La Scala’s Shining Star
Remembering the Italian ballerina Carla Fracci, Milan’s star dancer who died last month aged 84
Opera Pick of the Week
From Toronto’s Opera Atelier, a Niagara of Baroque images for Handel’s The Resurrection
Short List
Books to read this week, including fresh looks at Norman Jewison and Stephen Hawking, and an enlightened guide to parenting
Floral Tribute
The pioneering photographer Anna Atkins is not nearly as well known as her contemporaries, such as Henry Fox Talbot. Her work reveals photography’s transition from science to art
When Mildred Met Sally
How did American college dropout Mildred Gillars become Axis Sally, the voice behind English-language Nazi propaganda during W.W. II?
The Real Deal
As cultural workers have had their livelihoods crushed by the pandemic, the New Deal’s arts projects are suddenly relevant again
Flowery Verses
Music, like gardens, is often better when you don’t have to do the work yourself. Let Jerry Lee Lewis, Nina Simone, Bobby Vinton, the Wailin’ Jennys, and others do the heavy lifting this spring
The New Books People Are Obsessing Over
Arts and books editor Julia Vitale joins Ashley and Mike to talk about one of their favorite subjects: What are you reading?
Street Cars Named Desire
Citroëns, Corvettes, and a bright-blue Fiat 500 get their due in a new book collecting the coolest classic cars
Why Cruella Is This Year’s Most Stylish Film
Emma Stone and Emma Thompson face off in 1970s London, as punk takes on couture
Opera Pick of the Week
A new production of Aribert Reimann’s Lear premieres at the Bavarian State Opera
Hopping Around
Coming of age in the Roaring Twenties, the heirs to the Guinness-beer fortune favored dance and drink over careers and philanthropy
Background Check
The story of Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s greatest detective, goes well beyond Christie’s own
Odes to the Office
Dying to return to your place of work? (Or are you back in the office and doing your dying there?) Herewith, a collection of songs that will make you feel better in either case
