Paris opera house adds Bollywood to the mix

French opera house Théâtre du Châtelet is set to add a bit of Bollywood to its already eclectic offerings next season.
Organizers announced on Wednesday that Indian filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who directed 2002's award-winning Bollywood epic Devdas, will stage an upcoming production of French composer Albert Roussel's opera-ballet Padmavati.
The rarely performed work, which was inspired by a Hindu legend, will take the Châtelet's Paris stage in March 2008.

Quebec contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux will lead a largely French cast in the production, which is set in 13th century India.

Monkey legend, The Fly also set for new season

The Théâtre du Châtelet had previously announced several other interesting and unusual projects it plans to stage during its upcoming 2007-2008 season.
The Paris-based troupe will also present British pop artist Damon Albarn's Mandarin-language opera Monkey: Journey to the West in October.

The highly anticipated work, which was commissioned in conjunction with the Manchester International Festival and Berlin's Staatsoper, is based on the Chinese legend of the Monkey King and will include Chinese acrobats and martial artists.
The company's upcoming season will also include the opera adaptation of David Cronenberg's The Fly, which the Canadian filmmaker is collaborating on with Oscar-winning Canadian composer Howard Shore and famed tenor Placido Domingo — also general director of the Los Angeles Opera.
Cronenberg's opera, a co-production between the Châtelet and the Los Angeles Opera, will open in Paris July 2008.

Cosmetics company L'Oréal Canada has signed on as a multi-year sponsor for Luminato, the new arts and culture festival planned for Toronto this June.

David Fox, a Dora award-winning actor who just finished a run with the critically acclaimed Scorched, has been hired to replace William Hutt in A Delicate Balance at the Stratford Festival.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music and London's Old Vic theatre are teaming up to create a "transatlantic" theatre company that will play on both sides of the Atlantic.

The famed Berlin State Opera House is scheduled to undergo a major renovation beginning in 2010, officials announced Monday.

A listing cruise ship carrying nearly 1,600 people was evacuated safely Thursday after it struck rocks and began taking on water off the Greek island of Santorini, authorities said.

The British sailors and marines held captive in Iran for nearly two weeks finally embraced their families on home soil Thursday, descending from two Sea King helicopters at the Chivenor airfield.

One of the British naval crew held captive in Iran was kept in solitary confinement, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday.

Harmful trans fat should be eliminated from Canada's food supply, health advocates told the federal government on Thursday.

A genetic mutation has been linked to the developmental disorder spina bifida, researchers in Montreal say.

A 62-year-old Quebec woman is suing her pathologist after she underwent painful chemotherapy after being falsely diagnosed with cancer.

Toronto contemporary artist Brian Kipping has lost his fight to cancer.

The Images Festival, Toronto's annual celebration of indie and experimental video, performance and installation art, kicks off its 20th edition Thursday.

French opera house Théâtre du Châtelet is set to add a bit of Bollywood to its already eclectic offerings next season.

Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp.

said Thursday it has made a $4.5 billion US cash bid to buy the financially troubled Chrysler group from DaimlerChrysler AG.

The Canadian economy churned out another 54,900 jobs in March, spurring more talk that the Bank of Canada's next move on interest rates may be to increase them.

The privatization of Four Seasons Hotels Inc. narrowly passed a shareholder vote by a margin of less than two percentage points on Thursday.

The recall of contaminated pet food is being expanded to include dog biscuits and more Menu Foods products, the U.

S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.

A commercial featuring Blue Jays slugger Frank Thomas snapping a pillow against a young boy is spurring serious debate among fans and critics alike.

British Columbia has won a second round at Canada's top court in its effort to sue tobacco companies.

The race for the final three playoff spots in the NHL's Eastern Conference is tight but the logjam could loosen up Thursday.

The Calgary Flames shoot for a season-high fifth straight win on the road and a berth in the NHL playoffs Thursday night in San Jose against the unbeaten-in-four Sharks.

The Toronto Blue Jays' road game scheduled for Thursday afternoon against the Detroit Tigers has been postponed because of cold weather.