzburg Festival and called premiere of the year? 2 Oct 2017
... that coloratura soprano Joan Carroll appeared as Alban Berg's Lulu more than 100 times, including the U.S. premiere at the Santa Fe Opera? 30 Sep 2017
... that after baritone Johannes Martin Kränzle recovered from MDS, he made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 2017 as Beckmesser, staged by the festival's first Jewish director? 29 Sep 2017
... that American soprano Pamela Coburn appeared as Mozart's Countess in Vienna and New York, and as Ellen, the friend of Peter Grimes, in Munich and at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino? 28 Sep 2017
... that in Telemaco, one of Alessandro Scarlatti's last operas, Minerva enters in a chariot which holds a string orchestra with trumpets? 22 Sep 2017
... that the Styriarte music festival publicly screened Mozart's Coronation Mass, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, from the church of Stainz (organ loft pictured)? 21 Sep 2017
... that the Swiss mezzo-soprano Elisabeth Glauser performed in the Jahrhundertring in Bayreuth, and created the role of Babette in Henze's The English Cat? 20 Sep 2017
... that the clarinetist Jörg Widmann composed Babylon, an opera in seven scenes, on a commission from the Bavarian State Opera to a libretto by Peter Sloterdijk? 19 Sep 2017
... that Hanno Müller-Brachmann appeared as Papageno in Claudio Abbado's award-winning recording of Die Zauberflöte, and recorded Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Michael Gielen? 18 Sep 2017
... that the opera Das Schloß by Aribert Reimann, on his own libretto after Kafka's novel, premiered in 1992 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin? 18 Sep 2017
... that 19th-century concert singer Sarah Mundell Crane was the mother of silent movie actor Harry Ogden Crane? 17 Sep 2017
... that Don Checco, composed by Nicola De Giosa, was one of the greatest successes in the history of Neapolitan opera buffa and a favourite of King Ferdinand II? 17 Sep 2017
... that from 1981, Swiss set designer Marco Arturo Marelli also directed operas, and in 2010 staged the premiere of Reimann's Medea at the Vienna State Opera? 16 Sep 2017
... that Caroline Stein appeared as Mozart's Queen of the Night at the Berlin State Opera, and sang his Mass in C minor and Alban Berg's Altenberg Lieder at The Proms? 15 Sep 2017
... that baritone Georg Nigl, who names as his favourite roles Monteverdi's Orfeo, Mozart's Pagageno, and Alban Berg's Wozzeck, created the title role of Dusapin's Faustus, the Last Night? 14 Sep 2017
... that Reinhard Peters conducted several new operas and Wilhelm Killmayer's Tre Canti di Leopardi, and a number of his recordings were chosen for the CD compilation Musik in Deutschland 1950–2000? 12 Sep 2017
... that the Theater Chemnitz has staged "rediscovered" operas, such as Meyerbeer's Vasco da Gama, in the opera house (pictured)? 11 Sep 2017
... that Gerhild Romberger, an award-winning contralto and professor of voice, was a soloist in Mahler's Second Symphony at the Rheingau Musik Festival? 9 Sep 2017
... that Wolfgang Fortner composed the chamber opera In seinem Garten liebt Don Perlimplin Belisa after Lorca for the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen, where it opened the Festival in 1962? 8 Sep 2017
... that the premiere of the opera Wintermärchen by Philippe Boesmans, based on Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, featured jazz-rock music by the Belgian group Aka Moon? 7 Sep 2017
... that according to reviewers, soprano Simone Schneider of the Staatsoper Stuttgart "expresses Alcestis' agitation, nobility and joy with a moving simplicity" and "was a headstrong, vibrant Empress"? 5 Sep 2017
... that the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki co-wrote the German libretto of Ubu Rex, his only opera buffa, based on the French play Ubu Roi? 5 Sep 2017
... that Carol Smith appeared as Verdi's Eboli, Amneris and Azucena at the Opernhaus Zürich, and recorded his Mrs. Quickly in German? 1 Sep 2017
... that Elisabeth Kulman, Gora in the premiere of Reimann's Medea at the Vienna State Opera, changed from soprano to mezzo, and from opera singer to concert singer? 1 Sep 2017
... that Joseph and Amalie Joachim (pictured) received two songs from Johannes Brahms, one to begin their marriage, the other decades later to repair it? 29 Aug 2017
... that Maria Riccarda Wesseling appeared as Gluck's Orfeo in Paris and at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, and as Henze's Phaedra in Berlin? 28 Aug 2017
... that the Stadttheater Minden, a municipal theatre without an ensemble, received international attention for its Wagner opera project? 27 Aug 2017
... that Marcus Bosch conducted a performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at the Staatstheater Nürnberg that was shown live in 50 cinemas in Germany and Austria? 26 Aug 2017
... that Vera Nemirova staged Lulu at the Salzburg Festival and The Ring for the Frankfurt Opera? 23 Aug 2017
... that Aribert Reimann (pictured) composed Medea for the Vienna State Opera, based on the drama by Franz Grillparzer? 22 Aug 2017
... that the composer Giselher Klebe wrote the libretto for his opera Die tödlichen Wünsche based on Balzac's La Peau de chagrin? 21 Aug 2017
... that award-winning soprano Christiane Karg appeared as Sophie at the Frankfurt Opera, the Semperoper and La Scala, and in Mahler's Second Symphony at the Rheingau Musik Festival? 20 Aug 2017
... that French composer Pascal Dusapin wrote the English libretto for his opera Faustus, the Last Night, which premiered in Germany in 2006? 18 Aug 2017
... that the opera Alceste, composed by Anton Schweitzer with a libretto by Wieland, is regarded as a milestone of German opera? 16 Aug 2017
... that the Theater Bonn opened a new opera house in 1965? 13 Aug 2017
... that the Slovenian soprano Sabina Cvilak (pictured) was Puccini's Mimi in Washington, Wagner's Sieglinde in Wiesbaden, and performed Britten's War Requiem in London on the composer's centenary? 10 Aug 2017
... that Céleste Mogador may have been the inspiration for the title character in Georges Bizet's opera Carmen? 8 Aug 2017
... that Melusine, the second opera by Aribert Reimann, premiered at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen in 1971 and was revived in 2016 by students in Berlin for the composer's 80th birthday? 7 Aug 2017
... that Theater Magdeburg's opera house (pictured) is a re-built operetta and variety theatre destroyed in World War II? 5 Aug 2017
... that Michael Boder conducted new operas, including Penderecki's Ubu Rex for the Munich Opera Festival, Henze's Phaedra in Berlin, and Reimann's Medea in Vienna? 3 Aug 2017
... that at age 18, Daniel Schiebeler wrote the libretto for an opera by Telemann based on an episode from Cervantes' Don Quixote, which he could read in Spanish? 3 Aug 2017
... that Gertrude Förstel was Sophie when Der Rosenkavalier was first performed in Vienna, and sang in the premieres of Tiefland and Mahler's Eighth Symphony? 30 July 2017
... that when the Theater Münster opened in 1956, it was regarded as the first new theatre in Germany after World War II? 28 July 2017
... that contralto Ruth Siewert appeared as Erda not only in Bayreuth, but also at La Scala, La Fenice, and La Monnaie? 27 July 2017
... that Paula Murrihy, who appeared in operatic title roles such as Dido, Carmen, Hänsel and the Rosenkavalier, sang Lieder with viola and piano for the Hessischer Rundfunk? 23 July 2017
... that Nicole Chevalier was awarded Der Faust for her performance of the four female characters in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffman at the Komische Oper Berlin? 22 July 2017
... that the story of Hannah Norsa (pictured) has been described as "an archetypal tale of how stage stardom might lead to social transformation"? 22 July 2017
... that in the John Gay version of Achilles, the hero is introduced as a cross-dresser? 21 July 2017
... that Marc Soustrot conducted a staging of both Debussy's cantata La Damoiselle élue and Honegger's oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher at the Frankfurt Opera in 2017? 21 July 2017
... that the bass Oskar Czerwenka appeared in 1,084 performances at the Vienna State Opera, and his home was integrated into a state music school (pictured) that was named after him? 21 July 2017
... that Uwe Eric Laufenberg, General Manager of the Staatstheater Wiesbaden, presented his staging of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Internationale Maifestspiele in 2017? 19 July 2017
... that in the opera Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho, Georg Philipp Telemann (pictured) characterized the noble people by elements from the opera seria, and the peasants by Spanish folk music? 18 July 2017
... that Lioba Braun, who became known appearing as Brangäne in Bayreuth in 1994, was the first soloist to record Reger's Die Weihe der Nacht? 14 July 2017
... that Matthias von Stegmann made German voice-overs for The Simpsons, staged Wagner's Ring Cycle for children, and directed the first production of Wagner's Rienzi at the Bayreuth Festival? 13 July 2017
... that Frank Beermann conducted the first recording of Bruno Maderna's Requiem, and the German premiere of Péter Eötvös's opera Love and Other Demons at the Chemnitz Opera? 11 July 2017
... that Dara Hobbs appeared as Wagner's Isolde at many venues, including Theater Bonn, Stadttheater Minden, and Schloss Neuschwanstein? 10 July 2017
... that Maria Friesenhausen sang soprano solo with the NDR Chor in the 1950s and trained students of the University of Dortmund for an opera performance in 2001? 10 July 2017
... that Claudia Barainsky performed operatic title roles including Daphne, Lulu, Medea, and Melusine? 8 July 2017
... that David Hermann staged a Mozart opera at the Salzburg Festival at age 29, and combined three Krenek operas in Frankfurt? 4 July 2017
... that Gottfried von Einem's opera Der Prozeß, based on the novel by Franz Kafka, was premiered at the Salzburg Festival? 3 July 2017
... that Margit Neubauer appeared as Sesto in Handel's Giulio Cesare, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, at the start of her 39-year career at the Frankfurt Opera? 26 June 2017
... that a recording of Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle with Cornelia Kallisch as Judith was nominated for a Grammy Award? 22 June 2017
... that Andreas Schager was called a "sensation" when he first performed Wagner's Tristan in Minden, and went on to Siegfried at the Staatsoper Berlin, La Scala, and The Proms? 14 June 2017
... that the Kollegienkirche (pictured in 1712), the church of the University of Salzburg built by Fischer von Erlach, was the venue for a Hofmannsthal premiere and a Sciarrone opera? 8 June 2017
... that the short satirical opera Das geheime Königreich (The Secret Kingdom) by Ernst Krenek premiered in Wiesbaden in May 1928? 7 June 2017
... that the Hochschule für Musik Mainz collaborated with the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden to stage a production of Scarlatti's La Giuditta earlier this year? 3 June 2017
... that mezzo-soprano Eva Randová was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for her performance as the Kostelnička Buryjovka in Janáček's Jenůfa at the Royal Opera House? 31 May 2017
... that the soprano Margot Guilleaume recorded the part of Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio in a complete live recording without dialogue in 1948? 27 May 2017
... that Clotilde Bressler-Gianoli played the titular character in Carmen in 1907 with "the allurement of sheer wickedness", and was accidentally stabbed on stage? 24 May 2017
... that Hans Peter Blochwitz, who appeared as Mozart's Don Ottavio at the Metropolitan Opera, premiered Hans Zender's Schubert's "Winterreise" with the Ensemble Modern in 1993? 22 May 2017
... that EuropaChorAkademie, a choir formed by students from two universities, participated in an award-winning recording of Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Requiem für einen jungen Dichter? 21 May 2017
... that in 1970, Austrian Post issued a commemorative postage stamp honoring the composer and bass singer Thomas Koschat? 19 May 2017
... that Max Thurn, the founder of the NDR Chor in 1946, conducted a series of Bach cantatas and prepared the choir for a live recording of Isang Yun's Om mani padme hum in 1964? 17 May 2017
... that The Great Friendship had distinctly unfriendly consequences? 8 May 2017
... that the contralto Anna Erler-Schnaudt performed in the premiere of Mahler's Eighth Symphony in 1910? 7 May 2017
... that Annelies Van Parys has composed music for Muziektheater Transparant, including her first opera, Private Views, which premiered in 2015? 4 May 2017
... that the NDR Chor performed in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for the opening of the Elbphilharmonie? 28 Apr 2017
... that Ursula Zollenkopf, a contralto of the NWDR Chor, performed solo and choral parts in a posthumous Schoenberg opera premiere and in an Easter cantata by Bach? 16 Apr 2017
... that mezzo-soprano Claudia Mahnke appeared as Dido in Les Troyens by Berlioz, and according to a reviewer, in the final 25 minutes convincingly ranged from hurt vulnerability to furious despair? 4 Mar 2017
... that Belgian mezzo-soprano Jeanne Deroubaix was a soloist in the premiere of Stravinsky's Threni, and performed with Boulez in his Le marteau sans maître at The Proms? 31 Mar 2017
... that the soprano Leonore Kirschstein appeared as Alice Ford, with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Falstaff? 29 Mar 2017
... that the historic characters in Françoise de Rimini, the last opera by Ambroise Thomas, include not only Francesca da Rimini, but also Dante and Virgil? 27 Mar 2017
... that when the Beethoven Orchester Bonn was founded as a professional orchestra in Beethoven's hometown in 1907, Richard Strauss conducted his own works? (25 Mar 2017)
... that the American contralto Margarethe Bence appeared as Marcellina at the Salzburg Festival, as Erda in Bayreuth, and in a premiere at the Schwetzingen Festival? (24 Mar 2017)
... that the opera Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen (Murderer, Hope of Women) was based on a play by an expressionist artist and was performed with stage set and choreography by a Bauhaus artist? (23 Mar 2017)
... that mezzo-soprano Tanja Ariane Baumgartner has portrayed such characters as Schoeck's Penthesilea, and Cassandre in Les Troyens? (22 Mar 2017)
... that when Siegfried Wagner wrote the libretto for his opera An allem ist Hütchen schuld!, he used themes from many fairy tales? (18 Mar 2017)
... that Albert Horne conducted Gershwin's Porgy and Bess for the Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden, with the chorus of the Cape Town Opera and the Wiesbaden orchestra? (15 Mar 2017)
... that the mezzo-soprano Iris Vermillion, who became known for Mozart roles with Harnoncourt in 1988, received a prize for her portrayal of Schoeck's Penthesilea at the Semperoper 20 years later? (15 Mar 2017)
... that the soprano Émilie Ambre was portrayed by artist Édouard Manet in the title role of Bizet's Carmen (pictured)? (13 Mar 2017)
... that the soprano Erna Ellmenreich appeared in the premieres of Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss and of Hindemith's Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen, the latter causing a scandal? (8 Mar 2017)
... that during the last decade, Lance Ryan appeared as Siegfried at three Bayreuth Festivals? (2 Mar 2017)
... that Dirk Kaftan conducted Schönberg's Gurre-Lieder, recorded Jenůfa with the Graz Opera, and led Bruckner's Fourth Symphony in seven concerts of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie? (20 Feb 2017)
... that Swedish rock band Mecki Mark Men played with both Jimi Hendrix and the Royal Swedish Opera? (19 Feb 2017)
... that August Buchner, a professor of poetry and rhetoric at the University of Wittenberg, wrote the libretto for a lost ballet-opera by Heinrich Schütz? (14 Feb 2017
... that after the ballet dancer Franziska Romana Koch sang in the opera Alceste which was composed for her, its librettist celebrated her performance in a poem? 11 Feb 2017
... that Tilo Medek set Lenin's Decree on Peace for speaking voice and four percussionists, and wrote an opera based on a Böll novel? 6 Feb 2017
... that the bass Thomas Thomaschke appeared as Wagner's Hunding at La Scala, as Mozart's Sarastro in Glyndebourne, and recorded Bach's Mit Fried und Freud with Harnoncourt? 2 Feb 2017
... that Giovanni Ambrogio Migliavacca wrote the libretto for Solimano, first set by Hasse and produced in Dresden with live elephants and camels? 26 Jan 2017
... that the science fiction novella Paradises Lost was adapted as an opera? 25 Jan 2017

2016 edit

... that Daniel Catán's opera Il Postino is set in Italy but sung in Spanish? (29 Oct 2016)
... that the contralto Dorothy Gill was so popular during the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's visit to New York in 1934 that American fans petitioned for her return? (19 Oct 2016)
... that the soprano Katharine Fuge took part in John Eliot Gardiner's Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, both as a member of the Monteverdi Choir and as a soloist? (13 Oct 2016)
... that Elin Rombo (pictured) played Sister Blanche in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites in a 2011 production at the Royal Swedish Opera? (30 September 2016)
... that Petra Lang, who performed the parts of Brangäne and Ortrud at the Bayreuth Festival as a mezzo-soprano, was the Isolde of 2016? (26 August 2016)
... that Kari Lövaas appeared in the premiere of Orff's De temporum fine comoedia at the Salzburg Festival? (11 July 2016)
... that Nikolaus Hillebrand, who as a boy was a member of the Regensburger Domspatzen, and recorded with them as a soloist on Bach's St John Passion in 1979 and Dittersdorf's Requiem in 2009? (19 May 2016)
... that Hans-Dieter Bader performed the title role of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari's opera Sly, recorded live at the Staatsoper Hannover, "as written", while Plácido Domingo had to cut and change the part? (3 May 2016)
... that soprano Tamara Wilson won the Richard Tucker Award, "one of the most prestigious prizes in opera"? (28 Apr 2016)
... that the contralto Caroline Trevor, who has been a member of The Tallis Scholars for over three decades, broke a tradition of nine centuries when she became a singer at St Paul's Cathedral? (27 Apr 2016)
... that an Earnest performance necessitates the rhythmic smashing of forty dinner plates? (15 Apr 2016)
... that upon its 1641 premiere in Venice, the opera La finta pazza was performed twelve times in seventeen days? (5 Apr 2016)
... that soprano Margareta Hallin could have performed internationally, but decided to stay in her homeland instead? (4 Apr 2016, not archived)
... that the bass-baritone Jacques Villisech recorded Bach cantatas, including the Actus tragicus, the Hunting Cantata, and the secular solo cantata Amore traditore? (3 Apr 2016)
... that Michael Finnissy has reimagined parts of every opera of Giuseppe Verdi? (29 Mar 2016)
... that the soprano Rotraud Hansmann performed six parts in three Monteverdi operas conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, including Euridice in L'Orfeo? (28 Mar 2016)
... that Metropolitan Opera tenor Andrea Velis starred in the United States premieres of four different operas by Benjamin Britten? (27 Mar 2016)
... that the soprano Emily Van Evera appeared with the Taverner Consort at The Proms in Bach's St Matthew Passion? (25 Mar 2016)
... that Louisa Melvin Delos Mars was one of the first black women to achieve recognition as a composer? (25 Mar 2016)
... that the mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal, who recorded music by Hildegard von Bingen and Fanny Mendelssohn, translated all texted works by Bach? (21 Mar 2016)
... that the soprano Greta De Reyghere recorded Bach's motets, Mozart's vespers, and music by the Belgian composers Joseph Ryelandt and Joseph-Hector Fiocco? (19 Mar 2016)
... that the premiere of Arthur Honegger's first opera, Antigone, was staged in sets by Picasso and costumes by Coco Chanel? (17 Mar 2016)
... that Delores Ziegler, who teaches voice at the University of Maryland, appeared as Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte for her debut at La Scala, and in the film by Ponnelle and Harnoncourt? (10 Mar 2016)
... that Hana Blažíková is a soprano with the Bach Collegium Japan, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki, for the project to record the complete Bach cantatas? (8 Mar 2016)
... that the contralto Elisabeth Schärtel, known for performing many Wagner parts at the Bayreuth Festival, sang Verdi's Meg Page alongside Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Falstaff? (6 Mar 2016)
... that Antonia Fahberg, a lyric soprano of the Bavarian State Opera for 25 years, recorded Bach with Karl Richter, including an aria described as "a beguiling and beautifully restrained performance"? (2 Mar 2016)
... that the 1835 opera La casa disabitata, composed by Princess Amalie of Saxony, received its first modern performance in 2012 after its previously lost score was discovered in a library in Moscow? (2 Mar 2016)
... that Astrid Schirmer appeared in roles by Richard Wagner, both Venus and Elisabeth in his Tannhäuser, and in the Bayreuth Jahrhundertring as both Ortlinde and Sieglinde? (22 Feb 2016)
... that Maria Carbone appeared in 1931 as Desdemona in a complete recording of Verdi's Otello, one of her only two recordings? (22 Feb 2016)
... that Anna Korondi appeared at the Bavarian State Opera as Zdenka in Arabella by Richard Strauss and in a leading role in the premiere of Aribert Reimann's Bernarda Albas Haus? (21 Feb 2016)
... that the 1753 opera Ciro in Armenia was created by Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini, one of the earliest female Italian opera composers? (21 Feb 2016)
... that when Ilse Hollweg recorded the part of Blonde in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Sir Thomas Beecham, she was one of two soloists who also spoke the dialogue? (20 Feb 2016)
... that Simone Ballard performed the title role in the premiere of Arthur Honegger's Antigone at La Monnaie? (19 Feb 2016)
... that the soprano Friederike Sailer appeared in the premiere of Werner Egk's Der Revisor at the Schwetzingen Festival, conducted by the composer? (18 Feb 2016)
... that no more than twelve people at a time can ascertain what is found and lost at a London hotel? (14 Feb 2016)
... that opera singer Virgilio Lazzari was a leading bass with the Chicago Civic Opera from 1918–32 and the Metropolitan Opera from 1933–50? (11 Feb 2016)
... that Ilse Gramatzki appeared as a Rhinemaiden in the Jahrhundertring at the Bayreuth Festival, and in Zimmermann's Die Soldaten in Frankfurt and Brussels? (9 Feb 2016)
... that Yvonne Ciannella, who performed the title roles of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Puccini's Suor Angelica, recorded Telemann's cantata Ino with "dramatic colouring"? (6 Feb 2016)
... that Yolanda Marculescu, prima donna of the Romanian National Opera of Bucharest, defected to the U.S. in 1968 and founded the International Festival of the Art Song in Milwaukee, Wisconsin? (5 Feb 2016)
... that Gertrude Pitzinger, who toured Europe and the United States singing Lieder, recorded the alto part of Mozart's Requiem, conducted by Ferenc Fricsay? (30 Jan 2016)
... that bass-baritone Louis D'Angelo sang in the world premieres of seven operas at the Metropolitan Opera, including Puccini's Gianni Schicchi? (29 Jan 2016)
... that Operaphone Records did not release recordings of operas? (29 Jan 2016)
... that Bach composed the cantata for the Sunday after Epiphany, Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen, BWV 32, as a dialogue of the Soul and Jesus, using elements of contemporary opera? (10 Jan 2016)

2015 edit

... that opera singer Camellia Johnson performed at Donald Trump's wedding ceremonies to Marla Maples and Melania Knauss? (22 Dec 2015)
... that in 2000 Midori Suzuki was a soprano in Sigiswald Kuijken's recording of Bach's Mass in B minor which uses one voice per part? (14 Dec 2015)
... that Chinese opera singer Ao Li has won both the Operalia, The World Opera Competition and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions? (12 Dec 2015)
... that baritone Liao Changyong won first prize in three different international singing competitions in 1997? (8 Dec 2015)
... that only a year after joining the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company at age 21, Eileen Sharp (pictured) was promoted to be the company's principal mezzo-soprano? (7 Dec 2015)
... that tenor Robert White swallowed a bug while singing the best high note of his career? (6 Dec 2015)
... that Chinese soprano Guanqun Yu won the Belvedere International Singing Competition and placed 2nd in Operalia, The World Opera Competition? (4 Dec 2015)
... that soprano Ying Fang has won the Golden Bell Award, the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, and the Lincoln Center Segal Award? (4 Dec 2015)
... that voice teacher Beverley Peck Johnson told actor Kevin Kline that he had to choose between her and cigarettes if he wanted to be her pupil? (3 Dec 2015)
... that in the past three years, Odyssey Opera has performed the Boston premieres of Korngold's Die tote Stadt and Massenet's El Cid? (2 Dec 2015)
... that Zhou Xiaoyan was described by The New York Times as "China's First Lady of Opera"? (27 Nov 2015)
... that Dominik Wörner, winner of the 2002 International Bach Competition, recorded Lieder from Vienna written in the fin de siècle period, including works by Berg, Schönberg, Schreker and Wolf? (4 Nov 2015)
... that actress Maria Möller is a classically trained mezzo-soprano and soloist? (29 Oct 2015)
... that Philip Baxter was chairman of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission and the Sydney Opera House Trust? (23 Sep 2015)
... that Michael Schopper performed as a bass soloist in the first recording of Bach's St Matthew Passion with period instruments conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt? (24 Aug 2015)
... that Wilke te Brummelstroete performed the alto parts in Volume I of the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage which received the 2005 Gramophone Award Record of the Year? (22 Aug 2015)
... that soprano Rosa Lamoreaux, who recorded Bach's Mass in B minor with The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and at the Carmel Bach Festival, won the 2009 Wammie as classical vocal soloist? (19 Aug 2015)
... that the German tenor Markus Brutscher performed the part of Saul in Reinhard Keiser's oratorio Der siegende David at the Ruhrtriennale 2006? (15 Aug 2015)
... that dramatic soprano Evelyn Herlitzius appeared as Elektra, staged by Patrice Chéreau at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2013, reviewed as "a creature of mesmerising intensity"? (9 Aug 2015)
... that soprano Susanne Rydén combined music by various Baroque composers in the musical show Christina's Journey, in which she sang, recited, and danced? (8 August 2015)
... that Michael Rayner worked in his family's motor car business before starring in Gilbert and Sullivan roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company? (8 August 2015)
... that mezzo-soprano Ruth Sandhoff performed a soprano part in the Magnificat by Johann Sebastian Bach and an alto part in his son's Magnificat? (21 July 2015)
... that contralto Hildegard Rütgers recorded Bach's Magnificat with Christmas interpolations with Helmuth Rilling? (17 July 2015)
... that Hedy Graf performed soprano parts in premieres of oratorios by Swiss composers? (16 July 2015)
... that Constanze Backes performed the leading female part in Joseph Schuster's rediscovered opera Il Marito Indolente? (15 July 2015)
... that Orlanda Velez Isidro was Madame Mao in a Dutch production of John Adams' Nixon in China? (12 July 2015)
... that the soprano Romy Gundermann and her husband received a medal from Aschaffenburg for expanding music awareness and adding to the town's cultural heritage? (12 Jul 2015)
... that soprano Josepha Duschek, who premiered Ah! perfido, advertised it as "an Italian scena written by Beethoven for Mad. Duschek"? (7 June 2015) (12 June 2015)
... that the mezzo-soprano Marga Schiml (pictured), an academic voice teacher in Karlsruhe, appeared as a Rhinemaiden and a valkyrie in the Jahrhundertring? (20 May 2015)
... that the first American grand opera was written for soprano Ann Childe Seguin? (20 May 2015)
... that the tenor Llewellyn Cadwaladr created the role of Frederic in the first performance of The Pirates of Penzance in 1879? (13 May 2015)
... that Sophie's choice took an hour less in Washington than in London? (7 May 2015)
... that there is no evidence that an English Flowermaiden was Richard Wagner's nemesis? (24 April 2015)
... that Dennis Marks survived life with an idiot to film the diary of one who disappeared? (21 April 2015)
... that Jeannette Zarou performed the title role in the stage premiere of Healey Willan's opera Deirdre? (17 April 2015)
... that the contralto Maria Radner, who died in the Germanwings plane crash, performed Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder at his villa, Wahnfried? (11 April 2015)
... that contralto Jenny Twitchell Kempton sang in the first performance of Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah in Boston? (8 April 2015)
... that Sebastiano Biancardi, suspected of embezzlement, left his family and became a successful librettist known as Domenico Lalli? (7 April 2015)
... that Figaro's divorce will take place in Cardiff more than two centuries after his marriage? (29 March 2015)
... that the premiere of Erik Bergman's only full-length opera, Det sjungande trädet (The Singing Tree), was delayed for over a year because of its complex staging requirements? (27 March 2015)
... that Margaret Kennedy (pictured as Captain Macheath) was the first person to perform Thomas Arne's song "A-Hunting We Will Go"? (17 March 2015)
... that contralto Marga Höffgen, known as a Bach singer for Karajan and as Erda in Bayreuth, recorded Max Reger's Requiem compositions? (17 March 2015)
... that mezzo-soprano Marie-Louise Gilles appeared in trousers roles in Wiesbaden and as a valkyrie in Bayreuth? (11 March 2015)
... that Italian soprano Teresina Brambilla was known for performing leading parts in operas by Amilcare Ponchielli, whom she married? (10 March 2015)
... that the opera La Loca (The Madwoman) was written as a vehicle for Beverly Sills in honor of her 50th birthday? (6 March 2015)
... that Corrado Miraglia, who created the role of Ismaele in Verdi's opera Nabucco, became a soloist at the Milan Cathedral when he retired from the stage? (1 March 2015)
... that Ralph Benatzky wrote the libretto and music for Meine Schwester und ich, a "more intellectual, more cabaret-style" operetta which premiered in Berlin in 1930? (25 February 2015)
... that although Aulis Sallinen (pictured) composed Kullervo for the opening of Helsinki's new national opera house, it was first performed in Los Angeles? (24 February 2015)
... that Giuseppina Brambilla, one of five opera-singer sisters, was a prima donna in Barcelona and Odessa? (16 February 2015)
... that Francisco D'Andrade (pictured) appears in his signature role Don Giovanni in three paintings by Max Slevogt? (5 February 2015)
... that in Roger Scruton's musical vision of the eccentric love-life of Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, a leading lady is sung by a baritone? (4 February 2015)
... that The sacred duck was seen widely across Germany until the Third Reich silenced it? (2 February 2015)

2014 edit

... that music from Joaquin Turina's opera Margot (libretto cover pictured) about a Parisian courtesan has become a popular piece during the processions of Holy Week in Seville? (28 December 2014)
... that the opera house for the Dresden court, Opernhaus am Taschenberg (pictured), opened in 1667 and was dedicated as a church in 1708? (17 December 2014)
... that Hans Wallat conducted Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen ninety times? (16 December 2014)
... that bass Michael Pospíšil and his ensemble Ritornello recorded music from the hymnal Capella Regia Musicalis, "one of the jewels of Czech musical history"? (29 October 2014)
... that the composer Joseph Maria Wolfram became mayor of Teplice? (20 October 2014)
... that Gabriela Eibenová (pictured) flew from Prague to Frankfurt to fill in for a soprano in Bach's Mass in B minor in St. Martin, Idstein, a year ago? (30 September 2014)
... that Romanian opera singer and film actress Maria Forescu died in the Buchenwald concentration camp? (19 August 2014)
... that countertenor David Erler was one of five singers invited by amarcord for the performance of Monteverdi's Vespers as the annual Marienvesper of the Rheingau Musik Festival in Eberbach Abbey? (15 August 2014)
... that Gerd Nienstedt performed 14 different roles, including the dragon in Siegfried, during 15 consecutive summers at the Bayreuth Festival? (14 August 2014)
... that Erich Wenk sang a "rage aria" in Bach's dramma per musica Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen? (14 August 2014)
... that Giacomo Orefice's 1901 opera Chopin, based very loosely on Chopin's life, has been called "a kitsch contribution to the last vestiges of late 19th-century romanticized bohemianism"? (10 August 2014)
... that Klesie Kelly, soprano and academic voice teacher in Cologne, recorded love songs for voices and instrumental soloists with tenor Ian Partridge? (10 August 2014)
... that over 210,000 tickets were sold in the 1867 lottery in which Chicago's Crosby's Opera House (pictured) was one of the prizes? (7 August 2014)
... that in celebration of the tercentenary of the birth of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, tenor Markus Schäfer performed in his oratorio Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu at the Rheingau Musik Festival? (6 August 2014)
... that soprano Ada Cherry Kearton was married to wildlife photographer Cherry Kearton and recounted their travels in her autobiography On Safari? (5 August 2014)
... that Siegfried Köhler conducted Wagner's Rienzi and premiered operas by Volker David Kirchner at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden (pictured)? (30 July 2014)
... that according to one reviewer, the productions of the Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company "can match a West End show"? (1 July 2014)
... that just after Frederick Federici sang the final note as Mephistopheles in Gounod's Faust, descending through a trap door to hell, he died? (24 June 2014)
... that after originating the role of Lady Sangazure in The Sorcerer, Mrs Howard Paul walked out of the cast of H.M.S. Pinafore when her part was reduced? (16 May 2014)
... that Lyndsie Holland played the Gilbert and Sullivan contralto roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company? (25 April 2014)
... that soprano Kristīne Opolais made two Met Opera debuts, as Puccini's Cio-Cio-San and Mimi, within a day? (19 April 2014)
... that texts by the lawyer and successful opera librettist Christian Heinrich Postel are part of Bach's St John Passion? (13 April 2014)
... that soprano Carmen Reppel performed several parts in the Jahrhundertring, Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle staged by Chéreau, and sang in Siegfried Wagner's Schwarzschwanenreich? (11 April 2014)
... that baritone Eike Wilm Schulte, who performed more than 100 roles since 1966, stepped in at the Bayreuth Festival as Gunther in Götterdämmerung? (6 April 2014)
... that Yulia Makhalina and Ulyana Lopatkina are part of "the basketball team", a group of tall and slender Kirov/Mariinsky ballerinas? (3 April 2014)
... that Alice Renavand, a star (étoile) at the Paris Opera Ballet, has been described as "having the beauty of the devil"? (2 April 2014)
... that soon after starting her career at the Met, Gwendolyn Killebrew appeared as a valkyrie in Wagner's Die Walküre in a live broadcast alongside Birgit Nilsson in the title role? (1 April 2014)
... that soprano Norma Sharp performed Mozart's Countess at her debut at La Scala and the voice of the forest bird in Bayreuth? (31 March 2014)
... that opera singer Paul Hansen was also a copper-engraver and silent film star? (28 March 2014)
... that Dominique Khalfouni, once a star (étoile) of the Paris Opera Ballet, regretted her decision to leave the company she still loves deeply? (26 March 2014)
... that soprano Nadine Secunde was praised for "formidable acting skills" in the title role of Dmitri Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk? (26 March 2014)
... that aged 15 and never having seen a live opera, Alessandra Marianelli placed second in the Cascinalirica singing competition and made her professional opera debut the following year? (24 March 2014)
... that Irénée Berge composed the opera Corsica and silent film music? (22 March 2014)
... that soprano Lucy Crowe, performing Janáček's Cunning Little Vixen at the Glyndebourne Festival, was described as "a powerhouse of foxy ingenuity"? (17 March 2014)
... that Simone Osborne, "one of Canada's most sought-after sopranos", busked on Toronto's streets to afford singing lessons? (13 March 2014)
... that Swan Lake was shown live in 100 French cinemas, with Steffi Scherzer, a dancer of the Berlin State Opera for 28 years, in the double role of Odette/Odile? (13 March 2014)
... that Rosina Galli (pictured) was the prima ballerina at La Scala Theatre Ballet before she became the première danseuse at the Metropolitan Opera House? (4 March 2014)
... that during its centenary season, the Theater Kiel premiered an opera, Cristóbal Halffter's Lázaro, in the 1907 Opernhaus (pictured)? (27 February 2014)
... that baritone Franz Grundheber performed the title role in Alban Berg's Wozzeck in Paris and Berlin, staged by Patrice Chéreau and filmed in 1994? (22 February 2014)
... that the climax of the opera L'ultimo giorno di Pompei by Giovanni Pacini is the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79? (20 February 2014)
... that Swedish soprano Erika Sunnegårdh, who has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, said that her voice was "like a wild horse"? (28 January 2014)

2013 edit

December

... that Les cadeaux de Noël, an opera in one act by Xavier Leroux, premiered on Christmas Day at the Opéra-Comique during World War I? (26 December 2013)
... that Vincenzo Negrini's earliest recorded performances were at the Teatro Comunitativo where he appeared in Mercadante's opera Didone abbandonata and Rossini's Semiramide? (25 December 2013)

November

... that a French team created the Jahrhundertring (scene pictured) of Wagner's Ring Cycle at the centenary Bayreuth Festival in 1976, causing "a near-riot"? (6 November 2013)
... that André Diot designed the lighting for the Jahrhundertring in Bayreuth in 1976, for the opening ceremony of the 1992 Winter Olympics, and for Così fan tutte at the Paris Opera in 2013? (14 November 2013)
... that Jacques Schmidt designed costumes for the Bayreuth Jahrhundertring and for Prokofiev's War and Peace, where 650 "historically appropriate costumes" were needed? (12 November 2013)
... that Patrice Chéreau, the stage director of the centenary Ring Cycle in Bayreuth, directed the film Intimacy, which "sparked a debate about unsimulated sex on screen"? (8 November 2013)
... that a French team created the Jahrhundertring (scene pictured) of Wagner's Ring Cycle at the centenary Bayreuth Festival in 1976, causing "a near-riot"? (7 November 2013)

October

... that Giuseppe Verdi (pictured) combined in Quattro pezzi sacri four sacred vocal compositions, including an Ave Maria on an enigmatic scale for solo voices and a Te Deum? (10 October 2013)

September

... that Giuseppe Verdi's secular cantata Inno delle nazioni, his first collaboration with Arrigo Boito, contains three national anthems? (3 September 2013)

August

... that Pavol Gábor, a tenor with the Slovak National Theatre who had an international career and died on 28 August 2003, was Britten's Puk and Albert Herring?
... that Prométhée, a large-scale work with spoken and musical sections by Gabriel Fauré, was premiered at Arènes de Béziers on 27 August 1900 by almost 800 performers?
... that the Lautten Compagney played Monteverdi's Vespers for the Rheingau Musik Festival's annual Marienvesper, which was sung by ensemble amarcord and guests?
... that even in her thirties, Scottish coloratura soprano Anne Sharp was able to pass as a teenager, performing the role of Emmie Spatchett in Albert Herring at the first Aldeburgh Festival?
... that conductor Roland Bader recorded late choral works by Max Reger, including his Hebbel Requiem, and the First Symphony by Richard Wetz?
... that the premiere of Stockhausen's Mittwoch aus Licht on 22 August 2012 by the Birmingham Opera showed "string quartets in helicopters and passages of dazzling virtuosity"?
... that Robert Hale, born 22 August 1938, recorded Wotan in a video of Der Ring des Nibelungen with Sawallisch, and Handel's Messiah with John Eliot Gardiner?
... that the musicians of the chamber orchestra Kammerorchester Basel accompanied Andreas Scholl in Bach cantatas and also sang the closing chorale? (21 August 2013)
... that Gian Carlo Menotti's Maria Golovin, premiered on 20 August at the Expo '58 in Brussels, was described in the New York Times as "a love story that should touch the hearts of sentimentalists”?
... that Mozart composed the role of Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail for Ludwig Fischer, born 18 or 19 August 1745?
... that Aleksander Orlov, born 18 August 1873 and in the 1920s principal conductor of the Kiev Opera, led Yehudi Menuhin's first recording of Beethoven's Violin Concerto?
... that Wagner's Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) (scene pictured) premiered on 17 August 1876 at the Bayreuth Festival as part of the first performance of the Ring Cycle?
... that Verdi and librettisto Francesco Maria Piave derived Aroldo, premiered on 16 August 1857, from their earlier criticised Stiffelio?
... that Hanna Schwarz, born 15 August 1943, performed at the Bayreuth Festival the part of Fricka in the centenary Ring production?
... that Ferruccio Tagliavini (pictured), born 14 August 1913, was one of the leading tenore di grazia of his time and recorded the duke in Verdi's Rigoletto alongside Giuseppe Taddei?
... that the first performance of Wagner's cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen began in Bayreuth on 13 August 1876 with the Vorabend ("ante-evening") Das Rheingold (set design pictured)?
... that L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe by Hans Werner Henze (pictured), inspired by Persian legends, premiered on 12 August 2003 at the Salzburg Festival?
... that Eurovision Song Contest singer Ellen Winther, born 11 August 1933, was employed for 30 years by the Royal Danish Theatre as a singer and an actress?
... that Love and Other Demons by Péter Eötvös (pictured), premiered on 10 August 2008 at the Glyndebourne Festival, is in English, Latin, Spanish and Yoruba?
... that Mozart wrote a cat duet for The Philosopher's Stone? (9 August 2013)
... that the tenor voice of César Vezzani, likely born 8 August 1888, a leading exponent of French grand opera, was described as "healthy and brilliant, somehow typically Corsican"?
... that the most famous aria by Alfredo Catalani (pictured), who died 7 August 1893, is part of La Wally and features in the cult film Diva?
... that the lavish instrumentation of Reinhard Keiser Octavia, premiered on 5 August 1705 at the Oper am Gänsemarkt, has the first recorded use of horns in an opera and five bassoons?
... that the Austrian premiere of Béla Bartók's one-act opera Bluebeard's Castle took place at the Salzburg Festival on 4 August 1978, 60 years after the work's premiere?
... that at the time of her much-heralded 1926 debut, 19-year-old Marion Talley (pictured) was the youngest prima donna to perform at the Metropolitan Opera? (2 August 2013)
... that the Staatstheater Darmstadt opened a new theatre building in 1972? (1 August 2013)

July

... that the Staatstheater Mainz and the University of Mainz collaborated on the program "Mathematics and Physics in the World of Sound"? (31 July 2013)
... that in the Opernhaus Wuppertal production of The Rite of Spring (revival pictured), choreographed by Pina Bausch, the dancers performed on a stage covered with soil? (30 July 2013)
... that Franz von Suppé's operetta Fatinitza stars a Russian army lieutenant who, while dressed as a woman, wins the love of a hot-tempered elderly general?
... that the opera Die Hamletmaschine by Wolfgang Rihm has been described as "a total theatre of sound and nonnarrative, ritualistic drama"? (29 July 2013)
... that Henri Duponchel, born 28 July 1794, was in turn a French architect, interior designer, costume designer, stage designer, stage director, managing director of the Paris Opera, and a silversmith?
... that Theodore Morrison's opera Oscar on the life of Oscar Wilde premiered on 27 July 2013, by the The Santa Fe Opera (pictured).
... that Krzysztof Meyer's opera Cyberiada is based on a series of humorous science fiction stories by Stanisław Lem?
... that librettist Terry Teachout described the collaboration with composer Paul Moravec for The Letter, premiered at the Santa Fe Opera on 25 July 2009: "... we do want it to move fast and hit hard"?
... that Friedrich Meyer-Oertel staged the Ring Cycle at the Opernhaus Wuppertal and the premiere of Wolfgang Rihm's Die Hamletmaschine at the Nationaltheater Mannheim? (24 July 2013)
... that Francesco Cilea, born 23 July 1866, composed Adriana Lecouvreur, premiered with Angelica Pandolfini and Enrico Caruso in leading parts?
... that the "fantasy opera" Gormenghast by Irmin Schmidt (pictured) was performed at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Völklingen Ironworks? (22 July 2013)
... that when the opera Miss Fortune by Judith Weir premiered on the stage in the lake of the Bregenzer Festspiele on 21 July 2011, its "cantabile voices" were compared to Britten's?
... that Hans Sommer, born 20 July 1837, composed operas on fairy tales such as Loreley and taught mathematics as the director of the Braunschweig University of Technology?
... that The Rising of the Moon, a comedy by Nicholas Maw about British soldiers stationed in Ireland during the Irish famine. premiered on 19 July 1970 at the Glyndebourne Festival?
... that architect Giuseppe Piermarini, born 18 July 1734, is remembered for building the Teatro alla Scala (pictured), but only the general plan and the facade remain of his design?
... that the title role of Boris Blacher's last opera, Yvonne, Prinzessin von Burgund, is performed by a mute dancer? (17 July 2013)
... that the title role in The Lodger by Phyllis Tate to a libretto by David Franklin after the 1913 novel, first performed on 16 July 1960, is Jack the Ripper?
... that the first opera by Harrison Birtwistle, born 15 July 1934, was Punch and Judy, first performed at the 1968 Aldeburgh Festival?
... that Karl Erb, born 13 July 1877, created the title role of Hans Pfitzner's Palestrina and has been considered the ideal Evangelist in Bach's St Matthew Passion?
... that Wagnerian dramatic soprano Kirsten Flagstad, born 12 July 1895, has been termed "Singer of the Century"?
... that baritone Hermann Prey, born 11 July 1929, was Figaro for Jean-Pierre Ponnelle twice, in a 1972 TV film Il barbiere di Siviglia and in a 1976 film Le nozze di Figaro?
... that in the first recording of Maria Callas as Norma, Ebe Stignani, born 10 July 1903, sang the part of Adalgisa?
... that Bluthochzeit (Blood Wedding), Wolfgang Fortner's opera based on García Lorca's play Bodas de sangre, premiered in 1957 at the Cologne Opera (pictured)? (9 July 2013)
... that the Chilcott Award of the Royal Philharmonic Society is named for Susan Chilcott, born 8 July 1963, who interpreted Ellen Orford in Britten's Peter Grimes at La Monnaie?
... that Elena Obraztsova, born 7 July 1939, played the title role of Carmen opposite Plácido Domingo in Franco Zeffirelli's television production?
... that Peter Glossop, born 6 July 1928, made his début at La Scala as Verdi's Rigoletto and appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 1970 in the role of Iago in Otello?
... that Paul Daniel, born 5 July 1958, conducted at the Opera North neglected operas including Schreker's Der Ferne Klang, Korngold's Violanta, and Britten's Gloriana?
... that Brigitte Fassbaender, born 3 July 1939, performed Brangäne in a recording of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde conducted by Carlos Kleiber (pictured), born 3 July 1930?
... that Karel Strakatý, born 2 July 1804, portrayed more than 253 bass roles at the Stavovské divadlo and first interpreted the Czech national anthem?

June

... that baritone Gerhard Faulstich takes an "unpretentious, conversational approach" to the part of Jesus in his recording of Bach's St Matthew Passion?
... that Emile Renan, born 28 June 1913, was the first singer to sound a note on the stage of the New York City Opera as the Sacristan in the inaugural Tosca in 1944?
... that the Cincinnati Opera (hall pictured), the second-oldest opera company in the United States, opened with Friedrich von Flotow's Martha on 27 June 1920?
... that Salome performs the "Dance of the Seven Veils" and kisses the severed head of John the Baptist (music pictured)?
... that Semyon Kotko, premiered on 23 June 1940 at the Stanislavsky Opera Theatre, is one of only two operas by Sergei Prokofiev on a Soviet subject?
... that Étienne Méhul (pictured), born 22 June 1763, "the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution", was the first composer called a Romantic?
... that the character Hans Sachs (performer pictured) in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, premiered on 21 June 1868, is based on an important historical master singer?
... that the Prince of Wales attended the premiere of La Navarraise by Jules Massenet (pictured), his "answer" to Italian verismo, at Covent Garden on 20 June 1894?
... that baritone Robert Leonhardt was released from the Metropolitan Opera when it was determined he was an enemy alien? (19 June 2013)
... that Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballe was declared persona non grata in Azerbaijan? (16 June 2013)
... that Leonard Bernstein reworked A Quiet Place, after the premiere on 17 June 1983 drew the comment '"To call the result a pretentious failure is putting it kindly"'?
... that Death in Venice by Benjamin Britten (pictured), was first performed at Snape Maltings on 16 June 1973 in sets by John Piper, the librettist's husband?
... that in Gavin Bryars' Doctor Ox's Experiment, about an experiment with gas that makes people chaotic, premiered on 15 June 1998 at the London Coliseum by the English National Opera?
... that Simon Mayr, born 14 June 1763, composed almost 70 operas including Ginevra di Scozia for the inauguration of the Regio Teatro Nuovo?
... that Elisabeth Schumann (pictured), born 13 June 1888 and famous for performing Sophie by Richard Strauss (pictured), was the first female Honorary Member of the Wiener Philharmoniker?
... that Camille Saint-Saëns reflected Japonism, using "oriental" pentatonic harmony in La princesse jaune (The Yellow Princess), premiered on 12 June 1872?
... that Richard Strauss, born 11 June 1864, was not permitted to study Wagner's music as a boy and bought a score of Tristan und Isolde (opening pictured) at age 16?
... that Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (opening pictured), termed by the composer "eine Handlung" (an action), and reputedly unperformable, premiered at the Munich Opera on 10 June 1865?
... that Peter Pears performed the part of Nebuchadnezzar in Benjamin Britten's Parable for Church Performance The Burning Fiery Furnace in the premiere on 9 June 1966?
... that Neues vom Tage, premiered 8 June 1929, at the Kroll Opera House, became notorious for a scene with naked Laura singing in the bath about the wonders of modern plumbing?
... that Richard Jones, born 7 June 1953, directed Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk for the Royal Opera House and The Trojans for the ENO, winning the Olivier Award for Best Opera production in 2005?
... that The Greek Passion by Bohuslav Martinů (pictured) on his own libretto based on Nikos Kazantzakis' novel, premiered at the Zurich Opera on 6 June 1961, after the composer's death?
... that contralto Marjorie Thomas, born 5 June 1923, created the role of Hermia in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream and sang Bach's Mass in B Minor at the Vatican?
... that Tom Sutcliffe, born 4 June 1943, was countertenor soloist in the first period instrument recording of the St Matthew Passion and wrote the obituary of Luciano Pavarotti for The Guardian?
... that Inga Nielsen, born 2 June 1946, known for portraying Konstanze and Salome, excelled as the woman in Erwartung, Ursula in Mathis der Maler and Jenny in Mahagonny?
... that Margaret Matzenauer, born 1 June 1861, made her debut at the MET as Amneris in Verdi's Aida alongside Enrico Caruso, and appeared as Eboli in the first production there of Don Carlo?

May

... that the Teatro Massimo Bellini (pictured) is named after the local-born Vincenzo Bellini and was inaugurated on 31 May 1890 with his Norma?
... that Bedřich Smetana's The Bartered Bride, first performed at the Provisional Theatre on 30 May 1866, was part of his quest to create a truly Czech operatic genre?
... that Pierre Monteux (pictured), who first conducted Le Sacre du printemps on 29 May 1913, was the principal conductor of the French repertoire at the MET from 1917?
... that Claudio Monteverdi later said that writing his second opera L'Arianna, first performed on 28 May 1608 as part of a wedding at the court of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga, almost killed him?
... that Elizabeth Harwood, born 27 May 1938 and a soprano with the Sadler's Wells Opera from 1961, was described by The Times as "looked well on stage and sang with a sense of fun"?
... that Ernst Märzendorfer, born 26 May 1921, conducted the New York premiere of Capriccio and was the first to record all 107 symphonies of Joseph Haydn?
... that the Teatro Colón (pictured), opened in Buenos Aires on 25 May 1908 with Verdi's Aïda, is acoustically considered to be amongst the five best concert venues in the world?
... that when Heinrich Marschner's successful German Romantic opera Hans Heiling premiered on 24 May 1833, the librettist Eduard Devrient performed the title role?
... that the radio drama Under Milk Wood, announced as finished around 23 May 1953 by author Dylan Thomas, was the base for an opera that premiered in Innsbruck in 2006?
... that the foundation stone of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus (pictured) was laid on 22 May 1872, Richard Wagner's 59th birthday?
... that Martin Krumbiegel sang the tenor part in Bach's cantata Erschallet, ihr Lieder (Resound, ye songs) and his "Pipe Aria"? (21 May 2013)
... that Bomarzo by Alberto Ginastera about the 16th century Italian eccentric Pier Francesco Orsini was premiered at the Opera Society of Washington on 19 May 1967 because the Argentine president had banned the production in Buenos Aires?
... that Francesco Maria Piave, born 18 May 1810, wrote ten libretti for Verdi, from Ernani to La forza del destino, and one for Michael William Balfe (pictured)?
... that Vincent, an opera by Einojuhani Rautavaara on a libretto by the composer, of scenes from the life of the artist Vincent van Gogh, was first performed at the Helsinki Opera House on 17 May 1990?
... that Owen Wingrave, an opera for television by Benjamin Britten on a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, was recorded at Snape Maltings and first broadcast on BBC2 on 16 May 1971?
... that the Irish composer Michael William Balfe (pictured), born 15 May 1808, conducted Italian Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre, including the first performances of Verdi's works in London?
... that the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the first major opera house to be constructed with public funds, was inaugurated on 14 May 1763 with Gluck's Il trionfo di Clelia, written for the occasion?
... that Apollo et Hyacinthus, Mozart's first opera composed at age eleven, was first performed on 13 May 1767 at the Great Hall of the Salzburg University?
... that Doris Soffel, born 12 May 1948, performed Sesto in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito at the Royal Opera House in 1982 and went to sing Wagner parts such as Ortrud (pictured)?
... that Turandot, an opera with spoken dialogue by Ferruccio Busoni on his own libretto in German based on the play by Gozzi, was first performed in Zurich on 11 May 1917 (poster pictured)?
... that baritone Karl Hill, born 9 May 1831, sang the role of Alberich in the first performance of Wagner's Ring Cycle at Bayreuth in 1876, and created Klingsor in Parsifal?
... that the opera Marco Polo by the Chinese-born composer Tan Dun, premiered at the Munich Biennale on 7 May 1996, uses sitar, pipa, sheng, tabla and Tibetan horns and bells?
... that the title character of Ernst Krenek'a opera in one act Der Diktator, premiered on 6 May 1928 at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden (pictured), is loosely based on Mussolini?
... that the opera May Night by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (pictured), based on Nikolai Gogol's story "May Night, or the Drowned Maiden", was first performed at the Mariinsky Theatre?
... that Cesira Ferrani, born 4 May 1863, created two iconic Puccini roles, Manon Lescaut in 1893 and Mimì in La bohème in the original 1896 production?
... that Lorin Maazel'a opera 1984, premiered on 3 May 2005 at the Royal Opera House, was described in the Daily Telegraph as "operatic fast food"?
... that Valery Gergiev, born 2 May 1953, director of the Mariinsky Theatre, initiated and conducted in 2003 the first complete cycle of Wagner's Ring staged in Russia for over 90 years?
... that Jean Pierre Solié (pictured), known as a tenor and later baritone at the Opéra-Comique, composed the opera Les fous de Médine, performed for the first and last time on 1 May 1790?

April

... that Edvard Fliflet Bræin, who died on 30 April 1976, composed the opera Anne Pedersdotter, first performed at Den Norske Opera and inspired by the witch trial against Anne Pedersdotter?
... that Felix Mendelssohn's Singspiel Die Hochzeit des Camacho (Camacho's Wedding), begun when he was 15, was first publicly performed at the Berlin Schauspielhaus on 29 April 1827?
... that mezzo-soprano Germaine Cernay, born 28 April 1900, performed Werther's Charlotte and Mozart's Requiem?
... that a London review of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, first performed at the Théâtre Lyrique on 27 April 1867, noted: "One remembers the work as a series of very pretty duets" (pictured)?
... that Else Gentner-Fischer, born 26 April 1883, performed the role of Sophie in the 1911 premiere of Der Rosenkavalier in Frankfurt and created in 1918 Carlotta in Die Gezeichneten?
... that Kenneth Spencer, born 25 April 1913 (or 1911?), known for singing Ol' Man River in the 1946 Broadway revival of Show Boat, spent 14 years performing in Germany?
... that Norman Tucker, born 24 April 1882, the head of the Sadler's Wells Opera from 1948 to 1966, made fresh translations of repertoire works?
... that Albert Coates born 23 April 1882, praised for conducting Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at Covent Garden in 1914, performed the first recording of Bach's Mass in B minor in 1929?
... that the subtitle of Naïs, a pastorale héroïque by Jean-Philippe Rameau first performed on 22 April 1749, was changed from Le triomphe de la paix to Opéra pour La Paix?
... that baritone Berthold Possemeyer performed songs by John Dowland, Gerald Finzi and Thomas Morley in a parody chamber musical after Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream? (21 April 2013)
... that John Eliot Gardiner (pictured), born 20 April 1943, made his opera debut at the English National Opera with Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1969 and was Music Director of the Opéra National de Lyon from 1983 to 1988?
... that Max von Schillings, born 19 April 1868, chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera, married Barbara Kemp, who had sung the title role of his Mona Lisa?
... that Catherine Malfitano (pictured as Violetta) , born 18 April 1948, performed Tosca opposite Plácido Domingo, broadcast live from the Roman settings of the opera?
... that Thomas L. Thomas, who died 17 April 1983, made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1937 as Silvio in Pagliacci, but turned down the offer of a seven-year contract?
... that Josef Greindl, who died 16 April 1923, performed the part of Marke in the 1952 recording of Tristan und Isolde, conducted by Furtwängler with Kirsten Flagstad as Isolde?
... that Gloria, premiered on 15 April 1907 at La Scala with Salomea Krusceniski (pictured) in the title role, proved to the last staged opera by Francesco Cilea?
... that Lakmé by Léo Delibes, first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra Comique, captures the ambience of the Orient seen through Western eyes?
... that despite health problems, Kathleen Ferrier performed in Handel's Messiah on 13 April 1952, the 140th anniversary of the work's first performance?
... that Leoš Janáček (pictured) knew that From the House of the Dead, adapted from Dostoyevsky's novel, would be his last opera (premiered on 12 April 1930 after his death)?
... that Danielle de Niese, born 11 April 1973, was the youngest singer of the Young Artists Studio at the MET, where she debuted at the age of 19 as Barbarina?
... that Karlheinz Stockhausen's Sonntag aus Licht, the last-composed of seven operas that comprise the cycle Licht (Light), was staged first on 9 and 10 April 2011?
... that Ralph Vaughan Williams (pictured) wrote the libretto for his opera Sir John in Love, first professionally performed on 9 April 1946 at Sadler's Wells Theatre?
... that Harold C. Schonberg defended the expressive liberties of Franco Corelli, born 8 April 1821, a spinto tenor with movie-star looks, as "its own kind of logic"?
... that Johannes Schaaf, born 7 April 1933, directed the films Tattoo and Momo, and Mozart's Idomeneo and Così fan tutte at the Vienna State Opera with Nikolaus Harnoncourt?
... that Luigi Cherubini's Les Abencérages, ou L'étendard de Grenade was first performed at the Opéra on 6 April 1813 with Napoleon and his wife in the audience?
... that the operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat) by Johann Strauss, based on the farce Das Gefängnis (The Prison) by Roderich Benedix, premiered on 5 April 1874 at the Theater an der Wien?
... that mezzo-soprano and voice teacher Blanche Marchesi (pictured), born 4 April 1863, was the daughter of Mathilde Marchesi, who also taught Nellie Melba and Emma Eames?
... that Daniel Catán, born 3 April 1949, was the first Mexican composer to have an opera produced in the U.S. when San Diego Opera showed his Rappaccini's Daughter in 1994?
... that conductor and opera house director Kurt Herbert Adler, born 2 April 1905, said: "Tradition is what you resort to when you don't have the time and money to do it right."?
... that the U.S. premiere of Milhaud's Le pauvre matelot was on 1 April 1937 at the Philadelphia Academy of Music, in a double bill with the premiere of Menotti's Amelia Goes to the Ball?

March

... that Stanislao Gastaldon's Mala Pasqua! (Evil Easter!) (libretto pictured) was premiered at the Teatro Costanzi, six weeks before Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana based on the same play?
... that the first production of Ghost Patrol, a chamber opera composed by Stuart MacRae, won the 2013 South Bank Sky Arts Award for Opera? (29 March 2013)
... that tenor Martin Lattke performed with the ensemble amarcord in the Frauenkirche Dresden Bach's lost St Mark Passion in a reconstruction by Diethard Hellmann? (29 March 2013)
... that tenor Ben Davies (pictured), who died 28 March 1943, performed in 1902 in the Peace Concert at The Crystal Palace, commemorating the South African War?
... that Giacomo Puccini's La rondine (The Swallow), originally planned as a Viennese operetta, was first performed at the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo on 27 March 1917?
... that Paul Hindemith's early one-act opera Sancta Susanna, first performed on 26 March 1922 at the Frankfurt Opera, depicts the descent of a nunnery into sexual frenzy?
... that composer Johann Adolph Hasse, born 25 March 1699, was immensely popular in his time, known for his operas and a pivotal figure in the development of opera seria?
... that Maria Malibran (pictured), born 24 March 1808, who performed with the first Italian troupe in New York, was admired by Rossini, Donizetti and Chopin?
... that Monica Sinclair, born 23 March 1925, a contralto with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, recorded Handel's Messiah alongside Jennifer Vyvyan, Jon Vickers and Giorgio Tozzi?
... that the opera Diarmid by Hamish MacCunn, born 22 March 1868 and a lifelong champion of Scottish music, was produced at Covent Garden in 1897?
... that the grand opera in five acts and seven tableaux Ascanio by Camille Saint-Saëns (pictured), based on the 1843 historical novel by Alexandre Dumas, père, premiered on 21 March 1890?
... that the opera Die Soldaten by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, born 20 March 1918, which is regarded as one of the most important operas of the 20th century, is based on a play by Lenz?
... that Lauritz Melchior, the Wagner tenor of his time, who died on 19 March 1973, made his debut in the baritone role of Silvio in Pagliacci at Det Kongelige Teater in 1913?
... that baritone Alfred Poell, born 18 February 1900, performed in Bach's Mass in B minor alongside Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Kathleen Ferrier?
... that a contemporary comment praised Verdi's Attila, premiered on 17 March 1846 at La Fenice, as suitable for the "political education of the people"?
... that mezzosoprano Christa Ludwig, born 16 March 1928, made her debut in 1946 as Orlovsky at the Frankfurt Opera, and made her farewell appearance at the MET as Fricka in 1994?
... that soprano Elisabeth Röckel (pictured), born 15 March 1793, a friend of Ludwig van Beethoven, was probably not the namesake of Für Elise but saved a lock of his hair?
... that tenor Franco Lo Giudice, born 14 March 1893, an exponent of the works of Riccardo Zandonai, was described as a "fiery, strong tenor" who "excelled in verismo parts"?
... that the opera trilogy based on Svend Aage Madsen's novel Tugt og Utugt I Mellemtiden, by John Frandsen, born 13 March 1956, premiered in 1998 at the Aarhus Summer Opera?
... that Donizetti's Marino Faliero, inspired by Lord Byron's drama, premiered on 12 March 1835 at the Théâtre-Italien on a commission by Rossini?
... that Alberto Franchetti quoted German and student's popular songs in his most successful opera Germania, premiered on 11 March 1902 at La Scala?
... that in the first version of the chamber opera In the Penal Colony, based on the short story by Franz Kafka, composer Philip Glass (pictured) included the character of Kafka as narrator? (11 March 2013)
... that soprano Vina Bovy made her debut at the Opéra-Comique on 9 March 1925 and sang in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony under Toscanini in New York in 1938?
... that Royal Tunbridge Wells has a church dedicated to King Charles I that had no vicar for 33 years, an opera house that became a pub, and a rugby club whose alumni include an RFU regional administrator and aftershave-drinking Colin Smart? (8 March 2013)
... that the original producers of Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann relocated its second act to Venice to include "Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour" (the Barcarolle), the opera's most famous piece? (5 March 2013)
... that the appearances of Maria Malibran (pictured) in Nicola Vaccai's opera Giovanna Gray marked the last time she performed at La Scala? (6 March 2013)
... that the satirical opera The Love for Three Oranges by Sergei Prokofiev (pictured), who died 5 March 1953, was first performed at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago?
... that Ellen Gulbranson (pictured), born 4 March 1863, made her first appearance at the Bayreuth Festival in 1896 in the role of Brünnhilde and went on to sing annually there until 1914?
... that Georges Bizet's Carmen (pictured) premiered at the Opéra-Comique on 3 March 1875, and at first was not particularly successful?
... that Luigi Rossi's Orfeo premiered at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal on 2 March 1647 as one of the earliest operas staged in France?
... that Gian Carlo Menotti's first full-length opera The Consul was recorded a month after the premiere on 1 March 1950 with the original cast and conductor?

February

... that Félix Vieuille, who died 28 February 1953, created the role of Arkel in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande at the Opéra-Comique in 1902, and went on to sing the part there 208 times?
... that Cyrano by Walter Damrosch to an English libretto by William James Henderson based on Edmond Rostand's play premiered at the Metropolitan Opera on 27 February 1913 (libretto pictured)?
... that Felix Draeseke, who died 26 February 1913, attended an early performance of Wagner's Lohengrin and composed the operas Herrat (1879) and Gudrun (1884, after the medieval epic)?
... that The Mines of Sulphur, Richard Rodney Bennett's first full-length opera, composed in 1963 and dedicated to Benjamin Britten, premiered on 24 February 1965 at Sadler's Wells Theatre.
... that when Nellie Melba (pictured), who died 23 February 1931, sang the role of Nedda in Pagliacci at Covent Garden in 1893, the composer said that the role had never been so well played before.
... that Giovanni Bononcini's Griselda, based on Boccaccio's The Decameron (X, 10), premiered on 22 February 1722, four years after an opera on the same libretto by the composer's brother Antonio Maria Bononcini?
... that Ulf Schirmer, director of the Oper Leipzig, conducted Richard Wagner's early opera Die Feen as part of the Wagner Year 2013, to be performed in concert at the Bayreuth Festival? (21 February 2013)
... that Carl Orff's Die Kluge premiered at the Oper Frankfurt on 20 February 1943 in a design by Helmut Jürgens who also set the stage in 1948 in Munich (pictured)?
... that Pavel Ludikar, who died 19 February 1970, portrayed first Karl V in Krenek's opera and was director of the Neues deutsches Theater in Prague until it was closed due to Nazi occupation?
... that Marianna Barbieri-Nini (pictured), born 18 February 1818, created the role of Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth in 1847 at the Teatro della Pergola)?
... that Mathilde Mallinger, born 17 February 1847, was recommended to the Munich Hofoper by Richard Wagner and made her debut there in as Bellini's Norma?
... that François-Joseph Gossec (pictured), who died 16 February 1829, composed the divertissement-lyrique Le triomphe de la République, ou Le camp de Grandpré in 1794?
... that Giuseppe Verdi's biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz once characterized the modern opera business as "monstropera"? (15 February 2013)
... that mezzo-soprano singer Jaklin Çarkçı can speak six languages? (14 February 2013)
... that Walter Midgley, born 13 February 1913, became Principal Tenor at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden after World War II, making his debut as Calaf in Turandot?
... that personal choice of George Gershwin (pictured) for the performer of Porgy in Porgy and Bess was Todd Duncan, born 12 February 1903, who played the role more than 1,800 times?
... that tenor Richard Kubla, born 11 February 1890, sang the principal role in the revised version of Alexander von Zemlinsky's Kleider machen Leute at the Deutsches Theater Prague?
... that Inga Nielsen, who died 10 February 2008, created in 1983 the "title role" of Minette in Henze's Die englische Katze at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen, repeated at the Santa Fe Opera?
... that in the sacred opera Der Thurm zu Babel by Anton Rubinstein (pictured), first performed on 9 February 1870, the chorus begins to sing in three different languages?
... that Swedish Hovsångare Franziska Stading, who died 8 February 1836, was given a contract as premier actress when she debuted at Drottningholm Palace Theatre in 1779?
... that Deems Taylor's Peter Ibbetson was premiered at the MET on 7 February 1931 and appeared until 1935 when the starring singers Lucrezia Bori and Edward Johnson retired?
... that the melodramma eroico Tancredi by Gioachino Rossini (pictured) premiered at La Fenice on 6 February 1813, right after the composer's Il signor Bruschino on 27 January?
... that Jussi Björling, born 5 February 1911, known as the "Swedish Caruso", recorded in 1952 the complete Il trovatore, with Zinka Milanov?
... that soprano Marie Sundelius (pictured), born 4 February 1884, created in 1918 roles of Puccini's Il Trittico, the Monitress in Suor Angelica and Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi?
... that Semiramide, to a libretto by Gaetano Rossi based on Voltaire's tragedy and first performed at La Fenice on 3 February 1823, was Gioachino Rossini's final Italian opera?
... that Martina Arroyo, one of the Metropolitan Opera's leading sopranos, born 2 February 1937, helped break down the barriers of racial prejudice in the opera world?
... that Marie Antoinette could not keep her promise to Antonio Sacchini of a better production of Œdipe à Colone, but it was performed on 1 February 1787 after the composer's death?

January

... that the grand opera Ivanhoe (pictured) with music by Arthur Sullivan premiered at the Royal English Opera House on 31 January 1891 for a consecutive run of 155 performances?
... that Francis Poulenc, who died on 30 January 1963, composed three operas, Les mamelles de Tirésias in 1947, Dialogues of the Carmelites in 1957 and the monodrama La voix humaine in 1959?
... that Karl Scheidemantel (pictured), born 29 January 1859, created the role of Herr von Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss?
... that French composer Ferdinand Hérold, born 28 January 1791, is best known for the ballet La fille mal gardée and the overture to the opera Zampa?
... that Knut Schoch appeared as the tenor soloist on many volumes of Pieter Jan Leusink's complete recording of the Bach cantatas with the Holland Boys Choir, including cantatas BWV 1, 2, 3, ... 198? (27 January 2013)
... that Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss to a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal premiered on 26 January 1911 in Dresden under the baton of Ernst von Schuch (pictured)?
... that tenor Marcello Giordani, born 25 January 1963 in Augusta, sang at Covent Garden in 1997 as Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra, in the final opera performances of Georg Solti?
... that Dmitri Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, first performed on 24 January 1934, was banned by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for almost thirty years?
... that the Austrian tenor Karl Beck became a master baker after his singing career, which included creating the title role in Wagner's opera Lohengrin, was cut short by a deterioration in his voice? (23 January 2013)
... that A Princess of Kensington, an English comic opera by Edward German, premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 22 January 1903 (protagonists pictured) and ran for 115 performances?
... that Plácido Domingo, born 21 January 1941, one of The Three Tenors, conductor and director of the Los Angeles Opera, plans to add two roles in 2013 to the 140 he performed?
... that Alfredo Catalani (pictured) inserted an aria, Chanson Groënlandaise, composed in 1878, in his opera La Wally, first performed at La Scala on 20 January 1892?
... that Ernst Krenek's Leben des Orest, premiered at the Neues Theater in Leipzig on 19 January 1930, had 13 productions by 1933, when the Nazis banned Krenek from German stages?
... that Myfanwy Piper, who died on 18 January 1997, wrote several opera libretti for Benjamin Britten (Death in Venice) and Alun Hoddinott (The Trumpet Major)?
... that Le maschere, Pietro Mascagni's homage to Rossini, was premiered simultaneously in six Italian opera houses on 17 January 1901: La Scala, the Teatro Carlo Felice, the Teatro Regio, the Teatro Costanzi, La Fenice, and the Teatro Filarmonico?
... that coloratura soprano Maria Tauberová, who died on 16 January 2003, sang almost four decades at the Prague National Theatre, particularly admired for her portrayal of Mozart's Susanna, Despina and Zerlina?
... that Edwardian musical comedy star Rutland Barrington, born 15 January 1853, created in 1885 his most famous role, that of Pooh-Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado (pictured)?
... that the last opera by Fabio Campana, born 14 January 1819, Esmeralda, premiered in Saint Petersburg in 1869, followed by London performances with Adelina Patti in the title role?
... that soprano Rachel Nicholls, a performer of Wagner's Brünnhilde, sang in Bach's dialogue cantata Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen (Dearest Jesus, my desire) "a clear Lutheran analogy to a love duet"? (13 January 2013)
... that Czech Heldentenor Karel Burian, born 12 January 1870 appeared as Tristan in the Hungarian première of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde?
... that The Bartered Bride (Prodaná nevěsta) by Bedřich Smetana (score title page pictured)) was first performed outside its native land at the Mariinsky Theatre on 11 January 1871?
... that Richard Strauss conducted an orchestra to supply the music for the premiere of the silent film Der Rosenkavalier at the Dresden Semperoper on 10 January 1926?
... that the premiere of Titon et l'Aurore by Jean-Joseph de Mondonville (pictured) on 9 January 1753 played an important role in the so-called Querelle des Bouffons?
... that American bass Giorgio Tozzi, born 8 January 1923, sang in the recording of Sir Thomas Beecham's version of Handel's Messiah in 1959?
... that Elisabeth Höngen, born 7 December 1906, performed Lady Macbeth in a 1943 recording of Verdi's Macbeth of the Vienna State Opera, conducted by Karl Böhm?
... that Mafalda Favero, born 6 January 1903, made her debut at La Scala as Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, conducted by Arturo Toscanini in 1929.
... that the music of French opera composer Auguste Mermet (pictured), born 5 January 1810, has been described as "direct, attractive, unadventurous, and noisy"?
... that baritone André Baugé, born 4 January 1893, sang at the Opéra-Comique and appeared in La Route est belle, one of the first films with sound?
... that Henriette Sontag, born 3 January 1806, was the soprano soloist in the first performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Missa Solemnis at age 18?
... that the city of Hamburg's Oper am Gänsemarkt (pictured), built after plans of Girolamo Sartorio, opened on 2 January 1678 with Johann Theile's sacred opera Adam und Eva?
... that before it was moved to the opera house, the post office in Jamestown, Ohio sometimes changed locations once per week? (1 January 2013)

2012 edit