MAY 10

1697 Birth of French composer and violinist Jean Marie LECLAIR in Lyons. d-Paris, 22 OCT 1764, was murdered as he was entering his home. Reportedly there were three suspects; His gardener. His estranged wife. His nephew. The evidence clearly pointed to the nephew, however, the Paris Police never charged him with the homicide. Opera, "Glaucus et Seylla" (Paris, 1746); "Apollon et Climèsne" (opera ballet).

1705 Birth of composer Gallus Zeiler

1741 Birth of composer Johann Michael Schmidt

1760 Birth of French composer Claude-Joseph Rouget de L'Isle, composer of the French national anthem La Marseillaise. d- 1836. Was once imprisoned for refusing to take oath against the crown.

1760 Death of German composer Christoph Graupner at age 77 in Darmstadt. b-Kirchberg, 13 JAN 1683.

1770 Death of English composer Charles Avison in Newcastle. b-Newcastle, 16 FEB 1709.

1776 Birth of English composer, conductor, violinist and singing teacher George T. SMART in London. d-London, 23 FEB 1867. Pupils were Henry Phillips, Jenny Lind, Henrietta Sontag, Willoughby Hunter Weiss, Harriet Cawse, Emma Romer, Luisa Pyne. Born: 10 May 1776 in London Died: 23 February 1867, in London Romantic / Post Romantic, Composer, Conductor, Performer, Violin

1780 Birth of Italian soprano Angelica CATALANI in Senigallia. d-12 JUN 1849. Debut in Lodoiska (Mayr) 1797. Teachers were Antonio Catalani, Girolamo Crescentini, Lodovico Marchesi, Pietro Morandi. Pupils were Laure Cinti-Damoreau, Fanny Corri-Paltoni. Created Marietta in Caccia di Enrico IV (Pucitta). Semiramide in Semiramide (Portogallo). Faccennia in Baccanali di Roma (Nicolini). Ifigenia in Ifigenia in Aulide (Mosca G). Giulia in Vestale (Pucitta). Sang in FP of Tre Sultane (Pucitta). Aristodemo (Pucitta). La Principessa in Campagna (Pucitta).

1780 Birth of composer Peter Lichtenthal

1783 Birth of composer Niccola Benvenuti

1798 FP of Boieldieu's "Zoraine et Zulnare" Paris.

1800 Birth of composer Nikolay Alexeyevich Titov

1824 FP in USAmerica of Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro sung in English, at the Park Theater in NYC.

1825 Birth of composer Rudolf Viole

1839 Birth of German operatic singer Amalie WEISS who married Joseph Joachim.

1840 Death of Italian composer Catterino Cavos in St. Petersburg. b-Venice, 30 OCT 1775.

1843 FP of Thomas' "Amgélique et Médor" Paris.

1854 Death of Spanish soprano Joaquino Garcia. b-Madrid, 28 JUL 1780. Pupil was Pauline Viardot-Garcia (step-daughter). Created Ismene in Medea in Corinto (Mayr). Lemede in Califfo di Bagdad (Garcia). Madame Aurora in Vascello d'Occidente (Carafa).

1855 Birth of Russian composer Anatole LIADOV in St. Petersburg. From a family of musicians. d-Novgorod, 28 AUG 1914.

1856 Birth of composer Johann Müller.

1858 Birth of American composer Frederick Zech, Jr. d-1926.

1876 FP of Richard Wagner’s Centennial Inaugural March at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, PA. He was paid $5,000 for Festival March conducted by Theodore Thomas.

1877 Birth of composer Roderich Mojsisovics-Mojsvar

1880 Birth of Russian soprano Lydia LIPKOWSKA in Bessarabia. d-23 JAN 1955. MET Opera Début, 18 NOV 1909 [Violetta] La Traviata, 2 seasons (1909-11) 13 perf. 3 works.

1881 Birth of English tenor Frank MULLINGS in Walsall. d-Manchester, 19 MAY 1953. Debut as Faust in Faust (Gounod) 1907. Teachers were Fred W. Beard, George Arnold Breeden. Pupils were Eric Bowler, Joyce Gartside, Dorothy Reid, Frederick Westcott. Created Apollo in Alkestis (Boughton). Sang in FP of The Critic (Stanford).

1881 FP of Delibes revision of Offenbach's "Mam'zelle Moucheron" originally c. 1870 in Paris.

1885 Birth of Italian tenor Giulio CRIMI in Paterno, nr Catania. d-Rome, 29 OCT 1939. MET Opera Début 13 NOV 1918, [Radames] Aida, 4 seasons (1918-22) 102 perf., 19 roles. Debut as Hagenbach in Wally (Catalani) 1912. Teacher was Aderno Matteo. Pupil was Tito Gobbi. Created Rinuccio in Gianni Schicci (Puccini).

1888 Birth of Austrian-American composer Max STEINER in Vienna. d- Los Angeles, 28 DEC 1971.

1894 Birth of baritone John GROSS. d-13 FEB 1953.

1894 Birth of Ukrainian-American composer and conductor Dimitri TIOMKIN in Poltava. d-London, 11 NOV 1979. Composer of film scores: The Alamo, Dial ‘M’ for Murder, Friendly Persuasion, It’s a Wonderful Life, Lost Horizon, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Won Oscar for score of film High Noon in 1952.

1894 FP of Richard Strauss' opera Guntram Strauss conducting at the Hoftheater in Weimar.

1897 Death of English organist and composer William Thomas Best in Liverpool. b- Carlisle, 13 AUG 1826.

1898 Birth of American composer Herbert ELWELL in Minneapolis. d- Cleveland, 17 APR 1974.

1900 Death of composer Joseph Dubetz.

1904 FP of Hugo Alfvén's Midsommarvaka 'Midsummer Vigil', in Stockholm.

1905 Birth of composer Louis KAUFMAN.

1907 FP of Paul Dukas' opera Ariane et Barbe-Blue 'Ariane and Bluebeard', with Georgette Leblanc in Paris.

1907 Birth of composer Harilaos Perpessas

1910 Birth of German composer Heinrich KONIETZNY in Gliawitz. d-23 APR 1983.

1913 FP of Draeseke's "Merlin" Gotha.

1912 Birth of composer Erik Jorgensen

1914 Birth of English tenor Richard LEWIS in Manchester. d-Eastbourne, 13 NOV 1990. He studied in Manchester and made his début with the Carl Rosa Company, singing [Almaviva] (1941). After WW-II he resumed his studies in London. For Glyndebourne (1948-74) he sang Don Ottavio, Ferrando, Admetus, Alceste, and Idomeneus. He made his San Francisco début as [Don José] Carmen (1955). Sang in the FP of Stravinsky's Canticum Sacrum, Venice (1956). Teachers were Norman Allin, T. W. Evans. Pupils were David Fieldsend, Charles Walker, Keith Lewis. Created Mark in Midsummer Marriage (Tippett). Troilus in Troilus & Cressida (Walton). Achilles in King Priam (Tippett).

1914 Death of American soprano Lillian Nordica. b-Farmington, ME 12 MAY 1857. Debut as Violetta in Traviata (Verdi) 30 APR 1879. Teachers were Mme. Maretzck, John O'Neill, Antonio Sangiovanni, Giovanni Sbriglia. Pupil was Frantz Proschowski.

1914 FP of Humperdinck's "Die Marketenderin" Köln.

1916 Birth of American composer Milton BABBITT in Philadelphia. Princeton University Prof.

1917 Death of tenor Ivan Alchevsky. b-Kharkiv, 15 DEC 1876. Debut as Romeo in Romeo et Juliette (Gounod) 1901. Teachers were Felia Litvinne, O. Palechek.

1919 Birth of Swiss conductor Peter MAGG in St. Gallen. d-Vienna, 17 APR 2001. Conducted at Düsseldorf (1951); Bonn (1954-1959); Vienna Volksoper (1964-967); he was artistic director in Parma (1971- 77); and later at the Regio in Turin. He was honored with the Toscanini medal in 1971. MET Opera Debut 23 SEP 1972, Don Giovanni, 4 seasons (1972-75, 78-79) 59 perf., 5 works.

1919 Birth of composer Tibor Sarai

1920 Birth of Italian tenor Antonio ANNALORO. d-10 JUN 1996. Debut as Arnold in William Tell (Rossini) 1942. Created Giovanni Dei Neri in Oro (Pizzetti). Pentheus in Baccanti (Ghedini). Vieri in Vanna Lupa (Pizzetti). Cagliostro in Diavolo nel Giardino (Mannino). Sang in FP of Fiery Angel (Prokofiev).

1920 Birth of Dutch tenor Hans KAART in The Hague. d-18 JUN 1963. Debut as Canio in Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) 1956. Teachers were Fred Husler, Johannes Seghers De Beijl.

1922 FP of Busser's "Les Noces corinthiennes" Paris.

1923 FP of Britten's "Owen Wingrave" on stage at Covent Garden with mezzo-soprano Janet Baker.

1930 Birth of Bulgarian tenor Nicola TAGGER in Pazarjic. Debut as Duke in Rigoletto (Verdi) 1956. Teacher was Giovanni Binetti.

1933 Death of soprano Selma Kurz. b-Bielitz, 15 OCT 1875. Debut in Mignon (Thomas) 1895. Teachers were Cantor Goldmann, Mathilde Marchesi, Hans Pless, Johannes Ress. Sang in the FP of Ring of Polycrates (Korngold).

1935 Birth of American soprano Judith BECKMAN in Jamestown, ND. Début [Fiordiligi] Cosi fan Tutte (1962). Teachers were Lotte Lehmann, Franziska Martiensson-Lohmann, Henry Wolff. Pupil was Inger Dam-Jensen.

1935 Death of American bass Herbert Witherspoon. b-Buffalo, 21 JUL 1873. Debut 1898 as Ramfis in Aida (Verdi). Teachers were Jacques Bouhy, Dubulle, Jean Baptiste Faure, Walter Hall, Francesco Lamperti, Henry Wood, Max Treumann, Victor Capoul. Pupils were Sophie Braslau, Mabel Garrison, Merle Alcock, Reinald Werrenrath. Created Arth in Mona (Parker).

1938 Birth of American composer Phil WINSOR.

1938 Death of English Irish pianist and composer Hope Temple aka Dottie Davies in Folkestone. b-Dublin, 27 DEC 1859.

1938 Birth of Russian conductor and pianist Maxim SHOSTAKOVICH in Leningrad. Son of Dimitri. Premiered his father's Second Piano Concerto in 1957.

1942 Birth of American composer Ingram MARSHALL in Mt. Vernon, NY.

1942 Debut of soprano Dorothy Kirsten, San Carlo Opera Co, her 1st N.Y. appearance, Puccini: [Mimi] La Bohème.

1944 Birth of American dancer Judith JAMISON. American Ballet Theatre debut 1964, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies; as choreographer she created works for many companies,Rift, Hymn, Riverside, Sweet Release.

Her autobiography, Dancing Spirit; An Autobiography.

1949 Death of Spanish-American baritone Emilio De Gogorza. b-Brooklyn, 29 MAY 1874. Teachers were E. Agramonte, C. Moderati. Pupils were John Brownlee, Doda Conrad, Kenneth Neate, Conrad Thibault, Agnes Davis, Max De Schauensee, Fiorenzo Tasso.

1954 FP of Rautavaara's A Requiem in Our Time Cincinnati Brass Choir, Ernest N, Glover, conducting. First Prize in the Thor Johnson Composition Contest.

1957 FP of Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2. USSR State Symphony, Nikolai Anosov conducting, composer's son, Maxim, soloist.

1957 FP of Cikker's "Beg Bajazid" Bratislava.

1958 Birth of American composer Lori DOBBINS.

1959 Death of Italian tenor Giuseppe Taccani. b-Milan, 1885. Debut as Andrea Chenier in Andrea Chenier (Giordano) 1905. Teacher was Lelio Casini.

1962 FP of Fortner's "In seinem Garten liebt Don Perlimlín Belisa" Schwetzingen with soprano Jennifer Vyvyan [Mrs. Julian].

1964 FP of Roy Harris' Epilogue to ‘Profiles in Courage' for orchestra, in Los Angeles, CA.

1968 Birth of Yugoslavian composer Milica PARANOSIC in Belgrade.

1967 Death of English tenor Arthur Carron. b-Swindon, 12 DEC 1900. Debut 1928. Teacher was Florence Easton. Created Philip Nolan in Man Without a Country (Damrosch).

1974 Death of Italian soprano Valeria Manna. b-Bologna, 1896. Debut 1920. Pupil was Gianni Poggi.

1985 FP of Peter Maxwell Davies' An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise for orchestra with bagpipe solo. Boston Pops conducted by John Williams.

1985 FP of Michael Torke's Ecstatic Orange. Brooklyn Philharmonic, Lukas Foss conducting at the Cooper Union in NYC.

1987 Death of German bass Wilhelm Strienz. b-Stuttgart, 2 SEP 1900. Debut 1922 as Hermit in Freischutz (Weber). Teachers were Louis Bachner, Louise Reuss-Belce,Theodor Scheidl, Oscar Schrotter.

1992 Death of Austrian mezzo-soprano Polly Batic. b-Vienna, 1906.

1997 FP of Philip Glass's opera The Marriage Between Zones Three, Four and Five.From the sci-fi novel by Doris Lessing, at the State Theater in Heidelberg.