Wikipedia:Main Page history/2021 December 14

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Scene of the will reading

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. (Full article...)

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The second circle of hell, depicted by William Blake

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In the news

Max Verstappen

In motor racing, Max Verstappen (pictured) wins the Formula One World Championship, while Mercedes win the constructors' title.
In the final independence referendum, New Caledonia overwhelmingly rejects independence from France amid a boycott from independence parties.
A tornado outbreak kills at least 76 people in Kentucky and at least 13 more in neighboring U.S. states.
Magnus Carlsen defends his World Chess Championship title, defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi.

On this day

December 14: Martyred Intellectuals Day in Bangladesh (1971); Monkey Day

Emperor Wenzong of Tang

835 – In the Sweet Dew incident, Emperor Wenzong (pictured) of the Tang dynasty conspired to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot was foiled.
1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Bean's Station, the final battle of the Knoxville campaign, was fought in Grainger County, Tennessee.
1918 – The first British general election with female voters took place, with women over the age of thirty permitted to vote.
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.
1998 – Kosovo War: Yugoslav forces ambushed a group of Kosovo Liberation Army militants attempting to smuggle weapons into Yugoslavia from Albania.

Niccolò Perotti (d. 1480)
DeFord Bailey (b. 1899)
Kim Beazley (b. 1948)

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Today's featured picture

Camp: Notes on Fashion was the 2019 high fashion art exhibition of the Anna Wintour Costume Center, a wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York that houses the collection of the Costume Institute. The exhibition ran from May 8 through September 9, 2019, and was preceded by the annual Costume Institute Gala on May 6. The display for the exhibition included this rainbow cape, created by the British fashion designer Christopher Bailey for the luxury fashion house Burberry.

Fashion design credit: Christopher Bailey; photographed by Rhododendrites

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