Jules Massenet (12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer
of the Romantic era best known for his operas. The two most frequently
staged are Manon (1884) and Werther (1892). After winning the country's
top prize in music, the Prix de Rome, in 1863, he composed prolifically
in many genres. He wrote more than 40 stage works in a wide variety of
styles, from opéra-comique to grand-scale depictions of classical
myths, romantic comedies, and lyric dramas. He also composed oratorios,
ballets, cantatas, orchestral works, incidental music, piano pieces, and
songs. Massenet had a good sense of the theatre and of what would
succeed with the Parisian public, and he became the most popular
composer of opera in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Although critics do not rank him among operatic geniuses such as Mozart,
Verdi and Wagner, his operas are now widely accepted as well-crafted and
intelligent products of the Belle Époque.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Massenet>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1863:
American Civil War: The Confederates were routed in the Battle
of Raymond, a small battle that had an inordinately large impact on the
Vicksburg Campaign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Raymond>
1941:
German engineer Konrad Zuse presented the Z3 (replica
pictured), the world's first working programmable, fully automatic
computer, to an audience of scientists in Berlin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z3_%28computer%29>
1955:
The Allied occupation of Austria came to an end, with the
nation regaining its independence ten years after the end of World
War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Austria>
2006:
A cartoon that allegedly compared Iranian Azeris to cockroaches
was published in a magazine, sparking riots throughout the country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_newspaper_cockroach_cartoon_controversy>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
motherhood statement:
(chiefly Canada, US) A vague, feel-good platitude, especially one made
by a politician, that few people would disagree with.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/motherhood_statement>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
For a while, I thought of myself as an atheist until I realized
it was a belief, too. It's a shame everything has to have a label. I
feel that if I was figuratively dropped on the Earth and there was a
political line, I would be just left of center. The difference for me is
that conservatives are more interested in property values and rights and
free markets, and liberals are more interested in human rights. In the
end, there are people who don't fit into the marketplace and are not
equipped. I believe the government should step in where the free market
fails.
--George Carlin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Carlin>