MILAN — Venice’s renowned La Fenice opera house is breaking ties with the controversial incoming music director with ties to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni following months of protests by musicians. General manager Nicola Colabianchi cited Beatrice Venezi’s “repeated and serious public statements that were offensive and harmful” to the theater and its orchestra for the…
ELLERBE, N.C.. — Andre The Giant, a towering menace in the wrestling ring but a gentle giant on the movie screen, is being honored with a roadside marker in his beloved adopted small town in North Carolina. Officials plan to unveil the marker Thursday in Ellerbe, North Carolina, a community of about 1,000 people where…
Michael Tilson Thomas, a leading American conductor for a half-century who headed orchestras in Buffalo, Miami, London and San Francisco while also composing, died Wednesday. He was 81. Tilson Thomas had surgery for a brain tumor in 2021 and resumed his career, then said in February 2025 the tumor had returned. He conducted his final…
SEOUL, South Korea — When a major stroke paralyzed South Korean pianist Lee Hun’s right side in 2012, he first worried about whether he would ever walk again. Playing the piano wasn’t even a consideration. He returned to the piano only after a mentor told him about a large number of piano pieces for the…
LONDON — Homegrown hit “Paddington The Musical” was the big winner at London’s Olivier Awards on Sunday, where the marmalade-loving bear from Peru won seven trophies, including best new musical. The prizes celebrating achievements in theater, opera and dance are Britain’s equivalent of Broadway’s Tony Awards. Based on Michael Bond’s stories about a duffel-coated bear…
Conductor Juanjo Mena, former principal conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival, says he will retire this year because of Alzheimer’s disease Conductor Juanjo Mena, the former principal conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival, said he will retire this year because of Alzheimer’s disease. Mena announced the diagnosis in January 2025 and said in a public…
