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Special performance at The Santa Fe Opera

Noye's Fludde is a one-act opera written largely for young amateur performers, created by the British composer Benjamin Britten. First performed in 1958 at the annual Aldeburgh Festival, it is based on the 15th-century Chester "mystery" play which recounts the biblical story of Noah, the flood and the ark. Britten had written numerous works for mixed professionals and amateurs, and had also used text from the Chester play cycle, for his 1952 Canticle II. For Noye's Fludde he added to the Chester text three congregational hymns, together with the Greek prayer Kyrie eleison and an Alleluia chorus. Of the solo sung roles, only the parts of Noye (Noah) and his wife are intended to be sung by professionals; the remaining roles are taken by child and adolescent performers. The mainly amateur orchestra contains numerous unconventional instruments. At its premiere Noye's Fludde was acclaimed by critics and the public alike, both for the inspiration of the music and for the design and production. Since then it has been staged worldwide; the performance in Beijing in October 2012 was the first in China of any Britten opera. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Efimov Traveling Theater in Moscow, 1919

... that Ivan and Nina Efimov, known as the Adam and Eve of Russian puppetry, lived for six years largely on earnings from their traveling puppet show (pictured)?
... that Typhoon Joe and Typhoon Kim struck the Philippines within a week of each other in July 1980?
... that the first United States vessel to enter the Black Sea was owned by Ezra Weston II, a Massachusetts shipbuilder known as "King Caesar"?
... that MINURCA was established by the UN Security Council to replace another peacekeeping force called MISAB?
... that Kate Devlin is a computer scientist working in the field of sex robots and human-computer interaction?
... that Robert Heinlein's 1959 novel Starship Troopers is a critique of US society of the 1950s, and advocates for corporal and capital punishment?
... that award-winning film director Nujoom Al-Ghanem is also a poet?
... that the Irish Fright caused thousands of English people to arm themselves against non-existent Irish marauders believed to be burning and massacring English towns?

In the news

Separation of the iceberg from the Larsen C Ice Shelf

Chinese pro-democracy activist, political prisoner, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo dies aged 61.
Former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is sentenced to nine and a half years of prison over the Operation Car Wash corruption scandal.
A giant iceberg, covering approximately 5,800 km² (2,200 sq mi), breaks away (separation pictured) from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
After covering 450 kilometres (280 mi), the Turkish March for Justice concludes in Istanbul at a mass rally attended by hundreds of thousands of people.
The Iraqi government declares victory in the Battle of Mosul.

On this day...

July 14

Storming of the Bastille by Jean-Pierre Houël

1789 – French Revolution: Parisians stormed the Bastille (pictured), freeing its inmates and taking the prison's large quantities of arms and ammunition.
1950 – In an early battle of the Korean War, North Korean troops began attacking the headquarters of the American 24th Infantry Division in Taejon, South Korea.
1958 – Faisal II, the last king of Iraq, was overthrown by a military coup d'état led by Abd al-Karim Qasim.
1987 – Over 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain fell in a two-and-a-half-hour period in Montreal, causing severe flooding and over C$220 million in damages.
1995 – The MPEG-2 Audio Layer III audio coding format was given the filename extension by which it became known: MP3.

Edward White Benson (b. 1829) · William Hanna (b. 1910) · Constance Stokes (d. 1991)

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From today's featured list

English writer and journalist W. E. Johns wrote over 150 books and was, after Enid Blyton, "the most prolific and popular children's writer of his time". Most of Johns's work—102 books—consists of the stories of Biggles, a First World War pilot and, later, adventurer, detective and Second World War squadron leader. He also wrote science fiction stories, and two further series of war stories, featuring the characters Worrals of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and Gimlet, a British Commando. Johns served in the army during the First World War. On leaving the Royal Air Force he became a journalist and illustrator. In 1932 he founded Popular Flying magazine and became its first editor. He used the magazine to publish his Biggles short stories. He continued to publish his stories in periodicals and newspapers throughout his career. Six months after the first Biggles stories were published they were collected in book form in The Camels are Coming. Johns also wrote eight non-fiction books, most of which related to flying and pilots. (Full list...)

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The crowns of Silla are a series of gold crowns made in the Korean kingdom of Silla between the 5th and 7th centuries CE. These crowns were excavated in Gyeongju, the former capital of Silla. All are designated national treasures of South Korea.

Shown here is the gold crown from Seobongchong Tumulus (Treasure No. 339), an ornamented crown with five branches standing on the broad crown frame. It is held by the Gyeongju National Museum.

Photograph: National Museum of Korea

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