Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur
Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25
March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for
131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise
and outrunning its popular companion piece, Jacques Offenbach's La
Périchole. The story concerns a "breach of promise of marriage" lawsuit
in which the judge and legal system are the objects of lighthearted
satire. Gilbert based the libretto of Trial by Jury on an operetta
parody that he had written in 1868. The opera premiered more than three
years after Gilbert and Sullivan's only previous collaboration,
Thespis. As with most Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the plot of Trial by
Jury is ludicrous, but the characters behave as if the events were
perfectly reasonable. This narrative technique blunts some of the
pointed barbs aimed at hypocrisy, especially of those in authority, and
the sometimes base motives of supposedly respectable people and
institutions. Critics and audiences praised how well Sullivan's witty
and good-humoured music complemented Gilbert's satire. The success of
Trial by Jury launched the famous series of 13 collaborative works
between Gilbert and Sullivan that came to be known as the Savoy Operas.
After its original production in 1875, Trial by Jury toured widely in
Britain and elsewhere and was frequently revived and recorded.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_by_Jury>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1384:
Jadwiga was officially crowned as "King of Poland" instead of "Queen"
to reflect that fact that she was a sovereign in her own right and not
merely a royal consort.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jadwiga_of_Poland>
1532:
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Spanish Conquistador Francisco
Pizarro orchestrated a surprise attack in Cajamarca, Peru, capturing
Sapa Inca Atahualpa.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cajamarca>
1885:
After a five-day trial following the North-West Rebellion, Louis Riel,
Canadian rebel leader of the Métis and "Father of Manitoba", was
executed by hanging for high treason.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Riel>
1907:
Two years after the failed attempt by the Five Civilized Tribes in the
Indian Territory to achieve U.S. statehood, they joined with the
Oklahoma Territory to become the 46th U.S. state to enter the union.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma>
1938:
Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann first synthesized the psychedelic drug LSD
at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Hofmann>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
instill (v):
1. To cause a quality to become part of someone's nature.
2. To pour in, drop by drop
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/instill>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We shall all live. We pray for life, children, a good harvest and
happiness. You will have what is good for you and I will have what is
good for me. Let the kite perch and let the egret perch too. If one
says no to the other, let his wing break.
--Chinua Achebe
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe>