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November 13 — On This Day in Opera

This page lists notable events in opera history that happened on November 13, including world premieres, composer births, deaths, and important milestones.

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Premieres & milestones

1753 Premiere
Jean-Philippe Rameau’s one-act acte de ballet *Les sibarites* received its first performance at Fontainebleau.
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1843 Premiere
Gaetano Donizetti’s grand opera *Dom Sébastien, roi de Portugal* had its world premiere at the Paris Opéra (Salle Le Peletier).
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1879 Premiere
Edmond Audran’s opéra comique *Les noces d’Olivette* premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens.
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1917 Premiere
At Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Metropolitan Opera premiered its second production of Puccini’s *Tosca*, staged by Richard Ordynski with Geraldine Farrar.
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1936
The BBC presented what is widely cited as the first televised opera: Albert Coates’s *Pickwick*, performed by Vladimir Rosing’s British Music Drama Opera Company.
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2015 Premiere
World premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas’s *Morgen und Abend* at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (The Royal Opera).
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Births & deaths

1868 Died
Death of Gioachino Rossini in Passy (near Paris), famed composer of *Il barbiere di Siviglia*, *La Cenerentola*, and *Guillaume Tell*.
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1883 Born
Birth of Russian baritone Mikhail Shuisky, later an Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
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1966 Died
Death of American lyric tenor Mario Chamlee, a Metropolitan Opera artist noted for roles associated with Caruso.
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1968 Died
Death of Norwegian soprano Eidé Norena, celebrated for her European and Metropolitan Opera appearances.
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