Violet (opera)

Violet is a 2005 opera by Roger Scruton to a libretto by the composer, based on the biography of Violet Gordon-Woodhouse by her great-niece, Jessica Douglas-Home. The composer has said that "it tells the remarkable story of this woman who lived with four men – it was a story about the history of music, the history of England, about sex, and the difference between the old culture of sex and the new one, and how it all came together in the life of this peculiar woman". The two-act opera was given the first of two performances on 30 November 2005 at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, directed by Tess Gibbs and conducted by Clive Timms.

Background

Scruton is better known as a writer and philosopher, and is largely self-taught as a composer.Violet is the second of Scruton's two operas – it was preceded by the one-act The Minister (1998). It is based on the life of the harpsichordist Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, who is described in Grove Music Online as follows: "A woman of wealth and social standing (somewhat imperilled by her irregular private life), she did not lead a very active public professional life, but made a considerable impression on the intellectual and artistic circles of the day". The composer has written "In Violet’s world high culture, eccentric life-style, and aristocratic manners achieved a never-to-be-repeated synthesis. And when that world was swept away by the First World War, a part of the English soul was lost". According to the programme note of the premiere performance, Violet epitomises "the sad magnificence of human folly".

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 (Andrea Bocelli album)

Opera is the first Classical compilation album of opera arias by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The album was only released in the United Kingdom and charted in the album charts of both the UK and Ireland.

Background

The album is a compilation of arias from Bocelli's previously recorded Classical albums.

Track listing

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 10 on the UK Albums Chart, following Bocelli's performance of Nessun dorma on the Strictly Come Dancing results show the day before. With 14,577 copies sold, it became Bocelli's 16th Top 40 album and seventh Top 10 entry since his 1997 breakthrough, Romanza, while lifting his career sales to a 4,964,058 total in the United Kingdom.

Peak positions

References

Violet (name)

Violet is a given name for girls which comes from the eponymous flower. As with other such names, its popularity has varied dramatically over time. Flower names were commonly used from about 1880 through about 1910 in the United States, with usage dropping throughout the next 80 years or so; Violet was the 88th most frequent girls' given name in 1900, dropping below position 1000 by 1960. In 1990, the name appeared again in the top 1000 at position 289 and subsequently increased in popularity; it was the 69th most popular girls' name in 2013.

The cognates in other languages are Viola, Violeta, Violetta, or Violette. These are also common girls' given names, whose popularity varies by time and country.

Name variants

Violet (The Birthday Massacre album)

Violet is an album by The Birthday Massacre. It was first released as an extended play (EP) in October 25, 2004, then commercially released in August 9, 2005 as a long play (LP) through Metropolis Records (North America/UK), Repo Records (Europe) and Hellion Records (Brazil). The LP version included four re-recorded and slightly reworked tracks from their Nothing and Nowhere album: "Happy Birthday", "Horror Show", "Video Kid" and "The Dream".

Track listing

Release history

Personnel

Credits adapted from Violet album liner notes.

Album reviews

Allmusic link

Notes

Violet (Peanuts)

Violet Gray is a fictional character featured in the long-running syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. She was initially a major character, until she began to fade into the background.

Violet is best known as a snobby upper-class girl who likes bragging and, tagged along by her friends Patty (her best friend) and Lucy, often teases and torments Charlie Brown.

In addition to the comic strip, Violet has appeared alongside other Peanuts characters in numerous Peanuts television specials, cinematic movies, theatrical plays, and video games.

History

Violet was first featured in the February 7, 1951 Peanuts strip. From there on, Violet's character changed and developed until she began to become less prominent than the other major characters, with her forthcoming appearances reduced to mere cameos. Her last comic strip appearance, discounting the reruns of the strip, was on the November 27, 1997 Peanuts strip.

Character Outline

Appearance