Events February 6 - The first minstrel show in the United States The Virginia Minstrels opens at the Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City. February 11 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera I Lombardi premieres in Milan 25 November - Michael William Balfe's The Bohemian Girl debuts in London Gaetano Donizetti's Don Pasquale debuts in Paris Popular music "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean" by Thomas Becket Musical theater The Bohemian Girl, London production Births June 15 - Edvard Grieg Deaths