Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 May 31

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Today's featured article
Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico—three one-act operas with contrasting themes, written to be presented together. Although it continues to be performed with one or both of the other trittico operas, Gianni Schicchi is now more frequently staged either alone or with short operas by other composers. Gianni Schicchi, a comedy, completes the triptych by combining elements of Puccini's modern style of harmonic dissonance with lyrical passages described as reminiscent of Rossini. When Il trittico premiered at New York's Metropolitan Opera in December 1918, Gianni Schicchi became an immediate hit, whereas the other two operas were received with less enthusiasm. Although on artistic grounds Puccini opposed performing the three operas except as the original triptych, by 1920 he had given his reluctant consent to separate performances. Gianni Schicchi has subsequently become the most-performed part of Il trittico, and has been widely recorded. (more...) Recently featured: Charles Holden – Deinonychus – Mono–Inyo Craters Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Edward Chiera considered the setting of the Debate between sheep and grain (example of sheep pictured) to be the Babylonian Garden of Eden? ... that just three days after announcing he would retire in August, John Lipsky became Acting Managing Director of the IMF when Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned? ... that the majority trained with Artisans d'Angkor in Siem Reap are uneducated young Cambodians from rural areas? ... that abortion provider Susan Wicklund has been obliged to wear disguises to get past protesters in airports and at her workplace? ... that Efthimios Mitropoulos is the seventh and current Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization? ... that American children's author Agnes Hewes, a three-time winner of the Newbery Honor, was born in Tripoli, Lebanon, to medical missionary parents? ... that the Isabella Psalter (named for Isabella of France) and the Queen Mary Psalter (for Mary I of England) are 14th-century devotional books that also contain bestiaries? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Germany announces plans to abandon nuclear power entirely by 2022 (nuclear plant in Grafenrheinfeld pictured). President of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh dies from complications of surgery in Moscow. A referendum to introduce divorce passes in Malta. In association football, the UEFA Champions League tournament concludes with FC Barcelona defeating Manchester United in the final. Egypt re-opens the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip. In T20 cricket, the Indian Premier League tournament concludes with the Chennai Super Kings defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
May 31: World No Tobacco Day; Feast of the Visitation in Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism 1279 BC – According to estimates accepted by most Egyptologists today, Ramesses II became Pharaoh of Egypt. 1223 – Mongol invasions: Mongol forces defeated a combined army of Kiev, Galich, and the Cumans on the banks of the Kalchik River in present-day Ukraine. 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston and G. W. Smith engaged Union forces under George B. McClellan at the Battle of Seven Pines outside Richmond, Virginia. 1981 – An organized mob of police and government-sponsored paramilitias began burning the public library in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, destroying over 97,000 items in one of the most violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the 20th century. 2010 – During an attempt to break the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Navy engaged in armed conflict with the crew of the MV Mavi Marmara (pictured), resulting in nine civilian deaths. More anniversaries: May 30 – May 31 – June 1 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now May 31, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The interior of the Arcade, one of the oldest indoor shopping malls in the United States, as seen in 1966. Located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, it is a Victorian-style structure of two nine-story buildings, joined by a five-story arcade with a glass skylight along the four balconies. The Arcade opened on May 31, 1890, and is still in business today.

Photo: Martin Linsey for HABS

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