Earth and Space News

Monday, January 23, 2017

Il Barbiere di Siviglia Is the Jan. 28, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The Jan. 28, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Il Barbiere di Siviglia, a two-act comic opera by Gioachino Rossini.

Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia airs as the Jan. 28, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera, via Twitter Jan. 9, 2017

Il Barbiere di Siviglia (“The Barber of Seville”), a two-act, opera buffa (“comic opera”) by Italian composer Gioachino Antonio Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868), is the Jan. 28, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

Italian librettist and writer Cesare Sterbini (1784-Jan. 19, 1831) wrote the original Italian libretto. The literary source is Le Barbier de Séville ou la Précaution Inutile, a four-act play by French dramatist, musician, poet and writer Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (Jan. 24, 1732-May 18, 1799).

Premiering Feb. 23, 1775, at Comédie-Française in the Théâtre des Tuileries, Le Barbier de Séville was the first of Beaumarchais’ Figaro-based trilogy. The second installment, La Folle Journée ou le Mariage de Figaro (“The Mad Day or the Marriage of Figaro”), inspired Le Nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

The third installment, L'Autre Tartuffe ou La Mère Coupable (“The Other Tartuffe or the Guilty Mother”), has generated three lesser-known operas: La Mère Coupable (1966) by French composer and conductor Darius Milhaud (Sept. 4, 1892-June 22, 1974); Den Brottsliga Modern (1992) by Swedish composer, conductor and pianist Inger Wikstrom (born Dec. 11, 1939); L’Amour Coupable (2010) by modern French composer Thierry Pécou (born 1965).

The premiere of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia took place Feb. 20, 1816. The venue was Teatro Argentina, located in Largo di Torre Argentina, in the historic center of Rome, Lazio region, west central Italy. Designed by Italian architect and nobleman Girolamo Theodoli (1677-Oct. 17, 1766), Teatro Argentina opened Jan. 31, 1732.

Rossini’s opera honors the time setting of Beaumarchais’ play. Il Barbiere di Siviglia takes place in 18th century Seville in southern Spain.

The Saturday matinee broadcast of Il Barbiere di Siviglia 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 4 minutes. The performance, sung in the original Italian, comprises two acts and one intermission.

Act I is timed at 93 minutes. A 32-minute intermission follows Act I.

Act II is timed at 69 minutes. The Saturday matinee broadcast performance ends with Act III’s final notes.

Maurizio Benini conducts all performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. His birthplace is Faenza, Ravenna province, northeastern Italy. The Italian conductor debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 1998 production of L’Elisir d’Amore by Italian bel canto opera composer Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848). This season Maurizio Benini also conducts I Puritani by Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini (Nov. 3, 1801-Sept. 23, 1835).

Peter Mattei appears in the title role as Figaro, the barber of Seville. He was born in Piteå, Norrbotten County, northeastern Sweden. The Swedish operatic baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2002 as Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). This season Peter Mattei also appears in the title role of Eugene Onegin by Russian late-Romantic composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893).

Peter Mattei shares the role of Figaro this season with Edward Parks. Peter Mattei appears in most January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, and all February performances of Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Edward Parks appears in the opera’s Jan. 21 and Jan. 24 performances. His birthplace is Indiana, west central Pennsylvania. The American baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2009 as Fiorello in Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Pretty Yende appears as Rosina, who is viewed as wife material by Bartolo, her guardian, and by Count Almaviva. She was born in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga province, eastern South Africa. The South African operatic soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2013 as Adèle in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory. This season Pretty Yende also appears as Elvira in Bellini’s I Puritani and as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette by Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893).

Dmitry Korchak appears as Count Almaviva, who undergoes several disguises in his pursuit of Rosina. His birthplace is Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast, northwestern Russia. The Russian tenor debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2015 as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

Dmitry Korchak shares the role of Count Almaviva this season with Javier Camarena. Dmitry Korchak appears in half of the January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, and all of the February performances.

Javier Camarena appears as Count Almaviva in the Jan. 9, Jan. 13 and Jan. 18 performances. He was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, eastern Mexico. The Mexican operatic tenor reprises his 2011 Metropolitan Opera debut role. This season Javier Camarena also appears as Lord Arthur “Arturo” Talbot in Bellini’s I Puritani.

Maurizio Muraro appears as Dr. Bartolo, the doctor who has designs on Rosina, his ward, and especially on Rosina’s dowery. His birthplace is Como, Lombardy, northwestern Italy. The Italian operatic bass-baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005 as Dr. Bartolo in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. Maurizio Muraro reprises his debut role for the Met’s 2016-2017 production of Le Nozze di Figaro.

Maurizio Muraro shares the role of Bartolo this season with Valeriano Lanchas. Maurizo Muraro appears in all January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, and most of the February performances.

Valeriano Lanchas appears in the opera’s Feb. 8 performance. He was born in Bogotá, Distrito Capital, central Colombia. The Colombian baritone-bass reprises his 2015 Metropolitan Opera debut role.

Mikhail Petrenko appears as Don Basilio, Rosina’s music teacher. His birthplace is St. Petersburg, northwestern Russia. The Russian bass debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2002 as Bolkonsky’s Valet in War and Peace by Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953). This season Mikhail Petrenko also appears as Frère Laurent in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and as the First Nazarene in Salome by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Georg Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949).

Mikhail Petrenko shares the role of Don Basilio this season with Oren Gradus. Mikhail Petrenko appears in most January performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, and all February performances.

Oren Gradus appears in the opera’s Jan. 21 performance. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. The American bass debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2002 as the Guardian of Ores in Richard Strauss’s Elektra. Oren Gradus also appears this season as the Duke of Verona in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

Operabase, an online database, places Gioachino Rossini at number four in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. Il Barbiere di Siviglia places at 7 in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016 Repertory Report gives performance statistics through Oct. 31. Der Rosenkavalier holds place 12, with 622 performances, for the period from first Met performance, Nov. 23, 1883, to last performance, Jan. 1, 2016. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-2017 season falls outside the report’s parameters.

The takeaway for Il Barbiere di Siviglia as the Jan. 28, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is a happy ending with the triumph of young love over all ridiculous obstacles, thanks to the comic, creative strategies by opera’s favorite barber.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia airs as the Jan. 28, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera, via Twitter Jan. 9, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/MMATOpera/status/818562034157715461

The 2016-2017 Met Opera season's performances of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia mark the seventh revival of Bartlett Sher's new staging, which debuted Nov. 10, 2006, at Met Opera: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Jan. 9, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.10158157839060533.1073741923.20807115532/10158157839430533/

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

Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera. "Plans tonight in #NewYork? Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia at #MetOpera." Twitter. Jan. 9, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MMATOpera/status/818562034157715461

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia opens tonight, Jan 9! Peter Mattei reprises the role of the wily barber Figaro. Bel canto stars Pretty Yende and Javier Camarena as the lovers Rosina and Count Almaviva. Maurizio Benini conducts. bit.ly/2j0BmgN." Facebook. Jan. 9, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.10158157839060533.1073741923.20807115532/10158157839430533/

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

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Helleborus ‘HGC Double Surprise’ Has Purple-Spotted White Double Flowers

Summary: Helleborus ‘HGC Double Surprise,’ a hybrid Helleborus orientalis cultivar by German helleborist Joseph Heuger, has purple-spotted white double flowers.

closeup of flower of Helleborus ‘HGC Double Surprise’ in images included in Joseph Heuger’s patent application, filed Monday, June 28, 2004, as application number 10/878418, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP15,530; Date of Patent Feb. 1, 2005; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries, @ https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP15530; (former URL @ http://www.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/binaries/15500/pp15530.pdf)

Helleborus ‘HGC Double Surprise,’ a hybrid cultivar of the Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis) by German hellebore hybridizer Joseph Heuger, has purple-spotted white double flowers and sells under the trade name of ‘Double Surprise’ in the Heuger family’s prestigious Helleborus Gold Collection® (HGC®).

On June 28, 2004, Heuger filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a patent for Helleborus ‘HGC Double Surprise.’ Primary examiner Kent Bell and assistant examiner Wendy C. Haas reviewed Heuger's application. On Feb. 1, 2005, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office assigned plant patent number 15,530 to a Helleborus plant named 'HGC Double Surprise.'

Helleborus ‘HGC Double Surprise’ has its origins in a breeding program conducted in January 1999 by the inventor at his family’s nursery, Heuger Gartenbaubetriebe, in Glandorf, Lower Saxony state, northwestern Germany. The program cross-pollinated unnamed, unpatented female and male Helleborus orientalis seedlings. The inventor discovered and selected the flowering plant now known as ‘HGC Double Surprise’ from among the program’s progeny.

Selection of ‘HGC Double Surprise’ was based upon the presence of distinctive features. ‘HGC Double Surprise’ has an upright habit, typically with more than one flowering stem per plant, and a lengthy blooming period. Flowers, which are double, display attractive coloring of white spotted with purple. Propagation by divisions demonstrated retention and true reproduction of the new cultivar’s unique traits over successive generations.

Heuger’s application describes 6-month-old plants growing indoors in 15-centimeter (5.9 -inch) containers in winter. Day temperatures, during production in glass-covered greenhouses at the Heuger family’s nursery in Glandorf, were around 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 degrees Fahrenheit). Night temperatures registered about 14 degrees C (57.2 degrees F).

Helleborus ‘HGC Double Surprise’ is tolerant of temperatures ranging from minus 12 to 36 degrees C (10.4 to degrees 96.8 F).

The upright plant habit profiles as an inverted triangle, with basal leaves, upright flower stalks (peduncles) and double flowers. Height reaches about 42 centimeters (16.52 inches). Spread, or width, measures about 30 centimeters (11.81 inches).

Basal leaves are palmately compound, with five to seven leaflets radiating outward from the point of attachment with the petiole, or leaf stalk. Leaflet lengths range from about 4 to 13 centimeters (1.57 to 5.11 inches). Leaflet widths range from about 1.2 to 5.5 centimeters (0.47 to 2.16 inches).

Leaflets are lanceolate, or lance-shaped. Their margins are serrated. Upper and lower surfaces are described as glabrous, with hairless smoothness.

Upper surfaces of fully developed leaflets are dark green (Royal Horticultural Society colour chart color 137A). Upper surface veins are brown green (RHS 146D).

Lower surfaces are brown green (RHS 147B). Lower surface veins are brown green (RHS 146C).

Helleborus ‘HGC Double Surprise’ features a lengthy blooming period. Intermittent flowering lasts from January through March in Glandorf.

A freely flowering habit yields about 15 developed flowers per plant over the blooming period. On the plant, flowers last about 10 days.

Double rounded, somewhat weeping flowers are borne as terminal cymes (Latin: cyma, “young cabbage shoot”). A central-stemmed, single terminal flower develops first in the cymose cluster. Other flowers develop as terminal buds on lateral stems.

The flower’s tiny petals form inconspicuous nectaries. Each flower typically has 17 to 20 sepals in an arrangement of three whorls.

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

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

Upper surfaces of fully expanded sepals are white (RHS 155A), with dark purple red (RHS 187C) spots toward the center. With development, coloring nears light green (RHS 145C).

Lower surfaces of fully expanded sepals are between light green (RHS 145D) and white (RHS 155A) in color. Coloring toward the base is light green (RHS 145A).

Peduncles, or flower-bearing stems, are upright, with a tendency for slight bending under floral weights. Lengths range from about 20 to 30 centimeters (7.87 to 11.81 inches), with diameters of 5 to 8 millimeters (0.19 to 0.31 inches).

Described as glabrous, peduncles are smooth and lack down or hair. Their coloring is brown green (RHS 146B), with an overlay of dark purple red (RHS 187C).

Upright pedicels, or stalks, attach flowers to peduncles and have a tendency for slight bending under floral weights. Pedicel lengths range from about 4 to 15 centimeters (1.57 to 5.9 inches). Diameters are about 5 to 8 millimeters (0.19 to 0.31 inches).

Pedicels are glabrous, with hairless smoothness. Their coloring is light green (RHS 145C).

The takeaway for Helleborus ‘HGC Double Surprise’ as temperature-tolerant, winter and spring bloomer with purple-spotted white double flowers is the hellebore’s commercial availability in the Heuger family’s prestigious Helleborus Gold Collection® for attractive placements, as cut and potted showpieces, indoors and outdoors.

side view of Helleborus ‘HGC Double Surprise’ in images included in Joseph Heuger’s patent application, filed Monday, June 28, 2004, as application number 10/878418, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP15,530; Date of Patent Feb. 1, 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:

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

“Hellebore (Helleborus Gold Collection® Double Surprise).” The National Gardening Association > Plants Database > Hellebores.
Available @ http://garden.org/plants/view/642677/Hellebore-Helleborus-Gold-Collection-Double-Surprise/

“Helleborus Plant Named ‘HGC Double Surprise.’” United States Patent and Trademark Office > Program in Word (PIW). Feb. 1, 2005.
Available @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP015530

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. “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

“PP15530 -- Helleborus Plant Named ‘HGC Double Surprise.’” University of Maryland > Plant Patents Image Database.
Available @ http://www.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/11496

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

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Helleborus ‘Walhero’ Has Pink Flowers and Sells as 'Walberton’s® Rosemary'

Summary: Helleborus ‘Walhero,’ a hybrid hellebore species by British helleborist David Tristram, has pink flowers and sells as 'Walberton’s® Rosemary.'

overall view of 3-year-old Helleborus 'Walhero' plants in late spring; image included in David Tristram’s patent application, filed Tuesday, April 3, 2007, as application number https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP19439, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP19,439; Date of Patent Nov. 11, 2008; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries

Helleborus ‘Walhero,’ a hybrid hellebore species by British nursery owner and plant breeder David Tristram, has mid to dark pink flowers and sells as 'Walberton’s® Rosemary.'

On April 3, 2007, Tristram filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, for a patent for Helleborus ‘Walhero.’ Primary examiner Kent L. Bell and assistant examiner Georgia Helmer review Tristram’s application. On Nov. 11, 2008, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office assigned plant patent number 19,439 to Helleborus ‘Walhero.’

‘Walhero’ resulted from a breeding program that Tristram established in 1980 in an unheated greenhouse at his business, Walberton Nursery, in south England’s West Sussex County. The program aimed at producing new, vigorous hellebores with attractively presented flowers.

The program yielded over two decades of raised and crossed promising seedlings. Selected seedlings of Helleborus orientalis, known popularly as Lenten rose, were crossed with Helleborus niger ‘Potter’s Wheel,’ a renowned, unpatented Christmas rose, or black hellebore, variety discovered by David’s father, Major G.H. Tristram. Each year’s hybridized seedlings were raised to first or second year flowering. David Tristram then retained a select number for longer term evaluation.

In 2002, David Tristram selected ‘Walhero’ from among the program’s collection of promising seedlings. The inventor based his selection upon such distinctive features as crop uniformity; lengthy, prolific blooming of large, well-presented, saucer-shaped, pink flowers; upright, vigorous growth. Propagation by tissue culture, which began in 2003, demonstrated the retention and true reproduction of the compact, upright perennial’s distinctive traits over successive generations.

Tristram’s patent application describes 2-year-old plants grown outdoors in West Sussex County in 3-liter (0.79-gallon) containers. Soil preference is deep, fertile and rich with humus.

Sunlight requirements call for moderate, light or filtered shade.

A 2-year-old 'Walhero' plant measures a height of 35 centimeters (13.77 inches). Spread, or width, reaches 50 centimeters (19.68 inches).

‘Walhero’ is an acaulescent (Latin: ab, “away from” + caulis, “stalk”) evergreen. Its flower and leaf stems arise basally.

Leaves comprise three to nine leaflets. Leaflets range in length from 7 to 13 centimeters (2.75 to 5.11 inches) and in width from 2 to 5 centimeters (0.78 to 1.96 inches).

Leaflet shape is elliptical to lanceolate, or lance-shaped. Margins are serrated. Smooth, non-downy leaflets’ texture is described as glabrous with a semi-glossy appearance.

Adaxial, or upper, surfaces of leaflets display brown green (Royal Horticultural Society colour chart color 189A) and brown green (RHS 191A) as individual colors. Abaxial, or lower, surfaces display brown green (RHS 191A) and brown green (RHS 191B) as individual colors.

‘Walhero’ displays a pinnate vein pattern. Parallel, smaller veins branch from each leaflet’s main vein. Coloring is brown green (RHS 191A) on upper surfaces and brown green (RHS 191B) on lower surfaces.

Nut-shaped flower buds are 1.5 centimeters (inches) in width and 3 centimeters (inches) in length. Brown purple (RHS 183C) and blue pink (RHS 186C) are present as individual colors on each bud.

Oval-shaped bracts, numbering one or two, subtend, or underlie, each flower bud. Bracts have widths of 1.5 to 2 centimeters (0.59 to 0.78 inches) and lengths of 2.5 to 4 centimeters (0.98 to 1.57 inches).

Bract surfaces, which are smooth and free from down or hair, are described as glabrous. Their smooth, untoothed margins are described as entire.

Upper surfaces of bracts are brown green (RHS 138B). Lower surfaces may display brown green (RHS 138A) and brown red (RHS 182C) as individual colors.

closeup of 'Walhero' flower and bud; image included in David Tristram’s patent application, Tuesday, April 3, 2007, as application number https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP19439, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP19,439; Date of Patent Nov. 11, 2008; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries

‘Walhero’ blooms lengthily and prolificially. Its flowering season extends from late December to March and April. ‘Walhero’ has no discernible fragrance.

Flowers retain their shapes for two months. Individuals last 15 days on the plant. Lastingness in fresh, cut arrangements is 10 days.

Spicate inflorescence features three or four flowers per spike. Stellate, or star-shaped, flowers have a horizontal, slightly nodding presentation.

Petals are only present as nectaries. Falloff occurs early.

Each flower consists of five unfused sepals. Sepal shape, described as saucer-like, is between ovate, or egg-shaped, and orbicular. Smooth, untoothed margins are described as entire. Slightly puberulent surfaces have minute, soft downy hairs.

Sepal length range of 4 to 4.5 centimeters (1.57 to 1.77 inches) increases to 4.5 to 5 centimeters (1.77 to 1.96 inches) with age. Width range of 3 to 3.5 centimeters (1.18 to 1.37 inches) increases to 4.5 to 5 centimeters (1.77 to 1.96 inches) with age.

Brown purple (RHS 183D), brown purple (RHS 186B), grey brown (RHS 199C) and white endure as individual colors on each sepal throughout the blooming season.

The takeaway for Helleborus ‘Walhero’ is the pink-flowered, winter-hardy hellebore’s floriferous longevity in indoor and outdoor niches under the trade name of 'Walberton’s® Rosemary.'

Helleborus Walberton’s® Rosemary, Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley Garden, Surrey County, South East England, Saturday, March 24, 2012, 10:38:52: Leonora (Ellie) Enking, CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

3-year-old Helleborus 'Walhero' in late spring; image included in David Tristram’s patent application, filed Tuesday, April 3, 2007, as application number https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP19439, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP19,439; Date of Patent Nov. 11, 2008; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries, @ https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP19439; (former URL @ http://www.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/binaries/19400/pp19439.pdf)

closeup of 'Walhero' flower and bud; image included in David Tristram’s patent application, filed Tuesday, April 3, 2007, as application number https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP19439, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); United States Plant Patent No. US PP19,439; Date of Patent Nov. 11, 2008; color scans via Plant Patents Image Database, Digital Collections @ University of Maryland Libraries, @ https://digital.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/PP19439; (former URL @ http://www.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/binaries/19400/pp19439.pdf)

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

“Helleborus Plant Named ‘Walhero.’” United States Patent and Trademark Office > Program in Word (PIW). Nov. 11, 2008.
Available @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP019439

“Lenten Rose (Helleborus x hybridus Walberton’s® Rosemary).” The National Gardening Association > Plants Database > Hellebores.
Available @ http://garden.org/plants/view/533820/Lenten-Rose-Helleborus-x-hybridus-Walbertons-Rosemary/

Marriner, Derdriu. “Helleborus ‘Walhelivor’ Has Green- and Pink-Tinted Ivory White Flowers.” Earth and Space News. Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/helleborus-walhelivor-has-green-and.html

“A ‘Potted’ History.” Walberton Nursery > History.
Available @ http://www.walberton-nursery.co.uk/history/

“PP19439 -- Helleborus Plant Named ‘Walhero.’” University of Maryland > Plant Patents Image Database.
Available @ http://www.lib.umd.edu/plantpatents/id/15404

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

“Walberton’s® Introductions.” Walberton Nursery.
Available @ http://www.walberton-nursery.co.uk/walbertons-introductions/

Friday, January 20, 2017

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Art Theft: Rembrandt Couple

Summary: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft March 18, 1990 claims an etching, two bronzes and 10 paintings, including a Rembrandt couple in black.

Stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum during the March 1990 art heist, Rembrandt van Rijn's "A Lady and Gentleman in Black" has a mysterious back story, with the x-ray revelation of the artist's painting over a child and a ball-chasing dog placed to the right of the black-robed lady: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Rembrandt couple, A Lady and Gentleman in Black, avoids self-depictions in the artist's two other artworks of likewise unknown whereabouts since the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft in Boston, Massachusetts.

The theft of one beaker, one finial, one Manet, one Vermeer, three Rembrandt artworks and five Degas brand it the United States' largest private art heist. Any suspects cannot be prosecuted since the statute of limitations in effect March 18, 1990, expanded to 20 years since 1994, concerns the five succeeding years. Security chief Anthony P. Amore describes as Museum reward eligibility requirements "information that leads directly to the recovery of all of our items in good condition."

The reward, enlarged from $1 million to $5 million since 1997, ensures informants anonymous payment through attorneys since "It's time for these paintings to come home."

The Rembrandt couple, the Rembrandt seascape and the Rembrandt self-portrait furnish different perspectives on Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn's (July 15, 1606-Oct. 4, 1669) output for 1633.

A Lady and Gentleman in Black generates dark, sparse impressions, the Rembrandt seascape gives bold, busy looks and the Rembrandt self-portrait goes for delicate, delightful touches. It holds second place, with a 51.81-inch (131.6-centimeter) height and a 42.94-inch (109-centimeter) width, after the Rembrandt seascape, for most conspicuous of the 13 missing artworks. Its empty frame is in its inventoried place on the second-floor Dutch Room wall, to the left of the equally empty placeholder for the Rembrandt seascape.

Historic overlaps at a different time in a different place join the two Rembrandt paintings' historic physical proximity before the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum keeps the provenance and the purchase records for its 2,500 existing art pieces and for the 13 artworks missing since 1990.

Museum records list the Rembrandt couple as purchased in September 1898 for 13,000 pounds and the Rembrandt seascape as purchased in November 1898 for 6,000 pounds. They mention the Rembrandt couple's and the Rembrandt seascape's arrivals Nov. 22 and 24, 1898 at Museum agent Fernand Robert's building, 30 Rue Joubert, Paris, France. They note their insured values at 325 and 150 French francs, after receipt from Colnaghi & Co. of London, England, and prefatory to shipping to Boston.

Nineteenth-century prices and values offer the reverse of what the Rembrandt couple and the Rembrandt seascape hypothetically obtain after the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft.

Museum records preserve Mrs. Gardner's reaction to acquiring the Rembrandt seascape and art historian Bernard Berenson's (June 26, 1865-Oct. 6, 1959) to obtaining the Rembrandt couple.

The theft-related section on the Museum's website quotes Mrs. Gardner as writing Berenson that "Your description of the sea picture makes me fairly ache for it!" Berenson revels in two "quiet, refined people, lined in a dignified, distinguished way, and not scamped, and dashed off as so many of Rembrandt's pictures are." Theft perhaps separates the paintings, together since the Museum's opening Jan. 1, 1903, as sightings specify the Manet cafegoer, the Rembrandt seascape and the Vermeer concert.

The Rembrandt couple historically takes viewers into A Lady and Gentleman in Black's Dutch room, until the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft turns everything topsy-turvy.

1894 oil on canvas portrait of "Isabella Stewart Gardner in Venice" by Swedish artist Anders Zorn (Feb. 18, 1860-Aug. 22, 1920); Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: 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:

Stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum during the March 1990 art heist, Rembrandt van Rijn's "A Lady and Gentleman in Black" has a mysterious back story, with x-ray revelation of the artist's painting over a child and a ball-chasing dog placed to the right of the black-robed lady: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_lady_and_gentleman_in_black,_by_Rembrandt.jpg

Circa 1633 etching,"Self Portrait Wearing a Soft Cap: Full Face, Head Only," numbers among a trio of artworks by Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt van Rijn stolen in a single morning, March 18, 1990, from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_-_Self_portrait_etching_-_ISGM.jpg

"Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee," only known seascape by Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt van Rijn, has shared dates of creation and of theft with two other Rembrandt artworks; about two months separate Isabella Stewart Gardener's purchases of "A Lady and Gentleman in Black" and of Rembrandt's only known seascape: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_Christ_in_the_Storm_on_the_Lake_of_Galilee.jpg

1894 oil on canvas portrait of "Isabella Stewart Gardner in Venice" by Swedish artist Anders Zorn (Feb. 18, 1860-Aug. 22, 1920); Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zorn,_Anders_-_Isabella_Stewart_Gardner_in_Venice_-_1894.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. 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

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

WBUR. 19 March 2010. "'A Lady and Gentleman in Black' by Rembrandt van Rijn.'" YouTube.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iHf8dmQYbg

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/

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Orion's Belt Asterism Distinctively Dominates Winter Skies

Summary: With three fairly evenly spaced stars, Orion's Belt asterism distinctively dominates winter skies December to February in the Northern Hemisphere.

Orion's Belt asterism with reddish arc of Barnard's Loop (center); “Orion Head to Toe,” October 2010: Rogelio Bernal Andreo, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Orion's Belt asterism, which comprises three bright, fairly evenly spaced, massive stars, distinctively dominates winter skies December to February in the Northern Hemisphere.

The recognizable pattern of stars that is known as an asterism may comprise participants in an official constellation or borrowings from more than one constellation. Orion's Belt asterism lies about midway down the length of the hourglass-shaped constellation. Its conspicuous location dramatizes Orion the Hunter as the dominant constellation in the Northern Hemisphere's winter skies.

The three bright, second-magnitude stars that define the Orion's Belt asterism appear in a fairly evenly spaced alignment that dips diagonally from west to east. The trio's bluish-white color emphasizes their nearly precise alignment against the dark backdrop of naked eye astronomy as well as against telescopic astronomy's colorful deep sky objects, such as the gigantic arc of emission nebula Barnard's Loop.

Mintaka is a double star in a multiple star system. Bluish-white variable star Mintaka marks the westernmost position in Orion's Belt. Because it lies only a quarter of a degree south of the celestial equator, which is the projection of Earth's equator onto the imaginary celestial sphere that surrounds Earth, Mintaka is the first of the asterismal belt's trio to rise and to set.

Mintaka's advantageous placement qualifies it for equatorial star status. Because the celestial equator's intersections with the horizon line always occur at the due east and due west points of the compass, an equatorial star's rising and setting indicate due east and due west, respectively.

Mintaka ranks seventh among Orion the Hunter constellation's seven brightest main stars. It is the dimmest of the trio in Orion's Belt asterism.

Mintaka's Bayer designation, devised by stellar designator and celestial cartographer Johann Bayer (1572-March 7, 1625), is Delta Orionis (δ Orionis; Delta Ori; δ Ori). Its popular name derives from an Arabic word, al mintaqa, referencing the belt worn by al-Jauza (“the Central One”), a mysterious female figure discerned by Arab astronomy in western astronomy's constellation of Orion.

Blue-white, slightly variable supergiant Alnilam occupies the middle of Orion's Belt asterism. It is the brightest of the belt trio and ranks fourth among Orion the Hunter's seven brightest stars. Unlike its two belt neighbors, Alnilam is only a single star.

Alnilam's Bayer designation is Epsilon Orionis (ε Orionis; Epsilon Ori; ε Ori). The popular name for the belt's central star derives from an Arabic word translated as “string of pearls.”

Alnitak marks the easternmost point of the Orion's Belt asterism. Alnitak is the second brightest of the belt trio and holds fifth place in the ranking of the equatorial constellation's seven brightest stars.

As with Mintaka, Alnitak is actually a multiple star system. The primary star is a hot blue-white supergiant that is the brightest of the rare class of O-type main-sequence stars. Its close binary companion is a blue dwarf. A third star, shining at fourth magnitude, orbits the primary star every 1,500 years. A fourth star, shining at ninth magnitude, remains unconfirmed as gravitationally bound to the Alnitak system.

Alnitak's Bayer designation is Zeta Orionis (ζ Orionis; Zeta Ori; ζ Ori). Its popular name derives from an Arabic word translated as “belt,” referencing, as with Mintaka, the mysterious female figure discerned by Arab astronomy in the stars of Orion, in combination with some stars from western astronomy's Gemini the Twins constellation.

The takeaway for the Orion's Belt asterism is its distinctive dominance of the Northern Hemisphere's winter skies from December to February as an aesthetically pleasing, easily findable and immediately recognizable trio of blue whiteness.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Orion's Belt asterism with reddish arc of Barnard's Loop (center); “Orion Head to Toe,” October 2010: Rogelio Bernal Andreo, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orion_Head_to_Toe.jpg;
Astronomy Picture of the Day 2010 October 23, via NASA APOD @ https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101023.html

Precisely spaced diagonal alignment of three bright stars, Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak, define Orion's Belt asterism; credit Davide De Martin & the ESA/ESO/NASA Photoshop FITS Liberator: CC BY 4.0 International, via ESA Hubble @ https://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/fitsimages/davidedemartin_12/

For further information:

Constellation Guide Admin. “Orion’s Belt.” Constellation Guide.
Available @ http://www.constellation-guide.com/orions-belt/

Espenak, Fred. “Alnilam.” AxtroPixels > Stars.
Available @ http://astropixels.com/stars/Alnilam-01.html

Espenak, Fred. “Alnitak.” AstroPixels > Stars.
Available @ http://astropixels.com/stars/Alnitak-01.html

Espenak, Fred. “Mintaka.” AstroPixels > Stars.
Available @ http://astropixels.com/stars/Mintaka-01.html

“Fixed Star: Mintaka.” Constellations of Words > Stars.
Available @ http://www.constellationsofwords.com/stars/Mintaka.html

Howell, Elizabeth. “Orion’s Belt: String of Stars & Region of Star Birth.” Space.com > Science & Astronomy. Dec. 20, 2014.
Available @ http://www.space.com/28072-orions-belt.html

Howell, Elizabeth. “What Are the Stars in Orion’s Belt?” Universe Today. Dec. 23, 2015.
Available @ http://www.universetoday.com/85736/orions-belt-stars/

Kaler, James B. (Jim). “Alnilam (Epsilon Orionis).” University of Illinois Astronomy > Stars > Star of the Week.
Available @ http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/alnilam.html

Kaler, James B. (Jim). “Alnitak (Zeta Orionis).” University of Illinois Astronomy > Stars > Star of the Week.
Available @ http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/alnitak.html

Kaler, James B. (Jim). “Mintaka (Delta Orionis).” University of Illinois Astronomy > Stars > Star of the Week.
Available @ http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/mintaka.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Orionid Meteor Shower: Late October Peak of Debris From Comet Halley.” Earth and Space News. Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/10/orionid-meteor-shower-late-october-peak.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Winter Hexagon Asterism Gathers Six Stars From Six Constellations.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/winter-hexagon-asterism-gathers-six.html

“Orion Constellation.” Solar System Quick Astronomy Guide > Universe.
Marriner, Derdriu. “Winter Triangle Is Asterism Within Winter Hexagon Asterism.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/winter-triangle-is-asterism-within.html

McClure, Bruce. “Orion’s Belt and the Celestial Bridge.” EarthSky > Tonight. Dec. 5, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/tonight/orions-belt-and-the-celestial-bridge

“Orion Constellation.” Solar System Quick Astronomy Guide > Universe.
Available @ http://www.solarsystemquick.com/universe/orion-constellation.htm

“Orion Constellation.” Solar System Quick Astronomy Guide > Universe.
United States Air Force. U.S. Air Force Survival Handbook. New York NY: Skyhorse Publishing Inc., 2008.

“Orion Constellation.” Solar System Quick Astronomy Guide > Universe.
vrecinto. “Melemele (Mintaka of Orion) Shows Us Due West When It Sets.” 'Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii > General Information. June 3, 2011.
Available @ http://blog.imiloahawaii.org/general-information/melemele-mintaka-of-orion-shows-us-due-west-when-it-sets/