The Country Hour "The Country Hour". In 1951, the Victorian edition of "The Country Hour" broke the news of the decision to introduce the Myxoma virus into Australia in a bid to control the wild rabbit population, after Ian Clunies Ross told rural reporter Graham White about the plan. In 2015, "The Country Hour" celebrated its 70th anniversary, prompting tributes from well-known figures and a mention in the Parliament of Australia when Western Australian Senator Dean Smith reflected on the rural issues and events that had been covered by "The Country Hour" particularly in Western Australia. A special national edition of "The Country
Giuseppe Verdi "Dell'invito trascorsa e gia l'ora" from the start of "La traviata". The bicentenary of Verdi's birth in 2013 was celebrated in numerous events around the world, both in performances and broadcasts. In recent years historians have vigorously debated how political Verdi's operas were. In particular, the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" (known as "Va, pensiero") from the third act of the opera "Nabucco" was intended to be an anthem for Italian patriots, who were seeking to unify their country and free it from foreign control in the years up to 1861 (the chorus's theme of exiles singing about their homeland,