A dictator who knows what he likes in opera
Critics are known to have a dictatorial streak, and why wouldn't they? Those who spend so much of their lives in theaters and concert halls naturally wish to do so in the company of that which suits them. What happens, though, when the power that critics wish for is real? As when a true dictator turns critic? That's the question posed by a singular cultural artifact, the book On the Art of Opera by North Korean dictator Kim Jong II. I'm not making this up.
( 04/12/2003 10:48 AM EDT)

'Platinum' on UPN takes hip-hop culture mainstream
"Godfather" comparisons have been made. Coppolas are involved.
Rap goes prime-time. Filmmaker Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides) was talking to industry friends, telling war stories about working with rappers that she had heard from her husband, Spike Jonze, the Stanley Kubrick of MTV.
( By David Hiltbrand, Inquirer Staff Writer, 04/12/2003 10:48 AM EDT)

The Princess Presley
Please, set aside Elvis, and Priscilla, and Jacko, and Nick: With her first album out, Lisa Marie wants to be known for just the wonder of her.
If heredity equals destiny, Lisa Marie Presley is finally where she belongs. The daughter of the King (and ex-wife of the King of Pop) is in a converted Manhattan rehearsal space, performing before an audience for just the fourth time in her life.
( By Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic, 04/12/2003 10:48 AM EDT)

In this slide show, music's no sideshow
The Trachtenburg family, an unusual rock trio, takes its lighthearted brand of pop seriously.
There's a tense negotiation going on in the van as the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players head for their next stop, a car dealership in Normal, Ill.
( By Tom Moon, Inquirer Music Critic, 04/10/2003 10:36 AM EDT)

Def Leppard transcends fashion
The British hard-rockers soared with their hits, showing that they are more than an '80s relic.
It didn't take much sleuthing at Def Leppard's show on Tuesday to realize it wasn't the big '80s anymore. The British hard-rockers' elaborate in-the-round staging had given way to a traditional end-stage set-up. Singer Joe Elliott was carrying some extra baggage around his middle. And those giant black drapes covering the upper levels of the First Union Spectrum weren't there just to make things more intimate.
( By Patrick Berkery, For The Inquirer, 04/10/2003 10:35 AM EDT)

Newsmakers | Video or no, Madonna getting a forum
She shelved the antiwar video out of respect for the troops and record sales, but that won't stop Madonna from talking about it on an MTV special in which she will also perform songs from her new disc, American Life.
( By Kathy Boccella, Inquirer Staff Writer, 04/10/2003 10:35 AM EDT)

Something old, something new from Orchestra 2001
Apart from everything else, Orchestra 2001 knows how to put together a great program. By Orchestra 2001, of course, I mean James Freeman, its artistic director and conductor with smarts: He continues the group's worthy formula of presenting new works along with anything valuable composed in the last 250 years.
( By Peter Dobrin, Inquirer Music Critic, 04/10/2003 10:35 AM EDT)

Jackson is as sharp as ever
Reunion tours are about reliving a sound that once was. Though that could be thought of as insult, for Joe Jackson and his band at the sold-out Theatre of Living Arts on Tuesday, the sound that once was was the point.
( By A.D. Amorosi, For The Inquirer, 04/10/2003 10:35 AM EDT)

Elvis' daughter does it her way
Releases debut album at 35
FOR MOST of her 35 years, Lisa Marie Presley has been defined by the men in her life. Her famous dead father. Her bizarre second marriage to the controversial and creepy pop icon Michael Jackson. Her even briefer, tempestuous union with actor Nicolas Cage, which began and ended in three months last year.
( By NICOLE WEISENSEE EGAN, weisenn@phillynews.com, 04/09/2003 10:34 AM EDT)