APRIL 28

1736 FP of Araja's "La gara dell'amore e del zelo" Cantata, St. Petersburg.

1783 FP of Gretry's "Thalie au nouveau théâtre" prologue, Paris.

1798 FP of Bruni's "La Rencontre en voyage" Paris.

1806 FP of Boieldieu's "Un Tour de soubrette" St Petersburg.

1848 (1865?) FP of Meyerbeer's last opera L'Africaine at Paris Opera in Paris. Jean-Bapiste Faure (b) (1830 -1914) Fr. [Nelusko].

1848 Birth of Welsh conductor and composer Ralph HORNER in Newport, Monmouthshire,(now in Gwent, Wales). d-Winnipeg, 7 APR 1926. Opera, "Confucius, Amy Rosbart, and The Belles of Barcelona."

1848 Birth of Danish composer and pharmacist Ludwig Theodor SCHYTTE in Aarhus. d-Berlin, 10 NOV 1909.

1858 Birth of Austrian soprano Anna BAIER in Vienna. d-4 JUN 1935.

1869 FP of Hervé's "Le Petit Faust" operetta, Paris.

1871 Birth of American contralto (mezzo-soprano) Louise HOMER in Pittsburgh, PA. d-Sewicley, PA 6 MAY 1947. Aunt of composer Samuel Barber. Debut as Leonora in Favorita (Donizetti) JUN 1898. Teachers were Miss Groff, Fidele Konig, Paul Lherie, Miss Whinnery, William Whitney, Jacques Bouhy. Pupil was Doris Doe. Created Witch in Konigskinder (Humperdinck). Mona in Mona (Parker).

1873 Birth of English-American pianist Harold BAUER.

1888 Birth of German tenor Laurenz HOFER in Cologne. d-29 NOV 1964. Pupils were Rudolf Schock, Wilma Schmidt.

1890 Birth of German soprano Rose ADER. d-1955.

1892 Birth of American balladeer John Jacob NILES d-1980.

1892 FP of Antonin Dvorák's In Nature's Realm Overture, Op. 91, in Prague.

1892 FP of Jean Sibelius' Kullervo for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra, composer conducting, at age 26, in Helsinki.

1906 Birth of Swiss conductor, billionaire, and arts patron Paul SACHER in Basel. d- 26 MAY 1999, after a long illness, in Zurich, age 93 years.

1910 Birth of American musicologist, historian and MET broadcast commentator Francis ROBINSON in Henderson, KY. d-NYC, (cancer) 14 MAY 1980. Assistant Manager of the Metropolitan Opera (1952-76).

1911 Birth of Czech soprano Marie TAUBEROVA in Vysoke Myto, Bohemia. d-16 JAN 2003. Debut as Gilda in Rigoletto 20 JUN 1936. Teachers were Fernando Carpi, Ferdinand Rebay.

1911 Birth of Dutch tenor Frans VROONS in Amsterdam. d-1 JUN 1983. Debut as Don Curzio in Nozze di Figaro. Teacher was Berthe Seroen. Pupils were Maya Bazuky, Wilma Driessen. Sang in FP of Apostrophe (Francaix). Martin Korda D P (Badings).

1919 Death of German bass Rudolf Moest in Vienna. b-Karlsruhe, 22 APR 1872. Debut 1892. Teachers were Carl Hermann, Fritz Krukl, Wilhelm Rode.

1920 Birth of American mezzo-soprano Nan [Katherine-Ann] MERRIMAN in Pittsburgh. Début: [La Cieca] La Gioconda, Cincinnati (1942). Biography. Toscanini heard her in 1944, and engaged her for his broadcasts and recordings of Gluck's Orfeo; [Meg] Falstaff; [Maddalena] Rigoletto, and [Emilia] Otello. Aix-en-Provence, the Piccola Scala, and Glyndebourne. In 1950. Sang in the first complete RCA opera, Verdi: [Maddalena] Rigoletto (spring, 1950). In 1950's she appeared at many of the leading European opera houses, Vienna, Milan and Paris. She married and retired in April 1965. Teachers were Lotte Lehmann, Alexia Bassian.

1920 FP of Graner's "Schirin und Gertraude" Dresden.

1922 Birth of Czech soprano Miroslava FIDLEROVA in Prague. aka Miroslava FIEDLEROVA.

1927 Birth of American soprano Edith LANG in Chicago. Debut as Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly 1953. Teacher was Riccardo Picozzi.

1928 Birth of Russian tenor Zurab ANDZHAPARIDZE in Tifles, Georgia. d-12 APR 1997. Debut as Absalom in Absalom & Ateri (Paliashvili). Teacher was David Anguladses.

1928 FP of Henry Cowell's Sinfonietta. Nicholas Slonimsky conducting in Boston.

1935 Death of Scottish composer Alexander Campbell Mackenzie in London. b-Edinburgh, 22 AUG 1847.

1936 (29th?)Birth of Conductor Zubin MEHTA in Bombay, India.

1938 FP of David Diamond's Elegy in Memory of Maurice Ravel in Rochester, NY.

1940 Death of Italian soprano Luisa Tetrazzini in Rome at age 68. b-Florence, 1871. Debut as Inez in Africaine (Meyerbeer). Teachers were Ceccherini, Contrucci, Eva Tetrazzini (her sister).

1942 Birth of American soprano Giulia BARRERA in NYC. Debut as Aida in Aida (Verdi) 1963. Teacher was Dick Marzollo.

1943 Birth of Russian soprano Jana JONASOVA in Pilsen. Debut as Constanza in Entfuhrung. Teacher was Frau Bendlova.

1943 Birth of English conductor Jeffrey TATE in Salisbury. MET Opera Début 26 DEC 1980, 7 seasons (1980-87) 91 perf., 13 works.

1947 Birth of American soprano Elise ROSS. Teacher was Dickson Titus. Sang in premiere of Therese (Taverner).

1947 Birth of English composer Nicola Le FANU. NYU Prof. Mu. Daughter of composer Elizabeth Maconchy.

1948 FP of Igor Stravinsky's ballet Orpheus. American Society in NYC.

1952 Birth of Irish composer and conductor Gerald BARRY in Clarecastle. Opera, "The Intelligence Park" (1990), "The Triumph of Beayuty and Deceit" (1993).

1952 FP of Frazzi's "Don Chisciotte" Florence.

1954 Birth of composer Michael DAUGHERTY.

1955 Death of Irish tenor John O'Sullivan. b-Cork, 28 OCT 1877. Debut as Tannhauser 1908. Teacher was Masson.

1959 Birth of English baritone George MOSLEY in London. Debut as Dandini in Cenerentola (Rossini). Teachers were Joseph Loibl, David Mason, Laura Sarti.

1966 FP of Douglas Moore's opera Carrie Nation in Lawrence, KS.

1970 FP in USAmerica of K. Weill's "Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny" in NYC.

1974 FP of Jaques Charpentier's Fourth Symphony, Brasil in Paris.

1981 FP of John Williams' Pops on the March. Boston Pops with Williams conducting.

1992 Death of French composer Olivier Messiaen, in Paris at age 83. b-10 DEC 1908.

2000 Death of Finnish bass Kim Borg in Copenhagen. b-Helsinki 7 AUG 1919. Debut as Colline in Boheme (Puccini) 1951. Teachers were Magnus Anderson, Heikki Teittinen, Andrjeva von Skilondz. Sang in premiere of Visitation (Schuller).

Death of American cellist Janos Starker at age 88. b-5 July 1924. OBIT