Q: How many different countries did Saint-Saens visit? Answer the above question based on the context below: For a French composer of the 19th century, opera was seen as the most important type of music. Saint-Saens's younger contemporary and rival, Massenet, was beginning to gain a reputation as an operatic composer, but Saint-Saens, with only the short and unsuccessful La princesse jaune staged, had made no mark in that sphere. In February 1877, he finally had a full-length opera staged. His four-act "drame lyricque", Le timbre d'argent ("The Silver Bell"), to Jules Barbier's and Michel Carre's libretto, reminiscent of the Faust legend, had been in rehearsal in 1870, but the outbreak of war halted the production. The work was eventually presented by the Theatre Lyrique company of Paris; it ran for eighteen performances.The dedicatee of the opera, Albert Libon, died three months after the premiere, leaving Saint-Saens a large legacy "To free him from the slavery of the organ of the Madeleine and to enable him to devote himself entirely to composition". Saint-Saens, unaware of the imminent bequest, had resigned his position shortly before his friend died. He was not a conventional Christian, and found religious dogma increasingly irksome; he had become tired of the clerical authorities' interference and musical insensitivity; and he wanted to be free to accept more engagements as a piano soloist in other cities. After this he never played the organ professionally in a church service, and rarely played the instrument at all. He composed a Messe de Requiem in memory of his friend, which was performed at Saint-Sulpice to mark the first anniversary of Libon's death; Charles-Marie Widor played the organ and Saint-Saens conducted. In December 1877, Saint-Saens had a more solid operatic success, with Samson et Dalila, his one opera to gain and keep a place in the international repertoire. Because of its biblical subject, the composer had met many obstacles to its presentation in France, and through Liszt's influence the premiere was given at Weimar in a German translation. Although the work eventually became an...
A: 27
Question: What is the title of the painting given a major cleaning and restoration in 196566? Answer the above question based on the context below: The Rokeby Venus is the only surviving nude by Velazquez, but three others by the artist are recorded in 17th-century Spanish inventories. Two were mentioned in the Royal collection, but may have been lost in the 1734 fire that destroyed the main Royal Palace of Madrid. A further one was recorded in the collection of Domingo Guerra Coronel. These records mention "a reclining Venus", Venus and Adonis, and a Psyche and Cupid.Although the work is widely thought to have been painted from life, the identity of the model is subject to much speculation. In contemporary Spain it was acceptable for artists to employ male nude models for studies; however, the use of female nude models was frowned upon. The painting is believed to have been executed during one of Velazquez's visits to Rome, and Prater has observed that in Rome the artist "did indeed lead a life of considerable personal liberty that would have been consistent with the notion of using a live nude female model". It has been claimed that the painting depicts a mistress Velazquez is known to have had while in Italy, who is supposed to have borne his child. Others have claimed that the model is the same as in Coronation of the Virgin and Las Hilanderas, both in the Museo del Prado, and other works.The figures of both Venus and Cupid were significantly altered during the painting process, the result of the artist's corrections to the contours as initially painted. Pentimenti can be seen in Venus's upraised arm, in the position of her left shoulder, and on her head. Infra-red reveals that she was originally shown more upright with her head turned to the left. An area on the left of the painting, extending from Venus's left foot to the left leg and foot of Cupid, is apparently unfinished, but this feature is seen in many other works by Velazquez and was probably deliberate. The painting was given a major cleaning and restoration in 196566, which showed it to be in good condition, and with very little paint added later by other artists, contrary to what some...
Answer: Rokeby Venus
Question: What are the first names of the people who Farley and Mann tail? Answer the above question based on the context below: Frank and Martha Addison live in Los Alamos, where he does top-secret work as a physicist. They have a young son, Tommy, who goes with school mates to Santa Fe for a carnival, where teacher Ellen Haskell can't find him when Tommy's winning ticket in a raffle is announced. The Addisons receive a telegram telling them Tommy has been kidnapped. The teacher also gets in touch about their boy being missing, but Frank, ordered to keep quiet, lies that he left work early and picked up his son. Ellen's boyfriend is an FBI agent, Russ Farley, and she passes along her concerns. Farley and partner Harold Mann begin tailing the Addisons. When a kidnapper instructs Frank to steal a file from the atomic lab and mail it to a Los Angeles hotel, he wants to inform the authorities, but Martha fears for their boy. A small-time thief, David Rogers, picks up the file and takes it to a baseball game, followed by the FBI's agents and cameras. His car explodes, killing him, but Rogers first passed the file to someone at the game. FBI film spots a hot-dog vendor who is actually Donald Clark, a man with Communist ties. Tommy is moved by kidnappers to the site of an Indian ruin in New Mexico, where they briefly encounter the Fentons, a family of tourists. The mastermind turns out to be Dr. Rassett, a physicist. He studies the file Addison mailed and determines it to be a fake. Rassett orders the boy killed, but Tommy has escaped and is hiding in a cave. The son of the Fentons has the raffle ticket, which he found by the ruins. FBI agents rush to the site, where Rassett is arrested after killing his accomplices, and Tommy is saved.
Answer:
Frank