November 12 — On This Day in Opera

This page lists notable events in opera history that happened on November 12, including world premieres, composer births, deaths, and important milestones.

Premieres & milestones

1839
First U.S. performance (in French, as "Anne de Boulen") of Donizetti’s "Anna Bolena" at the Théâtre d’Orléans, New Orleans.
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1898 Premiere
World premiere of Enrique Granados’s opera "María del Carmen" at the Teatro de Parish, Madrid, conducted by the composer.
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1906
First New York performance of Puccini’s "Madama Butterfly" at the Garden Theatre.
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1909 Premiere
World premiere of Franz Lehár’s operetta "Der Graf von Luxemburg" at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna.
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1912 Premiere
Premiere of Eugen d’Albert’s opera "Liebesketten" at the Volksoper, Vienna.
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2021 Premiere
World premiere of Wayne Shorter & esperanza spalding’s opera "Iphigenia" at ArtsEmerson (Cutler Majestic Theatre), Boston.
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Births & deaths

1939 Born
Birth of Slovak soprano Lucia Popp.
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1947 Born
Birth of American soprano and educator Sheri Greenawald.
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1948 Died
Death of Italian opera composer Umberto Giordano ("Andrea Chénier", "Fedora").
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1972 Died
Death of Rudolf Friml, composer of operettas (e.g., "Rose-Marie").
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