November 9 — On This Day in Opera

André Grétry's comédie-ballet "Zémire et Azor", with a libretto by Jean-François Marmontel based on the Beauty and the Beast story, received its first performance at the royal theatre at Fontainebleau.

Paris Opera premieres Pierre-Louis Dietsch’s "Le vaisseau fantôme" at the Salle Le Peletier.

U.S. (New York) premiere of Mozart’s singspiel "Der Schauspieldirektor" at the Stadt Theatre.

Giuseppe Verdi attends a performance of Wagner’s "Lohengrin" at La Monnaie (Brussels) and annotates a score with his impressions.

Metropolitan Opera premiere of Puccini’s "La Bohème" in New York.

Paul Hindemith's opera "Cardillac", with a libretto by Ferdinand Lion after E. T. A. Hoffmann, received its world premiere at the Staatsoper in Dresden.

Mattiwilda Dobbs makes her Metropolitan Opera debut as Gilda in "Rigoletto," the first Black singer in a romantic lead at the Met.

American premiere of Berio’s "Un re in ascolto" at Lyric Opera of Chicago, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.

World premiere of the Turkish opera "Troy" ("Troya") in Ankara by Ankara State Opera and Ballet.

Zygmunt Krauze's two-act opera "Bona Sforza", with a libretto by Vincenzo de Vivo, received its world premiere at the Kraków Opera.

Rudolf Karel, Czech composer and conductor whose operas include "Ilseino srdce" and "Smrt kmotřička", was born in Plzeň.

Aureliano Pertile, the Italian tenor who became one of La Scala's leading singers and was closely associated with Arturo Toscanini, was born in Montagnana.

Birth of German operatic soprano Carla Spletter (noted for roles in Berlin and Hamburg).

Birth of Canadian coloratura soprano Pierrette Alarie in Montreal.

Pierrette Alarie, the French-Canadian coloratura soprano who sang at the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opéra and Opéra-Comique, was born in Montreal.

Death of Hungarian soprano Margit Bokor (creator of Zdenka in Strauss’s "Arabella").

Death of composer Sigmund Romberg, noted for operettas including "The Student Prince" and "The Desert Song."

Death of French soprano and WWI nurse Nelly Martyl in Paris.

Bryn Terfel, the Welsh bass-baritone acclaimed internationally in Mozart, Wagner, Verdi and other operatic repertoire, was born.