MAY 6

1596 Death of Dutch composer Giaches de Wert in Mantua, Italy. b-1535.

1637 Opening of the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice. The first Opera House there with presentation of Manelli and Ferrari's L'Andromeda.

1667 (7th?)Death of German composer and keyboard player Johann Jakob Froberger at age 50, in Hericourt, near Montbeliard, France.

1704 FP of Campra and Desmarets' "Iphigénie en Tauride" Paris.

1714 Birth of German tenor Anton RAAF in Gelsdorf. d-28 MAY 1797. Debut 1736. Teachers were Antonio Mario Bernacchi, Ferrandini. Pupil was Ludwig Fischer, Franz Christian Hartig. Created Idomeneo in Idomeneo (Mozart). Cato in Catone in Utica (Piccinni). Temistocle in Temistocle (J C Bach). Lucio Silla in Lucio Silla (J C Bach). Gunther in Gunther von Schwarzburg (Holzbauer). Amasi in Nitteti (Conforto).

1727 FP of G. Bononcini's "Astianatte" London.

1742 FP of T. Arne's "Miss Lucy in Town" London.

1751 FP of Jommelli's "L'Uccellatrice" Venice. 2nd ver. as "Il paratajo [ovvero]" Paris, 25 SEP 1753.

1759 Birth of composer and tenor Joseph Karl AMBROSCH in Cesky Krumlov. d-8 SEP 1822. Debut 1784. Teacher was J. A. Kozeluch.

1773 FP of Sacchini's "Tamerlano" London.

1794 FP of Méhul's "Mélidore et Phrosine" Paris.

1797 FP of Gretry's "Le Barbier du village, ou Le Revenant" Paris.

1790 Birth of composer Vaclav Vilem Wurfel

1800 Birth of composer Ferdinand Marcucci

1808 (8th?)('09? 1924?)Birth of American composer William WALKER. d-1875.

1809 Birth of composer William Walker

1814 Birth of Moravian violinist and composer Heinrich Wilhelm ERNST in Brno. d-Nice, 8 OCT 1865.

1826 Death of French soprano Rosalie Levasseur. b-Valenciennes, 8 OCT 1749. Debut as Zaide in L'Europe Galante (Campra) 1766. Created Armide in Armide (Gluck).

1838 Birth of American composer Alfred Humphreys PEASE in Cleveland, OH. d-1882.

1839 FP of Thomas' "Panier fleuri" Paris.

1857 FP of Erkel and Doppler's "Erzsèbet" Prague, (Pest).

1858 Birth of French composer Georges-Adolphe HUE in Versailles. d-Paris, 7 JUN 1948. Opera, "Les Pantins" (Paris, Opera Comique 1881); "Le Roi de Paris" (Paris O, 1901); "Titania" (Paris, O-C, 1903); "Le Miracle" (Paris O, 1910); "Dans l'ombre de la cathédrale" (Paris, O-C, 1921); "Riquet á la houppe" (Paris, O-C, 1928).

1859 Birth of Belgian baritone Jean NOTE in Tournai, Belgium. d-1 APR 1922. Debut 1885. Created Sciarra in Tasse (D'Harcourt). Vestapor in Roma (Massenet).

1868 FP of Michael Haydn's "Die Hachzeit auf der Alm" Singspiel, Salzburg.

1871 USAmerican conducting debut of Leopold Damrosch in NYC.

1871 Birth of composer August Reusner

1872 First concert of the Cincinnati May Festival. Theodore Thomas conducts program including Beethoven's Fifth, Handel's Dettingen Te Deum and chorus from Haydn's Creation.

1881 Birth of Bulgarian opera composer Georgi ATANASOV in Plovdiv. d-Rome, 1 NOV 1931. Opera, "Borislav" (Sofia, 1911) "Gergana" (Sofia, 1925); "Zapustyalata vodenitsa" (The abandoned Mill, 1923); "Altsec," "Tzvela," Operetta: "Moralisti" (1916); Children's Opera: "The Sick Teacher," "About birds."

1882 Birth of Italian soprano Ina Maria FERRARIS in Turin. d-Milan, 11 DEC 1971. Favorite of Arturo Toscanini, who cast her as Nannetta, Oscar, Marzelline, and Musetta at La Scala during the 1920s. Puccini also chose her to create the role of [Lisette] in the FP of La Rondine. Recorded the complete Rigoletto, 1916 La Scala, Milan, Carlo Sabajno conducting with Cesare Formichi [Rigoletto]; Ines Ferraris [Gilda]; Giuseppe Taccani [Duca]; Vincenzo Bettoni [Sparafucile]; and G. Caiani [Maddalena]; Columbia 16346/62, 17 – 78 rpm records. In 1934 she stopped singing to be a voice teacher.

1886 FP of Graffigna's "La bouna figliuola" Milan.

1888 Birth of Italian baritone Louis d'ANGELO in Naples. d-9 AUG 1958. MET Opera Début 13 NOV 1917, [Jailer ] Tosca, 30 seasons (1917-46, 47-48) 1882 perf. 91 works, 138 roles. Debut in Fanciulla del West (Puccini). Teacher was Michele Guarini. Created Marco in Gianni Schicci (Puccini).

1889 Birth of Bulgarian soprano Kristina MORFOVA in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. d-1 JUN 1936. Pupil was Janko Blaho.

1894 Birth of composer Filip Lazar

1897 FP of Leoncavallo's La Boheme in Venice.

1898 Birth of Russian-American conductor Jascha HORENSTEIN in Kiev. d-London, 2 APR 1973. Emigrated to Germany a a child. Was forced by the Nazis to flee his adopted land. In 1967, he appeared with the San Francisco Opera.

1905 Birth of composer Norman De Tar

1908 Birth of composer Necil Kazim Akses

1913 Birth of composer Gyula David

1915 Birth of American composer George PERLE in Bayonne, NJ.

1916 Birth of baritone Norman FARROW. Photos.

1918 Birth of Canadian composer Godfrey RIDOUT in Toronto. d-1984.

1920 Death of French soprano Hortense Schneider. b-Bordeaux, 30 APR 1833. Debut as Inez in Favorita (Donizetti) 1853. Teacher was Schaffner. Created Helen in Belle Helene (Offenbach). Boulette in Barbe-Bleue (Offenbach). Perichole in Perichole (Offenbach).

1924 Birth of American soprano Mimi BENZELL in Bridgeport CT.

1926 Birth of American soprano Marguerite PIAZZA in New Orleans, LA. MET Opera Début, 4 JAN 1951 [Rosalinde] Die Fledermaus, 1 season (1950-51) 14 perf., 1 role.

1928 FP of Krenek's opera tryptic "Der Diktator; Das geheime Königreich; Schwergewicht oder Die Ehre der Nation".

1929 FP of Blitzstein's "Triple Sec" Philadelphia.

1931 (1934?) Birth of French mezzo-soprano Jane BERBIé in Villefranche-de-Lauragais (Toulouse). Debut as Nicklausse in Contes D'Hoffmann (Offenbach) 1954. Created Oulita in Fret (Liebermann).

1932 Birth of composer Gunther Hauk

1940 Birth of American conductor Murray SIDLIN in Baltimore, MD.

1941 Birth of Bulgarian soprano Ghena DIMITROVA in Beglej Bulgaria. d-11 JUN 2005. Debut as Abigaille (Nabucco) 1966. Teachers were Christo Brumbarov, Margherita Carosio, Gina Cigna, Dyakovich, Fritz Lunzer, Renato Pastorino. Pupil was Jeannette Nicolai.

1942 Birth of American bass Phillip BOOTH in Washington, DC.

1942 Birth of American baritone Richard STILWELL in St. Louis. MET Opera Début 15 OCT 1975 [Guglielmo] Così Fan Tutte, 10 seasons (1975-77, 78- 80, 81-83, 87-88, 94-97) 87 perf., 12 roles, 11 works. Debut as Pelleas in Pelleas & Melisande (Debussy). Teachers were Daniel Ferro, Paul Mathin, Frank St Leger. Created Eric Rupert in Most Important Man (Menotti). Pedro in Ines de Castro (Pasatieri). Constantine in Seagull (Pasatieri). Sang in FP of Aspern Papers (Argento).

1945 Birth of American composer Victoria BOND in LA, CA.

1947 Death of American mezzo-soprano Louise Homer. b-Sewicley PA, 28 APR 1871. Debut as Leonora in Favorita (Donizetti) JUN 1898. Teachers were Miss Graff, Fidele Konig, Paul Lherie, Miss Whinnery, William Whitney, Jacques Bouhy. Pupil was Doris Dee. Created Witch in Konigskinder (Humperdinck). Mona in Mona (Parker).

1948 Premiere of film Hamlet with music score by William Walton at Odeon Theater, Leicester Square, London.

1949 FP of Hans Werner Henze's opera Das Wundertheater in Heidelberg, Germany.

1952 Birth of American composer James V. SIGNORILE in Chicago, IL.

1953 Birth of American composer Peter CHILD.

1953 Birth of French baritone Ventri IVALDI in Toulon. Debut Yakuside in Madama Butterfly. Teachers were Xavier Depraz, Christiane Eda-Pierre.

1957 FP of Argento's "The Boor" Rochester.

1958 Birth of American composer William HOLAB.

1960 Birth of American composer Kamran INCE in Montana.

1961 FP of Kaufmann's "The Scarlet Letter" after Hawthorn, Bloomington, IN, with bass Malcom Smith.

1962 FP of Dragoi's "Pacala" Brasov.

1965 Birth of French mezzo-soprano Nathalie STUTZMANN in Suresne.

1971 Birth of English soprano Amanda BOYD in London. Debut as Lucia in Rape of Lucretia (Britten) 1999. Teachers were Hugues Cuenod, Suzanne Danco, Robert White, Elizabeth Vaughan, Janet Baker. Created 2nd Duenna in Nightingale's to Blame (Holt). Forest Child in Forest Child (Clarke D). Maeve in Hey Persephone (Gribbon).

1973 Death of Canadian organist and composer Ernst Campbell MacMillan in Toronto. b-Mimico, Ontario 18 AUG 1893.

1977 Death of Scottish tenor and teacher Joseph Hislop. b-Edinburgh, 5 APR 1882. Debut as Faust in Faust (Gounod) 12 SEP 1914. Teacher was Gillis Bratt. Pupils were Einar Andersson, Jussi Bjorling, Joyce Blackham, Charles Craig, Keith Erwin, Elizabeth Fretwell, John Fryatt, Peter Glossop, Hugo Hasslo, Karin Langebo, Donald Maxwell, Birgit Nilsson Arne Ohlson, Anna Pollak, Alberto Remedios, Ramon Remedios, Sven Olof Sandberg, Anders Naslund, Noel Mangin, Erik Sjoberg, Thomas Round, Alvar Lidell, Rowland Jones, William McAlpine, Francis Loring, Per Grunden, Conny Soderstrom, Alan Lindquist.

1980 Death of German soprano Adele Kern. b-Munich, 25 NOV 1901. Debut as Olympia in Contes D'Hoffmann 1924. Teacher was Hermine Bosetti.

1981 Death of French tenor Rene Verdiere. b-Pas-de-Calais, 26 JUL 1899. Debut as Max in Freischutz (Weber) 1926.

1981 FP of Einojuhaani Rautavaara 's Double-bass Concerto Angel of Dusk, with bassist Olli Kosonen and the Finnish Radio Symphony, Leif Segerstam conducting in Helsinki

1985 FP of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Concerto for Trumpet and Five Players. Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble.

1992 FP of Libby Larsen 's Symphony No. 3 Lyric. Albany NY Symphony, Joel Revzen conducting.

1999 FP of Christopher Rouse's Seeing. New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Slatkin, with pianist Emanuel Ax at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC.

1999 FP of Magnus Lindberg´s Cello Concerto, by the Orchestre de Paris, with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting and Anssi Karttunen, cellist.

2004 FP of Augusta Read Thomas´ Whispers of Summer. RNCM International Cello Festival, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, England.