Some great operas take time to achieve popularity with audiences and critics. For example, Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” initially received hostile reviews and a lack of interest by the public. On the other hand, some works, such as Gaetano Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore” (“The Elixir of Love”), are deemed irresistible from their opening and never lose their appeal.
Opening the Metropolitan Opera’s current season, a new production of the comic opera “L’Elisir d’Amore” is entrancing.
Donizetti (1797–1848) was extraordinarily prolific, composing over 60 operas, until syphilis caused his sudden decline and death. His most frequently performed op
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Review, Review ‘l’elisir
Sometimes fairy tales do come true in reality television land!
Jason Mesnick and Molly Melaney Mesnick, who met on season 13 of The Bachelor and wed in February 2010, their first child together!
“I step away for 5 minutes & come back to a ton of love. Thank you! We couldn’t be more excited about the pint size peanut on the way 
” Molly wrote on her page shortly after the news broke online.
Jason has a son, Ty, 7, from his first marriage.
“He’s been so excited to be a big brother,” Jason told . The couple told the second-grader the good news via a game of hang man.
The answer was ‘Tyler is going to be a big brother,’” Jason added. “He’s been asking me for years. He’s always wanted to be a big brother. So we played the Read more…
Mesnick, Mesnick Having
WASHINGTON (AP) — There were all the trappings of a high-octane presidential debate: the over-the-top declarations, the pre-practiced zingers and the schmaltzy appeals to America’s truest values. But the presidential candidates were nowhere to be found.
In their place Saturday were two celebrity gabbers who have claimed their stakes to the polar opposite ends of the political spectrum: Bill O’Reilly and Jon Stewart. The political odd-couple came to Washington ready to tangle in an event mockingly dubbed “The Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium.”
Choice words not suitable for the faint of heart dotted the 90-minute exchange between the Fox News anchor and the star of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” who bantered aggressively but good-naturedly over birth control, President George W. B Read more…
Debate
This year, one of the leading tenors in the world today, Marcello Giordani, will be singing in Carnegie Hall on Oct. 21 to promote the lofty mission set out by New Tang Dynasty Television (NTD): to promote traditional vocal arts of pure authenticity, pure goodness, and pure beauty.
Giordani, whom Opera News calls “arguably, the greatest leading tenor of his generation,” has sung over 170 performances at the New York Metropolitan Opera in the last 20 years.
Giordani will appear at NTD’s Sixth International Vocal Competition Concert, singing alongside selected young vocalists. Giordani will also present awards to the contestant winners.
“We are very happy to have such a world-renowned vocal artist as Mr. Marcello
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Tenor, Tenor Tender
There’ve been plenty of cop movies over the years, but rarely one as good as this. David Ayer (screenwriter of Training Day, for which Denzel Washington won an Oscar) wrote and directed this story about two L.A. policemen who run up against a Mexican drug cartel. There’s lots of action (and violence), but equally compelling is this drama’s portrait of two longtime partners who kid around but believe wholeheartedly in what they’re doing, risking their lives to protect the public and each other. The whole cast (which includes Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, and America Ferrera) is aces, but the friendly chemistry between the leads is something special. And Jake Gyllenhaal in particular is a revelation—you’ve never seen him this tough and commanding. (Rated R)
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Movie, Movie Preview