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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ 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

___________________________ 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