November 16 — On This Day in Opera

This page lists notable events in opera history that happened on November 16, including world premieres, composer births, deaths, and important milestones.

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1850

World premiere of Verdi's opera 'Stiffelio' at the Teatro Grande (now Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi) in Trieste.

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1851

Birth of American soprano Minnie Hauk (New York City), famed for early championing of Bizet’s 'Carmen'.

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1896

Birth of American baritone Lawrence Tibbett (Bakersfield, California), leading Met star with 600+ performances.

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1910

First U.S. staged performance (as an opera) of Debussy’s 'L’enfant prodigue' at the Boston Opera House.

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1926

U.S. (and Metropolitan Opera) premiere of Puccini's 'Turandot' in New York, conducted by Tullio Serafin with Maria Jeritza and Giacomo Lauri-Volpi.

Turandot

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1926

Birth of American soprano Maralin Niska (San Pedro, California), a mainstay of New York City Opera and the Met.

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1952

Death of Ukrainian soprano Solomiya Krushelnytska in Lviv.

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1993

Death of Slovak soprano Lucia Popp in Munich at age 54.

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2023

Metropolitan Opera company premiere of Daniel Catán’s 'Florencia en el Amazonas'—the Met’s first Spanish-language opera in nearly a century.

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