Two tower events during France’s summer festival season each July, taking place in cities less than 50 miles apart. The first, the Avignon Festival, is a boisterous, crowded celebration of theatre; The other, the Festival of Aix-en-Provence, offers a softer operatic line-up. This week, wealthy audiences sat down to the opening productions at both festivals. … Read more
Speak Now, as of 2010, was Taylor Swift’s third studio album, and is now the third to be re-released as a re-recorded “Taylor Version”. But all the while, the album was a declaration of independence: It was the first album she wrote entirely on her own, as a rebuttal to the critics—perhaps like the one … Read more
Madonna’s North American tour has been officially postponed. A couple of weeks ago, the pop star’s new Celebration Tour was announced — and it’s a wonderfully publicized outing modes January’s Uproar, which was set to open this week — has been put on an indefinite “pause” after the singer’s manager said she was hospitalized with … Read more
Berman said he was distressed at being removed from the country he held so dear to him, for all its shortcomings. While hundreds of people were risking their lives to cross illegally to the West, Berman’s heart yearned for the East. “With me, everything has always been the other way around – that’s almost the … Read more
It starts with a clap, then the feet tap to the beat: four times on each side, followed by a quick hop. As the melody goes up, the dancers go down and down. It’s a dance easy enough for anyone to learn, and people all over the world have done it, with everyone from urban … Read more
Listen on Spotify as you read. 1. Cher: “All I Really Want To Do” (1965) Cher’s debut single, produced by then-husband Sonny Bono, was this catchy cover of the opening track on “The Other Side of Bob Dylan”—a sort of solo duet between the male and female ends of Cher’s vocal range. As she wrote … Read more
He rose to popularity with his swinging mix of classics and jazz. He later conducted Philly Pops, often with one hand while the other played the piano.
I hugged my parents goodbye in Dublin and got on a plane to New York. My best friend from college was with me. We had student work visas and a vague plan to make enough money to spend the summer in California. We had visions of swimming in the Pacific Ocean and walking across the … Read more
Happiness does not come quickly. Aristotle claimed that since a swallow does not make spring, neither does a happy day make a person happy. It will take at least a lifetime. These measures–days, ages, even generations–are put to the test in the pursuit of happiness in two new myth-like works at the Festival de Aix-en-Provence … Read more
The eagles are roaming for the last time. once again. The band, whose 1970s country-themed rock hits like “Hotel California” and “Life in the Fast Lane” made them one of the best-selling acts of all time, announced Thursday’s Long Goodbye concert, which is booked as the band’s finale. a trip. The tour—which features Eagles core … Read more