The Dark Side of the Gold Rush

On November 21, 1852, Louise Clappe, a New Englander who had spent a year at a gold-rush mining camp in the Sierra Nevada, looked around in awe as she took her leave of the place. In a letter to her sister, she wrote, "Like an immense concave of pure sapphire without spot or speck, the wonderful and never-enough-to-be-talked-about sky of California drops down upon the whole its fathomless splendor."

The Shakespeare of Opera

Which music-theatre works of today will play to sold-out houses in the twenty-fifth century? Such is the challenge issued by Claudio Monteverdi, the former maestro di cappella at the Basilica di San Marco, in Venice, who, four hundred and fifty years after his birth, still has a knack for putting butts in seats. In October, the British conductor John Eliot Gardiner led vital performances of Monteverdi's three surviving operas-"Orfeo," "The Return of Ulysses," and "The Coronation of Poppea"-at Alice Tully Hall.

Food aid dwindling in world’s fastest-growing refugee crisis

Authorities say a Canadian man from Tunisia crossed legally into the U.S. days before stabbing a police officer in the neck at a Michigan airport. Authorities say a Canadian man from Tunisia crossed legally into the U.S. days before stabbing a police officer in the neck at a Michigan airport.

Trump Gives A Shout Out To Luciano Pavarotti, His ‘Great Friend’

During a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Gentiloni, while praising their great culture and artistic accomplishments, President Trump said, "Through the ages your country has been a beacon of artistic and scientific achievement." Trump continued and offhandedly said, "That continues today.

A Gathering of Orchestras in D.C.

"I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty": John F. Kennedy's words, carved in the white marble cliffs of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in Washington, D.C., have always seemed more wistful than hopeful. These days, with brutality and ugliness in the ascendant, they have a critical edge.

A Tale of Two Concerts

On a cold, wet January night in 1973, Richard Nixon and his entourage descended upon the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to hear Eugene Ormandy conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra. The concert was one of the highlights of Nixon's second inaugural, and though Washington's National Symphony Orchestra usually performed at such events, the president had a particular love for the Fabulous Philadelphians, as the storied ensemble with the plush string sound and bright, resonant brass was once known.

BWW Review: Joyce DiDonato Brings WAR & PEACE, Baroque-Style, to Carnegie Hall

At IN WAR & PEACE, HARMONY THROUGH MUSIC, her Carnegie Hall concert the other night with the Baroque ensemble, Il Pomo d'Oro, mezzo Joyce DiDonato was in fine voice, if not in high spirits--and who could blame her? The state of the world is about as bad as it has been for a long time, with death and taxes far from the only certainties, starting in our own backyard.

The head of Trump’s inauguration explains what’s going on…

The head of Trump's inauguration explains what's going on with Andrea Bocelli - Donald Trump did not ask his friend Andrea Bocelli to perform at his inauguration, the chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee said Tuesday in response to reports that the singer turned the president-elect down.

Obama to join Kennedy Center Honors gala for last time

This year's Kennedy Center Honors gala will be bittersweet for some because it's the last one under President Barack Obama, but the festivities aren't likely to be much different next year under President-elect Donald Trump, the Kennedy Center president said. Actor Al Pacino, rock band the Eagles, pianist Martha Argerich, gospel singer Mavis Staples and singer-songwriter James Taylor will receive the honors on Sunday.

Hillary Clinton Raises at Least $2 Million From Star-Studded Broadway Fundraiser

OCTOBER 17: Actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Jon Hamm speak during the Hillary Victory Fund - Stronger Together concert at St. James Theatre on October 17, 2016 in New York City. Broadway stars and celebrities performed during a fundraising concert for the Hillary Clinton campaign.

The Latest: US to Pakistan: No safe haven for terrorists

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, shakes hands with President of the 71st session of the General Assembly Peter Thomson, during the opening of a summit to address large movements of refugees and migrants, Mo... . United Nations general assembly president Peter Thomson, left, speaks to reporters while former president Mogens Lykketoft listens before the start of the Summit for Refugees and Migrants at U.N. headquarters, Monday, Sept.

Martha Stewart: ‘I’m voting for Hillary Clinton’; Trump ‘totally unprepared’

"There is so much to know and so much to learn and so much diplomacy and kindness and introspection that goes with that kind of job," Stewart told CNNMoney during a luncheon for Andrea Bocelli's foundation Sunday. "And it does not exist in the world of Donald Trump."