October 22 — On This Day in Opera

World premiere of Antonio Salieri's two-act opera buffa "L'Angiolina, ossia Il matrimonio per sussurro" at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. The libretto by Carlo Prospero Defranceschi was based on Ben Jonson's comedy "Epicene, or The Silent Woman".

First performance in Trieste of Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Il trovatore", nine months after its world premiere at Rome's Teatro Apollo. The performance marked the opera's arrival in one of the Austrian Empire's important Italian-speaking theatrical centers.

The original Metropolitan Opera House opened in New York City with Charles Gounod's "Faust", performed in Italian. Italo Campanini sang Faust, Christine Nilsson portrayed Marguerite, and Auguste Vianesi conducted. The occasion inaugurated one of the world's most influential opera companies.

The Metropolitan Opera celebrated its centennial with two elaborate gala performances at Lincoln Center, exactly 100 years after the company's opening night. The celebrations featured leading operatic artists including Jessye Norman, Joan Sutherland, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Frederica von Stade, with excerpts from "Die Walküre", "Turandot", "Carmen", and other masterpieces.

World premiere of John Adams's groundbreaking three-act opera "Nixon in China" at Houston Grand Opera. With a libretto by Alice Goodman and staging by Peter Sellars, the opera dramatizes President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China and became a landmark of contemporary American opera.

World premiere of Tobias Picker's two-act opera "Lili Elbe" at Theater St. Gallen in Switzerland. With a libretto by Aryeh Lev Stollman, the opera portrays the life of Danish painter Lili Elbe, a pioneer of gender-affirming surgery. Baritone Lucia Lucas created the title role in a production directed by Krystian Lada and conducted by Modestas Pitrenas.

Birth of Hungarian composer, pianist, and conductor Franz Liszt in Doborján, now Raiding, Austria. Beyond his revolutionary piano music, Liszt composed the opera "Don Sanche" and championed Richard Wagner, conducting the world premiere of "Lohengrin" at Weimar in 1850.

Birth of Italian dramatic tenor Giovanni Martinelli in Montagnana, Veneto. A defining tenor of the Metropolitan Opera between the Caruso and postwar eras, he performed there 926 times between 1913 and 1945 and became especially celebrated in Verdi's "Otello", "Aida", and "Il trovatore".

Birth of Chinese Peking opera performer Mei Lanfang in Beijing. One of the greatest interpreters of female-role characters, known as dan, he transformed Chinese opera performance traditions and introduced Peking opera to international audiences through tours of Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

Birth of New Zealand bass-baritone Sir Donald McIntyre, renowned for Wagnerian roles at Bayreuth and the Met.

Birth of South African-born dramatic soprano Elizabeth Connell.

Death of French composer, conductor, and influential music teacher Nadia Boulanger in Paris, aged 92. She collaborated with pianist and composer Raoul Pugno on the four-act opera "La ville morte", composed between 1909 and 1912. Its planned 1914 premiere was prevented by the outbreak of the First World War.

Death of Romanian-born Austrian dramatic soprano Viorica Ursuleac in Ehrwald, Austria, aged 91. A favorite interpreter of Richard Strauss, she created leading roles in the world premieres of "Arabella", "Friedenstag", and "Capriccio", frequently working under the direction of her husband, conductor Clemens Krauss.