Steven Goldstein’s connection to Israel predates his now-renowned acting and operatic career. [...] But now, amid an ongoing push by supporters of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to pressure artists to avoid Israel, Goldstein hopes to use his talents and experience to combat these efforts.  

For centuries, opera has been a tool of power, a spectacle developed and organized by influential Western nations and the elites within them. Using opera to understand the connections between cultures and to experiment with what can bridge them is no longer merely an aesthetic possibility; it’s a moral necessity.

Cultural exchanges will help China and Colombia grow closer together, said Chinese Ambassador to Colombia Li Nianping Friday after the first performance of the Jilin Song and Dance Ensemble here [...] As two countries are celebrate 36 years of their diplomatic relations next month, there will be an increase in cultural programs and trade missions, Li said, adding that more Colombians are welcome to China for a visit.

About halfway through this five-act extravaganza there’s a tableau of a theatre audience: bejeweled matrons in brocade gowns [...] creaky mandarins in quilted robes. Just the sort of throng that might have greeted the house-counting eyes of a 1920’s Peking Opera actor onstage. [...] The Chinese government spent a lot of pre-devaluation RMB to buy this crowd.

Mao Zedong was said to have been moved to tears when he watched an early performance of "The White-Haired Girl," an opera created to meet his call for rousing revolutionary art. And under President Xi Jinping, a revival is on the road, reinvented once more to appeal to a Communist Party leader's stringently ideological tastes.

Opera, therefore, is one of Italy's key avenues of soft power. It has spread around the world, and leading singers come from everywhere, great performances are sung from New York to Beijing. But opera's soul is still in Italy.

The Royal Opera House Muscat has completed a successful inaugural year, featuring top operas and concerts and local Omani cultural events as well. The one-year old Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM), continues to wow audiences with an impressive line-up of performances.

Jejomar Binay called for more opera diplomacy to improve and sustain friendly ties between the Philippines and Italy...."What we cannot achieve through the usual channels, I think opera might be a more viable and musical alternative," added Binay