user: Problem: I have a test where I am given the following article, what is an answer for the question: What is the name of the work that Bertrand compared unfavorably with those of contemporary French composers such as Charles Gounod and Félicien David? ?  The premiere, originally planned for 14 September 1863, was postponed to the 30th because of the illness of the soprano lead, Léontine de Maësen. The first-night audience at the Théâtre Lyrique received the work well, and called for Bizet at the conclusion. The writer Louis Gallet, who later would provide several librettos for Bizet, described the composer on this occasion as "a little dazed ... a forest of thick curly hair above a round, still rather childish face, enlivened by the quick brown eyes..." The audience's appreciation was not reflected in the majority of the press reviews, which generally castigated both the work and what they considered Bizet's lack of modesty in appearing on stage. Gustave Bertrand in Le Ménestrel wrote that "this sort of exhibition is admissible only for a most extraordinary success, and even then we prefer to have the composer dragged on in spite of himself, or at least pretending to be". Another critic surmised that the calls for the composer had been orchestrated by a "claque" of Bizet's friends, strategically distributed.Of the opera itself, Benjamin Jouvin of Le Figaro wrote: "There were neither fishermen in the libretto nor pearls in the music". He considered that on every page the score displayed "the bias of the school to which [Bizet] belongs, that of Richard Wagner". Bertrand compared the work unfavourably with those of contemporary French composers such as Charles Gounod and Félicien David. "Nevertheless", he wrote, "there is a talent floating in the midst of all these regrettable imitations". Hector Berlioz was a voice apart in the general critical hostility; his review of the work in Journal des Débats praised the music's originality and subtlety: "The score of Les pêcheurs de perles does M. Bizet the greatest honour", he wrote. Among Bizet's contemporaries, the dramatist Ludovic Halévy wrote that this early work announced Bizet as a composer of quality: "I persist in finding in [the score] the rarest virtues". The youthful composer Émile Paladilhe told his father...

A: Les pêcheurs de perles


Problem: Given the question: I have a test where I am given the following article, what is an answer for the question: What is the full name of the person who did not recall ever having a conversation with Isabel Bigley? ?  The musical opened on Broadway on May 28, 1953 at the Majestic Theatre. Large advance sales guaranteed a considerable run; by the start of November, it had paid back its advance, and closed after 358 performances, paying a small profit to RCA. Thomas Hischak, in his The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia, suggests that business fell off after the advance sales were exhausted "because audiences had come to expect more from a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical". According to Frederick W. Nolan in his book about the duo's works, "despite a $500,000 advance sale, despite a ten-month run (which, for anyone except Rodgers and Hammerstein, would have represented a major success), and despite an eventual profit in excess of $100,000, Me and Juliet has to be classed as a failure".The backstage drama portrayed in the musical was matched by actual difficulties among the cast. McCracken, who played Betty, was the wife of choreographer Bob Fosse and became pregnant during the run. Bill Hayes later wrote that she lost her baby through miscarriage about the same time she lost her husband to Gwen Verdon. The baby was in fact aborted, because the pregnancy would have endangered McCracken's health as a result of her diabetes. Hayes noted that in the fifteen months he played Larry, he did not recall ever having a conversation with Isabel Bigley, who was supposedly his love interest and wife: "I doubt that the audience ever believed we were deeply in love." The show received no Tony Award nominations. During the run, Hammerstein followed his usual practice of visiting the theatre now and again to ensure that the performers were not taking liberties with his book. Upon his return, Hammerstein's secretary asked him how the show was going. The lyricist thought for a second, then said "I hate that show." According to Bill Hayes in his autobiography Like Sands Through the Hourglass published in 2005 he states We played nearly five hundred performances, however, all to full houses. Production costs were paid off and substantial profits...
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The answer is:
Bill Hayes


[Q]: I have a test where I am given the following article, what is an answer for the question: What is the first name of the person who said "We shall have to eat the one who dies first?" ?  After Shackleton left with the James Caird, Frank Wild took command of the Elephant Island party, some of whom were in a low state, physically or mentally: Lewis Rickinson had suffered a suspected heart attack; Perce Blackborow was unable to walk, due to frostbitten feet; Hubert Hudson was depressed. The priority for the party was a permanent shelter against the rapidly approaching southern winter. On the suggestion of George Marston and Lionel Greenstreet, a hut—nicknamed the "Snuggery"—was improvised by upturning the two boats and placing them on low stone walls, to provide around five feet (1.5 m) of headroom. By means of canvas and other materials the structure was made into a crude but effective shelter.Wild initially estimated that they would have to wait one month for rescue, and refused to allow long-term stockpiling of seal and penguin meat because this, in his view, was defeatist. This policy led to sharp disagreements with Thomas Orde-Lees, who was not a popular man and whose presence apparently did little to improve the morale of his companions, unless it was by way of being the butt of their jokes.As the weeks extended well beyond his initial optimistic forecast, Wild established and maintained routines and activities to relieve the tedium. A permanent lookout was kept for the arrival of the rescue ship, cooking and housekeeping rotas were established, and there were hunting trips for seal and penguin. Concerts were held on Saturdays and anniversaries were celebrated, but there were growing feelings of despondency as time passed with no sign of the ship. The toes on Blackborow's left foot became gangrenous from frostbite and, on 15 June, had to be amputated by surgeons Alexander Macklin and James McIlroy in the candle-lit hut. Using the very last of the chloroform in their medical supplies, the whole procedure took 55 minutes and was a complete success.By 23 August, it seemed that Wild's no-stockpiling policy had failed. The surrounding sea was dense with pack ice that would halt any rescue ship,...
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[A]:

assistant: Thomas