This is Beirut

Ziad Rahbani, Fairuz’s Son and Cultural Icon, Has Died

This is Beirut, 26/07 11:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Ziad Rahbani Music Culture Lebanon Art Heritage

Lebanon is mourning one of its most influential cultural figures. Ziad Rahbani, composer, pianist, playwright, and outspoken political commentator, has died at the age of 69. Born in 1956 to the legendary singer Fairuz and pioneering composer Assi Rahbani, Ziad grew up surrounded by music. Yet, he forged his own path, blending art, satire, and ...

What if Superman’s Power Was Humanity After All?

Marie-Christine Tayah, 25/07 14:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Superman Cinema Movie Culture Art David Corenswet

The new Superman movie, featuring new actors, is all over the place. David Corenswet stars as Clark Kent/Superman, alongside Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion and Isabela Merced. Ranking number one internationally, the film attracts crowds eager to see their favorite hero’s new adventures. The plot ...

'Star Wars' Creator, George Lucas, Makes Epic Comic-Con Debut in San Diego

This is Beirut, 25/07 12:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Comic-Con Pop Culture Festival Culture Art Star Wars

Comic-Con kicked off Thursday in California, with expectations running high among devoted fans keen to catch a glimpse of George Lucas at his first-ever appearance at the convention. Warriors, princesses, pirates, wizards, and all manner of costumed characters flooded the streets of San Diego on the first day of an annual event that has become one ...

Versailles Invades Wall Street with Poisons, Drag, and Opera

This is Beirut, 23/07 15:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Versailles NYC Spectacle Theater Culture Art

Acrobatics, fortune tellers, opulent gowns and palace intrigue: the New York debut of the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra was a performance befitting the era it recalls. Monday's immersive show: The Affair of the Poisons centered on France's 17th-century period of excess and seediness that its creator, Andrew Ousley, told AFP has parallels to ...

Melania Trump May Soon Have Her Name on Opera House

This is Beirut, 23/07 14:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Melania Trump Donald Trump First Lady Opera House Culture Art

A House budget committee has approved an amendment that would force the Kennedy Center, Washington’s cultural institution, to rename its opera house the “First Lady Melania Trump Opera House.” The amendment is part of a 2026 Interior Department funding bill, which covers cultural affairs among other responsibilities. It threatens to strip ...

Heavy Metal Legend Ozzy Osbourne Dies Peacefully Aged 76

This is Beirut, 22/07 21:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Music Heavy Metal Ozzy Osbourne Legacy Culture Art

Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary frontman of heavy metal group Black Sabbath, died on Tuesday at the age of 76, his family announced in a statement. The hell-raising singer, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, passed away just over two weeks after playing a farewell concert in his home city of Birmingham, England. "It is with more ...

Malcolm-Jamal Warner from 'The Cosby Show' Dies in Drowning Accident

This is Beirut, 22/07 09:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Actor Comedian TV The Cosby Show Culture Art

American actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for his supporting role on The Cosby Show, has died after accidentally drowning in Costa Rica, local police announced Monday. The 54-year-old actor played Theo, the youngest son in the Huxtable family, on the iconic 1980s sitcom. He was nominated for an Emmy Award, the television equivalent of the ...

Superman Flies High Again, Soars Past $400 Million Worldwide

This is Beirut, 21/07 15:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Superman Cinema Box Office US Culture Art Superman

The Man of Steel has staying power: Superman topped the North American box office for a second week running and surpassed the $400 million mark worldwide, industry estimates showed Sunday. Riding largely positive reviews, the latest big-budget action film featuring the iconic superhero from Warner Bros. and DC Studios earned $57.3 million in the ...

Martin Solveig Ends Career With Rainy, Joyful Farewell Show

This is Beirut, 21/07 12:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Music Concert Culture Art DJ France

French DJ Martin Solveig, who hit worldwide success with smashes including All Stars and Hello, has hung up his decks, announcing his retirement onstage at a concert watched by 70,000 people. "It's a special moment. All my life, each time I came onstage I told myself: «Play like it's your last concert». Just until that moment arrives," the ...

Errollyn Wallen: King’s Composer Breaking Barriers in Music

This is Beirut, 21/07 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Music Errollyn Wallen King Charles III Culture Art Education

Told she would never belong in the world of classical music, Errollyn Wallen has risen to become the composer to King Charles III and the first person of color in the historic role. The 67-year-old became the Master of the King's Music last year, a 400-year-old post and one of the classical world's top honors that involves composing works for ...

Ancient statue returns to Turkey 65 years later

This is Beirut, 20/07 10:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Turkey Culture Art Roman History Statue

Turkey has repatriated an ancient statue believed to depict Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius from the United States as part of efforts to recover antiquities illegally removed from the country, the government announced on Saturday. The bronze statue, smuggled from the ancient city of Boubon—now the province of Burdur in southwest Turkey—in the ...

France Museum Visitor Eats Million-Dollar Banana Artwork Again

This is Beirut, 19/07 13:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

France Art Exhibition Culture Comedian Museum

A visitor to a French museum bit into a fresh banana worth millions of dollars taped to a wall last week, exhibitors said on Friday, in the latest such consumption of the conceptual artwork. Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan — whose provocative creation entitled Comedian was bought for $6.2 million in New York last year — said he was ...

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