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Portuguese traders brought their huge haul of slaves to Europe. -
Portuguese maritime enslavers carry the first shipload of African slaves from Africa to Brazil in the Americas thereby establishing the Atlantic slave trade. -
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). -
Vicente Lusitano publishes Introdutione facilissima et novissima de canto ferma. This edition is particularly in -
Earliest recorded meeting of Florentine Camarata, a group of artists and intellectuals under the patronage of Count Giovanni de' Bardi in Florence, Italy. -
Dafne by Jacopo Peri (Composer), Ottavio Rinuccini (Librettist), and Jacopo Corsi (Compser) premieres during Carnival at Palazzo Corsi. -
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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 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. -
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. -
The First Public Opera House, Teatro San Cassiano is established. -
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. -
The opera The Siege of Rhodes by Sir William Davenant is performed at Rutland House (the abode of the composer). -
Cadmus et Hermione by Jean-Baptiste Lully (Librettist= Philippe Quinault) premieres at the Jeu de paume de Béquet marking it the first French opera. -
Theater am Gänsemarkt, Germany's first public opera house, opened in Hamburg (Germany is still split into kingdoms at thus time). -
The first major English opera, Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas is performed. -
George Frideric Handel moves to London after the success of his opera Rinaldo. -
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. -
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. -
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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 by Francesco Araja premieres at Winter Palace, Saint Petersburg in Russia. -
Orfeo ed Euridice, the first of Gluck's reform opera, premieres in Vienna, Italy at Burgtheater. -
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. -
Gluck publishes the score of his second reform opera Alceste in Vienna with an Italian preface that set out ideals for operatic reform. -
Mozart's first Opera Apollo et Hyacinthus premieres at
Benedictine University in Salzburg, Germany. -
Black composer Joseph Bologne (Chevalier de Saint-George) premieres his first opera _Ernestine_at the Comédie-Italienne in Paris, France. -
Teatro alla Scala opens in Milan, Italy under the orders of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria with Antonio Salieri's opera L'Europa riconosciuta -
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 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. -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) premieres at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Germany. -
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.
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Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, (The Magic Flute) premiered at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, Austria. -
Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, is premiered at Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria -
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. -
Premiere of Gioacchino Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro Argentina in Rome, Italy -
Afro-Brazilian composer José Mauricio Nunes Garcia composed the first Brazilian opera, “Le Due Gemelle” (“The Two Twins”) -
Richard Wagner begins work on Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) otherwise known as the Ring cycle. -
The world premiere of the opera Le prophète (The Prophet) by Giacomo Meyerbeer introduces the electric arc light to the theater. -
La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi premieres in the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. -
Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield organizes an opera troupe in Philadelphia with Bowers
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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. -
Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner premieres at the National Theatre, in Munich, Germany. The piece revolutionized opera. -
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. -
W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) began their partnership. -
Aida by Giuseppe Verdi premiered at Khedivial Opera House in Cairo, Egypt. The opera was commisioned by the Khedivial Opera. -
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. -
Carmen by George Bizet premieres at the National Theater of the Opera Comique, Paris, France -
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. -
Louisiana AfroCreole Edmond Dédé completes the score of Morgiane, ou, Le sultan d'Ispahan in Bordeaux, France. -
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. -
Antonio Farini's Grand Creole and Colored Opera and Concert Company is founded. -
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. -
World première of La bohème by Giacomo Puccini at Teatro Regio in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. -
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. -
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. -
World Premiere of Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. -
Premiere of Richard Strauss's Salome at Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden, Germany -
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor completes his opera Thelma. -
Scott Joplin publishes his second opera Treemonisha. -
The Negro Grand Opera Company founded by Harry Lawrence Freeman is incorporated. -
Alessandro Moreschi, the last of the castrato. dies in Rome, Italy. -
Lillian Evanti makes her operatic debut as Lakmé in Delibes's Lakmé at Nice, France. -
Allan Berg’s opera Wozzeck is first performed in Berlin. This is considered the first atonal opera. -
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 becomes firs Black American woman to play the titular role of Verdi's Aida in a European staging of the opera in Cosennza, Italy. -
Premiere of Harry Lawrence Freeman's opera Voodoo at the Palm Garden otherwise known as 52nd Street Theatre. -
The Black opera company Imperial Opera Company is established by Gertrude Smith Jackson in Chicago, Illinois -
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 -
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_by Virgil Thomson premieres in at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut. The opera notably featured an all-Black cast. -
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. -
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 became the first Black performer to be offered a regular season contract by a major opera company. -
The first revival of Porgy and Bess is produced in Pasadena, California. -
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). -
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 is founded by Raymond Lowden Smith. -
Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten premieres at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, United Kingdom. -
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. -
Bass-Baritone Fred Thomas becomes the first Black American to win the Metropolitan Opera Audition of the Air. -
Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti, the first opera written for television, is premiered. -
Janet Collins premieres as the first Black female Ballet dancer with the Met Opera Ballet. -
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 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 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 becomes the first Black person to conduct in a major American Opera Company. -
Leontyne Price becomes first Black opera singer to sing in a televised opera (Tosca as Tosca) . -
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 becomes the first Black American Woman to sing a major role at Bayreuth. -
OPERA/SOUTH an intercolleguate Opera Guild in Mississippi emerges. -
Opera Ebony is founded by Black American Bass-Baritone Benjamin Matthews, Wayne Sanders, Margaret Harris, and Sis. Mary Elise Sisson. -
Simon Estes becomes first Black male to sing at Bayreuth. -
Wilhelmina Fernandez stars in Diva, a motion picture about a Black female opera singer. -
Opera Ebony becomes the first American Opera Company invited to Savolina International Opera Festival.
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Opera Ebony opens Martinique International Music Festival.
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OPERA America released A Statement from OPERA
America: Black Lives Matter comitting to do more to encourage Black artists, administrators, and audiences. -
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. -
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. -
Black Opera Alliance calls for David Tucker’s removal from the
board of the Richard Tucker Foundation for racist remarks -
David Tucker is removed from the Board of Trustees of the Richard Tucker Foundation -
Black Opera Alliance launches A Pledge for Racial Equity andSystemic Change in Opera and invites opera companies to sing the pledge. -
Black Administrators of Opera (BAO) pops into the public consciousness with the Letter to the Opera Field from Black Administrators -
The inaugural Black Administrators of Opera Symposium is held at The Blitz Factory in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Symposium lasted three days. -
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.