... success came as a somewhat reluctant lyricist to Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story (1957) and Jule Styne on Gypsy (1959). Exciting and adventurous as those shows were in their day, and for all their enduring popularity, Sondheim's philosophy since is encapsulated in one of his song titles: "I Never Do Anything Twice". His first score as composer-lyricist was A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1962) - a show so funny few people spotted how experimental it was: it's still the only successful musical farce. In the following three decades, critics detected a Sondheim style - a fondness for the harmonic language of Ravel and Debussy; a reliance on ...

... of Venice’s influence harmonized with the greatest extent of Mongol conquest of Asia. Ruled by Kublai Khan, the Mongol Empire stretched all the way from China to Russia and the Levant. The Mongol crowds also threatened other parts of Europe, particularly Poland and Hungary, inspiring fears everywhere by their ruthless advances. Yet the ruthless methods brought a measure of stability to the lands they controlled, opening up trade routes. Into this favorable atmosphere a number of European traders ventured, including the family of . The Polos had long-established ties in the Levant and around the Black Sea: for example, they owned property in Constantinopl ...

... have much of a chance to be anything other than a wheelwright like his father. However, his father was a man who loved to sing and when Haydn was a boy, he memorized almost every song his father sang. This was his beginning in music. Later on, he received an education from his uncle where he gained more of an interest in music. Participation in a choir gave him the opportunity to go to Vienna and there, he studied the piano sonatas of Emanuel Bach and was given the chance to finally get a chance to compose; something he had always wanted to do. This is when the first string quartet was developed. Later on, he was employed by the Esterhazy family and was g ...

... America and the world. January 21, 1961 (Inauguration Day), after becoming the youngest ever elected president as well as the first Roman Catholic and beating out Republican Richard Nixon he gave what was one of the shortest speeches ever given by a newly inaugurated president. In his speech, he Offered the country not simple solutions, but the challenge of working for a better life. “Let every nation know that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty,” he stated. He finished with this now-famous call to the country, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not w ...

... and his father, Philip, fought Macedonia, Philip was surrounded. Alexander bravely jumped in and saved his father from sure death. Alexander demonstrated loyalty to his mother by staying with her through her exile from Philip. This showed how much pulling and tugging went on to win Alexander’ favor that enviably killed Phillip by not knowing who to be loyal to. Upon their return three years later, Alexander’s mother requested to be allowed to rule with him, once Alexander became king. She knew that would be the only way she could regain power. When Alexander turned twenty, his father was brutally murdered by Alexander’s friend. This ...

... company, the Chamberlain's Men, later called the King's Men, and two theaters, the Globe Theatre and the Blackfriars. Shakespeare's dramatic career is generally divided into four periods: (1) the period up to 1594, (2) the years from 1594 to 1600, (3) the years from 1600 to 1608, and (4) the period after 1608. Shakespeare's early plays, unlike his more mature work, are characterized to a degree by formal and rather obvious construction and by stylized verse. His earliest dramatic works are possibly four plays dramatizing the English civil strife of the 15th century. These plays, Henry VI, Parts I, II, and III (1590-1592) and Richard III (1593), deal with evil re ...

... the city of Thebes from the plague of the Sphinx by answering an extremely difficult riddle. Everything is going for him. He becomes the king and marries the widowed Queen of the land. However, as the plot unfolds, Oedipus begins to show the signs of being a “tragic hero” by Aristotle’s definition. Aristotle says that a tragic hero is a person, usually the main character, who starts out as a great and noble individual. Oedipus is not an evil man but a good, upright, man who suffers a downfall. Aristotle also says that this person begins to become fallible and eventually is doomed by their own “tragic flaw.” We see this with Oedipus when he displays hubris. ...

... slayings, including the murder of his brother-in-law. His reward for ratting on his boss, John Gotti, was a sentence of less than five years for a life of crimes that includes nineteen murders. He has been free since March Nineteen ninety five although he was hiding from the mafia in the Witness Protection Program until nineteen ninety seven. This self-confessed mafia underboss helped to put away 36 fellow mobsters. Among these 36 men one really stuck out. That man was Gambino crime boss John "The Teflon Don" Gotti. The feds have been after Gotti since he orchestrated the hit on former boss Paul Castellano also known as "Big Pauly". That’s when John Gotti ...

... and drawings show but he never showed any originality or creative imagination. To fullfil his dream he had moved to Vienna the capital of Austria where the Academy of arts was located. He failed the first time he tried to get admission and in the next year, 1907 he tried again and was very sure of success. To his surprise he failed again. In fact the Dean of the academy was not very impressed with his performance, and gave him a really hard time and said to him "You will never be painter." The rejection really crushed him as he now reached a dead end. He could not apply to the school of architecture as he had no high-school diploma. During the next 35 years o ...

... the U.S. and democracy itself is seen in his political history. Following a time of democracy in Costa Rica, in the early 40’s, then president Rafael Calderon allied himself with the Costa Rican communist party, Vanguardia Popular as well as the Nicaraguan dictator Somoza. Figueres would then give a radio speech disdaining Calderon and his actions which would lead to Figueres’ exile to Mexico in 1942. (Cockcroft, 232) Figueres returned in 1944, and an alleged fixing of the 1948 Costa Rican election was the window that he had been waiting for. Supported by the governments of Guatemala, Cuba, and the U.S., Figueres and his Army of National Liberati ...