Bill O'Reilly (cricketer) 1988, a grandstand at the SCG was named the Bill O'Reilly Stand. In the same year, the oval in White Cliffs was renamed, and "The Sydney Morning Herald" renamed the medal they awarded to the best player in grade cricket in O'Reilly's honour. During the celebrations for the Australian Bicentenary, O'Reilly was named among the 200 people, and only 21 living, who had contributed the most to the country since European settlement. O'Reilly's later years were troubled with poor health, including the loss of a leg. In late 1988, he suffered a major heart attack and was hospitalised for two
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,