ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

THE ARTS

Barenboim Responds

Conductor Daniel Barenboim, who stirred debate in Israel last month by playing a surprise encore of Richard Wagner’s music at a festival, says he still wants to direct again in his home country.

The July 7 performance at the Israel Festival prompted an Israeli parliamentary committee to urge a boycott against Barenboim, a Jew who was born in Argentina but grew up in Israel. Wagner was Adolf Hitler’s favorite composer, and there has been an informal boycott of the composer’s music in Israel since the war.

In an interview in Germany’s Bunte magazine, Barenboim, who leads the Berlin Staatskapelle orchestra and also is music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, said he wouldn’t force Holocaust survivors to listen to the music against their will. “But they can’t forbid Wagner for others that have no problem with it,” he said.

Making Wagner’s music taboo, he maintains, would grant a posthumous victory to Hitler.

POP/ROCK

Estefan, Costello ... and More

Latin music mogul Emilio Estefan has filed a countersuit against his former protege, Grammy Award-winning songwriter Kike Santander, who sued him for breach of contract last month. Estefan, husband of singer Gloria Estefan, contends that he--not Santander--is the one owed royalties. He also accused Santander of stealing other writers’ songs .... “UCLA Live” has added a second show featuring Elvis Costello and the Charles Mingus Orchestra. In addition to a sold-out concert at Royce Hall on Sept. 28, they will play at 8 the night before. Tickets go on sale Aug. 30.... The Dixie Chicks, Nelly Furtado, Emmylou Harris, India Arie, Mary J. Blige and others will play at the second “Women Rock! Girls & Guitars” concert, to be seen on the Lifetime cable channel Oct. 26 as part of the channel’s breast cancer awareness programming....On a similar note, tickets will go on sale Aug. 25 for a breast cancer benefit at the Greek Theatre featuring Third Eye Blind, Sugar Ray, Liz Phair, Run-DMC and Deftones, among others.

LEGAL BRIEFS

Actor Berkoff Facing Rape Claim

Veteran British actor-playwright Steven Berkoff, who appeared in the blockbuster “Beverly Hills Cop” and has written plays such as “Kvetch,” may face civil trial for rape. A judge at the Central London County Court ruled Wednesday that the plaintiff’s claim could not be dismissed as invalid and that Berkoff should defend himself in a civil trial.

The alleged victim, who was not identified for legal reasons, is claiming damages for “assault and rape, including pain and suffering and loss of income and out-of-pocket expenses.”

Berkoff, 64, denies the allegation. His lawyers have 28 days to apply for an appeal or submit a defense against the claim, which dates from 1994.

Los Angeles audiences last saw Berkoff live in “Shakespeare’s Villains,” a one-man show at the Odyssey Theatre in 1999.

C-Murder Wanted in Attempted Murder

Louisiana police have a warrant for the arrest of rapper C-Murder, brother of hip-hop mogul Master P, for allegedly shooting at two men at a Baton Rouge nightclub.

The rapper, whose real name is Corey Miller, is wanted on two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of illegal use of a weapon, Baton Rouge police spokesman Cpl. Don Kelly said.

Miller allegedly fired a handgun at the men--the nightclub guard and owner--when they demanded that he be searched before entering Club Raggs around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday.

The rapper pulled out a gun and tried to shoot the owner in the back, Kelly said, adding that when the gun repeatedly malfunctioned, Miller drove off in a sports-utility vehicle.

Miller is the youngest brother of New Orleans rapper Percy Miller, known as Master P, founder of No Limit Records--a film company, sports agent business and clothing line.

Hatch Gets Victory and Setback in Court

Richard Hatch, who gained national celebrity after winning $1 million on CBS’ “Survivor” last year, has been given the go-ahead to pursue a privacy complaint against police in Middletown, R.I.

U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres ruled in Providence, R.I., Thursday that Hatch’s case could proceed to trial.

Hatch contends that his privacy was violated when authorities released a statement by his son--as well as a mugshot of the child--to the National Enquirer. They had arrested Hatch on child abuse charges, which were later dropped.

Torres, however, shot down Hatch’s contention that he was improperly incarcerated because police failed to discuss the charges with him.

Police had enough evidence to make the arrest, he said. The judge also dismissed Hatch’s claim that police improperly released an arrest report to the media.

QUICK TAKES

Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Esa-Pekka Salonen will conduct Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat” at La Jolla SummerFest 2002 on Aug. 10 next year. It will be the conductor’s first appearance at that music festival.... French film star Jean-Paul Belmondo, 68, has been taken out of intensive care at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paris after suffering a stroke last week. It is not known when he will be released.