December 1 — On This Day in Opera

World premiere of Henry Purcell's tragic opera "Dido and Aeneas" at Josias Priest's Boarding School for Girls in Chelsea, London.

Birth of French opera composer and critic Louis Étienne Ernest Reyer in Marseille, later known for operas such as "Sigurd" and "Salammbô."

St. Petersburg premiere of Verdi's opera "Macbeth" at the Bolshoi (Kamenny) Theatre, performed by the Imperial Italian Opera Company under the title "Siward Saxon."

Birth of French-born American soprano Yvonne D'Arle (Eugenie Marguerite Patet) in Lyon, later a member of the Metropolitan Opera company in the 1920s.

Birth of American operatic tenor Thomas T. Hayward (Thomas Albert Tibbett) in Kansas City, Missouri.

World premiere of Benjamin Britten's opera "Billy Budd" (original four-act version) by the Covent Garden Opera Company at the Royal Opera House, London.

Birth of American opera singer and voice actress Ellen McLain in Nashville, Tennessee.

Birth of Romanian soprano Leontina Văduva in Roșiile, celebrated for performances in major European opera houses.

Birth of French composer Dorothy James, noted for vocal and operatic compositions.

World premiere of Louis Andriessen and Peter Greenaway's opera "Writing to Vermeer" at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam.

Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki makes her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, conducting Saariaho's "L'Amour de loin."

Death of American soprano Elisabeth Carron, known for Puccini roles and for originating the Young Woman in Menotti's "The Saint of Bleecker Street."

Chelsea Opera presents New York premieres of Tom Cipullo's chamber operas "Josephine" and "After Life."

World premiere of Mikael Karlsson and Royce Vavrek’s opera "Fanny and Alexander" at La Monnaie / De Munt in Brussels.