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Anyone attending the premiere of Berlioz's rarely seen opera "Benvenuto Cellini", directed by Monty Python alumnus Terry Gilliam at the English National Opera, could be forgiven for thinking it was a preview for the Python reunion show in July. Gilliam, who seems to hate a void, filled the stage of London's enormous Coliseum theater on Thursday with jugglers, trapeze artists, stiltwalkers and tumblers for one of the 19th-century French composer's most troubled works. Huge papier-mache-style masks of a devil and a skull were paraded down the aisles within minutes of the curtain going up and they remained suspended from boxes on either side of the stage for the duration, emphasizing the carnival tone.   true       "Benvenuto Cellini", Berlioz's first opera that was based on the life of the renowned 16th-century Italian sculptor, was a flop when it had its premiere in Paris in 1838 and has been revived only sporadically since. In Gilliam's re-

With venues ranging from a 16th-century courtyard house to a converted church, Edinburgh’s annual Fringe Festival has unveiled its 2014 program with productions from 47 countries around the world.     Marking the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War One, veteran actor and Director Guy Masterson will recite the finest writings from both sides in "An Anthem for a Doomed Youth" at the Assembly Roxy performance venue in a former church.     Actor, writer and presenter Stephen Fry will present "Forgotten Voices" at the Pleasance Courtyard, while Hour Lot Theatre tells the intriguing story of an unlikely friendship between the German Kaiser and a British prisoner-of-war in "Dear Mr Kaiser" at theSpace on North Bridge.   true           The festival covers a huge range of art forms including cabaret, comedy, dance, circus, music, opera and theater.     A record 3,193 shows – an 11-percent increase over 2013 – and nearly 51,000 performances cement t

Actress Melanie Griffith on Friday filed for divorce from Spanish actor Antonio Banderas after 18 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences, according a petition filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. _0"> Griffith, 56, and Banderas, 53, married in 1996 after striking up a romance filming the comedy "Two Much" and have a 17-year-old daughter, Stella Banderas. "We have thoughtfully and consensually decided to finalize our almost 20 years marriage in a loving and friendly manner honoring and respecting each other, our family and friends and the beautiful time we have spent together," Griffith and Banderas said in a statement issued by their publicist.   true       Griffith requested physical custody of Stella, who turns 18 in September, but joint legal custody, with the "Desperado" star allowed visitation. The actress, who earned an Oscar nomination for her role in the 1988 romantic comedy "Working Girl," also requested spous

The daughter of ailing radio personality Casey Kasem was granted conservatorship over his health care on Friday, as a family representative said the deejay "won't be with us much longer." _0"> Kerri Kasem will oversee the care given to her 82-year-old father said Danny Deraney, a representative for the deejay's three children from his first marriage. The deejay's health care and visitation rights has been at the center of a legal tussle between his children from his first marriage - Kerri, Julie and Mike - and his second wife, Jean Kasem, with whom he has one child, Liberty.   true       Kasem was admitted to a Washington state hospital earlier this week in critical condition, suffering from an infected bed sore. Deraney said the deejay's health was declining on Friday. [ID:nL1N0OM2XB] "If he opens his eyes, I want my Dad just once to see everyone standing around him, putting our differences aside and let him know how much he is loved by e

Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan, best known for his roles on "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock," was badly injured early on Saturday when the limo bus he was riding in overturned in a multi-vehicle crash in New Jersey that killed another comic. Morgan, 45, was in critical condition in an intensive care unit at a hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, police and his spokesman said. The comedian James McNair, also known as Jimmy Mack, was killed in the crash on the New Jersey Turnpike, police said. McNair, who was 63 and lived in Peekskill, New York, was riding in the limo bus with Morgan.   true       At least three other people were hospitalized following the crash, in which a tractor-trailer struck the back of the limo bus at around 1 a.m. local time near Cranbury Township, New Jersey State Police spokesman Gregory Williams said, citing a preliminary investigation. After the collision, involving another tractor-trailer, a sports utility vehicle and two other

class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Wal-Mart Stores Inc appointed Gregory Penner as vice chairman, showing again that the world's largest retailer is looking at younger executives to revive its fortunes. The appointment of 44-year-old Penner puts him in a position to succeed Chairman Rob Walton, his 69-year-old father-in-law. Penner, who has been on Wal-Mart's board since 2008, is a general partner at Madrone Capital Partners, according to Wal-Mart's website. From 2002 to 2005, he was Wal-Mart's senior vice president and the chief financial officer of its Japan unit.   true       The announcement, made in Wal-Mart's annual shareholder meeting on Friday, comes at a time when the company's U.S. same-store sales are falling and it struggles to get beyond a bribery scandal at its class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Mexico unit that cost it more than $500 million since 2012. Wal-Mart is also facing increasing dissent from its employees who, backed by

An Orthodox Jew who was fired from his position as a managing director at BNP Paribas North America Inc sued the bank on Friday, saying he was terminated for his religious beliefs after complaining about Nazi imagery in a training video. The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court by Jean-Marc Orlando, an Orthodox Jew who said he had worked for the bank for 18 years until he was terminated in May 2012. Orlando was a managing director in the bank's fixed-income division in New York, and had previously worked for the bank in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> France , the lawsuit said. The lawsuit alleges that the company eventually fired Orlando from the New York office in a retaliatory move after he complained about a training video he and other managers were shown during a training session in Amsterdam in 2011.   true       The video, created by BNP employees, was a parody of the 2004 film Downfall, which depicted the final days of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime i