CLASSICAL MUSICL.A. Chamber Orchestra Revises Plans: Announcing...

CLASSICAL MUSIC

L.A. Chamber Orchestra Revises Plans: Announcing that the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra “faces serious financial problems,” LACO board president Jennifer Diener said Monday that the orchestra’s management and board are restructuring the current season, “and are seeking to develop workout arrangements with creditors.” First action in the plan is postponing two concerts at UCLA and Ambassador Auditorium, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, until “later in the season.” Subscribers and other ticket holders “are being contacted individually as details are being finalized,” Diener said.

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Met Fires Battle: American soprano Kathleen Battle has been fired from the cast of the Metropolitan Opera’s revival of Donizetti’s “La Fille du Regiment,” scheduled to open Monday. According to Met General Manager Joseph Volpe, Battle’s “unprofessional actions during rehearsals were profoundly detrimental. . . . I could not allow the quality of the performance to be jeopardized.” Harolyn Blackwell, already scheduled to sing the role of Marie in two of the performances, will now sing all seven. Battle could not be reached for comment. A Met spokesman said that Battle had been offered several roles in the Met’s 1994-95 season, but “those offers are now withdrawn.”

POP/ROCK

The Pride of Mississippi: Mississippi officials are leading a campaign to have the state’s official song changed to “Roll on Mississippi,” by country singer Charley Pride. The current song, “Go Mississippi,” has been associated with segregation because Gov. Ross Barnett, who used it as his campaign tune in 1959, tried to block integration in the state in 1962, the year the Legislature adopted the song with new, innocuous words. To promote interest in changing the official song, Pride will perform at the Mississippi Capitol today, which Gov. Kirk Fordice has declared Charley Pride Day in the state.

MOVIES

‘Schindler’s List’ Sweeps in Chicago: “Schindler’s List” swept the sixth annual Chicago Film Critics Awards Monday night, winning awards for best picture, screenplay and cinematography, as well as best director for Steven Spielberg and acting awards for Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. In other categories, “The Piano” won best actress honors for Holly Hunter and awards for best foreign film and musical score. In other categories, actress Rosie Perez won best supporting actress for “Fearless” and Leonardo DiCaprio (“This Boy’s Life” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”) and Ashley Judd (“Ruby in Paradise”) were named most promising actor and actress.

STAGE

Close’s Understudy Steps In: Understudy Karen Mason played Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard” Sunday evening--the second Sunday-evening performance in a row that star Glenn Close has missed. A spokesman for the show said that Close’s voice has been especially strained lately at the end of her eight-performance work weeks, but Close is still scheduled to play all performances.

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Fraud Case Stops Musical: A London stage musical about the life of the late press baron Robert Maxwell will not be allowed to open because it might prejudice a forthcoming fraud trial against Maxwell’s sons Kevin and Ian, a British High Court judge ruled Monday. The show, set to open in two weeks, was to feature 14 Gilbert & Sullivan tunes set to new lyrics. . . . Meanwhile, another London musical that had been barred has now been given a reprieve. British stage producer Cameron Mackintosh, who is set to open a London revival of “Oliver!” in November, had stopped a local school from mounting the same show by invoking a law barring schools from performing plays running concurrently in London’s West End. After a groundswell of criticism, the producer has relented and will allow the student production to go on.

QUICK TAKES

For those who just can’t wait to find out who the Oscar nominees are, entertainment reporter Sam Rubin will host “KTLA Morning News: Early Edition” live from the film academy in Beverly Hills on Wednesday. The program will begin half an hour early, at 5:30 a.m., to accommodate the announcement of nominations. . . . Famed opera star Placido Domingo, who conducted a series of choral and orchestral master classes at UCLA last month, has joined the university’s department of music as an adjunct professor. . . . ABC is expected to announce today that it has won the rights to the story of skater Nancy Kerrigan. Steve Tisch will reportedly produce the TV film, and Kerrigan will get a book deal, touring skating show and a network commentary job as part of her reported $500,000 contract with the network. . . . Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has been booked to appear on “The Arsenio Hall Show” Feb. 25.