Which connected people died by a cauldron of boiling oil in 1835, a poisonous flower in 1883, a fatal avalanche in 1892, a ritual suicide in 1904 and being a 1937 victim of Jack the Ripper?

JaneofGaunt

Operas: Boiling oil: The Jewess: La Juive, is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on February 23, 1835. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Juive Poisonous Flower: Lakme: Lakme, which premiered in Paris in 1883, was based on the novel Rarahu ou Le Mariage de Loti by Pierre Loti. The music was composed by Leo Delibes and the libretto was adapted from the novel by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The story takes place in India, and Delibes used Western conceptions of Indian music to add color to the score. One notable aria is the "Flower Duet" from the first act, which is commonly used in advertising and other popular media. The heroine commits suicide by eating a poisonous flower. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakm%C3%A9 Avalanche: La Wally: La Wally is a four-act opera by Alfredo Catalani, composed on a libretto by Luigi Illica, and first performed at La Scala, Milan on 20 January 1892. The heroine throws herself into an avalanche after her lover has died in same. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Wally What's next? Ritual Suicide: Madama Butterfly; Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly) is an opera in three acts (originally two acts) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco. Puccini also based it on the novel Madame Chrysanthème (1887) by Pierre Loti. According to one scholar, the opera was based on events that actually occurred in Nagasaki in the early 1890s. The heroine commits ritual suicide when she discovers her American lover is not returning to marry her, thus saving her honour. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madama_Butterfly Victim of Jack the Ripper: LuLu: Lulu is an opera by the composer Alban Berg. The libretto was adapted by Berg himself from Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist (Earth Spirit, 1895) and Die Büchse der Pandora (Pandora's Box, 1904). The character of Lulu is murdered by Jack. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lulu_%28opera%29 Whew - and if anyone gets this before me - well done!! Jun 18 11, 10:09 PM

houston1127

Operatic deaths and year of first performance: 1835 (Eleazar and Rachel) La Juive 1883 (Lakme) Lakme 1892 (Wally) La Wally 1904 (Madame Butterfly) Madame Butterfly 1937 (Lulu) Lulu from Wikipedia Jun 18 11, 10:13 PM

gmackematix

Brava bravissima, Jane! They are indeed the unfortunate ends of operatic heroines in operas which premiered in those years, although I should probably add that the death of Lulu wasn't in the premiere which couldn't be completely performed until 1979. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lulu_(opera) Jun 19 11, 12:35 PM