Dec 15th, 2008 · The FBI used to treat cases of art theft just like any other case involving stolen property. But today a team of special agents at the FBI is devoted to tracking down priceless cultural artifacts. Dina Temple-Raston explores the world of real-life art heists.
Dec 12th, 2008 · Giuseppe Verdi finished his masterpiece Otello at age 73, after a 12-year hiatus, basing the opera on the great tragedy by Shakespeare. Tenor Johan Botha and soprano Nuccia Focile star in a production from Cologne.
Dec 4th, 2008 · In Monteverdi's masterpiece, the most noble and virtuous characters wind up dead or deported, while the lustful and villainous are rewarded with wealth, power and passion.
Nov 7th, 2008 · Verdi's tightly wound masterpiece swirls heartfelt sentiment together with appalling violence and genuine tragedy, along with some of the most familiar tunes he ever composed. From the Washington National Opera.
Oct 10th, 2008 · Four years after reviving and releasing his abandoned masterpiece, Smile, Wilson is back with a new album, That Lucky Old Sun. Between performances of songs from the new disc, the former Beach Boys singer shares what it was like to return to his old recording home at Capitol Records.
Oct 3rd, 2008 · It's not often you hear the word "masterpiece" coming from a film critic. But David Edelstein says it applies to Jonathan Demme's newest film, a marvelously textured thing at once focused and bursting at the seams.
Sep 19th, 2008 · The 12 short stories that make up Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics mix scientific erudition and wild fantasy to tell a wonderfully unique story of creation. Salman Rushdie calls it "possibly the most enjoyable story collection ever written."
Sep 16th, 2008 · Record collectors entranced by the otherworldly sounds of Ethiopian funk and jazz of the 1960s and 70s had only rare 45s to slake their thirst until the Ethiopiques series of albums hit US shores in the late 90s. Those albums feature some of the best music to come out of the scene, but still more albums await re-release.