DazeBlog

OperaInterviewDeborah Voigt: 'When I walked onstage, you saw addiction'Ed Pilkington in New YorkOne of the world’s great sopranos, Deborah Voigt was notoriously fired from Covent Garden for being too fat. Now she’s back with a book detailing her struggles with addiction – and her recovery In 1996, when Deborah Voigt was starting to build her international reputation as a dramatic soprano, she was summoned by the revered conductor Sir Georg Solti to audition for the female lead in Wagner’s opera, Tristan und Isolde. [Read More]

OpinionWorld news This article is more than 7 months oldDemanding Taylor Swift dump Matty Healy? Fan culture is out of controlThis article is more than 7 months oldShaad D'SouzaSwift’s legion of fans may not approve of her rumoured new boyfriend, but she deserves to have a life of her own Taylor Swift writes about new love like it’s a daydream: many of her best songs express the feeling with contented sighs and evocations of fairytale enchantment. [Read More]

Improbable researchResearchBoth male and female cats display rolling behaviour, researchers report, usually in the context of matingDomestic cats roll. Oh, they roll and roll and roll – not constantly, but often enough that the behaviour eventually caught the attention of scientists. In 1994, Hilary N Feldman of Cambridge University's Sub-Department of Animal Behaviour, did a formal study of the phenomenon. Feldman's monograph, called Domestic Cats and Passive Submission, appeared in the journal Animal Behaviour. [Read More]

From the Guardian archiveClassical musicReviewFrom the archive, 5 July 1953: The Observer’s Eric Blom finds Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony an ordeal, but applauds the BBC for broadcasting it Chamber music and chamber-orchestral concerts in London are by no means unenterprising nowadays, but our large orchestras find it desperately difficult to hold their heads above water without courting wide popularity by stale and repetitive programmes. One must therefore highly commend the B. [Read More]

Muammar Gaddafi: a life in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi seized power in a military coup in 1969. After rebels finally take his home town of Sirte, the former leader was reported dead by the Libya’s National Transitional Council Main image: Muammar Gaddafi attends a ceremony marking the birth of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed in Tripoli Photograph: Ismail Zitouny/Reuters Thu 20 Oct 2011 09. [Read More]

Word of Mouth blogWhiskyThe world's most expensive whisky: Dalmore 62A bottle of Dalmore 62 scotch whisky has been bought for a new world record of £125,000, but even at that price it looks like a good investmentIt's well known that scotch whisky, as well as being a fine drink, holds increasing allure as an investment, and the value is steadily rising. This fact was brought home with news yesterday that a bottle of whisky has just been bought for £125,000, the highest price ever paid for a standard bottle of scotch. [Read More]

People rest on cots at a waste transfer plant turned shelter in Anchorage, Alaska, on 8 November 2023. Photograph: Emily Mesner/APPeople rest on cots at a waste transfer plant turned shelter in Anchorage, Alaska, on 8 November 2023. Photograph: Emily Mesner/APAlaska This article is more than 2 months oldAnchorage, Alaska, scrambles to house homeless amid record snowfallThis article is more than 2 months oldA record number of people living outdoors in the state’s largest city have died this year, and 3ft of snow has filled shelters to capacity Anchorage scrambled to come up with more temporary housing for the homeless after back-to-back snowstorms dumped more than 3ft of snow on the city in just nine days, an amount that is high even by Alaska standards. [Read More]

Breakfast of championsBreakfastHe’s famous for his physics theory, now try Enstein’s relatively tasty egg breakfast The great theoretical physicist breakfasted on these slightly sweetened fried eggs. It might sound strange at first, but there’s no reason eggs have to be served as a savoury breakfast. The honey and butter give the eggs a golden sheen. Serves one Melt a knob of butter in a wide frying pan. Once fizzing, slide in two really fresh, free-range eggs and fry until almost cooked to your liking. [Read More]

Elizabeth McCord is a smart, strong woman, but with Leoni’s delivery she comes across as a little bit bland and holier-than-thou. Photograph: Craig Blankenhorn/APElizabeth McCord is a smart, strong woman, but with Leoni’s delivery she comes across as a little bit bland and holier-than-thou. Photograph: Craig Blankenhorn/APBrian Moylan's having an episodeUS televisionCBS's Madam Secretary is more than just a 'Hillary Clinton' showTéa Leoni stars as a tough secretary of state in this new drama, but the intrigue needs to pick up or the audience should move on [Read More]

Italy This article is more than 10 months oldItaly’s highest court orders retrial of two Americans convicted of police murderThis article is more than 10 months oldFinnegan Lee Elder, 23, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 22, were found guilty of stabbing plainclothes officer to death in 2019 Italy’s highest court has ordered a retrial for two American citizens convicted in the slaying of an Italian police officer during a sting operation gone wrong. [Read More]