Opera /ˈɒprə/ (Italian: [ˈɔːpera]; English plural: operas; Italian plural: opere [ˈɔːpere]) is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (libretto) and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. In traditional opera, singers do two types of singing: recitative, a speech-inflected style and arias, a more melodic style. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 1800s has been led by a conductor.
Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. It started in Italy at the end of the 16th century (with Jacopo Peri's lost Dafne, produced in Florence in 1598) and soon spread through the rest of Europe: Schütz in Germany, Lully in France, and Purcell in England all helped to establish their national traditions in the 17th century. In the 18th century, Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe (except France), attracting foreign composers such as Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his "reform" operas in the 1760s. Today the most renowned figure of late 18th century opera is Mozart, who began with opera seria but is most famous for his Italian comic operas, especially The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze Di Figaro), Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte, as well as The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), a landmark in the German tradition.
Opera is a web browser developed by Opera Software. The latest version is available for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux operating systems, and uses the Blink layout engine. An earlier version using the Presto layout engine is still available, and additionally runs on FreeBSD systems.
Opera siblings – Opera Mobile, Opera Mini and Opera Coast – work on devices running Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Symbian, Maemo, Bada, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile operating systems, while Opera Mini runs on Java ME-capable devices.
According to Opera Software, the browser had more than 350 million users worldwide in the 4th quarter 2014. Total Opera mobile users reached 291 million in June 2015. Opera has been noted for originating many features later adopted by other web browsers. A prominent example is Speed Dial.
Opera began in 1994 as a research project at Telenor, the largest Norwegian telecommunications company. In 1995, it branched out into a separate company named Opera Software ASA. Opera was first released publicly with version 2.0 in 1996, which only ran on Microsoft Windows. In an attempt to capitalize on the emerging market for Internet-connected handheld devices, a project to port Opera to mobile device platforms was started in 1998. Opera 4.0, released in 2000, included a new cross-platform core that facilitated creation of editions of Opera for multiple operating systems and platforms.
Opera is the debut studio album of Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber's electronic music project Tosca. It combines new material and previously released singles, including "Chocolate Elvis". "Irresistibly funky" (BBC), "the blues, and the thick sultry bass, makes it as sexy and melancholy as cigarette smoke after a one-night stand in a strange city" (Mixmag). It is "one of the few sure things in a modest genre" (Sasha Frere-Jones, LA Weekly).
All tracks written by Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber.
Board or Boards may refer to:
In duplicate bridge, a board is an item of equipment that holds one deal, or one deck of 52 cards distributed in four hands of 13 cards each. The design permits the entire deal of four hands to be passed, carried or stacked securely with the cards hidden from view in four pockets. This is required for duplicate bridge tournaments, where the same deal is played several times and so the composition of each hand must be preserved during and after each play of each deal.
Each board is usually marked with the following information: board number – (usually in the sequence '1' to '32') identifies the deal and helps to order the play of multiple deals; compass directions – used to match the four hands to the four players at a table; dealer – designates which player is the "dealer"; this designates the player who is to make the first call of the auction; vulnerability – often represented by color code: a "vulnerable" partnership is usually shown in red and a "not vulnerable" partnership in green, white or no color. Most designs include a slot or pocket to hold a paper travelling score sheet.
BOARD International S.A. is a Business Intelligence (BI) and Corporate Performance Management (CPM) software vendor known for its BOARD toolkit. The company is headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1994. While its core markets are still located in Europe, BOARD International has been expanding globally and now operates in 15 countries worldwide. It has a total of over 2,500 customers from a number of different industries, including large international corporations such as ABB, Best Western, GlaxoSmithKline, NEC, Nike and Puma.
BOARD International offers only one product, the BOARD toolkit. It combines various BI and CPM functionalities within a single graphical software environment. BOARD's BI capabilities include multi-dimensional analysis, ad hoc querying, dashboarding and reporting, while its CPM capabilities include budgeting, planning and forecasting as well as "other finance-related activities". Like Business Intelligence software in general, BOARD is used in an effort to improve productivity and decision making while lowering costs. It does not require any programming skills to build BI and CPM applications.
And Aubrey was her name
A not so very ordinary girl or name
But who's to blame
For a love that wouldn't bloom
For the hearts that never played in tune
Like a lovely melody that everyone can sing
Take away the words that rhyme it doesn't mean a thing
And Aubrey was her name
We tripped the light and danced together to the moon
But where was June?
No it never came around if it did it never made a sound
Maybe I was absent or was listening to fast
Catching all the words but then the meaning going past
But God I miss the girl
And I'd go a thousand times around the world just to be closer to her than to me
And Aubrey was her name
I never knew her but I loved her just the same
I loved her name
Wish that I had found a way
And the reasons that would make her stay
I have learned to lead a life apart from all the rest
If I can't have the one I want I'll do without the best
But how I miss the girl