Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 May 29

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From today's featured article

Dancers from 1913 production of The Rite of Spring

The Rite of Spring is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company, with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky and stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich (pictured). The ballet caused a near-riot in the audience when first performed, on 29 May 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, but rapidly achieved success as a concert piece and later became recognised as one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century. The score has many novel features, including experiments in tonality, metre, rhythm, stress and dissonance. The scenario is the celebration of spring by various primitive rituals, at the end of which a sacrificial victim dances herself to death. After its explosive premiere the ballet was not performed until the 1920s, when Léonide Massine's rechoreographed version was the first of many innovative productions directed by the world's leading ballet-masters. Providing "endless stimulation for performers and listeners" alike, The Rite is among the most recorded works in the classical repertoire. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest content:

... that the US Army's Nike Zeus (pictured) was cancelled when serious questions arose over its costs and ability to shoot down the enemy ICBM warheads it was designed to attack?

... that mathematician Zhang Yitang proposed a proof that there are infinitely many pairs of prime numbers with a prime gap of 70 million or less?

... that Major League Soccer franchise New York City FC is co-owned by Manchester City FC and the New York Yankees?

... that S. P. Balasubrahmanyam holds the record for most songs recorded by a male playback singer?

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... that William Post, who won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania Lottery, was successfully sued by his ex-girlfriend for a third of his winnings?

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In the news

Digital currency service Liberty Reserve is shut down and charged with facilitating US$6 billion of illegal financial transactions.

In auto racing, Nico Rosberg (pictured) wins the Monaco Grand Prix and Tony Kanaan wins the Indianapolis 500.

In Twenty20 cricket, Mumbai Indians defeat Chennai Super Kings to win the Indian Premier League.

Blue Is the Warmest Colour, directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, wins the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

A Maoist attack on Indian National Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh, India, kills at least 27 people.

In association football, Bayern Munich defeat Borussia Dortmund to win their fifth UEFA Champions League title.

Recent deaths: Henri Dutilleux

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On this day...

May 29: International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers; Democracy Day in Nigeria

1453 – With the conquest of Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottomans.

1852 – Swedish operatic soprano Jenny Lind (pictured) concluded a widely successful concert tour of the US under the management of showman P. T. Barnum.

1900 – N'Djamena, now the capital of Chad, was founded as Fort-Lamy by French commander Émile Gentil.

1953 – New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary and Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

1982 – Falklands War: Approximately 1,000 Argentine forces surrendered, ending the Battle of Goose Green.

More anniversaries: May 28 – May 29 – May 30

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It is now May 29, 2013 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

A watercolor painter working in Dolceacqua, Liguria, Italy, using a round brush. Watercolor is a painting method in which paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle. The traditional and most common support for watercolor paintings is paper.

Photograph: Dongio

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