On this day in 1791, the first performance of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute takes place two months before his death. It is a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. It was Mozart’s last opera. It was an outstanding success from its first performances, and remains a staple of the opera repertory.
the Queen of the Night persuades Prince Tamino to rescue her daughter Pamina from captivity under the high priest Sarastro; instead, he learns the high ideals of Sarastro’s community and seeks to join it. Separately, then together, Tamino and Pamina undergo severe trials of initiation, which end in triumph, with the Queen and her cohorts vanquished. The earthy Papageno, who accompanies Tamino on his quest, fails the trials completely but is rewarded anyway with the hand of his ideal female companion Papagena.
Detail from Portrait of the Mozart Family, c. 1781
Nothing to add here…
What shall we name our business???
There are three good songs in Mozart’s the Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), and here is one of them: the Queen of the Night aria. Also known as der Hölle Rache, or the revenge of hell ^_^’ in this song, the princess has finally been rescued from the sun cult, but she has developed Stockholm syndrome and wants to go back and join them. Her mother, the queen of the night, tells her nope! Mom then asks the princess to kill Sarastro, the leader of the sun cult. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HEjAkFBBz0
On this day in 1907, the foundation stone of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, also known as Washington National Cathedral, was laid in the presence of President Theodore Roosevelt and a crowd of more than 20,000. The cathedral was completed 83 years later, after several phases of construction and years long interruptions, in the presence of President George H. W. Bush on September 29, 1990.
It is the second-largest church in the United States and the third-tallest habitable building in Washington, DC. The cathedral is the seat of both the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church and the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. Over 270,000 people visit the structure annually.
On this day in 1928, Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin. This was the first antibiotic substance discovered. His discovery in 1928 of what was later named benzylpenicillin (or penicillin G) from the mould Penicillium rubens has been described as the “single greatest victory ever achieved over disease”.
Fleming was knighted for his scientific achievements in 1944. In 1999, he was named in Time magazine’s list of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century. In 2002, he was included in the BBC’s television poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, and in 2009, he was also voted third “greatest Scot” in an opinion poll conducted by STV, behind only Robert Burns and William Wallace.
Fleming in his laboratory, 1943
Today is the birthday, in 1938, of Ben E King, (Benjmin Earl Nelson), soul and R&B singer with The Drifters who had the 1960 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’, and the 1987 UK No.1 solo single ‘Stand By Me’, (first released in 1961). King died at the Hackensack University Medical Center on April 30, 2015, at the age of 76. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTd2ylacYNU
On this day in 1789, the United States Congress passed twelve constitutional amendments – the ten known as the Bill of Rights, the Congressional Apportionment Amendment (which was never ratified) and the Congressional Compensation Amendment which languished for many years until it was finally ratified in 1982.
The Congressional Apportionment Amendment would establish the number of seats in the House of Representatives. As it was never ratified by the required number of states, the size of the House of Representatives is now set by statute.
The Congressional Compensation Amendment states that changes to the pay of members of Congress take effect only upon the next election of the House of Representatives. The proposed congressional pay amendment was largely forgotten until 1982, when Gregory Watson, a 19-year-old student at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a paper for a government class in which he claimed that the amendment could still be ratified. He later launched a nationwide campaign to complete its ratification. The amendment eventually became part of the United States Constitution, effective May 5, 1992.
James Madison, primary author and chief advocate for the Bill of Rights in the First Congress
On this day in 1890, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounced polygamy.
Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families. Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter-day Saint movement, first introduced polygamy privately in the 1830s. Later, in 1852, Orson Pratt, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, publicly announced and defended the practice at the request of then-church president Brigham Young.
In 1890, when it became clear that Utah would not be admitted to the Union while polygamy was still practiced, church president Wilford Woodruff issued the 1890 Manifesto, officially banning the formation of new polygamous unions within the LDS Church.
Many of those who rejected the LDS Church’s relinquishment of polygamy formed small, close-knit communities in areas of the Rocky Mountains. These groups continue to practice “the Principle”. In the 1940s, LDS Church apostle Mark E. Petersen coined the term “Mormon fundamentalist” to describe such people. Fundamentalists either practice as individuals, as families, or as part of organized denominations. Today, the LDS Church objects to the use of the term “Mormon fundamentalists” and suggests using the term “polygamist sects” to avoid confusion about whether the main body of Mormon believers teach or practice polygamy. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also referred to as the FLDS Church) continues to practice polygamy.
Teens from polygamous families along with over 200 supporters demonstrate at a pro-polygamy rally in Salt Lake City in 2006
BADA BINGLE!
HERE WAS A TIME WHEN SEEING SOMEONE OUTSIDE IN THEIR PAJAMAS MEANT THEIR HOUSE WAS ON FIRE. NOW IT JUST MEANS YOU’RE AT WALMART.
My wife told me the other day I’m going to be a father for the first time. The problem is we already have two kids.
People used to laugh at me when I would say “l want to be a comedian”, well nobody’s laughing now.
Photons have mass? I didn’t even know they were Catholic.
A conclusion is the part where you got tired of thinking.
Moses was leading his people through the desert for 40 years. It seems, even in Biblical times men avoided asking for directions.
I refused to believe my road worker father was stealing from his job, but when I got home, all the signs were there.
There is a new trend in our office, everyone is naming their food. Today I ate a sandwich named Kevin.
Trump died and got buried at Mar-a-lago. A man in New York went to LaGuardia airport and told the agent “I want to piss on Donald Trump’s grave.” The agent said “Yes sir, here’s a ticket to Los Angeles.” The man said “Los Angeles? He’s buried in Florida.” The agent said, “Correct. Los Angeles is the back of the line.”
Here is why English is so much fun: “The faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his life.”
If drugs aren’t allowed in sports, why isn’t makeup banned in beauty contests?
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