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.

1662
First performance of Francesco Cavalli’s opera "Ercole amante" at the Salle des Machines (Tuileries), Paris.
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1792
World premiere (first performance) of Domenico Cimarosa’s opera "Il matrimonio segreto" at the Imperial Hofburg Theatre, Vienna.
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1859
Birth of American coloratura soprano Emma Nevada (Emma Wixom Nevada).
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1889
Birth of Italian operatic soprano Claudia Muzio.
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1907
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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1939
Birth of Canadian operatic soprano Lois McDonall.
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1944
Death of Italian operatic soprano and actress Lina Cavalieri (killed in Florence during an air raid).
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2006
Death of Metropolitan Opera baritone Hugh Thompson (reported as Feb. 7 in Opera News / Playbill report).
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2025
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
World premiere performance of Fr. Kevin Waters, SJ’s opera "The Garment of Praise" at Gonzaga University (Spokane).
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