Joseph (opera)

Joseph (also known as Joseph en Égypte) is an opéra comique in three acts by the French composer Étienne Méhul. The libretto, by Alexandre Duval, is based on the Biblical story of Joseph and his brothers. The work was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 17 February 1807 at the Théâtre Feydeau. It mixes musical numbers with spoken dialogue and is described in both the libretto and the printed announcement for the opening night as a "drame en trois actes, mêlé de chant", although the Méhul scholar Elizabeth Bartlet catalogues it as an "opéra en prose".

Background

Méhul probably met Duval, an ex-soldier and actor, at the salon of Sophie Gay and suggested composing an opera on the story of Joseph from the Book of Genesis. In writing Joseph, Méhul and his librettist may have been trying to exploit the contemporary vogue for operas on religious themes and the French fascination for Egypt after Napoleon's expedition to the country in 1798. Duval was directly inspired by Pierre Baour-Lormian's verse tragedy Omasis, ou Joseph en Égypte, which had appeared in September 1806.

Opera (web browser)

Opera is a web browser developed by Opera Software. The latest version is available for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux operating systems, and uses the Blink layout engine. An earlier version using the Presto layout engine is still available, and additionally runs on FreeBSD systems.

Opera siblings – Opera Mobile, Opera Mini and Opera Coast – work on devices running Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Symbian, Maemo, Bada, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile operating systems, while Opera Mini runs on Java ME-capable devices.

According to Opera Software, the browser had more than 350 million users worldwide in the 4th quarter 2014. Total Opera mobile users reached 291 million in June 2015. Opera has been noted for originating many features later adopted by other web browsers. A prominent example is Speed Dial.

History

Opera began in 1994 as a research project at Telenor, the largest Norwegian telecommunications company. In 1995, it branched out into a separate company named Opera Software ASA. Opera was first released publicly with version 2.0 in 1996, which only ran on Microsoft Windows. In an attempt to capitalize on the emerging market for Internet-connected handheld devices, a project to port Opera to mobile device platforms was started in 1998. Opera 4.0, released in 2000, included a new cross-platform core that facilitated creation of editions of Opera for multiple operating systems and platforms.

Opera (magazine)

Opera is a monthly British magazine devoted to covering all things related to opera. It contains reviews and articles about current opera productions internationally, as well as articles on opera recordings, opera singers, opera companies, opera directors, and opera books. The magazine also contains major features and analysis on individual operas and people associated with opera.

The magazine employs a network of international correspondents around the world who write for the magazine. Contributors to the magazine, past and present, include William Ashbrook, Martin Bernheimer, Julian Budden, Rodolfo Celletti, Alan Blyth, Elizabeth Forbes, and J.B. Steane among many others.

Opera is printed in A5 size, with colour photos, and consists of around 130 pages. Page numbering is consecutive for a complete year (e.g. September 2009 goes from p1033-1168). All issues since August 2006 are available online to current subscribers (through Exact Editions).

Based in London, the magazine was founded in 1950 by George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood. It was launched at the house of Richard Buckle, under the imprint 'Ballet Publications Ltd'.

Opera (film)

Opera, also known as Terror at the Opera, is a 1987 Italian giallo horror film written and directed by Dario Argento and starring Cristina Marsillach, Urbano Barberini and Ian Charleson. The film's score was composed by Brian Eno and Claudio Simonetti. The film was released in the United States under the title Terror at the Opera. The film was one of Argento's most commercially successful films, seeing 1,363,912 ticket sales in his native country of Italy. This is the second Dario Argento's horror film to have THX audio certified and picture quality.

Plot

The film centers around young, insecure opera singer Betty (Cristina Marsillach). After the lead in Verdi's Macbeth is injured in a car accident, Betty is reluctantly thrust into the role in the opera. During her first performance, a murder takes place in one of the opera boxes. Mysterious murders continue throughout the film as Betty is stalked and those around her meet their unfortunate end. The killer binds and places tape under Betty's eyelids with needles attached so she is unable to blink, and therefore forced to watch as the murders take place. Meanwhile, Betty continues to have frightening dreams involving a masked person and her mother. During the final performance of the opera the killer is revealed, and Betty must confront her past in a terrifying climax.

Joseph

"Joseph" is a masculine given name originating from Hebrew, recorded in the Hebrew Bible, as יוֹסֵף, Standard Hebrew Yossef, Tiberian Hebrew and Aramaic Yôsēp̄. In Arabic, including in the Qur'an, the name is spelled يوسف or Yūsuf. The name can be translated from Hebrew יהוה להוסיף YHWH Lhosif as signifying "JEHOVAH will increase/add".

In the Old Testament, Joseph is Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first (Yossef ben-Yaakov in the Jewish Bible). In the New Testament, Joseph is the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In the New Testament there is another Joseph as well, Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus who supplied the tomb in which Jesus was buried.

The form "Joseph" is used mostly in English, French and German-speaking countries. The name has enjoyed significant popularity in its many forms in numerous countries, and Joseph was one of the two names, along with Robert, to have remained in the top 10 boys' names list in the US from 1925 to 1972. It is especially common in contemporary Israel, as either "Yossi" or "Yossef", and in Italy, where the name "Giuseppe" was the most common male name in the 20th century.

Joseph (fashion brand)

Joseph is a fashion brand and retail chain that was established in London by Moroccan entrepreneur Joseph Ettedgui and his family in 1972.

History of the brand

The Joseph brand grew from a small shop attached to a hairdressing salon in King's Road, Chelsea, owned by Casablanca-born Joseph Ettedgui and his brothers Maurice and Franklin, to more than 20 London stores, with eight additional outlets in New York and Paris plus stores in Leeds and Manchester.

Joseph Ettedgui’s love of fashion meant the brothers began displaying designer clothes in their hair salon in the 1960s, including the work of pioneering Japanese designer Kenzo Takada. The success of this early collaboration led to a move into fashion retailing, with the first store opening below the Chelsea hair salon in the early 1970s and the first large-scale retail outlet opening on Sloane Street in 1979.

Designer collaborations

Joseph stores championed the work of many up-and-coming designers, including Margaret Howell, Katharine Hamnett, John Galliano and Azzedine Alaïa. Own brand clothing began with distinctive knitwear (Joseph Tricot) and went on to include women’s clothing, perfume, homewares (Joseph Pour La Maison), and Joe's restaurants. Joseph has been the recipient of a number of British Fashion Awards, including Knitwear Designer of the Year four times between 1990 and 1994 and a British Fashion Award in 2000 presented by Cherie Blair.

Joseph (surname)

Joseph is an English surname. Notable people with this name include: