News about Giacomo Puccini

With the Arno river flowing below, the Ponte Vecchio in Florence is a medieval crossing famed for its stunning arches and the shops - today mostly occupied by jewellers, art dealers, and souvenir sellers - built along its top. It was the only bridge in Florence that was spared destruction during the Second World War , and is built on the site of an even more ancient Roman bridge. Thousands walk over the 100-foot bridge every day, with the millions of tourists who visit Florence regularly stopping to take selfies. It is little surprise then that the ancient river crossing is in need of some tender loving care, which will be carried out without the city closing the bridge.

Fancy a romantic city break in Tuscany without the tourist hordes? Skip Florence, Siena and Pisa and travel to Lucca, a stunning medieval city that is blissfully quiet in comparison - and only a 30-minute taxi ride from Pisa airport.

PATRICK MARMION: What a poignant and arresting new play they've brought into the National Theatre. The Confessions by London writer and director Alexander Zeldin is a fan of the common woman. It is based on his mother's account of her life, beginning in Australia and ending in London. Alice is portrayed here as an ordinary woman growing up in a post-war suburbia. In London, she flunks university, marries sweet but dull Graham, gets hurt by a professor who teaches art history, and ends up alone in London, where she encounters Jacob, a bashful Holocaust survivor. In certain respects, the everyday epic is a very traditional representation of the postwar period, charting sexual revolution and counter-revolution.

What happens when you put two vocal powerhouses in the same room? They bring the crowd to their feet. Jennifer Hudson and Adam Lambert gave the audience "The Jennifer Hudson Show" an outstanding show on October 19th. After Lambert finished sharing a tale about when he and Queen guitarist Brian May performed an impromptu cover of Giacomo Puccini's classic opera "Turandot"), Hudson suggested that they put their own vocal skills to the test. "Can we do a little bit of it right now?"Hudson asked before Lambert replied, "Yeah, let's do it!" The "American Idol" alumni erupted, displaying remarkable vocal control as they belted out verses in Italian from the decades-old tune, with pianist Michael Orland on piano. "Guardi le stelle / Ce tremano d'amore / E di speranza" / Ma il mio mistero e chiuso in me / Il nome mio nessun saprá!"they sang, which translates to, "Look at the stars / Who tremble with love / And of hope / But my mystery is closed in me / No one will know my name!"