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41、Michael Richards' Mea Culpa Mediation by Gina Serpe
Fri Dec 1, 11:56 AM ET



Los Angeles (E! Online) - Cosmo may no longer be on the rocks.

    Michael Richards has agreed to meet with the African-American comedy club patrons whose heckling triggered the racist rant heard round the world.

The former Seinfeld star will meet with the four men before a retired judge to extend a personal apology for his behavior and potentially offer to ease their outrage by forking over punitive damages.

"Michael Richards would like to apologize in person to the gentleman with whom he had the exchange in the club," read a joint statement from Richards and the camera-ready lawyer Gloria Allred.

"After discussions with Gloria Allred, an attorney who represents the man and three others who were with him that night, Michael has agreed that they will all meet in the presence of a retired judge, who will facilitate the meeting and help the parties resolve this matter.

"All concerned are hopeful that a face-to-face meeting will be constructive and begin the necessary process of healing and closure."

While there was no official word on when, where or which ex-judge would oversee the tête-à-tête, Allred told reporters it would likely take place in early January.

"He's really happy that he has a chance to do this," said Chris Giglio, a representative for Richards. "I imagine it would be sooner, rather than later."

The 57-year-old comic actor has been on a tour of contrition since his N-word-spewing tirade at Hollywood's Laugh Factory Nov. 17, offering a widely lampooned apology on the Late Show with David Letterman and attempting to persuade Reverends     Jesse Jackson and     Al Sharpton that he's not a racist. The targets of his reputation-killing rant have also been making the rounds.

Kyle Doss and Frank McBride, the two men who triggered Richards' now-infamous invective, held a press conference Friday at the Laugh Factory, where Doss claimed to be "very hurt by what happened" and said he's eager to tell the former sitcom star "how his words made us feel."

Last week, the men, who have agreed to abide by whatever recommendation the judge makes, also appeared on the Today show to tell their side of the story.

Doss and McBride said they were at the comedy club with two friends to celebrate a birthday. They acknowledged that their talking likely disrupted Richards' act but maintained that his explosive response was completely out of line.

On that, Richards seems to agree.

Not once on his cross-country apology tour has the onetime sitcom star defended his actions.

While appearing on the Late Show at the behest of     Jerry Seinfeld, Richards claimed that he was "really busted up" over the incident and chalked it up to his simply losing his temper, not to his being a racist.

"I'm not a racist, that's what so insane about this," he said. "And yet, it's said, it comes through―it fires out of me."

On Jackson's nationally syndicated radio show, Keep Hope Alive, Richards said he was seeking help to deal with his anger-management issues and painted himself as a one-man     United Nations, claiming some of his "best friends were African Americans." Despite the appearance, Jackson called for a boycott of the just-released Seinfeld season seven DVD.

Not that it has had much of an effect.

What started out looking like horrendously poor timing may end up proving to be a stroke of marketing luck. Seemingly boosted by Richards' sudden infamy after just one week, the DVD Empire Website reported that sales of the new Seinfeld box set are up more than 75 percent from season six and 90 percent from season five.

42、Morgan Freeman releases new movie on Web By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer
Fri Dec 1, 4:50 AM ET



NEW YORK - Just two weeks after "10 Items or Less" opens in theaters Friday, it'll be available for digital download from Clickstar, a company that     Morgan Freeman's production company and Intel have founded to bring small movies to those who live far from boutique cinemas.

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What's Freeman doing rethinking Hollywood's business models?

"I'm just a firm believer that things continue to grow, get better," the 69-year-old actor says in his deep, distinctive voice.

Freeman seems more full of life ― both on-screen and off ― than ever.

At his home in Clarksdale, Miss., where he lives with his wife of 12 years, he's an avid pilot, sailor and owns a blues club and a restaurant.

He has more than a half-dozen films either finished or in preproduction. Freeman's esteemed career ― which has spanned "Driving Miss Daisy, "Glory," "The Shawshank Redemption," "Se7en" and last year's "March of the Penguins" ― shows no signs of slowing down.

Moviegoers are accustomed to seeing Freeman's weary eyes exude gravitas and dignity in films ― a kind of pigeonholing Freeman has long yearned to break free of. In "10 Items or Less," he's a clearly lighter presence.

The film, directed by Brad Silberling, is a short, independent movie about independent movies. Freeman's character is an actor who has been out of the movie biz for four years who's considering signing onto "a little independent thing."

He researches the prospective part by observing a grocery store checkout girl (     Paz Vega). The two quickly forge a friendship and spend a pivotal day together.

While "10 Items or Less" ― a modest film of 82 minutes, shot in 15 days ― is best viewed on the big screen (like all movies), its smallness makes a computer screen a reasonable viewing station. Perhaps more importantly, it's not a film that will play at most multiplexes or in rural areas.

It's a familiar problem to Freeman.

"Where I live, in my town, there's no movie house," he says. "There are many, many, many, many people who don't have access."

Freeman and his production partner, Lori McCreary, founded Revelations Entertainment in 1996 ― three years after Freeman's lone directing effort, "Bopha!"

"I want to have control over making films. I really do," says Freeman.

After     Napster and online downloading changed the music industry, Freeman and McCreary began considering how Hollywood could head off similar problems ― discussions that Intel eventually joined.

"And we came up with the idea of distributing movies via the Internet on a stable platform, on something that you can control," Freeman says.

The idea isn't new; Movielink.com, for one, offers movies digitally for purchase and rental (with a viewing period of 24 hours). What makes Clickstar unique is that it's offering first-run movies.

"10 Items or Less" will have a two-week window of a purely theatrical release, then will be available from ClickstarInc.com on Dec. 15. Freeman says its next first-run digital release will be "Lonely Hearts" (starring     John Travolta and     James Gandolfini) in the spring.

Other filmmakers have begun to re-examine how they release their films. Last year,     Steven Soderbergh released the indie "Bubble" across three platforms over just five days: in theaters, on the high-definition cable channel HDNet and on DVD.

Freeman, however, thinks the risk of piracy with DVDs is too great (especially in foreign countries) and that coded downloads present a safer avenue for distribution. It also helps level the playing field between independent productions and the studios.

"You can come up with money sometimes to make a film, but you can't distribute it because it costs a lot to get prints and advertising," Freeman says.

The obvious fear is that digital downloads made available so close to the theatrical release could cannibalize the box office.

Silberling, whose credits include wide-release films such as "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" and "Moonlight Mile," thinks the Internet simply presents another audience to penetrate.

"I don't think broadband is going to shift viewing patterns," the director says. "I think hopefully people who otherwise wouldn't have seen it might now. People who like to go to that theater and get popcorn will go."

Both Freeman and Silberling think Hollywood doomsayers will be proven wrong on Internet distribution in the same way that fears of TV, the VHS and DVDs all (to a certain extent) turned out to be exaggerated. They believe digital downloads present the future of home entertainment and expect it to spread prominently within a few years.

But concerns about the unknown don't bother Freeman much. He recently took up golf, and to hear him speak about it, he might just as well be discussing Clickstar.

"I'm enjoying the attempt," he says with a laugh. "I'm trying to master a new discipline, which I guess is something we should all do, anyway."

___

On the Net:

http://www.clickstarinc.com/

43、Nick Lachey Plays Ball by Gina Serpe
Thu Nov 30, 10:18 AM ET



Los Angeles (E! Online) -     Nick Lachey is stepping up to the plate.

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The sports-lovin' "What's Left of Me" singer has become a part-owner of the Tacoma Rainiers, a minor league affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

Lachey announced his one-third baseball takeover at a press conference held at the Triple-A team's Washington state home field Wednesday.

"When I was given the opportunity to purchase the Rainiers, I jumped on it," Lachey said, adding that his new position as sports exec is not just the vanity project of a star with too much disposable income, but something he plans to devote much of his time and―more importantly, to his fellow co-owners―promotional efforts to.

First order of business: revamping the lineup.

"In the best interest of the team, I'm going to be the designated hitter next year," Lachey joked. "Sports, other than what I do for a living, is truly my passion, and baseball has always been a part of my life.

"I have every intention of playing an active ownership role in the Rainiers as we continue to grow."

An active role that Lachey's Dallas-based Schlegel Sports colleagues hope will raise the farm team's attendance, not to mention profile, slightly more in accordance with the pop star's.

"Seeing the guy in a Rainiers uniform in People magazine can't hurt," the team's general manager,     Dave Lewis, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Neither can reading about the team in People magazine.

"Clearly, I'm not going to be playing for anybody in my lifetime, so to be involved on the ownership level is the next best thing," the Newlywed-no-more told the glossy.

"It had always been a dream of mine to be involved in team sports in general, especially on a local level in your hometown."

As it is, Lachey had to settle for someone else's hometown.

Two years ago, Vanessa Minnillo's current squeeze made an ill-fated play to become a part-owner of his own hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds.

Unfortunately for Lachey, art has failed to imitate his sports-minded life.

Last spring, the former boy-bander signed a deal with the now-defunct WB to star as a just-married baseball player in a sitcom, only to see the show get passed over by the CW.

There's no word on how much Lachey forked over for his piece of the ballgame glory, though shelling out for sports teams doesn't seem to be a hang-up for the solo artist.

In August, Lachey teamed up with Jamie-Lynn Sigler's ex-hubby, A.J. Discala, NBA vet John Salley and 7th Heaven stud Geoff Stults, among others, to found the Hollywood Fame, the newest team to join the American Basketball Association. The team kicked off its inaugural season earlier this month.

44、Nickelback, Blige Bag Billboard Nods by Josh Grossberg
Wed Nov 29, 9:51 AM ET



Los Angeles (E! Online) - Nickelback has all the right reasons to be among the top contenders for the 2006 Billboard Music Awards―namely, the Canadian rock outfit outsold virtually everyone else.

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The band tied with Mary J. Blige, T.I. and Rascal Flatts as finalists in a leading five categories for the awards show that rewards commercial over critical success.

Powered by the monster hit release All the Right Reasons, Nickelback scored nods for Artist of the Year and Duo/Group of the Year (both of which also include Rascal Flatts), as well as Album of the Year, Rock Album of the Year and Rock Artist of the Year.

Chris Brown rounds out the race for Artist of the Year. The R&B newcomer is also up for Male Artist of the Year and New Artist of the Year.

Nickelback's competition for Album of the Year category is Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts (the former American Idol champ is contending in four categories, including Country Artist of the Year) and the Disney Channel-spawned smash High School Musical soundtrack.

Rascal Flatts is also up for Country Artist, Country Duo/Group and Country Album.

On the strength of The Breakthrough, Blige bagged nods for Female Artist of the Year (opposite Underwood and Beyoncé Knowles), R&B/Hip-Hop Artist (against T.I. and     Jamie Foxx), Female R&B/Hip-Hop Artist, R&B/Hip-Hop Album and R&B/Hip-Hop Single for "Be Without You."

T.I.'s King qualified for R&B/Hip-Hop Album and Rap Album, and the rapper is also up for Male/R&B Hip-Hop Artist and Rap Artist.

The BMAs will be cohosted by     Britney Spears and her current partner in crime on the party scene,     Paris Hilton.

This year's festivities, to be held live from Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena next Monday on Fox, is slated to feature such performers as Blige, the Killers,     Janet Jackson, Fergie, Ludacris, Gwen Stafani, the Fray, Pharrell and Young Jeezy.

    Tony Bennett will be feted with the Century Award, which pays tribute to the storied career of a classic artist. Past recipients include     Tom Petty,     Annie Lennox,     James Taylor,     Emmylou Harris and George Harrison.

Because the prizes are based on the "record-buying, Internet-downloading and radio-listening public's favorite songs, albums and performers" as determined by Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, there aren't nominees "competing" in the traditional sense. Instead, finalists and winners are determined by the trade magazine's Dec. 23 "Year in Music" issue, tracking sales from December 2005 through November 2006.

Here's a complete list of the finalists:

Artist of the Year: Chris Brown, Nickelback, Rascal FlattsMale Artist of the Year: Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Sean PaulFemale Artist of the Year: Beyoncé,     Mary J. Blige, RihannaDuo/Group of the Year: Nickelback, The Pussycat Dolls, Rascal FlattsNew Artist of the Year: Chris Brown, The Fray, Ne-YoAlbum of the Year: All the Right Reasons, Nickelback; High School Musical soundtrack; Some Hearts, Carrie UnderwoodHot 100 Single of the Year: "Bad Day," Daniel Powter; "Promiscuous,"     Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland; "Temperature," Sean PaulPop Single of the Year: "Hips Don't Lie," Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean; "Promiscuous," Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland; "Temperature," Sean PaulSoundtrack Album of the Year: Get Rich or Die Tryin'; High School Musical; Walk the LineR&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year: Mary J. Blige, Jamie Foxx, T.I.Male R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year: Jamie Foxx, Ne-Yo, T.I.Female R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year: Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Mariah CareyDuo/Group R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year: Dem Franchize Boyz, The Isley Brother, Three 6 MafiaR&B/Hip-Hop Album of the Year: The Breakthrough, Mary J. Blige; King, T.I.; Unpredictable, Jamie FoxxR&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year: "Be Without You," Mary J. Blige; "So Sick," Ne-Yo; "Unpredictable," Jamie Foxx featuring LudacrisRap Artist of the Year: Sean Paul, T.I., Yung JocRap Album of the Year: Tha Carter, Vol. 2, Lil Wayne; Curtain Call: The Hits, Eminem; King, T.I.Rap Single of the Year: "It's Goin' Down," Yung Joc; "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It," Dem Franchize Boyz featuring Lil Peanut & Charlay; "Snap Yo Fingers," Lil Jon featuring E-40 & Sean Paul of the YoungBloodzCountry Artist of the Year:     Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Carrie UnderwoodMale Country Artist of the Year: Kenny Chesney,     Toby Keith, Tim McGrawFemale Country Artist of the Year:     Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Gretchen WilsonDuo/Group Country Artist of the Year: Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts, SugarlandCountry Album of the Year: Me and My Gang, Rascal Flatts; Some Hearts, Carrie Underwood; The Road and the Radio, Kenny ChesneyCountry Single of the Year: "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)," Rodney Atkins; "Summertime," Kenny Chesney; "The World," Brad PaisleyModern Rock Artist of the Year: AFI, Red Hot Chili Peppers, ShinedownModern Rock Single of the Year: "Animal I Have Become," Three Days Grace; "Dani California," Red Hot Chili Peppers; "The Kill (Bury Me)," 30 Seconds to MarsRock Artist of the Year: Disturbed, Nickelback, ShinedownRock Single of the Year: "Animal I Have Become," Three Days Grace; "Dani California," Red Hot Chili Peppers; "Speak," GodsmackRock Album of the Year: All the Right Reasons, Nickelback; Back to Bedlam, James Blunt; Stadium Arcadium, Red Hot Chili Peppers

45、Nicole Kidman Commands Top Dollar by Natalie Finn
Thu Nov 30, 2:29 AM ET



Los Angeles (E! Online) -     Nicole Kidman is sitting pretty.

The $16 million-$17 million that the Aussie actress commands per film has landed her atop the Hollywood Reporter's fifth annual list of the 10 highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, announced Wednesday.

Kidman, who can currently be seen playing photographer Diane Arbus in the largely fictional biopic Fur, commanded a career-best salary from Warner Bros. to play a Washington psychiatrist whose son is the key to stopping an alien epidemic in the upcoming sci-fi drama The Invasion, due out in August.

An Oscar winner for The Hours, Kidman is a veteran of productions big (Cold Mountain) and small (Dogville), and reviews both glowing (To Die For) and stomach-churning (Bewitched). Through it all, she has maintained a consistently heavy workload and was never in danger of not making the trade mag's list since its inception in 2002.

Perhaps Kidman finally found the top spot, however, because the perennial number one has been more or less out of commission this year.

    Julia Roberts, who has been raking in $20 million per film since Erin Brockovich in 2000, fell out of the top 10, having taken time off to be a hands-on mom to twins Phinnaeus and Hazel, her twins with hubby Danny Moder.

Check out the rankings at this same time next year, though, and the tables may have turned back in Roberts' direction. The Academy Award winner, whose only big-screen work this year was in animated films, is shooting Charlie Wilson's War with     Tom Hanks and has signed on to star in The Friday Night Knitting Club.

Joining Kidman in the top five in 2006, however, are fellow Oscar winners     Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) and Renée Zellweger (Cold Mountain),     Drew Barrymore and     Cameron Diaz, all of whom have taken $15 million paychecks to the bank.

Diaz is another former $20 million woman, but considering this year was both Shrek-less and sans Charlie's Angels, the four-time Golden Globe nominee had to settle for $15 million and a tie for second place. Next year, Princess Fiona and her presumably royal salary are back in Shrek the Third.

Making her grand debut at number eight this year is Marie Antoinette, aka     Kirsten Dunst, who at 24 years of age is making $8 million-$10 million a film.

Rounding out the top 10 are     Halle Berry ($14 million),     Charlize Theron ($10 million),     Angelina Jolie ($10 million) and     Jennifer Aniston ($8 million).

46、Obama jokes about presidential run on TV Sat Dec 2, 4:15 AM ET



BURBANK, Calif. - Gov.     Arnold Schwarzenegger first announced his candidacy on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." Might Barack Obama, who is considering a run for president, do the same?

"This is a great place. Everybody who has announced here has been successful," Leno hinted to Obama, who appeared on Friday's show.

"This is true, but I have to say that I've already committed to the Food Network to announce," Obama quipped before offering his standard answer to a question that follows him everywhere he goes.

"I think that if I'm going to run, then I've got to dive in early next year, and I've got a little bit of time," Obama said.

When Leno asked whether he would consider running for vice president, Obama said: "You don't run for vice president. So I don't think about it as much."

Earlier Friday, Obama gave a speech about fighting     AIDS at the Saddleback Church in Orange County. His visit was a source of dispute among evangelical leaders, with some of the most conservative saying that a politician who supports abortion rights should not have been allowed to speak at such a prominent church.

"Everybody was reporting on me going to this church," Obama told Leno. "It was like, a Democrat in church!"

47、Pam Wants to Keep Divorce Clean for the Kids by Natalie Finn
Wed Nov 29, 11:54 AM ET



Los Angeles (E! Online) - No matter what led them to end their four-month marriage last weekend,     Pamela Anderson wants her public to know that she doesn't want any mudslinging to sully her and Kid Rock's divorce proceedings.  

"I'm very concerned with the press on mine and Bob's divorce," the former Baywatch babe said via her Website Tuesday. "I know I have people who want to defend me or people who want to defend Bob, but my children can read―and I'd like to resolve this amicably―not fueling fires―and with dignity.

"Kids don't know the difference between fact and tabloid―does anybody?"

Anderson has two sons, Brandon, 10, and Dylan, 8, with ex-hubby     Tommy Lee, while Rock (whose real name is Robert Ritchie) has a 13-year-old son, Robert Jr., from a previous relationship.

"Truth is, Bob is great in many ways―we just don't belong together," Anderson wrote. "We mutually agree. I love my children, he loves his son…we both have wonderful family and friends as support going thru this time."

They so mutually agree that they filed dual divorce petitions Monday, with Rock's papers getting stamped first thing in the morning, 53 minutes before his wife requested an official split. Anderson's filing cited Nov. 21 as the day the two parted ways, while Rock dubbed Nov. 26 breakup day.

In the spirit of "till death do us part," Anderson and Rock went international this summer, swapping vows July 29 aboard a yacht in Saint-Tropez (just weeks after announcing they had hooked up again after several years apart), and then returning to the States to make things legal in a civil ceremony at the Beverly Hills courthouse. They then held a third celebration at a honky-tonk lounge in Nashville.

The duo first met in 2001, were engaged by 2002 and split up (for the first time) in 2003.

Anderson, whom you can currently catch on the big screen as the object of Borat's affections, recently returned to Los Angeles from Vancouver, where she was filming the comedy Blonde and Blonder with     Denise Richards.

48、Paris Barred from Rival's Records by Sarah Hall
Fri Dec 1, 9:47 AM ET



Los Angeles (E! Online) - Even     Paris Hilton can't always get what she wants.

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A California appeals court has overturned a lower court's ruling in favor of the Simple Life star's request to investigate diamond heiress Zeta Graff's psychiatric records in preparation for Graff's $10 million defamation suit against the celebutante.

Graff, an ex-girlfriend of Hilton's ex-fiancé Paris Latsis, sued her rival in summer 2005, alleging that the hotel heiress planted false items about Graff in the New York Post and complaining that she suffered severe emotional distress as a result of Hilton's "vicious lies."

The report in question claimed that Graff went "berserk" after encountering Hilton and Latsis at a London club and tried to rip a $4 million diamond necklace from Hilton's throat.

"This is a woman who is older and losing her looks, and she's alone. She's very unhappy," an anonymous source said of Graff in the item.

Hilton's former publicist Rob Shuter later said in a deposition that he fed the paper a story he said was dictated by his client. For her part, Hilton admitted that the encounter was false, but denied that she was behind the Post story appearing in print.

Following Hilton's November 2005 deposition, Graff amended her original complaint, alleging that Hilton had perjured herself repeatedly.

In return, Hilton's attorneys asked to peruse Graff's psychiatric records to seek proof of the emotional distress she claimed to have suffered. Graff's attorneys objected, stating that they had no plans to claim she had suffered distress beyond "the normal pain and suffering, namely shame, mortification or hurt feelings, that traditionally accompanies a claim for defamation."

Though a judge ruled in September that Hilton's legal team could depose Graff's psychiatrist and subpoena her records, the appeals court disagreed Wednesday, citing Graff's right to privacy.

"We believe that the court of appeals reached the correct result. We look forward to trying this case against Ms. Hilton," a spokesman for Graff's legal team told Court TV on Wednesday.

Conversely, Hilton's lawyer, Howard Weitzman, called the verdict a "positive result" for his side, because it limits Graff's claim for damages.

The warring heiresses are due to face off in court when the trial kicks off Feb. 5.

49、Pavarotti plans first public outing since surgery
Fri Dec 1, 2006 12:46pm ET

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ROME (Reuters) - Luciano Pavarotti will make his first public appearance next week since an operation to remove a pancreatic cancer in July forced him to cancel a tour, but will not sing, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

The 71-year-old opera singer, regarded by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, will pick up an award for services to opera in a theater in Bergamo, northern Italy.

"He will receive the prize and nine of his students will sing some works by (Gaetano) Donizetti. The maestro will be present for the whole evening in the theater," said theater spokeswoman Raffaella Valsecchi.

"He will not sing," she added.


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Pavarotti canceled all remaining tour dates for 2006 when he was diagnosed with the cancer, but has since said he hopes to resume performing in 2007.

The event will take place at Bergamo's Donizetti theater on Wednesday evening. The award is presented every two years to a singer who has promoted the works of the composer Donizetti, a native of the town nestled in the foothills of the Alps.

Since his operatic debut in 1961, Pavarotti has become one of the most recognized classical musicians in the world, regularly gracing the stage at New York's Metropolitan Opera, London's Covent Garden and La Scala in Milan.

He entered mainstream culture in 1990 when he sang Puccini's aria "Nessun Dorma" at the soccer World Cup in Italy alongside Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras and also sang with rock star Bono on the 1995 single Miss Sarajevo.

50、Pavarotti to accept music prize in Italy Thu Nov 30, 12:23 PM ET



MILAN, Italy -     Luciano Pavarotti will make his first public appearance since undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer last summer to receive a prize next week at a music festival in the northern Italian city of Bergamo, officials said Thursday.

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The 71-year-old tenor will accept the Donizetti Prize during the last performance of the Bergamo Musical Festival on Wednesday, said Raffaella Valsecchi, a spokeswoman for the Donizetti Theater.

"His health has improved, aside from some problems walking. He uses a small cane," Valsecchi said.

Pavarotti was preparing to leave New York in July to resume a farewell tour when doctors discovered a malignant pancreatic mass. He had surgery, and all his remaining 2006 concerts were canceled. Pavarotti retired from staged opera in 2004.

Pavarotti will be awarded the Donizetti Prize in recognition of his interpretations of the opera composer's works throughout the world, Valsecchi said. Nine of Pavarotti's students will sing arias from some of Gaetano Donizetti's operas, including "Anne Boleyn," "Lucrezia Borgia" and "Don Pasquale." Donizetti was born in Bergamo in 1797.


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