July 30 — On This Day in Opera

Opening of the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon, Portugal’s leading opera house, inaugurated by Queen Maria I.

The Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon was officially inaugurated, becoming Portugal's principal opera house and one of Europe's leading lyric theaters.

Italian conductor Lorin Maazel made his first public appearance conducting an orchestra at the age of seven, beginning a career that would later include music directorships at the Vienna State Opera and major opera houses worldwide.

Birth of Italian composer Antonio Benedetto Maria Puccini in Lucca, author of several lesser-known operas in the Puccini musical family.

Composer and conductor Antonio Benedetto Maria Puccini, grandfather of Giacomo Puccini and a composer of several operas for the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, was born in Lucca.

Birth of English vocal accompanist and pianist Gerald Moore, who became the most influential Lieder accompanist and also performed in opera recital contexts.

English pianist Gerald Moore, one of the twentieth century's greatest vocal accompanists who collaborated extensively with leading opera singers including Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Victoria de los Ángeles, was born in Watford.

American soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, renowned for her interpretations of Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Hugo Wolf, died in Schruns, Austria.