December 7 Dateline

Birthdays

1598 - Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Italian sculptor and architect. He's credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. In addition, he was a painter (mostly small canvases in oil) and a man of the theater: he wrote, directed and acted in plays (mostly Carnival satires), for which he designed stage sets and theatrical machinery. He produced designs as well for a wide variety of decorative art objects including lamps, tables, mirrors, and even coaches. As an architect and city planner, he designed secular buildings, churches, chapels, and public squares, as well as massive works combining both architecture and sculpture, especially elaborate public fountains and funerary monuments. 

1761 - Marie Tussaud (born Anna Maria "Marie" Tussaud née Grosholtz), French artist known for her wax sculptures and Madame Tussauds, the wax museum she founded in London. Upon Marie Tussaud's retirement, her son François (or Francis) became chief artist for the Exhibition. He was succeeded in turn by his son Joseph, who was succeeded by his son John Theodore Tussaud. Madame Tussaud's wax museum has now grown to become one of the major tourist attractions in London, and has expanded with branches worldwide. As of 2019, the newest museum is in Prague. The current owner is Merlin Entertainments, a company owned by Blackstone Group.Marie Tussaud is one of the main characters in the book Faces of the Dead by Suzanne Weyn. Edward Carey's 2018 novel Little is a novelization of her work and life.  

 

1863 - Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer known mainly for his operas, in particular his famous one-act opera Cavalleria Rusticana. This 1890 masterpiece caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music. While it was often held that Mascagni, like Ruggiero Leoncavallo, was a "one-opera man" who could never repeat his first success, L'amico Fritz and Iris have remained in the repertoire in Europe (especially Italy) since their premieres. He created a variety of styles in his operas: a Sicilian passion and warmth of Cavalleria, the exotic flavor of Iris, the idylls of L'amico Fritz and Lodoletta, the Gallic chiaroscuro of Isabeau, the steely, Veristic power of Il piccolo Marat and the over-ripe post-romanticism of the lush Parisina.  Mascagni wrote fifteen operas, an operetta, several orchestral and vocal works, and also songs and piano music. He enjoyed immense success during his lifetime, both as a composer and conductor of his own and other people's music. 

1932 - Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly), American actress. Known for her portrayal of complicated women in dramas, Burstyn is the recipient of various accolades, and is among the few performers to have won an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony (Triple Crown of Acting). She appeared in numerous television films and gained further recognition from her performances in Same Time, Next Year, which won her a Golden Globe Award, and Resurrection, How to Make an American Quilt and Requiem For a Dream. In the 2010s, she made appearances in television series including the political dramas, Political Animals and House of Cards, which have earned her Emmy Award nominations. In 2013, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame for her work on stage.

Leftie:
None known
 

More birthdays and historical events, December 7 -  On This Day

 Historical Events

1842 - The newly founded New York Philharmonic Society presents its first concert.

1889 - Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta The Gondoliers opens in London. It was the twelfth of fourteen operas from Gilbert and Sullivan's collaboration, followed only by Utopia, Ltd. and The Grand Duke. It opened at the Savoy Theatre on December 7, 1889, and ran for 554 performances.

Part 1 of The Gondoliers - here.  Link to Part 2 - here. 

1916 - Jeannette Rankin becomes the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress.

1941 - Japanese bombers launch a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on what President Roosevelt proclaims "a date which will live in infamy." More than 2,400 American lives are lost and the Pacific Fleet is left in tatters.

1987 - Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Washington for a summit with President Ronald Reagan, causing a wave of "Gorbymania" as the Soviet leader and his wife, Raisa, captivate the American public.

1995 - After a six-year journey, U.S. space probe Galileo reaches Jupiter and is the first craft to go into orbit around the planet.

Link to Gilbert and Sullivan Archive 

The Gondoliers, The National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company - 2019 Tour. Gilbert and Sullivan Festival. Accessed  December 7, 2019.

Video Credit:
Gilbert & Sullivan's The Gondoliers (Part 1).  YouTube, uploaded by Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group (EUSOG). Accessed December 7, 2016. 

P. Mascagni. Cavalleria Rusticana "Regina Coeli."  Youtube, uploaded by Orquesta Gaos. Accessed December 7, 2016.  



Resources:
1. Asiado, Tel. The World's Movers and Shapers. New Hampshire: Ore Mountain Publishing House (2005)
2. Britannica. www.britannica.com
3. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 19th Ed. London: Chambers Harrap, 2011
4. Dateline. Sydney: Millennium House, (2006)
5. Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org


(c) June 2007. Updated December 7, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.