La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La Dame aux camélias, a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas fils; the opera was titled Violetta, after the main character. It was first performed on 6 March 1853 at La Fenice opera house in Venice. Piave and Verdi wanted to follow Dumas in giving the opera a contemporary setting, but the authorities at La Fenice insisted that it be set in the past, "c. 1700". It was not until the 1880s that the composer's and librettist's original wishes were carried out and "realistic" productions were staged. La traviata has become immensely popular and is the most performed of all operas, with 151 in the 2018/2019 season. For Verdi, the years 1851 to 1853 were filled with operatic activity. First, he had agreed with the librettist Salvadore Cammarano on a subject for what would become Il trovatore, but work on this opera could not proceed while the composer was writing Rigoletto, which premiered in Venice in March 1851.

In addition, personal affairs in his home town limited his activities that spring, but after Rigoletto's success in Venice, an additional commission was offered by Brenna, the secretary of La Fenice. After Verdi's return from Paris a contract was signed in May 1852, with performances scheduled for March 1853, although no subject was chosen at that time. Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi had visited Paris from late 1851 and into March 1852. In February the couple attended; as a result of this, Verdi biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz reports, the composer began to compose music for what would become La traviata. However, Julian Budden notes that Verdi had read the Dumas novel some time before, after seeing the play and returning to Italy, "he was setting up an ideal operatic cast for it in his mind," shown by his dealings with La Fenice. On their return to Italy, the composer had set to work on Trovatore for the January 1853 premiere in Rome, but at the same time seemed to have ideas for the music for Traviata in his head.

Francesco Maria Piave was to be engaged to write the new libretto and the two men tried to come up with a suitable subject, but the composer complained that his librettist "had not yet offered him an'original' or'provocative' idea". Writing to Piave, he added that "I don't want any of those everyday subjects that one can find by the hundreds." But at the same time, the composer expressed concern about censorship in Venice, something with which he was familiar after his dealings with the censors concerning Rigoletto. As the months dragged on into October, it was agreed that Piave would come to Sant'Agata and work with the composer. One subject was chosen, Piave set to work, Verdi threw in another idea, which may have been La traviata. However, within a short time, a synopsis was dispatched to Venice under the title of Amore e morte. However, as Budden reveals, Verdi writes to his friend De Sanctis telling him that "for Venice I'm doing La Dame aux camélias which will be called La traviata. A subject for our own age."

Although still bogged down at Sant'Agata, Piave was sanguine: "Everything will turn out fine, we'll have a new masterpiece from this true wizard of modern harmonies". When back at Sant'Agata in late January 1853 Verdi was reminded that his contract called for him to be in Venice within a week or two and for the premiere to be held on the "first Saturday in March 1853". However, it soon became clear that a modern-dress staging of the new opera was impossible—the requirement was that it should be set in the 17th century "in the era of Richelieu"—and reports from the opening of the season confirmed the limitations of the chosen soprano, the 38-year-old Fanny Salvini-Donatelli for taking the role of Violetta. Verdi was distraught, for he held on to the notion that the opera could be staged in modern dress—as Stiffelio had been done—Piave was sent back to Sant'Agata to no avail: he could not persuade the composer to back down on his insistence that another soprano be secured, yet the 15 January deadline for securing one had come and gone.

Verdi was filled with premonitions of disaster upon his arrival in Venice on 21 February for rehearsals and he made his unhappiness clear to the singers. The audience jeered at times during the premiere, directing some of their scorn at the casting of soprano Fanny Salvini-Donatelli in the lead role of Violetta. Though she was an acclaimed singer, they considered her to be too old and overweight to credibly play a young woman dying of consumption; the first act was met with applause and cheering at the end. The next day, Verdi wrote to his friend Emanuele Muzio in what has now become his most famous letter: "La traviata last night a failure. Was the fault mine or the singers'? Time will tell."Coincidentally, as Philips-Matz points out, an Italian translation of the play La Dame aux camélias was being presented just a short distance from La Fenice. While there were demands for productions from impresarios in various Italian cities, Verdi was loath to allow them unless he could be sure of the strength of the singers, in spite of their pleas, the composer refused.

As Budden notes, it came to be Venice "that made an honest woman of Violetta" when Verdi allowed a performance at the Teatro San Benedetto. Some revisions took place b

The 2010 Western Athletic Conference football season was a NCAA football season played from September 2, 2010 – January 9, 2011. The Western Athletic Conference in 2010 consisted of 9 members: Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaiʻi, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, San Jose State, Utah State. Boise State, Hawaiʻi, Nevada all went 7–1 in conference play to share the WAC title. All three teams finished. Boise State was invited to the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas where they defeated Utah 26–3. Hawaiʻi was invited to the Hawaiʻi Bowl where they lost to Tulsa 35–62. Nevada was invited to the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl where they defeated Boston College 20–13; the only other WAC team to be bowl eligible was Fresno State, they were invited to the Humanitarian Bowl where they lost to Northern Illinois 17–40. This was Boise State's final season as a WAC member. Amid a realignment of NCAA conferences, the school announced on June 11, 2010 that it would leave the WAC for the Mountain West Conference effective July 1, 2011.

Boise State went 13–0 during the regular season, their second straight undefeated season, to win the conference championship for the second straight year and seventh time in eight years. They would be ranked No. 6 in the BCS at the end of the regular season and received an invitation to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl to become the first team from a non-automatic qualifying conference to receive an at-large berth to a BCS bowl. The Broncos faced BCS No. 4 ranked TCU in the first matchup of two teams from non-AQ conferences in a BCS bowl. They finished the season No. 4 in AP and coache's polls. Other bowl-eligible teams in 2009 were Nevada, Fresno State, Idaho. Nevada was invited to play in the Sheraton Hawaiʻi Bowl, where they lost 45–10 to SMU. Fresno State was invited to play in the New Mexico Bowl for the second straight year where they lost to Wyoming 35–28 in 2 overtimes. Idaho was invited to play in the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl where they defeated Bowling Green 43–42. During the WAC's football preview on July 26 in Salt Lake City, Boise State was selected by both the coaches and media as favorites to win the conference.

They received 42 of a possible 43 first place votes in the media poll with Nevada coming in second and receiving the other first place vote. The Broncos received eight of nine first place votes in the coaches poll, but Boise State head coach Chris Petersen was not allowed to vote for his own team in first place, thus the Broncos received all 8 possible first place votes. Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore was selected as the preseason offensive player of the year and Nevada defensive end Dontay Moch was selected as the preseason defensive player of the year. Moore and Moch were the 2009 WAC players of the year. Boise State – 386 Nevada – 333 Fresno State – 300 Idaho – 207 Louisiana Tech – 200 Utah State – 196 Hawai'i – 166 New Mexico State – 81 San Jose State – 66 Boise State – 64 Nevada – 55 Fresno State – 50 Utah State – 37 Hawai'i – 36 Idaho – 33 Louisiana Tech – 26 New Mexico State – 14 San Jose State – 9 WAC teams finished the season 5–9 against teams from BCS conferences. Boise State and Fresno State defeated two each with Nevada gaining the other win.

The WAC has teams in 4 different time zones. Times reflect start time in respective time zone of each team. Conference games start. Rankings reflect that of the USA Today Coaches poll for that week until week eight when the BCS poll will be used. Players of the Week Players of the Week Players of the Week ESPN's College GameDay broadcast from inside Bronco Stadium on the blue turf for the No. 3 Boise State vs Oregon State game. This is the first time. Players of the Week Players of the Week Players of the Week Players of the Week Players of the Week Players of the Week Players of the Week Players of the Week Players of the Week Players of the Week Players of the Week Chris Ault–Nevada During the season Boise State, Hawaiʻi, Nevada were the only WAC teams to be ranked

Michael Gary Foltynewicz is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round of the 2010 MLB draft, he played in the minor leagues until he was called up to the Astros in August 2014. The Astros traded Foltynewicz to the Braves before the 2015 season. Foltynewicz wanted to be a major league player from an early age, he grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan, he says that his parents and Cindy Foltynewicz, both developed elbow problems one summer due to throwing him so many pitches during batting practice. He graduated in 2010 from Minooka High School in Illinois; the Houston Astros selected Foltynewicz in the first round, with the 19th overall selection, of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. He planned to attend the University of Texas at Austin, but decided to enter professional baseball when he was chosen in the draft. Foltynewicz and the Astros agreed to a $1.2 million signing bonus. In 2010 with the Greeneville Astros he was 0-3 with a 4.03 ERA.

In 2011 at Class A Lexington he was 5-11 with a 4.97 ERA. In 2012, Foltynewicz was the Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year after going 14–4 with a 3.14 earned run average and 125 strikeouts in 152 innings pitched. The next season, Foltynewicz pitched seven games for the Class A Advanced Lancaster JetHawks and earned a 1–0 record with a 3.81 ERA. He finished the season with the Class AA Corpus Christi Hooks, starting 16 of 23 games on the way to a 5–3 record, a 2.87 ERA and three saves. Foltynewicz was called up to the Astros on August 1, 2014, his first appearance was against the Toronto Blue Jays on August 2. At the time of his promotion, Foltynewicz had a 7–7 record with a 5.08 ERA at Class AAA Oklahoma City, where he registered 100 strikeouts in ​102 2⁄3 innings. He was listed by both Baseball America as the fourth-best prospect in the Houston system. Though he was a starting pitcher in Oklahoma City, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said that the team would use Foltynewicz out of the bullpen for the rest of the 2014 season.

In 2014 for the Astros he was 0-1 with an ERA of 5.30 in 16 relief appearances. The Astros traded Foltynewicz, Andrew Thurman, Rio Ruiz to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Evan Gattis and James Hoyt on January 14, 2015, he was invited to spring training and sent down to the Triple–A Gwinnett Braves on April 4. Through his first four starts with Gwinnett, Foltynewicz posted a 2.08 ERA over 21.2 innings with 30 strikeouts and 10 walks. On April 30, third baseman Chris Johnson was moved to the 15-day disabled list, allowing room for the Braves to call up Foltynewicz to replace struggling Trevor Cahill in the starting rotation. Foltynewicz made his Braves debut on May 1 against the Cincinnati Reds, earning his first career win over five innings pitched, allowing two earned runs. On the same night, Folynewicz recorded his first career hit, a double that scored two runs. Foltynewicz was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on June 17 after seeing his ERA rise to 5.19 in his previous three starts. He was recalled on July 7.

He served as an extra reliever in Atlanta's bullpen during the final games before the All Star break. On July 12, after the final game of the first half, he was optioned back to Gwinnett. Foltynewicz was recalled on July 30 to make a spot start for Manny Banuelos, he began to fall ill on August 18, was first diagnosed with costochondritis in September, which soon developed into pneumonia. On September 19, Foltynewicz suffered a further setback, was diagnosed with blood clots in his pitching arm. Two days Foltynewicz underwent a rib resection to remove the anterior half of his first rib to deal with the clots; as a result of the surgery, he lost 20 pounds. In 2015 for Atlanta he was 4–6 with an ERA of 5.71. Foltynewicz contended for a rotation spot in spring training in 2016; the Braves assigned him to Gwinnett at the end of March to give him more time to recover from surgery. Foltynewicz was recalled on May 1 to replace Bud Norris in the rotation. Foltynewicz made his season debut the next day, he returned to the disabled list on June 4 with a bone spur in his elbow.

Foltynewicz was reactivated on June 29, as the Braves' rotation was beset by injuries to other pitchers. On June 30, 2017 against the Oakland Athletics, Foltynewicz took a no hitter into the ninth inning, he finished having allowed one run on one hit with four walks and eight strikeouts over eight plus innings. In 2017 for Atlanta he was 10-13 with an ERA of 4.79. Foltynewicz was eligible for arbitration prior to the start of the 2018 season, he was awarded a $2.2 million salary. During spring training, Foltynewicz pitched from a modified set position, to help mitigate struggles he had faced in previous seasons. On June 1, 2018, Foltynewicz pitched his first career complete game and shutout against the Washington Nationals, he walked two. He was named to the 2018 MLB All-Star Game after owning a 6–5 record and a 2.37 ERA over his first 17 starts of the season. Foltynewicz made his final start of the 2018 season against the Philadelphia Phillies on September 28, he pitched five innings and struck out nine batters, becoming the first Braves pitcher since Javier Vázquez in 2009 to strike out 200 batters in a season.

Foltynewicz started game one of the 2018 National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He pitched two innings, yielding four runs on three hits and striking out five batters while walking three, he returned to start the fourth game of the series