October 12 — On This Day in Opera

First performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s "Don Pasquale" at the Théâtre Italien in Paris.

Richard Strauss completed the composition of "Arabella", his final opera created with a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal.

Douglas Moore's opera "The Wings of the Dove", with a libretto by Ethan Ayer after Henry James, received its world premiere at New York City Opera.

Detlev Glanert's opera "Die drei Rätsel" received its world premiere at the Opernhaus Halle in Germany.

Richard Mills's opera "The Butterfly Lovers" received its world premiere at the Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne.

Kate Soper's chamber opera "The Hunt", written for three sopranos who accompany themselves on ukulele and violin, received its world premiere at Miller Theatre at Columbia University in New York.

Tazewell Thompson's "Jubilee", an opera about the pioneering Fisk Jubilee Singers, received its world premiere at Seattle Opera's McCaw Hall.

Death of Italian soprano Brigida Giorgi-Bordoni, associated with early 19th-century opera in Italy.

English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams was born in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire; his stage works include the operas "Hugh the Drover", "Sir John in Love", "Riders to the Sea" and "The Pilgrim's Progress".

Birth of German soprano Maria Cebotari in Chişinău, known for her roles in *Rigoletto*, *Don Carlos*, and as a prominent European opera star in the 1930s-40s.

Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti was born in Modena; he became one of the most internationally recognized opera singers of the twentieth century.