April 26 — On This Day in Opera

This page lists notable events in opera history that happened on April 26, including world premieres, composer births, deaths, and important milestones.

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1738

Premiere of George Frideric Handel's opera 'Xerxes' at the King's Theatre in London.

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1762

Birth of Indian composer Shyama Shastri, one of the Trinity of Carnatic music.

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1763

Composer Christoph Willibald Gluck was awarded a pension of 600 florins by Empress Maria Theresa.

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1798

French painter Eugène Delacroix, whose works later inspired operatic subjects and staging aesthetics, was born in Charenton-Saint-Maurice.

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1828

The premiere of Franz Schubert's opera "Fierrabras" took place posthumously in Vienna.

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1854

Birth of German bass Georg Sieglitz in Mainz. Debuted as Masetto in Mozart's 'Don Giovanni' in 1880.

1865

The premiere of Jacques Offenbach's operetta "La belle Hélène" took place at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris.

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1886

Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, one of the most influential interpreters of opera, made his conducting debut in Rio de Janeiro in "Aida".

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1923

Premiere of Ottorino Respighi's opera 'Belfagor' at La Scala in Milan.

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1926

First U.S. performance of Claudio Monteverdi's opera 'L'Incoronazione di Poppea' at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

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1970

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, one of the leading opera singers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, was born in Krasnodar.

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