Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an
Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The work
is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico, three one-act
operas with contrasting themes, following the dramatic Il tabarro and
the lyric Suor Angelica. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned
in Dante's Divine Comedy. Set in 1299 Florence, the title character
pretends to be a rich citizen who had died, dictating a new will in
favour of the deceased's family members but especially of himself (scene
in the premiere pictured). The comedy, a rarity in the composer's work,
combines elements of Puccini's modern harmonic dissonances with lyrical
passages such as the aria "O mio babbino caro". When Il trittico
premiered at New York's Metropolitan Opera on 14 December 1918, only
Gianni Schicchi became an immediate hit. It has been performed more
frequently than the other two, often combined with other short operas.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianni_Schicchi>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1863:
American Civil War: The Battle of Bean's Station, the final
battle of the Knoxville campaign, was fought in Grainger County,
Tennessee.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bean%27s_Station>
1918:
The first British general election with female voters took
place, with women over the age of thirty permitted to vote.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_United_Kingdom_general_election>
1981:
The Knesset passed the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli
"laws, jurisdiction and administration" to the Golan Heights,
effectively annexing the territory internationally recognized as part of
Syria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golan_Heights>
1998:
Kosovo War: Yugoslav forces ambushed a group of Kosovo
Liberation Army militants attempting to smuggle weapons into Yugoslavia
from Albania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_14,_1998,_Albanian%E2%80%93Yugoslav_border_ambush>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
by virtue of:
(idiomatic) (originally) by the authority or power of; (now) because of;
on the grounds of; by reason of.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/by_virtue_of>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The stars are alive and nights like thesewere born to be
sanctified by you and me.
--Mike Scott
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mike_Scott_%28musician%29>