In 1713 King Louis XIV made the Opera company a state institution. There was a group of professional dancers called "Le Ballet de l'Opéra". From that time until 1875 they used lots of theatres, each one of which was destroyed by a fire. All these companies were called Paris Opéra or Opéra de Paris.
On 29 October 1873, the old "Paris Opéra", known as the "Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique", which had been used since 1821, was destroyed by a fire which burned for 27 hours. By 1875 the opera company moved to the new "Palais Garnier" which was part of the rebuilding of Paris by Emperor Napoleon III.
When the "Opéra Bastille" was built in 1989 the company chose it as their main theatre.
Faust
Faust or Faustus is a character from German legendary stories. His name comes from a Latin word meaning "lucky". The legend is about a man called Faust. Faust wants to have knowledge. He meets the Devil. The Devil tells Faust he can have anything he wants. In return, the Devil says, Faust must give him his soul. Faust agrees, and the Devil lets Faust have a wonderful time, but in the end Faust has to go to Hell.
The story of Faust became famous all over Europe. Many writers from different countries wrote their own versions of the Faust story, e.g. Christopher Marlowe, Goethe, Mikhail Bulgakov, Thomas Mann. Many composers wrote music about Faust, e.g. Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, Charles Gounod and Ferrucio Busoni.
The adjective "Faustian" is used to describe a person who wants something so much that it leads them into trouble.
In the early versions of the Faust story: in ballads, dramas and puppet-plays, Faust is always damned (meaning he will have to go to Hell). This is because he prefers human knowledge instead of God’s knowledge. This was thought to be very bad at that time.
Some of the plays and comic puppet theatre from around the 16th century make up their own versions of the story. They often show Faust as a figure of vulgar fun. The story became popular in England when Christopher Marlowe wrote a play called The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. But in Goethe's version of the story two centuries later, Faust is described as a well-educated man who wants more than just "meat and drink."
Robert Mulligan
Robert Mulligan (August 23, 1925 – December 20, 2008) was an Academy Award-nominated American movie and television director. He directed movies such as To Kill a Mockingbird and The Man in the Moon.
Austin Motor Company
Austin was a British car manufacturing company that began production in 1905. The company merged with Morris in 1952, becoming the lead partner in British Motor Corporation. This became British Leyland and then Rover Group. They began phasing the brand out in 1987; by 1989 all Rover Group cars had been cleared of Austin branding. The name has now passed into the ownership of Nanjing Motor Corporation, who have stated an interest in reviving it.
The company was started in 1905 by Herbert Austin, originally making cars at a factory in Rotherham, Yorkshire before moving to Longbridge, Birmingham. In the First World War Austin made aircraft for the Army and Navy, it was this work which led to the rapid expansion of the company; following the war the company stopped making aircraft. The company became Britain's biggest car maker.
In 1952 Austin merged with its biggest rival Morris (founded by William Morris, afterwards Lord Nuffield), with Austin being the lead partner. This company was known as the British Motor Corporation (BMC). Following the merger with Morris, the model line up for Austin changed considerably. The most notable car to come from this era was the Austin Mini, this was also sold as a Morris Mini and was made up until 2000 (though not as an Austin after 1987). Austin enjoyed a favourable market share during the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1968 BMC merged with Leyland (Leyland, Standard and Triumph) to become British Leyland even though Leyland had been a much smaller firm. It was the British Leyland years that were perhaps the most difficult and in 1975 British Leyland was nationalised. Austin's market share fell, as did other marques within the company, leading to the phasing out of the Morris name plate in 1981. There were many strikes at British Leyland's factories, making British Leyland and other companies with the same problem, such as the Ford Motor Company unproductive compared to Japanese and European companied like Volkswagen. Many of the models in this era failed to sell well, either because they were old fashioned or deemed unreliable; the Austin Princess and the Austin Allegro were the only modern cars of this era, while the 1300, 1800 and Austin Maxi were all dated. The Princess and Allegro sold well, but both were saloons, and the only hatchback the company had was the Maxi, which wasn't a popular car.
British Leyland became the Rover Group in 1986. Despite the huge success of the Austin Metro, launched in 1980, there was trouble in the company. In the 1980s Austin sold the most cars in the British Leyland group, however when the company became Rover Group, a greater emphasis was placed on the more upmarket Rover name. In 1987 the company began phasing the name out and by 1989 it had been removed from all products.
The name now belongs to Nanjing Motor Corporation who have expressed an interest in reviving it. They currently make cars as MGs (the MG marque came from Morris and consisted of three sports cards MGA, MGB and MGC), however it intends to use this brand name for luxury cars and sports cars. Nanjing does not own the Rover name, so the Austin name is the most recent it has to use for its mainstream mass market cars.
The company's most famous models were the Austin Seven (1922-39), the Austin A30 (1951-56), the Austin A35 (1956-59), the Austin A55 Cambridge (1954-71), the Austin Mini (1959-2000 but only as an Austin until 1969), the Austin 1800 (1964-75), the Austin 1300 (1967-74), Austin Maxi (1969-81), Austin Allegro (1973-83), Austin Princess/Ambassador (1975-84), Austin Metro (1980-1998 but only as an Austin until 1987), Austin Maestro (1983-94), Austin Montego (1984-94).
Flag of Puerto Rico
The flag of Puerto Rico consists of five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side has a large, white, five-pointed star in the center.
The flag was created in 1892. In 1952, the flag became the official national flag of Puerto Rico.
Crescent and star
The Islamic Crescent is a symbol consisting of a crescent with a star at the concave side. In its modern form, the star is usually shown with five points (though in earlier centuries a higher number of points was often used). The two signs together, or the crescent only, was long a symbol of Byzantium. Now it is often a symbol of Islam. It is seen on a number of different country flags such as Turkey and Pakistan respectively.
Flag of Ottoman Empire was the first flag featuring a crescent with a star. Other states formerly part of the Ottoman Empire also used the symbol, so the symbol emerged into popular use.
Cootamundra, New South Wales
Cootamundra is a town in New South Wales, Australia. In 2006 there were 5,566 people living in Cootamundra. It is on the Olympic Highway where it crosses the Muttama Creek, between Junee and Cowra. Cootamundra's railway station is on the main Melbourne-to-Sydney railway line.
Sir Donald Bradman AC, Australian cricketer said to be the greatest batsman of all time was born in Cootamundra. The town is very proud of Bradman, and uses this in signs and tourist information. The home where "The Don" was born is a fully restored visitor site open to the public seven days per week.
Cootamundra is the home of the Cootamundra Wattle (Acacia Baileyana). Every year there is a large 'Wattle Time' Festival (which happens when the wattle starts to bloom) with an art show and festivities.
Acacia baileyana