JUNE 7

Francesca Cuzzoni

1727 Sopranos Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni created a public scandal, culminating in a physical altercation during a performance of "Astianatte". This rivalry nearly ruined Cuzzoni's career. She was later imprisoned for debt in the Netherlands, and she eventually returned to Bologna where she subsisted by making buttons.

1730 Birth of composer Georg von Pasterwiz

1736 Birth of composer Karl Frieberth

1833 Birth of composer Alexander Ritter

1837 Birth of French composer Charles-Alexis CHAUVET in Marnies, Seine-et-Oise, France. d-1871.

1845 Birth of Hungarian violinist and teacher Leopold AUER in Veszprem. Taught Elman, Zimbalist and Heifetz. d-1930.

1846 Birth of composer Wladyslaw Gorski

1853 Birth of tenor Alexander MYSZUGA in Lwow. d-9 MAR 1922. Debut in Haunted Manor (Moniuszko). Teachers were Giovanni Sbriglia, Valerie Wysocki, Bruni. Pupil was Janina Korolewicz-Wayda.

1863 Death of Austrian composer and organist Franz Gruber in Hallein, suburban Salzburg. b-Unterweizburg.

1865 Birth of composer Guido Gasperini

1867 Birth of composer Luigi Maurizio Tedeschi

1872 Birth of Russian tenor Leonid SOBINOV in Jaroslavl. d-14 OCT Oct. 14 1934.

1873 Birth of English composer, pianist and conductor Landon RONALD, aka Landon Ronald Russell.

1874 Birth of composer Theodor Streicher

1876 Birth of American soprano Alice NIELSEN in Nashville. d-8 MAR 1943. Debut 1893. Teacher was Ida Valerga.

1877 Birth of Spanish tenor Jose PALET in Martorell, Barcelona. d-1 FEB 1946. Debut as Fernando in Favorita (Donizetti). Teachers were Paredes, Juan Goula.

1885 Birth of composer Percy Brier

1888 Birth of American mezzo-soprano Carmella PONSELLE in NYC. Sister of Rosa Ponselle. d-13 JUN 1977. Debut 1923.

1891 Birth of Argentine composer Athos PALMA in Buenos Aires. d-Miramar, Argentina, 10 JAN 1951.

1891 Birth of Welsh tenor Parry JONES in Blaina, Wales. d-London, 26 DEC 1963. Studied at the Royal College of Music and elsewhere, joined the D’Oyly-Carte Opera Company in 1915 and sang with the Carl Rosa company from 1919 to 1922. Covent Garden début 1921. English premières of Wozzeck and Mathis der Maler. He was a regular member of Covent Garden Opera from 1949 to 1953.

1894 Birth of German composer Hanns WOLF in Bamberg, Germany. d-Fuessen, Germany, 2 JUL 1968.

1896 FP of Hugo Wolf's opera Der Corregidor 'The Governor' at the national theater in Mannheim.

1897 Birth of Hungarian-American conductor and composer George SZELL in Budapest. Cleveland Orchestra. d-Cleveland, 1970.

1899 Death of Italian composer Sebastiano Caltebiano in Luca. b-Luca, 28 DEC 1899.

1903 Birth of English soprano Margaret RITCHIE in Grimsby. d-7 FEB 1969. Debut as Pamina in Zauberflote (Mozart) 1929. Teachers were Harry Plunkett-Greene, Henry Wood, Agnes Nicholls. Created Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring (Britten). Lucia in Rape of Lucretia (Britten). Tormentilla in Poisoned Kiss (Vaughan-Williams).

1907 Birth of Italian tenor Mario FILIPPESCHI in Pisa. d-25 DEC 1979. Debut as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) JUL 1937. Teachers were Arturo Pessina, Viicidomini.

1908 Birth of Italian soprano Margherita CAROSIO in Genoa. d-10 JAN 2005. Debut as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) 1924. Teachers were Natale Carosio (father), Giuseppe Podesta. Pupils were Ghena Dimitrova, Zdzislav Klimek. Created Egloge in Nerone (Mascagni). Gnese in Campiello (Wolf-Ferrari). Obituary.

1908 Birth of Russian-American pianist and conductor Boris GOLDOVSKY. d.-Brookline, MA, 15 FEB 2001.

1911 Birth of German composer Franz REIZENSTEIN in Nuremburg. d-1968.

1912 Birth of German bass Robert KOFFMANE in Cologne.

1920 FP of George Gershwin's George White's Scandals of 1920 at the Globe Theater in NYC.

1921 Birth of German-English soprano Ilse WOLF. d-1999.

1922 Ralph Vaughan Williams conducts first American performance of his Pastoral Symphony at Norfolk, CT. Festival. FP was in London, 26 JAN 1922.

CD-Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5

1922 Birth of composer Hubert Du Plessis

1927 FP of Serge Prokofiev's ballet Pas d'Acier by the Ballet Russe in Paris.

CD-Sergej Prokofiev: Le Pas d'Acier; L'enfant prodigue

1928 Birth of American popular music composer Charles STROUSE.

1931 Birth of American composer Peter Pindar STEARNS in NYC.

1931 Birth of American composer and teacher Henry WEINBERG. aLI>1932 Birth of American tenor Andrea VELIS in New Kinston. d-North Conway, NH, 4 OCT 1994. MET Opera Début 23 OCT 1961, [Joe] La Fanciulla del West, 32 seasons, 1694 perf. & concerts, 44 works, 62 roles.

1932 Birth of American composer David A. ROBB in NYC.

1933 FP of Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins of the Bourgeoisie with text by Bertolt Brecht, in Paris.

1937 Birth of Estonian conductor Neeme JARVI in Tallinn.

1940 (Apr?)Birth of mezzo-soprano Alfreda HODGSON. d-16 APR 1992.

1943 Birth of Russian soprano Tamara SINIAVSKAYA aka Tamara SINYAVSKAYA in Moscow. Debut as Ratmir in Russlan & Ludmilla (Glinka) 1965. Teachers were Beliavaskaya, Pomerantseva.

1941 Birth of Bolivian-American violinist Jaime LAREDO in Cochabamba.

1945 FP of Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes at Sadler's Wells in London.

CD-Britten - Peter Grimes / Pears · C. Watson · Pease · Brannigan · J. Watson · Elms · Studholme · Kells · R. Nilsson · Lanigan · G. Evans · D. Kelly · ROH Covent Garden · Britten

1947 Birth of Dutch composer Huub KERSTENS in The Hague, Netherlands. d-Amsterdam, 24 FEB 1999.

1948 Death of French composer Georges Hüe in Paris. b-Versailles, 6 MAY 1858.

1950 Death of German soprano Gertrude Forstel. b-Leipzig, 21 DEC 1880. Debut as Amina in Sonnambula (Bellini) 1900. Teachers were Angelo Neumann, Selma Nicklass-Kempner, Aglaia von Orgeni. Pupils were Anny Helm, Ilse Hollweg, Marianne Warneyer.

1951 FP of Henri Dutilleux' Symphony No. 1, in Paris.

CD-Henri Dutilleux: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

1954 FP of Luigi Dallapiccola´s Piccola Musica Notturna in Hanover.

1963 Birth of French tenor Roberto ALAGNA in Clichy-Sur-Bois. MET Opera Début 10 APR 1996 [Rodolfo] La Bohème, (1996, 98-2000, 02-05) To date - 41 appearances, 6 roles.

1967 Birth of Finnish pianist Olli MUSTONEN.

1972 FP of Aaron Copland's Three Latin American Sketches. New York Philharmonic conducted by André Kostelanetz.

CD-Copland: Our Town/The Red Pony Suite/El Salón México/Danzón Cubano/Three Latin American Sketches

1980 Death of American baritone Richard Bonelli. b-Port Byron, NY, 6 FEB 1887. Debut as Valentin in Faust (Gounod) April 1915. Teachers were Arthur Alexander, Jean de Reszke, William Vilonet. Pupils were Enrico di Giuseppe, Frank Guarrera, David Lloyd.

1982 Death of English tenor Francis Russell. b-1896. Created Tupman in Pickwick (Coates).

1984 FP of George Crumb's A Haunted Landscape. New York Philharmonic, Arthur Weisberg conducting.

CD-Complete Crumb Edition, Volume 5: Easter Dawning, Celestial Mechanics, A Haunted Landscape, Processional

1987 Death of Italian composer Sebastiano Caltebiano in Lucca. b-Lucca, 28 DEC 1899.

2002 Death of Spanish composer Francisco Escudero in Donostia, San Sebastian, Spain. b-Zarautz, Spain, 13 AUG 1912.