MORNING REPORT - News from Sept. 5, 2000

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Operalia Finals: Seven Russians, two Americans and two Canadians will compete against one contestant each from Armenia, China, Argentina and Ukraine in tonight’s finals of Placido Domingo’s Operalia 2000: The World Opera Contest, at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Each finalist--selected from an original field of 41 contestants--will sing one aria, accompanied by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Domingo. The American finalists are tenor Bruce Harlan Sledge, 30, of Anaheim, (he’s Los Angeles Opera’s tenor-in-residence this year), and St. Louis-based bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen, 29. Hosted by Maria Conchita Alonso and Rodney Gilfrey, the 7 p.m. finals will be broadcast live on KMZT-FM (105.1).

TV & RADIO

Remembering the City’s Crises: The Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills will kick off its fall seminar schedule on Sept. 20 with “Covering Crisis,” a panel of TV news professionals--including KTLA’s Stan Chambers, KNBC’s Laurel Erickson and KCET’s Warren Olney--discussing challenges each faced in covering memorable L.A. events including earthquakes, civil disturbances and freeway chases. Other events on the TV museum’s fall schedule include a Nov. 8 examination of “Cagney & Lacey” featuring former series stars Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless and producer Barney Rosenzweig; “Los Angeles in the Popular Imagination,” a Sept. 27 panel examining the city’s depiction in various TV shows; and “Showrunners,” an Oct. 4 panel about the writers and producers who oversee TV programming. In addition, several radio-themed panels are scheduled in conjunction with the museum’s first L.A. Radio Festival (Oct. 27-Nov. 3), including a revisit of former rock station KMET-FM (Oct. 30), a conversation with Barret “Dr. Demento” Hansen (Oct. 31), “News Radio in the Information Age” (Nov. 1) and a discussion of radio’s influence on other media. The latter’s panel is scheduled to feature Robert Altman, Ray Bradbury and Norman Corwin (Nov. 3). Tickets are $10 per event.

Illness Puts Series on Hold: Comedian Robert Schimmel’s new Fox comedy, scheduled to debut in November on Fox, has been delayed indefinitely because of the star’s battle with cancer. Schimmel, 49, was diagnosed this spring with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a disease that attacks white blood cells, and he has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments. For now, the show “is a question mark,” according to a Fox spokeswoman, who added that as soon as Schimmel is “up to speed, we’re happy to proceed as planned.” The sitcom--which was set to air on Wednesday nights--is to be loosely based on Schimmel’s experiences as a father.

THEATER

Rosenthal a Living Cultural Treasure: Mayor Richard Riordan will name performance artist Rachel Rosenthal, 72, a “Living Cultural Treasure of Los Angeles” on Wednesday during 9 a.m. ceremonies at the corner of South Robertson Boulevard and Hargis Street. The ceremony will include the dedication of a permanent sign honoring Rosenthal, who in June performed her final solo work, “Ur-Boor,” at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

QUICK TAKES

The large auditorium in UCLA’s Schoenberg Music Building--long informally known as Schoenberg Auditorium--is getting its first official name: Ostin Hall, in honor of DreamWorks record executive Mo Ostin and his wife, Evelyn. The couple have given what UCLA calls a “substantial” gift to the university’s performing arts program. . . . “Inside Edition,” seen locally on KCBS-TV since 1997, switches today to KCAL-TV (where it ran from 1992 to 1997), airing at 3 p.m. . . . Actor Richard Dreyfuss has signed a deal with CBS to develop an upcoming prime-time series. . . . Fox has pushed back the premiere of its planned horror anthology series “Night Visions” to midseason, with “Police Videos” set to instead return to the network’s schedule on Oct. 6. “Police Videos” will air Fridays at 8 p.m., pushing another new Fox series, “Freakylinks,” back to 9 p.m.