MAY 1

1582 Birth of Italian opera composer Marco da GAGLIANO, in Florence. d-Florence, 25 FEB 1643. Opera, "La Dafne" (Mantua, 1608); "Lo sposalizio di Medoro e Angelica" (collaboration w/J. Peri, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, 1619); "La Flora, avero Il natal di Fiori" (assisted by J. Peri, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, 1628); "La liberazione di Tirreno e d'Arneo" (may be by Gagliano or Peri, Florence, 1617).

1602 Baptism of English madrigal composer William LAWES, in Salisbury. d-Chester, 24 SEP 1645.

1649 FP of Cavalli's "Giasone" Venice.

1696 FP of Colasse's "La naissance de Vénus" Paris.

1739 FP of Handel's "Giove in Argo" London.

1761 Haydn officially becomes deputy music director for the Esterhazy family at Eisenstadt.

1764 Birth of composer Gottfried Rieger

1769 FP of Mozart's opera La Finta Semplice in Salzburg.

1771 FP of Dittersdorf's "Il viaggiatore americano in Joannesberg" Johannesburg. The work is now lost.

1771 Birth of composer George Guest

1773 FP of Dittersdorf's: "Il tutore e la pupilla" dramma giocoso, Johannesburg.

1775 FP of Dittersdorf's "Il maniscalco" operetta giocosa, Johannesburg.

1775 FP of Benda's "Medea" Leipzig.

1775 Birth of composer Jacob-Joseph-Balthasar Martinn

1780 FP of Mozart's "Die verstellte Gärtnerin" singspiel, Augsburg.

1786 FP of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro at the Burgtheater in Vienna.

1797 FP of Méhul's "La jeunesse d'Henri IV" Paris.

1814 Birth of English soprano Emma ALBERTAZZI in London. d-25 Sep 1847. Debut as Pippo in Gazza Ladra (Rossini) 1830. Teacher was Andrea Costa.

1821 FP of Cherubini/Berton/Boieldieu/Kreutzer/Paër's "Blanche de Provemce, ou La Cour de Fées" Paris.

1837 FP in USAmerica of Rossini's opera Semiramide in New Orleans, LA.

1840 Death of Italian mezzo-soprano Giuditta Grisi. b-Milan, 28 JUL 1805. Debut in Bianca e Falliero (Rossini) 1826. Teacher was Giulia Grisi. Created Romeo in I Capuletti ed I Montecchi (Bellini). Wilfredo in Ivanhoe (Pacini). Rosmonda in Rosmonda D'Inghilterra (Coccia). Rosmonda in Enrico di Montfort (Coccia). Estella in Carlo di Borgogna (Pacini).

1858 Birth of American hymnist Anthony Johnson SHOWALTER. d-1924.

1859 - Bohuslav Jeremias, composer

1863 FP of Delibes' "Le Jardinier et son seigneur" Paris.

1865 Birth of American composer Charles Kassel HARRIS. d-1930.

1868 FP of Granval's "Les Fiancés de Rose" Paris.

1872 Birth of Swedish composer and violinist Hugo ALFVEN in Stockholm. d-Falun, 8 MAY 1960.

1874 Birth of French tenor Augustin NUIBO aka Francisco Nuibo in Marseilles. d-1948. Paris Opéra from 1900. He formed a vocal conservatory in Montmartre that offered free instruction to poor students. MET Opera Début 27 NOV 1904, 1 season, 6 perf. 3 roles. Opera Début, Gounod: [Roméo] Roméo et Juliette, 20 JAN 1905. Debut as Fischer in William Tell (Rossini) 1900. Teachers were Auguste-Acanthe Boudouresque, Victor Capoul.

1874 Death of Czech composer Blodek Vilem in Prague. b-Prague, 3 OCT 1834.

1879 FP of Chabrier's "Une Éducation manquée" Paris.

1883 FP of BARBIERI's "De Gitafe al paraiso" in Madrid.

1884 Birth of Argentinian composer Felipe BOERO in Buenos Aires. d-Buenos Aires, 9 AUG 1958. Opera, "Tucumá" (1918); "Ariana y Dionisios" Buenos Aires (1920); "Las Bacantes" Buenos Aires (1925); "Raquela" (1929); "El Matrero" (1929); "Siripo" Buenos Aires (1937).

1884 FP of Sousa's "Desiree" Operetta, Washington, DC.

1886 FP of Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro" Vienna.

1886 FP of Cesar Franck's Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra, in Paris.

1892 Birth of American conductor Howard BARLOW. Arthur Judson, a co-founder of CBS, choose Barlow to be the serious music conductor for the new broadcasting network.

1892 Death of singing teacher Francesco Lamperti. b-Savona, 11 MAR 1811. Teacher was Giuditta. Pupils were Sophie Loewe, William Shakespeare, Cornelie Van Zanten, Emma Albani, Max Alvary, Desiree Artot de Padilla, Lola Beeth, Italo Campanini, Sofia Cruvelli, Nikolay Figner, Alma Fohstrom, Helene Hastreitter, Arthur J Hubbard, Salvatore Marchesi, Franz Nachbaur, Oscar Niemann, George Osgood, Antonio Scotti, Marcella Sembrich, Teresa Stoltz, Jennie Van Zandt, Marie Waldmann, Herbert Witherspoon, Emmy Achte, Irene Abendroth, Gottardo Aldighieri, Guido Vannuccini, Paul Kalisch, Aurelie Wilczek, Adolf Robinson, John Acton, Eliza Biscaccianti, Deveris Friederike Gruen, Tiberini, Anna de la Grange, Angelica Moro, Vialetti Palermi, Camille Everardi, Emilia Tagliani, Daniel Filleborn, Angela Peralta.

1893 Birth of Bulgarian soprano Flora Yardumian KURKJIAN. d-JAN 1982.

1894 Birth of French soprano Marthe NESPOULOS in Paris. d-6 AUG 1962. Debut as Babylonian in Herodaide (Massenet) 1923. Teacher was Mme. Billa-Azema. Pupils were Jean Louis Soumagnas, Claude Cales.

1895 Birth of American organist and composer Leo SOWERBY in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Canticle of the Sun 1946. d-Port Clinton, OH 7 JUL 1986. Centennial tribute.

1899 Birth of Icelandic composer Jón LEIFS in Sólheimar. d-1968.

1900 Birth of bass Leon BJORKER. d-5 FEB 1962. Debut in Crown Bride (Rangstrom) 1929. Teachers were John Forsell, Oskar Lejdstrom. Sang in FP of Marionetter (Rosenberg).

1901 Birth of American composer Heinz ROEMHELD in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. d-11 FEB 1985.

1903 Birth of American composer Percy WHITLOCK. d-1 MAY 1946.

1904 Death of Czech composer Antonin Dvorak in Prague, at age 62. A national day of mourning is declared for his May 4 funeral. b-Nelahozeves, 8 SEP 1841.

1909 (JC, GC=18 APR) FP of Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead in Moscow with Rachmaninoff conducting.

1912 Birth of mezzo soprano Anna Pollak

1912 Birth of composer Felipe Padilla de Leon

1913 Birth of Czech conductor Walter SUSSKIND in Prague. Appointed music director of Cincinnati Symphony in 1978. d-Berkeley, CA 1980.

1915 (1912?)Birth of English mezzo-soprano Anna POLLAK in Manchester. d-Hove, 28 NOV 1996. Debut as Dorabella in Cosi fan Tutte (Mozart) 1945. Teachers were Joan Cross, Joseph Hislop. Created Mistress Ford in Sir John in Love (Vaughan-Williams). Ruth in Ruth (Berkeley). Mrs. Strickland in Moon & Sixpence (Gardner). Madame Pernelle in Tartuffe (Benjamin). Lady Nelson in Nelson (Berkeley). Bianca in Rape of Lucretia (Britten). Sang in FP of Take a Life (Searle). Popularized song 'Baba the Turk' on the radio in the FP in Britain of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress.

1919 Death of Italian tenor Giuseppe Oxilia in Milan. b-Montevideo 1865.

1924 Birth of composer Enrico Josif

1924 Birth of American composer Earl GEORGE.

1924 FP of Boito's "Nerone" La Scala, after 50 years and this work was not completed. The orchestral score was revised by Toscanini and performed under his direction. Bass Ezio Pinza with baritone Carlo Galeffi.

1925 FP of Walter Piston's first publication, Three Pieces for flute, clarinet, and bassoon. Blanquart-Coste-Dherin trio, at the École Normale in Paris.

1927 Birth of Israeli (Moldovian) conductor and composer Gary BERTINI in Brichevo, Moldova. Début Scottish Opera. d-Tel Hashomer, Israel, 17 MAR 2005. The cause was complications from lymphatic cancer.

1936 Death of Austrian soprano Hermine Bosetti. b-Vienna, 28 SEP 1875. Debut as Annchen in Freischutz (Weber) 1898. Teacher was Aurelie Wilczek. Pupils were Nora Gruhn, Adele Kern, Marcia Van Dresser, Imgard Gerz. Sang in premiere of I Quattro Rusteghi (Wolf-Ferrari).

1939 FP of Samuel Barber's The Virgin Martyrs. Composer conductiong students from the Curtis Institute of Music, on a CBS Radio broadcast.

1941 Death of Swedish soprano Julia Claussen. b-Stockholm, 11 JUN 1879. Debut 1902. Teachers were G. Friedrich, Oskar Lejdstrom. Pupil was Anna-Lisa Bjorling.

1942 Birth of German tenor Wolf Willie APPEL in Senftenberg. d-22 DEC 1999. Debut 1960. Teacher was Walter Houick. Created Count of Montenegro in Adventures of Tartarin (Niehaus).

1942 FP of William Bergsma's Señor Commendante in Rochester, NY.

1946 Death of English composer, organist and teacher Edward Cuthbert Bairstow in York. b-Huddersfield, 22 AUG 1874.

1946 Death of English composer and organist Percy Whitlock in Bournemouth. b-Chatham, 1 JUN 1903.

1952 Birth of British opera and theatre director David FREEMAN.

1964 Debut of conductor Pierre Boulez in New York City.

1971 Death of Dutch baritone Theo Bayle. b-Laren, 29 MAY 1912. Debut 1938. Teachers were Sergei Radamsky, Aaltje Noordewierreddingius. Created Achilles in Penelope (Liebermann). Second Shepherd in Irische Legend (Egk). Sang in premiere of Philomela (Andriessen).

1971 FP of Dave Brubeck's oratorio Truth Has Fallen. For the opening of the Center for the Arts in Midland, MI.

1972 Birth of Latvian soprano Inga KALNA in Riga. Debut as Pamina in Zauberflote (Mozart) 1994.

1972 Death of Belgian tenor Fernand Ansseau. b-Mons, 6 MAR 1890. Debut as Jean in Herodaide (Massenet) 1913. Teacher was Desire Demest.

1973 Birth of American composer Ethan WICKMAN.

1974 FP of John Barry's Billy at Theater Royal, Drury Lane, London.

1977 Death of German composer Johannes Weyrauch in Leipzig. b-Leipzig, 20 FEB 1897. Photo.

1978 Death of Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian at age 74, in Moscow. b-Tiflis, Armenia, 6 JUN 1903.

1987 FP of Harrison Birtwistle's Endless Parade for trumpet, vibraphone and strings. Collegium Musicum conducted by Paul Sacher, with trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger, in Zurich.

2003 FP of Lukas Foss' Concertino Baroque Meditations for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra. New York Choral Artists and the New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur conducting.

2004 FP of Richard Danielpour´s String Quartet No. 5, La Vita Nuova. The Guarneri Quartet in Sleepy Hollow, NY.