20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count Begins Friday, Feb. 17, 2017

Summary: The 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count begins Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, at midnight local time and ends Monday night, Feb. 20, at midnight local time.

Photo of Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) by Gary Mueller adorns one of the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count 2017 promotional posters: National Audubon Society, via Facebook Feb. 11, 2017

The 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a four-day, worldwide event that begins at midnight local time, Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, and ends at midnight local time, Monday, Feb. 20, 2017.

The Great Backyard Bird Count’s user-friendly site provides participants and interested visitors with information and instructions that are “as easy as 1, 2, 3!” Registration requires creating an account for new participants or using existing accounts by previous participants in 2016’s 19th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count or in other Cornell Lab citizen science projects.

The 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count’s dedicated start page (http://gbbc.birdcount.org/get-started/) includes links to helpful tools. “Downloadable Instructions,” “’How To’ Slide Show,” “Help & FAQs,” “Optional Data Form” and “Bird Lists” demystify the registration and participation process for new participants and serve as refreshers for returning participants.

The start page for the 2017 backyard census also provides links that help with bird identification. “Online Bird Guide,” “Tricky Bird IDs” and “Birding Apps” familiarize observers with birding intricacies.

The 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count adheres to the annual event’s flexible, user-friendly format. Participants choose place and time for their observations. A minimum of at least 15 minutes is recommended. Longer times are always acceptable. Counting may occur over any or all of the event’s four days.

Participants also select the locations for their counts. Observations may happen at the same location or at different locations.

Each count requires a separate checklist. For example, two counts conducted at the same location on the same day are entered as separate checklists.

Changes may be made after submitting a checklist. For example, “Manage My Checklists” allows for editing individual checklists. “Manage My Locations” allows for such edits as moving or renaming a participant’s mapped birding location(s).

“Edit My Profile” allows for changes in a participant’s email address. A current email address is essential for any followups from reviewers about a participant’s observations.

Participants may select status as “Anonymous Birder” in the “Public Name Display” section of their submissions if they prefer not to be named in the Great Backyard Bird Count’s output. Data is also customizable. Making data available publicly is recommended. Yet participants are allowed to customize the appearance of their data in certain GBBC outputs.

The fourth and final day of the Great Backyard Bird Count coincides with holidays in Canada and in the United States. The annual census combines education and entertainment in a citizen science project that is participant-friendly and is ideally suited to a holiday weekend.

The Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan observe Family Day on the third Monday in February. The statutory holiday celebrates families as important components of Canadian communities.

In the United States, the final day of the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count coincides with the federal holiday of Washington’s Birthday. Observation of Washington’s Birthday falls annually on the third Monday on February. As February’s third Monday in 2017, Feb. 20 claims celebration of the federal holiday. Other names for the holiday, such as Presidents’ Day, derive from state level observations. First U.S. President George Washington was born Feb. 22, 1732.

The takeaway for the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count is that the worldwide event’s span over four days allows for many opportunities to count birds in local communities.

A sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), photographed by Nick Saunders, is featured on one of the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count 2017 promotional posters: Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail, via Facebook Feb. 7, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Photo of Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) by Gary Mueller adorns one of the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count 2017 promotional posters: National Audubon Society, via Facebook Feb. 11, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/nationalaudubonsociety/posts/10154472331039007/; via Facebook Feb. 11, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10154472331039007&set=a.212081654006; via Facebook Feb. 11, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/NationalAudubonSociety/photos/pb.100044402080542.-2207520000/10154472331039007/

A sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), photographed by Nick Saunders, is featured on one of the 20th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count 2017 promotional posters: Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail, via Facebook Feb. 7, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/floridabirdingtrail/posts/10154808235626043/; via Facebook Feb. 7, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10154808235626043&set=a.287521726042; via Facebook Feb. 7, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/floridabirdingtrail/photos/pb.100064702869386.-2207520000/10154808235626043/

For further information:

“Family Day in Canada.” Time And Date > Calendar > Holidays > Canada.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/family-day

“Get the GBBC Poster.” The Great Backyard Bird Count > News > Poster.
Available @ http://gbbc.birdcount.org/news/poster/

“Get Started.” The Great Backyard Bird Count.
Available @ http://gbbc.birdcount.org/get-started/

Marriner, Derdriu. “19th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count Begins Friday, Feb. 12, 2016.” Earth and Space News. Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/02/19th-annual-great-backyard-bird-count.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “2016 Great Backyard Bird Count Runs Worldwide Feb. 12 Through Feb. 15.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/02/2016-great-backyard-bird-count-runs.html

“Presidents’ Day.” OfficeHolidays > Countries > USA.
Available @ http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/usa/presidents_day.php

“Presidents’ Day in the United States.” Time And Date > Holidays > The United States.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/washington-birthday

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Art Theft: Bronze Chinese Beaker

Summary: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft nets a bronze Chinese beaker, a bronze flag topper, an etching and 10 paintings March 18, 1990.

ca. 1200-1100 BC gu, bronze beaker dating to ancient Chinese Shang Dynasty, removed from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum during March 1990 art heist: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Art Crime Team, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A bronze Chinese beaker called a gu accomplished ancient ornamental and ritual purposes and advanced modern appreciation of China's Shang Dynasty until the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft March 18, 1990.

The theft of an art object boded well for two thieves who braved motion detector systems and broke into local alarms and simple video surveillance systems. It called attention to itself atop a velvet-covered table by conjuring up anonymity amid similar Oriental vases elsewhere and portability during attempted fences and multiple ownerships. Delays from a heavy painting did not discourage two thieves disguised as Boston policemen from devoting 10 minutes to detaching the beaker from its metal placeholder.

The Dutch Room's beaker and the Short Gallery's finial (flag topper) end up as sole art objects alongside the missing etching and the 10 missing paintings.

sketch of two suspects, disguised as police officers, who gained entry into Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for purposes of art theft, March 18, 1990: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Public Domain, via FBI Art Crime Team

The bronze Chinese beaker fits into categories as the most ancient art object and as the oldest artwork ferreted from the museum in Boston's Fenway neighborhood.

Museum provenance and purchase records give the ceremonial container from China's Shang Dynasty a date of 1200 to 1100 B.C. and an age of 3,000-plus years. Mrs. John Lowell Gardner's (April 14, 1840-July 17, 1924) Museum inventories give the ancient bronze ritual beaker a 10.44-inch (26.5-centimeter) height and a 6.12-inch (15.6-centimeter) diameter. The second-floor Dutch Room's bronze Shang Dynasty container historically has a heavy metal base to hold onto a table in front of a 17th-century Spanish painting. The portrait of A Doctor of Law by Extremadura-born Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán (Nov. 7, 1598-Aug. 27, 1664) in 1635 is alongside an empty frame.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft juxtaposes an empty place-holding frame for a Rembrandt seascape and an empty place-holding table for a bronze Chinese beaker.

"A Doctor of Law (Un Doctor en Leyes)," ca. 1635 oil on canvas by Spanish Golden Age painter Francisco de Zurbarán; Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's stolen gu was displayed in second-floor Dutch Room, on table in front of this rare example of portrait painting by Zurbarán: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum archives in Boston, Massachusetts know of the Chinese Shang Dynasty ceremonial, ritual container as an ancient, intricately patterned, 2.44-pound (1.11-kilogram) bronze.

Museum records list Parish-Watson & Co. Inc., art dealers in New York City, New York, in Mrs. Gardner's acquisition of the ancient Chinese Shang Dynasty bronze. They mention Denman Waldo Ross (Jan. 10, 1853-Sept. 12, 1935), Harvard University art professor and MFA trustee, making the Museum's first, $17,500 payment Dec. 14, 1922. They note Harry W. Swift, State Street Trust Company on Huntington Avenue, signing check no. 2254 for $9,500 April 13, 1923 on Mrs. Gardner's behalf.

The "2nd final payment on acct of bronze beaker of the Shang Period (1783-1123 B.C.)" obtained the oldest Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft casualty.

Empty frame memorializes Rembrandt's "Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee;" Francisco de Zurbarán's A Doctor of Law hangs to the right of the missing seascape; empty table in front of portrait by Zurbarán awaits return of stolen Shang Dynasty gu: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The first-floor Macknight Room, the second-floor Dutch, Early Italian and Raphael Rooms, Little Salon and Short Gallery and the third-floor Long Gallery preserve the Museum's metalwork.

The second floor qualifies as the heaviest metal location, with the Dutch Room alone queueing up a silver ostrich, one silver tankard and three silver boxes. The decision to remove the ancient bronze, with its enigmatic taotie motif, and to resist younger brass, bronze and silver metalwork elsewhere remains an insightful move. The zoomorphic (ζωον [zoōn] for animal and μορφη [morphē] for form) masks stand out on the slim mid-section between the beaker's flared base and trumpet-like mouth.

Usefulness for drinking wine perhaps tempts the bronze Chinese beaker most, of all the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft casualties, to use in plain sight.

"Mrs. Gardner in White," watercolor on paper painted by John Singer Sargent (Jan. 12, 1856-April 14, 1925) in 1922, the year in which first payment was made, on Isabella Stewart Gardner's behalf, for ca. 1200-1100 BC gu; portrait by the leading American Renaissance portrait painter is displayed in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's first-floor Macknight Room: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

ca. 1200-1100 BC gu, bronze beaker dating to ancient Chinese Shang Dynasty, removed from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum during March 1990 art heist: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Art Crime Team, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ku_robbed_from_Isabella_Stewart_Gardner_Musuem.gif

sketch of two suspects, disguised as police officers, who gained entry into Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for purposes of art theft, March 18, 1990: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Public Domain, via FBI Art Crime Team @ https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/5-million-reward-offered-for-return-of-stolen-gardner-museum-artwork

"A Doctor of Law (Un Doctor en Leyes)," ca. 1635 oil on canvas by Spanish Golden Age painter Francisco de Zurbarán; Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's stolen gu was displayed in second-floor Dutch Room, on table in front of this rare example of portrait painting by Zurbarán: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francisco_de_Zurbarán_-_Doctor_of_Law.jpg

Empty frame memorializes Rembrandt's "Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee;" Francisco de Zurbarán's A Doctor of Law hangs to the right of the missing seascape; empty table in front of portrait by Zurbarán awaits return of stolen Shang Dynasty gu: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Empty_Frames_at_Isabella_Stewart_Gardner_Museum.jpg

"Mrs. Gardner in White," watercolor on paper painted by John Singer Sargent (Jan. 12, 1856-April 14, 1925) in 1922, the year in which first payment was made, on Isabella Stewart Gardner's behalf, for ca. 1200-1100 BC gu; portrait by the leading American Renaissance portrait painter is displayed in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's first-floor Macknight Room: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mrs._Gardner_in_White_(1922)_by_John_Singer_Sargent.jpg

For further information:

"18 U.S. Code § 668 - Theft of Major Artwork." Cornell University Law School > Legal Information Institute > U.S. Code > Title 18 > Part I > chapter 31 > 668.
Available @ https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/668?quicktabs_8=1#quicktabs-8

Baker, Billy. 10 March 2015. "Gardener Keeps Gardner Museum's Atrium in Bloom." Boston Globe > Metro.
Available @ https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/03/09/gardener-keeps-gardner-atrium-bloom/bbSZctlMtkEDy9UDYWrO4K/story.html

Boston Landmarks Commission. Report on the Potential Designation of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum as a Landmark under Chapter 772 of the Acts of 1975, as Amended.
Available @ https://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/ISGM%20Study%20Report%20as%20Amended_tcm3-39717.pdf

"Collection." Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Available @ http://www.gardnermuseum.org/collection

FBI. 15 November 2005. "FBI Announces Top Ten Art Crimes." Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) > News > Stories > 2005 > November.
Available via FBI @ https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2005/november/topten_art111505

FBI. 8 March 2013. "Gardner Museum in Boston Offering $5 Million Reward for Stolen Art." YouTube.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DpD1HbcFfQ

FBI Boston Division. "Boston FBI Continues Hunt for Stolen Artwork." Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) > Boston Division > Press Releases > 2010.
Available via FBI @ https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/boston/press-releases/2010/bs031510.htm

FBI Boston Division. "FBI Provides New Information Regarding the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Art Heist." Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) > Boston Division > Press Releases > 2013.
Available via FBI @ https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/boston/press-releases/2013/fbi-provides-new-information-regarding-the-1990-isabella-stewart-gardner-museum-art-heist

"The Gardner Museum Theft." Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) > FBI Top Ten Art Crimes.
Available @ https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/5-million-reward-offered-for-return-of-stolen-gardner-museum-artwork

"Johannes Vermeer: The Complete Works." Vermeer Foundation.
Available @ http://www.vermeer-foundation.org/

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 February 2017. "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Art Theft: Flinck Obelisk." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/02/isabella-stewart-gardner-museum-art.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 20 January 2017. "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Art Theft: Rembrandt Couple." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/isabella-stewart-gardner-museum-art_20.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 January 2017. "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Art Theft: Rembrandt Seascape." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/isabella-stewart-gardner-museum-art_13.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 6 January 2017. "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Art Theft: Rembrandt Self-Portrait." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/isabella-stewart-gardner-museum-art.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 27 January 2017. "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Art Theft: Vermeer Concert." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/isabella-stewart-gardner-museum-art_27.html

Mashberg, Tom. March 1998. "Stealing Beauty." Vanity Fair > Culture.
Available @ http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/1998/03/biggest-art-heist-us-history

Mashberg, Tom. 26 February 2015. "Isabella Stewart Gardner Heist: 25 Years of Theories." New York Times > Arts > Art & Design.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/arts/design/isabella-stewart-gardner-heist-25-years-of-theories.html?_r=0

Murphy, Shelley. 17 March 2015. "Search for Artworks from Gardner Heist Continues 25 Years Later." Boston Globe > Metro.
Available @ https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/03/17/gardner-museum-art-heist-one-boston-most-enduring-mysteries-years-later/9U3tp1kJMa4Zn4uClI1cdM/story.html

"Reputed Mobster Arrested, Reportedly Tried to Fence Gardner Museum Art." The Boston Globe > Posted Apr 17, 2015 at 3:14 PM > Updated Apr 18, 2015 at 10:52 PM.
Available @ http://www.telegram.com/article/20150417/NEWS/304179654

"Thirteen Works: Explore the Gardner's Stolen Art." Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum > Resources > Theft.
Available @ http://www.gardnermuseum.org/resources/theft

Thomson, Jason. 3 May 2016. "Isabella Stewart Gardner Theft: Is the Massive Art Heist About to be Solved?" The Christian Science Monitor > USA > USA Update.
Available @ http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2016/0503/Isabella-Stewart-Gardner-theft-Is-the-massive-art-heist-about-to-be-solved

WBUR. "'The Concert' by Johannes Vermeer." YouTube. March 17, 2010.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrPqiGIJYYs

WBUR. 12 March 2009. "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist." YouTube.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irBRWMMHOI8

Williams, Paige. March 2010. "The Art of the Story." Boston Magazine > Gardner Museum > Gardner Museum Theft.
Available @ http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2010/03/gardner-heist/3/

February Full Moon Enters Earthly Penumbra for 2017’s First Lunar Eclipse

Summary: The February full moon passes through the Earthly penumbra at 22:34 Coordinated Universal Time, Feb. 10, for 2017’s first lunar eclipse.

“Geometry of a Lunar Eclipse”: Sagredo, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The February full moon passes through the Earthly penumbra, beginning Friday, Feb. 10, at 22:34 Coordinated Universal Time (5:34 p.m. Eastern Standard Time), for 2017’s first lunar eclipse.

The February 2017 full moon’s passage through Earth’s faint, outer shadow, known as penumbra, occasions a penumbral lunar eclipse. The penumbra, which only blocks a portion of sunlight, subtly darkens the lunar surface.

A lunar eclipse only occurs during the moon’s full phase. The alignment of sun, Earth and moon, with Earth in the middle, that characterizes the full moon phase is responsible for the shadow cast upon the lunar surface by Earth’s partial or total blockage of sunlight.

The full phase does not trigger monthly lunar eclipses because of the tipped lunar orbit. The moon’s orbit is tipped about 5 degrees above or below the plane of Earth’s orbit around the sun. The orbital tip accounts for mostly misses of Earth’s shadows by the moon.

Also, for an eclipse to occur, the full moon needs to be near one of the two nodes, or points, where the lunar orbit intersects the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun. Two to four times each year, the full moon's nearness to a node catches the dark inner umbral shadow or subtle outer penumbral shadow cast by Earth during syzygy, an alignment of the three celestial bodies (sun, Earth, moon).

Penumbral lunar eclipses are rarely total. In a total penumbral lunar eclipse, the entire moon enters the penumbra without touching the umbral shadow. In 2017, the February full moon does not experience a total penumbral eclipse.

The 21st century, which spans Jan. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2100, claims 86 penumbral eclipses. According to retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak, known popularly as Mr. Eclipse, total penumbral eclipses, numbering just five, only account for 5.8 percent of the century’s penumbral eclipses. The first of the 21st century’s five total penumbral eclipses took place Tuesday, March 14, 2006. The remaining four occur in the last half of the century: Friday, Aug. 29, 2053; Friday, April 25, 2070; Saturday, Aug. 8, 2082; Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2099.

The penumbral eclipse magnitude expresses the fractional coverage of the lunar diameter by the Earthly penumbra. A penumbral magnitude of less than 1 indicates coverage of a small portion of the lunar diameter by the Earthly penumbra.

The penumbral magnitude for the February 2017 full moon during the penumbral lunar eclipse is 0.9884. The penumbral magnitude for the preceding penumbral lunar eclipse, which took place Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, was 0.9080.

Almost three years pass before the occurrence of the next penumbral lunar eclipse after February 2017’s event. On Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, the penumbral lunar eclipse has a penumbral magnitude of 0.8956.

Mr. Espenak’s identifies the total penumbral eclipse that occurs Friday, April 25, 2070, as the 21st century’s largest penumbral lunar eclipse. It has a penumbral magnitude of 1.0515.

The 21st century’s smallest penumbral lunar eclipse, which is not total, takes place Sunday, July 18, 2027. Its penumbral magnitude is 0.0014.

The February 2017 penumbral lunar eclipse happens four days after the month’s perigee, or closest center-to-center distance between Earth and moon. On Monday, Feb. 6, the waxing gibbous moon marked a perigee of 368,816 kilometers (229,171.638 miles).

Four eclipses, comprising two lunar and two solar, take place in 2017. The Feb. 10 penumbral lunar eclipse is succeeded a little over two weeks later, on Sunday, Feb. 26, by an annular solar eclipse.

In August, the year’s second set of lunar and solar eclipses happens. On Monday, Aug. 7, a partial lunar eclipse takes place. Two weeks later, a total solar eclipse, named the Great American Eclipse, takes place Monday, Aug. 21.

The takeaway for the February full moon as opener of 2017’s eclipse lineup, via its passage through the Earthly penumbra, is the penumbral lunar eclipse’s subtle visibility and its placeholder status as marking almost three years of no penumbral lunar eclipses until January 2020.

chart of the lunar path through Earth's shadow during the February 2017 penumbral lunar eclipse: Tom Ruen (SockPuppetForTomruen), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Carmen Is the Feb. 11, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The Feb. 11, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Carmen, a four-act tragic opera by French composer Georges Bizet.

Bizet's Carmen airs as the Feb. 11, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Jan. 23, 2017

Carmen, a four-act tragic opera by Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875) concerning a fiery gypsy whose passions are in flux, is the Feb. 11, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

French librettist, novelist and playwright Ludovic Halévy (Jan. 1, 1834-May 7, 1908) and French dramatist and librettist Henri Meilhac (Feb. 23, 1830-July 6, 1897) collaborated on the French libretto. The literary source is Carmen, a novella first published by French archaeologist, historian and writer Prosper Mérimée in 1845 in la Revue des Deux Mondes (“Review of Two Worlds”), an ongoing French language literary and cultural affairs magazine.

The premiere took place March 3, 1875. The venue was Opéra-Comique, then housed in the Parisian opera company’s second of three buildings, all known as Salle Favart, at its current site in Place Boïeldieu, in the 2e arrondissement de Paris (2nd arrondissement of Paris).

French architect Jean-François Heurtier (March 6, 1739-April 16, 1822) designed the first Salle Favart, whose inauguration April 28, 1783, was attended by France’s last queen, Marie Antoinette (Nov. 2, 1755-Oct. 16, 1793). In 1840, French architect Louis Charles Théodore Charpentier (Sept. 2, 1797-April 13, 1867) designed a second Salle Favart to replace the first, which was destroyed Jan. 14-15, 1838, by a fire.

French architect Stanislas-Louis Bernier (Feb. 21, 1845-Feb. 3, 1919) designed the current, third Salle Favart to replace the second, which was destroyed May 25, 1887, by a fire caused by defective gas lighting. On Dec. 7, 1898, Félix François Faure (Jan. 30, 1841-Feb. 16, 1899), sixth of the 14 presidents of the Third French Republic (Troisième République, Sept. 4, 1870-July 10, 1940), attended the inauguration of the third Salle Favart.

The composer and librettist place Carmen’s tempestuous life in the early 19th century. The setting is the exotic city of Seville in southern Spain and the surrounding hills and mountains.

The Saturday matinee broadcast of Carmen begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (6 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time). The estimated run time for the performance is about 3 hours 17 minutes.

The performance, sung in the original French, comprises four acts and one intermission.

Acst I and II are timed at 100 minutes. A 34-minute intermission follows Act II.

Acts III and IV are timed at 63 minutes. The Saturday matinee broadcast performance ends with Act IV’s final notes.

Asher Fisch conducts most performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, of Carmen. His birthplace is Jerusalem, Israel. The Israeli conductor debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2000 production of The Merry Widow by Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár (April 30, 1870-Oct. 24, 1948). This season Asher Fisch also conducts Tristan und Isolde by German composer and librettist Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

This season Asher Fisch shares the Carmen conductor’s baton with Derrick Inouye and Louis Langrée. Born in Vancouver, western Canada, Derrick Inouye debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2003 production of Benvenuto Cellini by Hector Berlioz (Dec. 11, 1803-March 8, 1869). Derrick Inouye conducts the Jan. 27 performance.

Born in Mulhouse, Alsace, northeastern France, Louis Langrée debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2007 production of Iphigénie en Tauride by Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck (July 2, 1714-Nov. 15, 1787). Louis Langrée conducts the Feb. 15 and Feb. 18 performances.

Clémentine Margaine appears in the title role as an alluring, tempestuous cigarette factory worker who also smuggles. She was born in Narbonne, Occitanie, south central France. The French mezzo-soprano’s appearance as Carmen marks her Metropolitan Opera debut.

Roberto Aronica appears as Don José, a corporal whose military career and life are ruined by his all-consuming passion for Carmen. His birthplace is Civitavecchia, Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, west central Italy. The Italian tenor debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1998 as Alfredo in La Traviata by Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Roberto Aronica appears in most of the February performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast. He shares the role of Don José this season with Marcelo Álvarez and Rafael Davila.

Born in Córdoba, central Argentina, Marcelo Álvarez debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1998 as Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata. He appears in most of the January performances of Carmen. The Argentinian lyric tenor also appears this season as des Grieux in Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Born in Chicago, Cook County, northeastern Illinois, to Puerto Rican parents, Rafael Davila makes his Metropolitan Opera debut with his appearance as the anguished Don José. The Puerto Rican tenor’s appearances in the Jan. 31 and Feb. 3 performances mark his move from understudy to principal role while Marcelo Álvarez recovers from a respiratory infection.

Maria Agresta appears as Micaëla, who loves Don José and transmits messages to him from his mother. She was born in Vallo, Campagna, southwestern Italy. The Italian soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2016 as Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème.

Maria Agresta appears in all January performances and most February performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast. She shares the role of Micaëla this season with Janai Brugger, who appears in the Feb. 3 performance.

Janai Brugger’s birthplace is Darien, DuPage County, northeastern Illinois. The American operatic soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2012 as Liù in Puccini’s Turandot. This season Janai Brugger also appears as Jemmy in Guillaume Tell by Gioachino Antonio Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868) and as Pamina in The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Kyle Ketelsen appears as Escamillo, the captivating bullfighter who replaces Don José in Carmen’s volatile affections. He was born in Clinton, east central Iowa. The American bass-baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2006 as Angelotti in Puccini’s Tosca.

Kyle Ketelsen appears in all January and most February performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast. He shares the role of Escamillo this season with Michael Todd Simpson, who appears in the Feb. 15 performance.

Born in Gastonia, Gaston County, southwestern North Carolina, Michael Todd Simpson debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2009 as Hermann/Schlémil in Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach (June 20, 1819-Oct. 5, 1880). The American operatic baritone also appears this season as Jaufré Rudel in L’Amour de Loin by Finnish composer Kaija Anneli Saariaho and as Leuthold in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell.

Operabase, an online database, places Georges Bizet at number 7 in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. Carmen holds third place in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016 Repertory Report gives performance statistics through Oct. 31. Carmen holds third place, with 1,001 performances, for the period from first Met performance, Jan. 5, 1884, to last performance, March 7, 2015. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-2017 season falls outside the report’s parameters.

The takeaway for Carmen as the Feb. 11, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is the fiery music that captures the sparks of Carmen’s tempestuous love triangles and Micaëla’s empowering aria (“Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante”) as she seeks to rescue Don José from his fate.

The 2016-2017 Met Opera season premiere of Bizet's Carmen marked Met Opera debuts for Clémentine Margaine (Carmen), Rafael Davila (Don José) and Shirin Eskandani (Mercédès): The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Jan. 19, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Bizet's Carmen airs as the Feb. 11, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Jan. 23, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158246583645533/

The 2016-2017 Met Opera season premiere of Bizet's Carmen marked Met Opera debuts for Clémentine Margaine (Carmen), Rafael Davila (Don José) and Shirin Eskandani (Mercédès): The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Jan. 19, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158221347490533/

For further information:

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

“Debuts: Louis Langrée, Sasha, Cooke, Michele Losier, Jacqueline Antaramian, Mark Capri.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352202 Iphigénie en Tauride {6} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/27/2007.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352202

Metropolitan Opera. "Richard Eyre's Stunning Production of Carmen." YouTube. Feb. 18, 2015.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkUxIJ8ohRs

The Metropolitan Opera (metopera). "Carmen is on stage tonight, Jan 23. Performances through Feb 11. Photo by Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera." Instagram. Jan. 23, 2017.
Available @ https://www.instagram.com/p/BPn87ZQBHJ3/?taken-by=metopera

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Bizet's Carmen opens tonight, 1/19! Mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine makes her Met Opera debut in the title role as Bizet's immortal heroine. On stage through Feb 18: bit.ly/2j6SKAH Photos by Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera." Facebook. Jan. 19, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158221347490533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera."Clémentine Margaine in the title role of Bizet's Carmen is on stage tonight, 1/23. Performances through Feb 18: bit.ly/2j6SKAH Photo by Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera." Facebook. Jan. 23, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158246584170533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera."Clémentine Margaine in the title role of Bizet's Carmen is on stage tonight, 1/23. Performances through Feb 18: bit.ly/2j6SKAH Photo by Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera." Facebook. Jan. 23, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158246583645533/

Opéra de Paris @operadeparis. “Elle fait ses débuts à l'Opéra de Paris dans le célèbre rôle-titre. Retrouvez bientôt Clémentine Margaine sur scène!” Twitter. Feb. 27, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/operadeparis/status/836218106372587520

“Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml

Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho’ Has Large White Flowers and Dark Green Leaves

Summary: Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho,’ a Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) cultivar by German breeder Joseph Heuger, has large white flowers and dark green leaves.

side view of flower of Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho’ in images included in Joseph Heuger’s patent application, filed Monday, June 28, 2004, as application number 10/878420, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP15,640; Date of Patent March 8, 2005; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries

Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho,’ a Christmas rose, or black hellebore (Helleborus niger), cultivated by German hellebore hybridizer Joseph Heuger, has large white flowers and dark green leaves.

On June 28, 2004, Heuger filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, for a patent for Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho.’ Primary examiner Kent Bell and assistant examiner Wendy C. Haas reviewed Heuger’s application. On March 8, 2005, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office assigned plant patent number 15,640 to Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho.’

‘HGC Jericho’ has its origins in a breeding program conducted by the inventor in November 1997. A cross-pollination of unnamed, unpatented female and male Helleborus niger seedlings took place in a controlled environment at the Heuger family nursery, Heuger Gartenbaubetriebe, in Glandorf, Lower Saxony state, northwestern Germany. Heuger discovered and selected the flowering plant now known as Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho’ from among the cross-pollinated parents’ progeny.

‘HGC Jericho’ displayed unique traits of compact plant habit; attractively colored flowers and foliage; relatively early and lengthy blooming period. Propagation by divisions, begun in March 2000, showed the retention and true reproduction of the new cultivar’s distinctive traits over successive generations.

The patent application described plants, at approximately 6 months old, that were grown indoors in 15-centimeter (5.9-inch) containers during winter. During production, temperatures in the glass-covered greenhouse in Glandorf registered 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and 14 degrees C (57.2 degrees F) during the night.

Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho’ has a temperature tolerance ranging from minus 15 to 36 degrees C (5 to 96.8 degrees F).

‘HGC Jericho’ hellebore’s growth habit is moderately vigorous. Its plant habit is compact, with basal leaves and single flowers. ‘HGC Jericho’ measures a height of about 16 centimeters (6.29 inches). Its spread, or width, is about 27 centimeters (10.62 inches).

Basal foliage features a palmately compound arrangement. Each leaf comprises four to nine leaflets.

Leaflet lengths range from about 5 to 8.5 centimeters (1.96 to 3.34 inches). Leaflet widths measure from about 1.5 to 4 centimeters (0.59 to 1.57 inches).

Lanceolate, or lance-shaped, leaflets have serrated margins. Glabrously textured upper and lower surfaces are hairlessly smooth.

Upper surfaces of fully expanded leaflets are dark green (Royal Horticultural Society colour chart 147A). Lower surfaces are brown green (RHS 147B). Veins of upper and lower surfaces are brown green (RHS 146C).

Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho’ has a naturally early and lengthy blooming season. Intermittent flowering happens from October to February in Glandorf. A freely flowering habit produces about 15 developed flowers per plant over the blooming season. On the plant, slightly fragrant flowers last about 10 days.

Ovoid, or egg-shaped, buds measure about 1.5 centimeters (0.59 inches) in height. Bud diameter is about 9 millimeters (0.35 inches). Bud color is light green (RHS 145C).

Each flower has about seven to nine sepals, arranged in a single whorl. Tiny petals form inconspicuous nectaries.

Sepal length is about 3.5 centimeters (1.37 inches). Sepal width is about 3 centimeters (1.18 inches).

Broadly ovate, or egg-shaped, sepals have smooth margins, described as entire. Glabrously textured upper and lower surfaces are satiny and hairlessly smooth.

Upper and lower surfaces of fully expanded sepals are white (RHS 155D). With development, coloring approaches light green (RHS 145B).

Flowers present outward, upright faces atop strong, upright peduncles, or floral stalks. Glabrous peduncles are hairlessly smooth. Peduncle coloring is light green (RHS 145A).

Peduncles measure lengths of about 5 to 15 centimeters (1.96 to 5.90-inches). Diameters range from 3 to 5 millimeters (0.11 to 0.19 inches).

Heuger’s 2015-2016 hellebore catalog sells ‘HGC Jericho’℗ in containers sized 11 to 15 centimeters (4.33 to 5.9 inches). Its growth is described as compact. The catalog targets the beginning of November as the start date for selling ‘HGC Joshua’℗.

The takeaway for Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho’ is the lengthy enjoyment of the hellebore’s large white flowers and dark green leaves, in fresh cut arrangements or in in-ground or potted garden niches, that is afforded by an early and lengthy flowering that begins in October and lasts into February.

closeup of Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho’ flower in images included in Joseph Heuger’s patent application, filed Monday, June 28, 2004, as application number 10/878420, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP15,640; Date of Patent March 8, 2005; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

side view of flower of Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho’ in images included in Joseph Heuger’s patent application, filed Monday, June 28, 2004, as application number 10/878420, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP15,640; Date of Patent March 8, 2005; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries, @ https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP15640; (former URL @ http://www.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/binaries/15600/pp15640.pdf)

closeup of Helleborus ‘HGC Jericho’ flower in images included in Joseph Heuger’s patent application, filed Monday, June 28, 2004, as application number 10/878420, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP15,640; Date of Patent March 8, 2005; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries, @ https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP15640; (former URL @ http://www.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/binaries/15600/pp15640.pdf)

For further information:

Burrell, C. Colston; Judith Knott Tyler. Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide. Portland OR: Timber Press, 2006.

Burrell, C. Colston; Judith Knott Tyler. “Not Your Mother’s Hellebores: A New Look at Species and Hybrids (Part 2).” Pacific Horticulture magazine. January 2008.
Available @ http://www.pacifichorticulture.org/articles/not-your-mothers-hellebores-part-2/

“Helleborus Plant Named ‘HGC Jericho.’” United States Patent and Trademark Office > Program in Word (PIW). March 8, 2005.
Available @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP015640

“HGC Jericho’℗. Heuger > Katalog Helleborus 2015-2016.
Available @ http://www.heuger.com/fileadmin/lookbook/page1.html#/16

International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. “Document TGP/14: Glossary of Technical, Botanical and Statistical Terms Used in UPOV Documents. Section 2: Botanical Terms: Subsection 3: Color: (2): Color Names for the RHS Colour Chart.” UPOV (Union Internationale Pour la Protection des Obtentions Végétales). Dec. 9, 2006.
Available @ http://www.upov.int/edocs/mdocs/upov/en/tc_edc?2007/tgp_14_draft_1_section_2_3_2.pdf

Marriner, Derdriu. “Helleborus ‘COSEH 210’ Has Large White Flowers and Sells as ‘HGC Joel’®.” Earth and Space News. Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/helleborus-coseh-210-has-large-white.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Helleborus ‘COSEH 710’ Has Light Green Flowers With Reddish Pink Flushes.” Earth and Space News. Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/helleborus-coseh-710-has-light-green.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Helleborus ‘COSEH 740’ Has White Flowers and Dark Green Leaves.” Earth and Space News. Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/helleborus-coseh-740-has-white-flowers.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Helleborus ‘HGC Double Surprise’ Has Purple-Spotted White Double Flowers.” Earth and Space News. Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/helleborus-hgc-double-surprise-has.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Helleborus ‘HGC Josef Lemper’ Has White Flowers and Dark Green Leaves.” Earth and Space News. Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/helleborus-hgc-josef-lemper-has-white.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Helleborus ‘HGC Lady Freckle’ Has Red Purple-Spotted White Flowers.” Earth and Space News. Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/helleborus-hgc-lady-freckle-has-red.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Helleborus ‘HGC Silvermoon' Has White to Light Green Flowers.” Earth and Space News. Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/02/helleborus-hgc-silvermoon-has-white-to.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “A Helleborus Plant Named ‘COSEH 700’ Has Large Light Green Flowers.” Earth and Space News. Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/a-helleborus-plant-named-coseh-700-has.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “A Helleborus Plant Named ‘HGC Jacob’ Has White to Light Green Flowers.” Earth and Space News. Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/a-helleborus-plant-named-hgc-jacob-has.html

“PP15640 -- Helleborus Plant Named ‘HGC Jericho.’” University of Maryland > Plant Patents Image Database.
Available @ http://www.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/11606

Rice, Graham; Elizabeth Strangman. The Gardener’s Guide to Growing Hellebores. Newton Abbot, England: David and Charles, 2005.