| Saturday, October 10, 2009 |
|
|
| Giuseppe Verdi |
Answer of the DayWhat was Verdi's last opera? Italian composer of operas Giuseppe Verdi was born on this date in 1813. Though he showed musical promise as a youngster, Verdi's early progress was not a given. He hoped to study organ at the Milan Conservatory, but was not accepted to the school, due to what they deemed his inadequate training. So, Verdi studied privately; his pieces met with acclaim, with many of them performed eventually at La Scala. Among his most famous works are Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Don Carlos and Aida. A fan of William Shakespeare, Verdi wrote operas based on three of his plays: Macbeth, Othello and his final opera, the comic Falstaff. When Verdi died in 1901, nearly 30,000 people lined the streets for his funeral procession.
Quote"Verdi is my god and my other influences are Berlioz and Puccini, with a dash of Debussy in my orchestration."
Word of the daychav
Chav is a derogatory term applied to certain young people in the United Kingdom. The stereotypical "chav" is an aggressive teenager or young adult who often engages in anti-social behaviour, such as street drinking, drug abuse and rowdy behaviour. They are often assumed to be unemployed or in a low paid job. It first appeared in English dictionaries in 2005. The term Charver is more widely used in North East England.
Stereotypical "chavs" typically wear tracksuits and hoodies made by sporting brands such as Nike and Adidas and listen to dance music and R'n'B....
George Bernard Shaw pithily observed, "England and America are two countries separated by a common language." For the next fortnight, we'll examine words that are current in the UK but may be unfamiliar to the average American.
Today's History
|
|
| Fiji |
- US Naval Academy: was established in Annapolis, Maryland, as the Naval School (1845)
- Fiji: became independent of Britain (1970)
- Outer Space Treaty: international agreement went into effect (1967)
- London Bridge: (re)opens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona (1971)
Today's Birthdays
|
|
| Brett Favre |
- Thelonious Monk (1917-1982): jazz pianist/composer, pioneer of bebop
- Harold Pinter (1930-2008): playwright who won 2005's Nobel Prize in Literature; writers R. K. Narayan (1906-2001) and James Clavell (1924-1994) shared this birth date
- Bradley Whitford (50): Emmy-winner for his portrayal of Josh Lyman on The West Wing; also, actors Peter Coyote (67), Ben Vereen and Charles Dance (both 63), Jessica Harper (60), Julia Sweeney (50), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (31) and Aimee Teegarden (20)
- Brett Favre (40): Vikings quarterback
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (35): winner of the 2004 Daytona 500
