Mirror brings winter sun

We love this story from the BBC about the determination of a little village in Italy to capture some winter sunshine: Italy village gets 'sun mirror' . Through the cunning placement of a large mirror on the hillside, Viganella can now direct the sun's rays into the town square. Sunshine and an outdoors social life are crucial to the Italian way of life, although one would have thought the villagers would be used to their winter gloom by now. Still, 'Progetto Specchio' (Project Mirror) will doubtless brighten Viganella's winters as well as giving the village some international publicity. The village is in the north of Piemonte, in the shadows of the Alps, and the nearest tourist town is Verbania, on Lake Maggiore.

Alagna versus La Scala

There's a lovely new chapter in the saga of the Tenor and the Opera House. First he walked out on the Scala during the second performance of their new high-profile Aida. Roberto Alagna was in a huff after some boos from the audience. Then his employers - understandably, one might think - accused him of breach of contract.
Alagna retaliated by threatening to sue them, claiming they hadn't protected him suitably. Now he has turned up outside the theatre to sing a moving farewell aria.
> Simon Jenkins in the Guardian: Get rid of audiences
> Neil Fisher in the Times: Relax, Roberto
> The original incident, which made a hero of Alagna's jeans-clad understudy, Antonello Palombi: