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Period: 1430 to
Renaissance Era
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1444
Atlantic Slave Trade Emerges
Portuguese traders brought their huge haul of slaves to Europe. -
1526
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade emerges
Portuguese maritime enslavers carry the first shipload of African slaves from Africa to Brazil in the Americas thereby establishing the Atlantic slave trade. -
1551
Vincente Lusitano: Earliest Known Black Composer in European Music
Vincente Lusitano, an Afro-Portuguese composer (pardo) gets involved in a public beef about the rules of composition and the use and juxtapositions of different tuning systems or keys, with rival composer Nicola Vicentino in Rome. Vincente wins unanimously which sparks Vicentino to do everything in his power to destroy Lusitano's reputation (which was fairly successful in the crafting of the historical narrative). -
1553
Introdutione facilissima et novissima de canto ferma
Vicente Lusitano publishes Introdutione facilissima et novissima de canto ferma. This edition is particularly in -
Jan 14, 1571
Florentine Camarata
Earliest recorded meeting of Florentine Camarata, a group of artists and intellectuals under the patronage of Count Giovanni de' Bardi in Florence, Italy. -
Dafne: Earliest Known Opera emerges
Dafne by Jacopo Peri (Composer), Ottavio Rinuccini (Librettist), and Jacopo Corsi (Compser) premieres during Carnival at Palazzo Corsi. -
Period: to
Baroque Era
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Euridice: Earliest Surviving Opera
The earliest surviving opera Euridice by Jacopo Peri (Librettist: Ottavio Rinuccini) premieres at The Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy in honor of the wedding between Maria de’ Medici and Henry IV. -
Orfeo: First Popular Opera.
Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi premieres in Mantua, Italy for the 1606/7 Carnival season. The show was the first opera to become popular and established techniques and traditions used in opera today. -
Dafne: First German Opera
Heinrich Schütz's opera Dafne premieres in the banquet hall of Hartenfels Castle near Torgau, Saxony during the marriage of Princess Sophia Eleonore of Saxony and George II of Hesse-Darmstadth. -
Teatro San Cassiano: First Public Opera House
The First Public Opera House, Teatro San Cassiano is established. -
Giovanni Buonaccorsi
Giovanni Buonaccorsi enters Cardinal Prince Giovan Carlo de’ Medici's service as an enslaved chamber singer in Florence, Italy. Buonacoursi would go on to perform in chamber music and opera in the Medici court making him the earliest Black opera singer known. -
First English Opera: The Siege of Rhodes
The opera The Siege of Rhodes by Sir William Davenant is performed at Rutland House (the abode of the composer). -
Lully Brings Opera to France
Cadmus et Hermione by Jean-Baptiste Lully (Librettist= Philippe Quinault) premieres at the Jeu de paume de Béquet marking it the first French opera. -
Germany's First Public Opera House
Theater am Gänsemarkt, Germany's first public opera house, opened in Hamburg (Germany is still split into kingdoms at thus time). -
Dido and Aeneas:First major English Opera
The first major English opera, Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas is performed. -
George Frideric Handel moves to London
George Frideric Handel moves to London after the success of his opera Rinaldo. -
Vittoria Tesi: Opera's First Black Primadonna
Black Italian contralto Vittoria Tesi (often dubbed as "La Moretta")has her opera debut Dafni at the Teatro Ducale in Parma, Italy. She was regarded as one of the best opera singers in Europe by her contemporaries. She is considered to be Opera’s first Black Primadonna. -
Opera Debuts in the American Colonies
Ballad opera Flora or Hob in the Well is performed at New World Theatre in Charlestown, S.C. This marks the first known opera performed in the American Colonies. -
Period: to
Classical Era
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Vittoria Tesi Retires From the Stage
Vittoria Tesi 's last appearance on the operatic stage. She played Lisinga in the premiere of Le cinesi (The Chinese Women) by Christoph Willibald Gluck. For the Austrian royal family at the Schloss Hof on 24 September 1754, on the occasion of the visit of the Holy roman Empress Maria Theresa (Tesi's patron). She retired to Vienna palace of Prince Joseph Friedrich of Saxe-Hildburghause. -
Tsefal i Prokris: The First Russian Opera
Tsefal i Prokris by Francesco Araja premieres at Winter Palace, Saint Petersburg in Russia. -
Orfeo ed Euridice: Gluck's First Reform Opera
Orfeo ed Euridice, the first of Gluck's reform opera, premieres in Vienna, Italy at Burgtheater. -
Mozart Pays His Respect to Vittoria Tesi
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his sister (Maria Anna Mozart), and his father (Leopold Mozart) pay respects to the Black Primadonna Vittoria Tesi during their first trip to Vienna (see image) Mozart's father would later mention this visit in a letter to his son in 1778 in an attempt to dissuade his son from traveling to Italy with the soprano Aloysia Weber. -
Alceste: Gluck's Tenants of Operatic Reform
Gluck publishes the score of his second reform opera Alceste in Vienna with an Italian preface that set out ideals for operatic reform. -
Apollo et Hyacinthus: Mozart's First Opera
Mozart's first Opera Apollo et Hyacinthus premieres at
Benedictine University in Salzburg, Germany. -
Ernestine: Joseph Bologne's Operatic Debut
Black composer Joseph Bologne (Chevalier de Saint-George) premieres his first opera _Ernestine_at the Comédie-Italienne in Paris, France. -
La Scala Opens
Teatro alla Scala opens in Milan, Italy under the orders of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria with Antonio Salieri's opera L'Europa riconosciuta -
L'amant anonyme: Joseph Bologne's Most Popular Opera
Joseph Bologne's most popular opera L'amant anonyme premieres in the private theater of Madame de Montesson. The opera's libretto was based on a play by Montesson's niece Madame de Genlis. -
Operatic debut of Minette
Operatic debut of Haitian mestive (Free person of color) Elisabeth Alexandrine Louise otherwise known as Minette in the opera Sylvain in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. During her career, Minette became one of the most renown operatic artists in Saint Domingue and was the prima donna of Port-au-Prince. It is also important to note that her half-sister Lise Beauvernet also had a career as an opera singer. -
Premiere of The Marriage of Figaro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) premieres at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Germany. -
Joaquina Lapinha Goes to Portugal
Afro-Brazilian primadonna Joaquina Maria da Conceição Lapinha applies for a passport to perform in Portugal. Known as the Primadonna of Rio de Janeiro's Opera Nova, she is one of the first women permitted to serve in Portugal in the 18th century. -
Premiere of The Magic Flute
Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, (The Magic Flute) premiered at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, Austria. -
Fidelio: Beethoven's Only Opera
Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, is premiered at Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria -
Establishment of Théâtre d’Orléans
Théâtre d’Orléans opens in New Orleans, Louisiana. Théâtre d’Orléans is home to the first theater in North America to have a permanent resident opera company and helped New Orleans become the opera capital of the United States. -
Barber of Seville premieres
Premiere of Gioacchino Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro Argentina in Rome, Italy -
Le Due Gemelle: Brazil's First Known Opera
Afro-Brazilian composer José Mauricio Nunes Garcia composed the first Brazilian opera, “Le Due Gemelle” (“The Two Twins”) -
Beginning of Wagner's Ring Cycle
Richard Wagner begins work on Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) otherwise known as the Ring cycle. -
Electric Light introduced to the Opera
The world premiere of the opera Le prophète (The Prophet) by Giacomo Meyerbeer introduces the electric arc light to the theater. -
La Traviata Premieres
La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi premieres in the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. -
Period: to
First Known Black American Opera Troupe
Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield organizes an opera troupe in Philadelphia with Bowers -
A noite do castelo: Antônio Carlos Gomes's First Opera
A noite do castelo by Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Gomes (composer of African descent) premieres at the Opera Lyrica Nacional at the Theatro Lyrico Fluminense. Gomes will go onto be the most famous classical Braziliam composer. -
Tristian und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner premieres at the National Theatre, in Munich, Germany. The piece revolutionized opera. -
Il Guarany
Il Guarany by Antônio Carlos Gomes (of african descent) premieres at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. This opera effectively made Gomes the first Brazilian composer to gain global notoriety. -
Gilbert and Sullivan
W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) began their partnership. -
Premiere of Aida
Aida by Giuseppe Verdi premiered at Khedivial Opera House in Cairo, Egypt. The opera was commisioned by the Khedivial Opera. -
America's First Black American Opera Company
The first all Black Opera Company in the US,
American Colored Opera Company makes its debut performance of Julius Eichburg's The Doctor of Alcantara at Lincoln Hall in Washington, D.C. -
Premiere of Carmen
Carmen by George Bizet premieres at the National Theater of the Opera Comique, Paris, France -
The Bayreuth Festspielhaus opens
The opening of Richard Wagner’s opera house at Bayreuth (the “Festspielhaus”). This theatre was an epicenter for theatrical innovation and pioneered techniques such as dimming lights for performances and The orchestra pit hidden below the stage. -
Morgiane: Edmond Dédé's Only Opera
Louisiana AfroCreole Edmond Dédé completes the score of Morgiane, ou, Le sultan d'Ispahan in Bordeaux, France. -
Oldest Known Recording of an Opera Singer
Bass Peter Schram is recorded singing excerpts of the role of Leporello from Mozart’s Don Giovanni. This recording is thought to be the oldest known recording of an opera singer. -
Grand Creole and Colored Opera and Concert Company
Antonio Farini's Grand Creole and Colored Opera and Concert Company is founded. -
Epthelia: First preformed Black Opera
Epthelia by Harry Lawrence Freeman premieres at the East Denver Turnverein Theater in Denver, Colorado. This marks the first performed American opera by a Black American composer. -
Premiere of La Bohème
World première of La bohème by Giacomo Puccini at Teatro Regio in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. -
Theodore Drury Grand Opera Company emerges
The Theodore Drury Grand Opera Company founded by Noted baritone Theodore Drury gives its inaugural performance of Bizet's _Carmen_at New York City’s Lexington Avenue Opera House. The company goes on to continued to produce operas annually until 1910. -
A Guest of Honor: First Ragtime Opera
The First Ragtime Opera opera A Guest of Honor by Scott Joplin has its premiere in an informal public presentation. The show's plot follows the events surrounding 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt's 1901 White House dinner with Booker T. Washington. The Opera e also noted the opera's financial backing, and noted the opera's premiere date as August 30th of 1903. -
Premiere of Madama Butterfly
World Premiere of Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. -
Premiere of Salome
Premiere of Richard Strauss's Salome at Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden, Germany -
Thelma: Samuel Coleridge Taylor's Opera
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor completes his opera Thelma. -
Treemonisha
Scott Joplin publishes his second opera Treemonisha. -
The Negro Grand Opera Company incorporated
The Negro Grand Opera Company founded by Harry Lawrence Freeman is incorporated. -
End of the Castrati
Alessandro Moreschi, the last of the castrato. dies in Rome, Italy. -
Lillian Evanti as Lakmé
Lillian Evanti makes her operatic debut as Lakmé in Delibes's Lakmé at Nice, France. -
Wozzeck: First Atonal Opera
Allan Berg’s opera Wozzeck is first performed in Berlin. This is considered the first atonal opera. -
Turandot premieres
Puccini's Turandot premieres posthumously at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. The conductor Toscanini famously stopped the opera in Act 2 where Puccini's complete score ended. -
Florence Cole Talbert-McCleave as Aida
Florence Cole Talbert-McCleave becomes firs Black American woman to play the titular role of Verdi's Aida in a European staging of the opera in Cosennza, Italy. -
Harry Lawrence Freeman's Voodoo
Premiere of Harry Lawrence Freeman's opera Voodoo at the Palm Garden otherwise known as 52nd Street Theatre. -
Imperial Opera Company Founded
The Black opera company Imperial Opera Company is established by Gertrude Smith Jackson in Chicago, Illinois -
Catarina Jarabo as Aida
Caterina Jarboro sings role of Aida with Chicago Civic opera thereby becoming the first Black American woman to sing as a guest artist with a major American Opera Company -
First Black Choreographer at the Met
Hemsley Winfield, dancer and founder of New Negro Art Theater Dance Group choreographs and dances in the Metropolitan Opera's production of The Emperor Jones by Louis Gruenberg. He is the first Black Guest Choreographer at the Met. -
Four Saints in Three Acts
_Four Saints in Three Acts_by Virgil Thomson premieres in at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut. The opera notably featured an all-Black cast. -
Aeolian Opera Association
The Aeolian Opera Association, established by Peter Creatore, gives its debut Double billed show of The Emperor Jones_and _Cavalleria Rusticana. Unfortunately, The company only lasted for a season. -
Porgy and Bess
George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess premieres. Gershiwn's Magnum opus and focus on Black Classical music and his attempt to create a native opera for America -
Julia La Rhea First Black performer to be Offered a Regular Season Contract
Julia La Rhea became the first Black performer to be offered a regular season contract by a major opera company. -
First Revival of Porgy and Bess
The first revival of Porgy and Bess is produced in Pasadena, California. -
Detroit Negro Opera Company is Established
Detroit Negro Opera Company debuts with Verdi's Aida at The Detroit Insitute of Arts. The company is an auxiliary of The Detroit Musicians Association at the Detroit Insitute of Arts which is the Local Detroit Branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NAMN). -
National Negro Opera Company Founded
Mary Cardwell Dawson established The National Negro Opera Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania under the auspices of The National Association of Negro Musicians (NAMN). The company goes on to exist until the mid-1960s. -
Dra Mu Opera Company Emerges
Dra Mu Opera company is founded by Raymond Lowden Smith. -
Premiere of Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten premieres at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, United Kingdom. -
First Opera to be Produced by a a major American opera house
Troubled Island by William Grant Still is premiered by New York City Opera marking the first time a major American opera house produced an opera by a Black American composer. -
Fred Thomas: First Black person to win the Met Competition
Bass-Baritone Fred Thomas becomes the first Black American to win the Metropolitan Opera Audition of the Air. -
Amahl and the Night Visitors: First TV Opera
Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti, the first opera written for television, is premiered. -
Janet Colins: First Black premiere dancer with the Met Ballet
Janet Collins premieres as the first Black female Ballet dancer with the Met Opera Ballet. -
Third Revival of Porgy & Bess
Third revival of Porgy and Bess by The Everyman Opera Company and directed by Robert Breen featuring Leontyne Price as Bess, William Warfield as Porgy, and Cab Calloway as Sportin' Life. This production is the springboard by which Leontyne Price's career takes off. -
Mattiwilda Dobbs: First opera singer that sings at La Scala
Mattiwilda Dobbs makes her debut at La Scala as Elvira in L'italiana in Algeri. This marks the first time Black artist sang in that La Scala. -
Marian Anderson: first Black Opera singer at the Met
Marian Anderson sang the part of Ulrica in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera with the Metropolitan Opera becoming the first Black Opera singer to preform with the Metropolitan opera -
Everett Lee: First Black Person to Conduct in a Major American Opera Company
Everett Lee becomes the first Black person to conduct in a major American Opera Company. -
Leontyne Price: First Black Opera Singer in Televised Opera
Leontyne Price becomes first Black opera singer to sing in a televised opera (Tosca as Tosca) . -
National Negro Opera Company: First outside Black Company at Met
The National Negro Opera Foundation, in cooperation with the New York Opera Guild of the National Negro Opera Company presented
Ouanga by Clarence Cameron White at The Metropolitan Opera House. This marks the first time that an outside company performed at the Met -
Grace Bumbry breaks the color barrier at Bayreuth
Grace Bumbry becomes the first Black American Woman to sing a major role at Bayreuth. -
OPERA/SOUTH emerges
OPERA/SOUTH an intercolleguate Opera Guild in Mississippi emerges. -
Opera Ebony emerges
Opera Ebony is founded by Black American Bass-Baritone Benjamin Matthews, Wayne Sanders, Margaret Harris, and Sis. Mary Elise Sisson. -
Simon Estes: The First Black Male to Sing at Bayreuth
Simon Estes becomes first Black male to sing at Bayreuth. -
DIVA!
Wilhelmina Fernandez stars in Diva, a motion picture about a Black female opera singer. -
Opera Ebony: First American Company invited to Savolina International Opera Festival
Opera Ebony becomes the first American Opera Company invited to Savolina International Opera Festival. -
Martinique International Music Festival
Opera Ebony opens Martinique International Music Festival. -
A Statement from OPERA America: Black Lives Matter
OPERA America released A Statement from OPERA
America: Black Lives Matter comitting to do more to encourage Black artists, administrators, and audiences. -
The Cookout
Karen Slack with the assistance of Kenneth Overton and Russell Thomas set up a virtual intergenerational "cook-out" with Black opera singers across the This event would lay the groundwork for Black Opera Alliance. -
@Operaisracist
The instagram page @operaisracist is established to provide a platform for indivuals in the classical music industry to anonymously share personal anecdotes about racist encounters in opera. -
Richard Tucker Foundation Situtation
Black Opera Alliance calls for David Tucker’s removal from the
board of the Richard Tucker Foundation for racist remarks -
Black Opera Alliance's First Big Win
David Tucker is removed from the Board of Trustees of the Richard Tucker Foundation -
Black Opera Alliance: The Pledge
Black Opera Alliance launches A Pledge for Racial Equity andSystemic Change in Opera and invites opera companies to sing the pledge. -
Black Administrators in Opera emerges
Black Administrators of Opera (BAO) pops into the public consciousness with the Letter to the Opera Field from Black Administrators -
Inaugural Black Administrators of Opera Symposium
The inaugural Black Administrators of Opera Symposium is held at The Blitz Factory in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Symposium lasted three days. -
A Letter to Afton Battle from the Black Administrators of Opera
Black Administrators of Opera releases a public letter praising Afton Battle, the General and Artistic Director of Fort Worth Opera from 2020 to November 23, 2022.