L'incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppaea) is an Italian opera by Claudio Monteverdi (pictured), with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello. It was first performed during the 1643 carnival season in Venice. One of the first operas to use historical events and people, it describes how Poppaea, mistress of the Roman emperor Nero, achieves her ambition to be crowned empress. The opera was revived in 1651, but was then neglected until the score was rediscovered in 1888. Since the 1960s, the work has been performed and recorded many times. The original manuscript of the score does not exist; two surviving copies from the 1650s differ significantly. How much of the music is actually Monteverdi's is disputed. Details of the original cast are largely speculative, and there is no record of the opera's initial public reception. Despite these uncertainties, it is generally accepted as part of the Monteverdi operatic canon, his last and perhaps his greatest work. Written when the genre of opera was only a few decades old, the music for L'incoronazione di Poppea has been praised for its originality and melody, and it helped to redefine the boundaries of theatrical music.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27incoronazione_di_Poppea
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1766:
A mutiny by captive Malagasy began at sea on the slave ship Meermin, leading to the ship's destruction on Cape Agulhas in present- day South Africa and the recapture of the instigators. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meermin_slave_mutiny
1878:
Competition between two merchants in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, US, turned into a range war when a member of one faction was murdered by the other. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_County_War
1957:
Kenyan independence leader Dedan Kimathi (statue pictured), who spearheaded the Mau Mau Uprising, was executed by British authorities, who saw him as a terrorist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dedan_Kimathi
1970:
An American jury acquitted the "Chicago Seven" of conspiracy and inciting riots stemming from protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Seven
2007:
Terrorist bombs exploded on the Samjhauta Express train in Panipat, Haryana, India, killing 68 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Samjhauta_Express_bombings
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
artisanal: 1. Of or pertaining to artisans or the work of artisans. 2. Involving skilled work, with comparatively little reliance on machinery. 3. (of an item, especially a foodstuff) Made by an artisan (skilled worker). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/artisanal
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
 We have seen the highest circle of spiraling powers. We have named this circle God. We might have given it any other name we wished: Abyss, Mystery, Absolute Darkness, Absolute Light, Matter, Spirit, Ultimate Hope, Ultimate Despair, Silence. But we have named it God because only this name, for primordial reasons, can stir our hearts profoundly. And this deeply felt emotion is indispensable if we are to touch, body with body, the dread essence beyond logic. Within this gigantic circle of divinity we are in duty bound to separate and perceive clearly the small, burning arc of our epoch. --Nikos Kazantzakis https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nikos_Kazantzakis
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