The Arts

THE ARTS

Domingo Interrupts Performance at La Scala

Placido Domingo, artistic director of Los Angeles Opera, was singing at La Scala Opera House in Milan on Tuesday night when he walked offstage because his blood pressure soared during a performance of Verdi’s “Otello”--regarded as one of the tougher assignments for the tenor voice in the opera world.

“Sorry, I can’t go on,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported Domingo announcing to the audience during the second act.

Conductor Riccardo Muti scrambled after Domingo, returning 10 minutes later to calm the unsettled crowd, which had paid steep prices for the last eight performances before the theater was to close for a three-year renovation.

Domingo, 60, did soldier on, and the program ended at 12:40 a.m.--45 minutes later than scheduled. Though his performance in the third act was relatively subdued, the beleaguered superstar drew a 10-minute ovation after the curtain came down.

At a Wednesday press conference, called to introduce Deutsche Grammophon’s new four-CD boxed set of Verdi’s tenor arias, Domingo downplayed the incident, blaming it on “the emotions that accumulated during the last opening night and saying goodbye to the theater.”

Domingo’s spokeswoman Nancy Seltzer said Friday that the singer was checked out by his doctor in Italy and is doing fine.

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African American Museum Gets Boost

A proposal to create a national museum to recognize contributions of African Americans has gained momentum as the House of Representatives passed a bill to begin planning for the Washington, D.C., monument--a move for which black lawmakers have lobbied.

The measure, passed by voice vote, creates a 23-person commission to draw up a blueprint for a National Museum of African-American History and Culture. A report is to be delivered within nine months.

The Senate has yet to take up the bill.

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Art Critic Hughes to Head Venice Biennale

Robert Hughes, longtime art critic for Time magazine, has been asked to be the artistic director of the 2003 Venice Biennale. He’ll replace Harald Szeeman, who has twice headed up the event, which surveys the last two years in art throughout the globe.

The selection was a surprise on a couple of counts. The colorful Aussie isn’t known as a fan of the most recent contemporary fare. And the job is generally handed to a curator rather than a critic.

“Never in my 40 years as an art critic have I curated a show,” Hughes told the New York Times.

Though he won’t have anything to do with the pavilions organized by individual nations, Hughes will oversee the large international exhibit in the Arsenale, an old Venetian shipyard.

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Wagnerian Battle Appears to Be Over

The long, bitter battle for control of Germany’s Bayreuth Festival seems to have been won by Wolfgang Wagner, the 82-year-old grandson of composer Richard Wagner, whose operas make up the repertory of the annual summer event.

Wagner announced that he had appointed Klaus Schultz, one of his supporters and confidantes, as his artistic advisor starting in January. When he retires, he said, Schultz will serve as interim director until the situation is worked out to everyone’s satisfaction.

The appointment appears to be acceptable to Bavaria’s arts minister, who was drawn into a squabble with Wagner over his refusal to step down. Wagner rejected previous successors, including his daughter and niece, suggested by the board of the Richard Wagner Foundation.

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THEATER

El Portal Center Reorganization Planned

El Portal Center for the Arts has a debt of more than $1 million, but officials of the theater complex in North Hollywood are planning a reorganization that they hope will lower it.

Under the plan, the company will be split into three nonprofits--one for the facility, one for the main-stage programming and one for productions at the 99-seat Circle Theatre. That way, officials hope, donors reluctant to plow money into repaying debts for the institution could opt to support the creative end of the operation.

If the plan is adopted, said board President Michael Sellers, it is expected that as much as $700,000 can be raised. Rent from the invigorated theaters, as well as from a new restaurant, he adds, will also help the bottom line.

The previously announced 2002 seasons are still on, Sellers said, although the first main-stage show, “Vamps,” may be postponed.

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TELEVISION

‘ER’ Scores as La Salle Checks Out

Eriq La Salle’s final appearance as Dr. Benton on “ER” Thursday yielded the program’s largest audience since May and easily held off a challenge from an original episode of CBS’ “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

Ratings show that the medical series averaged 28.9 million viewers, compared with 17.5 million watching “CSI.” The disparity was even wider among the young adults most sought by advertisers.

Nevertheless, the second-year CBS series did exhibit its ratings power, delivering the largest audience for any drama versus “ER” since its premiere season in 1994.

Speculation has been brewing that CBS might use “CSI” to challenge “ER,” though Thursday’s stunt was undertaken primarily to showcase the finale of the unscripted series “The Amazing Race” by sandwiching it between “CSI” and “Survivor.” “Race” drew 13.7 million viewers, the show’s highest rating in its 13-week run. A second edition is planned for next year.

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James Bond to Challenge the Olympics

ABC will begin running James Bond movies Saturday nights starting Jan. 26--in part as counterprogramming to the Olympics on NBC. It will rename the franchise “The Bond Picture Show.”

The first in the lineup will be “Dr. No,” followed by “From Russia With Love,” “Goldfinger,” “Thunderball” and “You Only Live Twice”--all starring Sean Connery.

The network controlled rights to the films for years before allowing them to lapse and go to cable network TBS. It has since reacquired them from MGM.

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MOVIES

Ailing Director Cancels Appearance at Tribute

Lasse Hallstrom (“The Cider House Rules”), who was hospitalized with heart palpitations during the first week of this month, canceled his appearance at a three-day tribute to his work at the American Cinematheque. During the event, he was to have participated in Q&A; sessions Thursday, Friday and tonight.

“We’re happy to report that he’s feeling better,” Matthew Hiltzik, a spokesman for Miramax Films, which is distributing Hallstrom’s “The Shipping News,” said Friday.

The movie, based on Annie Proulx’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, opens on Christmas Day.

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QUICK TAKES

Attorney Gloria Allred filed a complaint Thursday with the city of Los Angeles over the accuracy of George Harrison’s death certificate, which lists a nonexistent address as the place of his death.... Actress Ashley Judd married racing driver Dario Franchitti in Scotland on Wednesday.... Ethan Stiefel, one of the stars of American Ballet Theatre, is injured and will not be dancing in the company’s performances of “The Nutcracker” at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. In his place will be Carlos Molina, not previously scheduled for the L.A. run.

Elaine Dutka