| Opera's New (York) Season: 'Lucia' and 'Margaret Garner'
Stephen Costello, in his house debut, was a severe and able Arturo. James Levine, who does not usually seem to have much affinity for bel canto operas, conducted with great verve, lightness and vitality. * * * New York City Opera's production of "Margaret Garner," which opened earlier this month, was in many ways an improvement over the opera's original outing in Detroit in 2005. The piece, with music by Richard Danielpour and a libretto by Toni Morrison, is based on the same true story that Ms. Morrison used for her novel "Beloved": A runaway slave, captured, kills her children rather than allow them to grow up in slavery. A central question at her trial is whether she is a murderer or a thief, since she and the children are considered property, not people. .
Brownstone Terrace residents decorate with art of quilling
MARION - A group of residents at Brownstone Terrace recently tackled learning the lost art of quilling. Quilling - filigree paper work - is a very old art form traceable to the 15th century and perhaps even as early as the 13th and 14 centuries. Quilling is tied closely to the history of paper itself. It is believed to have been first practiced by French and Italian nuns and perhaps Monks who used filigree work to decorate religious objects to simulate more costly work such as carved ivory or wrought iron. .
As Iraqis Vie for Kirkuk’s Oil, Kurds Become Pawns
On the outskirts of a city adjoining some of Iraq's most lucrative oil reserves, a rivulet of urine flows past the entrance to the barren playing field. There are no spectators, only 2,200 Kurdish squatters who have converted the dugouts, stands and parking lot into a refugee city of cinder-block hovels covered in Kurdish political graffiti, some for President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. These homeless Kurds are here not for soccer but for politics. They are reluctant players in a future referendum to decide whether oil-rich Tamim Province in the north and its capital, Kirkuk, will become part of the semiautonomous Kurdish regional government or remain under administration by Baghdad. Under the Iraqi Constitution the referendum is due before Dec.
KOREA: Shin files lawsuit against newspaper
Degree scammer Shin Jeong-ah has filed a lawsuit against a local daily which printed her nude photos and raised questions over her improper relations with high-profile figures to help her climb the social ladder. Seoul Central District Court said Thursday she lodged a complaint against the Munhwa Ilbo and its managing editor, which published two nude photos of Shin in September, alleging that she had intercourse with some influential figures in the art field. The court said she called on the paper to pay one billion won in compensation as well as correct the reports, alleging that she had neither any nude pictures taken nor had improper relations with high-profile figures to take advantage of their influence. Shin said she was humiliated by the publication and the mental damage she received could not be cured completely no matter how much money she receives as a compensation.
Cute, easy crafts can make season bright
Craft season is in full force, with felt and glue guns, ribbon and pine cones. In honor of the season, here are a few holiday craft ideas. These gifts are easy for children to put together, and they're a perfect gift for a teacher or neighbor. Children can learn the lesson of giving, but without spending a lot of money. HOT-CHOCOLATE TREAT Layer a bag with 3/4 cup instant hot chocolate, 1/4 cup chocolate chips and 3/4 cup mini marshmallows. Include a festive tag telling the recipient to add 2 cups of hot water, serve in mugs, and enjoy. MOUSE CANDY-CANE HOLDER Cut green felt in a tear shape (which mimics a mouse shape). Cut two parallel slits in the middle of the felt, large enough for an oval shape cut in red felt (the ears) to fit through.
Beauty and the Beast
We can all agree that, among other things, the Beauty and the Beast story provides a lesson in understanding and tolerance. Don’t prejudge that big rampaging monster because somewhere deep inside him, waiting to be unlocked, may be a considerate, loving chap who, with a little help from someone like Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet, could end up dancing the cotillion in the Pump Room in Bath. And that’s certainly one of the conclusions that emerges from the version of Gabrielle de Villeneuve’s 18th-century original that the cult company Told by an Idiot has brought to London W6. Anyway, Leo Wringer clambers on and around the climbing frame that forms part of Michael Vale’s set, wailing and roaring and scowling and trailing his fluffy grey mane and threatening cannibal excesses, only to be unmasked as an elegant African prince.
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