Wikipedia:Main Page history/2021 December 14

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...)

The second circle of hell, depicted by William Blake

• ... that the punishment of sinners in the second circle of hell (pictured) is an example of contrapasso?
• ... that Louis W. Roberts was among the highest ranking African-American space program staff at NASA while the Apollo program was underway?
• ... that before the Second World War, Australian army officers used the pages of Britain's Army Quarterly and Defence Journal to argue for greater self-reliance in defence matters?
• ... that 2000 Alabama Amendment 2, which repealed the state's anti-miscegenation laws, was carefully written to avoid legalizing same-sex marriage?
• ... that Ben Comeau invented a fictitious student of Franz Liszt so he could write a 45-minute piano sonata?
• ... that in Olaf Presents, the line where Olaf points out Mufasa eats some of his subjects was praised by Screen Rant?
• ... that on a wax-myrtle plant, 42 mature lobate lac scales were recorded on a 1 cm (0.4 in) section of twig?
• ... that the Batman supervillain Mr. Bloom was created to be the "anti-Joker"?

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.

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.