Premiered March 14, 1885: “The Mikado”

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Mikado-Savoy-1885“Yes, as we said to begin with, “The Mikado” is a frank success. It is great nonsense, no doubt; but then it is the very funniest fooling to be seen. And so pretty, too!”  ~unsigned review from “The Academy”, March 28 1885  http://www.savoyoperas.org.uk/mikado/mik3.html

“Mr. Gilbert has once more exhibited his facility for seizing upon a subject occupying a considerable share of public attention, and turning it to humorous account. Japanese art is extremely fashionable just at present, and the manners and customs of this strange race may be studied with advantage at Knightsbridge. But it is our home political and social life that is principally caricatured in ‘The Mikado,’ and amid much that is incisive and telling we find obvious reminiscences of earlier productions by the same hand.”
~unsigned review from “The Athenæum”, March 21 1885
http://www.savoyoperas.org.uk/mikado/mik2.html

Albert Einstein: Born March 14, 1879

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EinsteinAlbert Einstein’s theory of general relativity has held up pretty well after a century out in the world.

The famous theory, which Einstein published in 1915, remains the bedrock upon which scientists’ understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe rests. It continues to inspire research into some of the most fundamental unanswered questions in physics and astronomy.

General relativity “is now, I think, routinely accepted as the foundation of our description of the universe at large, which we call cosmology; of black holes, of neutron stars and of small corrections to the orbits of planets and spacecraft in our own solar system,” said Roger Blandford of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at Stanford University.
http://www.space.com/28741-einstein-general-relativity-100-years.html

Einstein2

Einstein’s Theory of Relativity Explained (Infographic)
http://www.space.com/28738-einstein-theory-of-relativity-explained-infgraphic.html

BikeGraphic by The Misty Miss Christy based on http://archives-dc.library.caltech.edu/islandora/object/ct1%3A439

Al Jaffee: Born March 13, 1921

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Jaffee

…And in 1964 he had an idea. Playboy, Life and other magazines had their lavish color fold-outs, so Mad, he thought, should parody them with a cheap black-and-white fold-in.
From 2008: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/arts/design/30genz.html?pagewanted=all

Instead of conducting a formal interview, we invited Mr. Jaffee to explain the thought process behind his favorite Fold-Ins from over the years. He certainly didn’t disappoint. Read on to discover how one of the world’s finest optical satirists creates his magic on a monthly basis.
 From 2014: https://www.pastemagazine.com/books/state-of-the-art-mad-magazine-icon-al-jaffee-on-hi/

Al Jaffee, Iconic Mad Magazine Cartoonist, Retires at Age 99 … and Leaves Behind Advice About Living the Creative Life
From 2020: https://www.openculture.com/2020/06/al-jaffee-iconic-mad-magazine-cartoonist-retires-at-age-99.html

Al Jaffee, Now 102, Is Ready to Be Added to Mount Rushmore:
MAD’s longest-serving contributor on comedy, art, and the origins of the “Fold-in.”
From 2023: https://www.vulture.com/article/al-jaffee-interview.html

Al Jaffee on Artnet: https://www.artnet.com/artists/al-jaffee/

(updated 2023)

The only existing film images of Anne Frank:

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Anne Frank and her sister Margot died of typhus
in Bergen-Belsen in March 1945,
seven months after her family was arrested and only weeks before the camp’s liberation by British soldiers.

In this footage, taken from a home movie of a neighbor’s wedding in July of 1941, we see the 12-year-old Anne Frank looking on from a window in her family’s apartment in Amsterdam.

Anne Frank: her life after the diary ended~ https://www.thelocal.de/20170310/anne-frank-beyond-the-diary

Premiered March 11:

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March 11, 1867 – Theatre Imperial de l’Opera, France
DON CARLO started out life as a five-act opera that ran for approximately four hours. Based on Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Spiller, this lengthy piece saw Verdi put the music to a French libretto by Camille du Lode and Joseph Mery. After the opera had been written, it was found to still be too long during the rehearsal period. Since the audience would need to leave before midnight, further cuts were made during this time in order to make sure that the opera finished before this deadline.
FROM http://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/homage-verdi-don-carlo

March 11, 1851 – La Fenice Opera House, Italy
One of the most acclaimed Verdi operas, RIGOLETTO at one point, was very much a case of “touch and go”. The three-act opera, based on Victor Hugo’s play “Le roi s’amuse”, came under close scrutiny of the Austrian censors. …However, by January 1851, a breakthrough was reached, albeit with a number of amendments to the original work. The original setting of the royal court of France was to be changed either to a duchy of France or Italy, while many of the characters were to be renamed, notably the jester, who went from Triboulet to Rigoletto. With the deadline for the premiere looming, Verdi managed to complete the work by early February, leaving a month to spare.
FROM http://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/homage-verdi-rigoletto

Dame Eva Turner: Born March 10, 1892

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A dramatic soprano with a voice of mammoth proportions, Eva Turner, though scarcely neglected in her native country, enjoyed many of her greatest successes abroad. Most closely identified with the title role in Turandot (which she first sang in Brescia only a month after its premiere), she brought to all of her roles a voice of both enormous size and great cutting power, topped with an unflagging ease in the highest register. While not always an illuminating actress, she approached all of her work with seriousness of purpose, thorough integrity and no small measure of excitement.
Biography and interview here~ http://www.bruceduffie.com/evaturner.html

William Etty: Born March 10, 1787

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In the 1820’s, in his early career, Etty received critical acclaim.  An 1826 review for his ‘Choice of Paris’, described him as having talent that “no artist of the present day can equal”.  Etty continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy throughout his career but his work was not universally popular. His nudes were a particular source of criticism.  A review in the Times newspaper said, “nakedness without purity is offensive and indecent, and in Mr. Etty’s canvas is mere dirty flesh”.  Etty was seen by others as the best English painter of the nude, but he has never become a household name.
http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/themes/victorian/william-etty-artist

http://www.yorkartgallery.org.uk/exhibition/previous-exhibition-william-etty-art-and-controversy/

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/william-etty-172

David Hare: March 10, 1917-December 21, 1992

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DavidHareBiography~ https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/david-hare

Exhibition catalogue at Weinstein Gallery, September 2012~
https://issuu.com/weinstein_gallery/docs/david-hare-exhibit-catalogue

Tamarind lithographs~ https://tamarind.unm.edu/?s=David+Hare
New York Times obituary~
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/25/arts/david-hare-sculptor-and-photographer-dies-at-75.html