Of Alps and an Apple
From La Scala, Riccardo Muti’s landmark revival of Rossini’s monumental farewell to opera
Hollywood Confidential
In order to evade racist Hollywood codes and immigration bans, Merle Oberon—the first Asian actress to receive an Oscar nomination—passed as white for almost 50 years
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a new history of the Irish famine, a survey of contemporary architecture, and a portrait of the Edwardian painter John Singer Sargent and his Jewish patrons
Sid Mashburn’s Guide to Atlanta
The menswear designer shares his favorite spots in his home city
Knocking on Wood
An exhibition in London celebrates the timeless art of Japanese carpentry
Joan Didion, Movie Critic
Among the opinions unearthed in her Vogue film columns? She didn’t care for Billy Wilder, had little time for classics such as Casablanca, and was bored by Sidney Lumet
King Charles’s Trump Card
“Sorry, chap, you’ve got to take one for the team”: the monarch announced that he is downgrading Trump’s state visit to a Pizza Express lunch with Prince Andrew
Journey to Italy
Five years ago, a Roman photographer set out on his version of Goethe’s Italian Journey. The results of the tour, which took him from Naples to Ponza to Positano, are collected in a new coffee-table book
Deadly Pleasures to Read and Watch
Books on a female assassin team and a villain in a league of his own, plus the latest season of a hit British spy thriller
“Spermageddon” and the Male-Fertility Crisis
On this week’s podcast, Linda Wells reveals what men need to do to increase their odds of becoming a father
Princes, Palaces, and Pasta
The Leopard, Giuseppe Tomasi’s sensual novel about the 19th-century Italian aristocracy—made into a movie by Luchino Visconti—gets a second reincarnation as a Netflix drama
A Broken Bond
Choosing the new James Bond is no longer in the hands of seasoned 007 casting director Debbie McWilliams but, rather, Amazon’s tech bros. What could go wrong?
The Blind Side
After a devastating childhood acid attack, Joshua Miele turned his pain to purpose by inventing technology for the visually impaired
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a look inside Winston Churchill’s country sanctuary, a poetry collection all about water, and the story of the Soviet botanists trapped in the siege of Leningrad
Alexia Hentsch’s Guide to Rio de Janeiro
The Brazilian fashion designer shares her favorite spots in her adopted city
Once upon a Time in Hollywood
De Niro! Prince! Madonna! From Oscar parties to parking lots, Dafydd Jones’s L.A. photos capture a bygone era
Remembrance of Things Proust
An exhibition in Madrid showcases the art and culture that influenced the 20th-century French writer
Lady and the Little Tramp
Among Charlie Chaplin’s many ill-fated trysts, perhaps his most disastrous was with Joan Barry, a woman 30 years his junior
Annie Hall Before Annie Hall
How Woody Allen and his team turned an unusable first cut into a love story for the ages—and one of the few comedies ever to win the Academy Award for best picture
Delaney Buffett
The daughter of the “Margaritaville” singer honors her late father with her new film, Adult Best Friends
