Britain’s Great Musical Renaissance Of The ’00s

As the decade began, observes Tom Service, Covent Garden was just emerging from chaos, ENO was heading into it (in spades), and Scottish Opera was on its way to a near-collapse in 2004 and ’05. Now all of the nation’s opera companies are “in rude health.” And the UK’s major orchestras have attracted and kept some serious conducting talent, with impressive results.

Jeremiah: Prophet Or Poet?

“To countless generations of Bible readers, Jeremiah has been a prophet – indeed, the Hebrew prophet par excellence, his very name a synonym for warning, chastising, and exhorting. To [David] Rosenberg, however, the person (or people) who wrote this book is primarily a poet, whose ‘main form is the prophet’s oracle’ – much as we might say that Shakespeare’s main form was the sonnet.”

Is This The Box Office Year Of The Woman?

“Recent hits like [Meryl] Streep’s ‘Julie & Julia,’ along with [Katherine] Heigl’s ‘The Ugly Truth’ and [Sandra] Bullock’s ‘The Proposal,’ … show that when it comes to star-driven films, female actresses have consistently outperformed their male counterparts. They also tend to cost less to produce and market, meaning a bigger profit margin for studios.”