The Operatic Drama of “Maria” Misses Its Cue

The Operatic Drama of “Maria” Misses Its Cue

Pablo Larraín’s new film “Maria,” the third in his trilogy of grandes-dames bio-pics (following “Jackie” and “Spencer”), is the best of the three for a simple reason: its protagonist, Maria Callas, faces the most suspenseful conflict, the attempt to restart her singing career after a long absence from the stage. The other two films are … Read more

Mariah Carey’s ‘heart is broken’ after losing mother, sister on same day

Mariah Carey’s ‘heart is broken’ after losing mother, sister on same day

Mariah Carey’s mother Patricia and sister Alison both died on the same day, the singer said Monday. “My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend. Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day,” the Grammy-winning singer said in a statement. “I feel blessed … Read more

What is a countertenor? Hong Kong singer on how men hit high notes like a female soprano

What is a countertenor? Hong Kong singer on how men hit high notes like a female soprano

Hong Kong singer Kari Ding, who shifted from a tenor to countertenor in 2019, says it is a somewhat misleading label. “It is not so much that a countertenor is rare but that the style of singing is rarely pursued,” Ding says. Consider a falsetto, he says of the voice used by male singers – … Read more

Switzerland’s Nemo wins Eurovision contest beset by protests, backstage chaos and Dutch expulsion

Switzerland’s Nemo wins Eurovision contest beset by protests, backstage chaos and Dutch expulsion

Swiss singer Nemo won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with The Code, an operatic ode to the singer’s journey toward embracing their non-binary identity. Nemo — the first non-binary contestant to win the competition and the latest to win for Switzerland since Céline Dion in 1988 — beat Croatia’s Baby Lasagna to the title by winning the … Read more

Bricks fall from historic Tabor Opera House in Leadville

Bricks fall from historic Tabor Opera House in Leadville

Loose bricks falling from the three-story façade of Leadville’s Tabor Opera House on Saturday closed the sidewalk and parking spots in front of the historic building, which has been the subject of extensive renovations in recent years. The venue, which opened in 1879 and lords over the town’s main drag, Harrison Avenue (a.k.a. U.S. Route … Read more

How Tencent is using AI and VR tech to revive traditional art of Chinese opera, with Hua Mulan just a beginning

How Tencent is using AI and VR tech to revive traditional art of Chinese opera, with Hua Mulan just a beginning

Hua Mulan, a legendary heroine in ancient China who took her father’s place in conscription for the army by disguising herself as a man, is now known all over the world thanks to The Walt Disney Co’s 1998 animated motion picture Mulan and its 2020 live-action film with the same title. Chinese people were reacquainted … Read more

Famed former Boston Symphony, TSO conductor Seiji Ozawa dead at 88

Famed former Boston Symphony, TSO conductor Seiji Ozawa dead at 88

Seiji Ozawa, the Japanese conductor who amazed audiences with the lithe physicality of his performances during three decades at the helm of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has died, his management office said Friday. He was 88. The internationally acclaimed maestro, with his trademark mop of salt-and-pepper hair, led the BSO from 1973 to 2002, longer … Read more

David Soul, half of TV’s Starsky and Hutch, dead at 80

David Soul, half of TV’s Starsky and Hutch, dead at 80

Actor-singer David Soul, a 1970s heartthrob who co-starred as the blond half of the TV crime-fighting duo Starsky & Hutch and topped the music charts with the ballad Don’t Give Up on Us, has died at the age of 80. His wife, Helen Snell, said Friday that “David Soul — beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother — … Read more

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon announces 78 new appointments to Order of Canada

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon announces 78 new appointments to Order of Canada

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon has announced 78 new appointments to the Order of Canada — a list that includes activists, authors, artists, Indigenous leaders and other accomplished Canadians. Simon’s office announced three new appointments of “companions” — the highest level of the Order of Canada — 15 officers, including one honorary officer, and 59 members. A number of journalists were … Read more