- Mar 31 1st performance of Caesar Franck's "Le Chasseur Maudit"
- Apr 14 Leo Delibes' opera "Lakmé" premieres with the Opéra-Comique at the Salle Favart in Paris
- Aug 17 The first public performance of the Dominican Republic's national anthem, Himno Nacional
- Oct 22 New York's original Metropolitan Opera House has its grand opening with a performance of Charles Gounod's opera "Faust"
- Nov 5 Edward Harrigan's musical farce "Cordelia's Aspirations" premieres at Theatre Comique, NYC
- Nov 18 Antonín Dvořák's "Husitska" (Hussite Overture) premieres at the gala opening of the Prague National Theater
Music Premiere
Dec 2 Johannes Brahms' "3rd Symphony in F" premieres with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra