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January 9 — On This Day in Opera

This page lists notable events in opera history that happened on January 9, including world premieres, composer births, deaths, and important milestones.

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Premieres & milestones

1705 Premiere
World premiere of Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville’s opera "Titon et l’Aurore" at the Académie royale de musique (Paris) on 9 January 1753.
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1738
George Frideric Handel completed the first act of his opera "Serse" by 9 January 1738 (composition timeline notes Act I composed between 26 Dec 1737 and 9 Jan 1738).
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1880 Premiere
World premiere of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera "May Night" ("Майская ночь") at the Mariinsky Theatre on 9 January 1880.
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1884 Premiere
Georges Bizet’s "Carmen" received its first Metropolitan Opera (New York) performance on 9 January 1884.
Carmen
Georges Bizet
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1947 Premiere
World premiere of Kurt Weill’s opera "Street Scene" at the Adelphi Theatre (New York City) on 9 January 1947.
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1964 Premiere
First performance of the revised version of Benjamin Britten’s opera "Billy Budd" at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (London) on 9 January 1964.
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Births & deaths

1844 Born
Birth of Spanish tenor Julián Gayarre (Sebastián Julián Gayarre Garjón), born in Roncal (Navarre) on 9 January 1844.
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1902 Born
Birth of opera impresario Sir Rudolf Bing (longtime General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera), born in Vienna on 9 January 1902.
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2022 Died
Death of American opera singer Maria Ewing; died on 9 January 2022.
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