February 7 — On This Day in Opera

This page lists notable events in opera history that happened on February 7, including world premieres, composer births, deaths, and important milestones.

Premieres & milestones

1662 Premiere
First performance of Francesco Cavalli’s opera "Ercole amante" at the Salle des Machines (Tuileries), Paris.
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1792 Premiere
World premiere (first performance) of Domenico Cimarosa’s opera "Il matrimonio segreto" at the Imperial Hofburg Theatre, Vienna.
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1907 Premiere
Premiere of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya" at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg (often also noted as 1907-02-20 New Style / Gregorian in some references).
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2025 Premiere
Performance of Edmond Dédé’s grand opera "Morgiane" at The Clarice (University of Maryland), part of the long-delayed first complete presentations billed as its world premiere in February 2025.
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2025 Premiere
World premiere performance of Fr. Kevin Waters, SJ’s opera "The Garment of Praise" at Gonzaga University (Spokane).
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Births & deaths

1859 Born
Birth of American coloratura soprano Emma Nevada (Emma Wixom Nevada).
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1889 Born
Birth of Italian operatic soprano Claudia Muzio.
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1939 Born
Birth of Canadian operatic soprano Lois McDonall.
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1944 Died
Death of Italian operatic soprano and actress Lina Cavalieri (killed in Florence during an air raid).
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2006 Died
Death of Metropolitan Opera baritone Hugh Thompson (reported as Feb. 7 in Opera News / Playbill report).
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