By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer 32 minutes ago

NEW YORK - It’s no small task for a tenor to take on a role that Placido Domingo dominated for decades — Verdi’s Otello.

But the South African tenor Johan Botha triumphed Monday at the Metropolitan Opera, where Domingo sang 40 performances of the Shakespearean tragedy that Verdi turned into towering musical drama.

Otello’s self-destructive love journey is one of the most riveting in opera, and one of the most technically taxing. The role demands a combination of Wagnerian heft, Italianate lyricism and volcanic rage that few singers possess.

Botha, a 42-year-old hulk of a singer, poured his powerful yet sweet sound into the part of the jealous Moor of Venice. His clarion tenor exuded both passion and stamina, with blowtorch high notes like the high C Otello uses to castigate the wife he believes is unfaithful.

Botha’s shattering portrayal of Otello was matched by the near-perfect Desdemona of soprano Renee Fleming, who brought a ravishing purity to the role of the wife humiliated and literally strangled by her husband’s blind obsession.

Often played as a pious, passive woman in love, Fleming’s Desdemona is instead a complex, ardent figure tackling emotional demons she could neither understand nor control. The American soprano delivered the “Ave Maria” — her last, devastating scene before Otello kills her in bed — as a quiet cry from the heart, crowned with the softest, ethereal “Amen” on a high A-flat.

Despite his somewhat stiff acting, the chemistry between Botha and Fleming blossomed from the start, in the lush Act I love scene. Otello cannot adjust to a world in which he’s not the controlling, chivalrous victor in war, and he eventually kills the one person who truly loves him but dares contradict him.

Baritone Carlo Guelfi was the picture of oily evil as Iago, the ensign who plots Otello’s demise using Desdemona’s missing handkerchief as a prop. Though his voice is not large and occasionally gruff, the Italian singer used it with eerie expressiveness, aiming words like poisoned darts.

A major element in this Verdi work is the chorus, which explodes moments after the opening thunderclap with “Esultate!” (meaning “exult” in Italian) — the joyous welcome the 15th century Cypriots offer their victorious leader, Otello, as his ship docks. The Met chorus was a fiery force, animating the drama both vocally and physically.

Otello arrives with his own cry of “Esultate!” — in sharp contrast to his despairing words at the end, “Otello fu” (”Otello was”), as he plunges the dagger into his own heart, longing for a final kiss. Here, Verdi’s librettist, Arrigo Boito, used a past tense of the Italian verb “to be” that applies only when an act can never be undone.

Botha intoned the finality of Otello’s self-imposed fate with a rich, almost inert timbre — the ultimate human grief set to music.

The smaller solo parts were cast well. Tenor Garrett Sorenson infused Cassio, Desdemona’s alleged lover, with the energy of a major role. As Roderigo, Ronald Naldi’s warm, ringing tenor was the voice of the Venetian gentleman who is part of the web of intrigue. And veteran mezzo-soprano Wendy White was an intense, desperate Emilia, Desdemona’s maid and Iago’s wife.

Russian conductor Semyon Bychkov led the Met orchestra with spirited abandon. Elijah Moshinsky’s 1987 production is not quite as inspired, revolving around massive pillars that never leave the stage. But the static scenery forces one’s attention on the searing emotions carried by world-class singing.

Domingo first sang the title role at the Met in 1979, and last appeared with the company as Otello in 1999. Tenor Ben Heppner took on the role four years ago, his massive stature accompanying a vocal strength that fit the part. Now comes Botha, who is considered the leading interpreter of the role today. Like Heppner, he is a large physical and vocal presence. In a way, his imposing figure is a dramatic plus as this giant of a man is demolished by a lowly, cunning villain.

No doubt, the temptation is to compare any Otello today with Domingo. And in some ways, Botha falls short when pitted against Domingo’s electrifying, burnished voice and achingly tortured acting.

But it’s more gratifying to judge Botha on his own merit — as a powerhouse voice bigger than Domingo’s, and used with elegance, ease and humanity.

On Monday, the audience rewarded him with a standing ovation.

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On the Net:

Metropolitan Opera: http://www.metopera.org

35 minutes ago

MIAMI BEACH - Lenny Kravitz was taken to the hospital Tuesday and will postpone his upcoming European tour due to a bout of bronchitis.

Kravitz was set to begin the tour this week. It was to run through the end of March, accompanying the release of his new album, “It Is Time for a Love Revolution.”

The 43-year-old singer had been struggling with a series of severe respiratory tract infections and the flu since mid-January, his spokeswoman, Carleen Donovan, said in a statement.

Donovan said Kravitz was suffering from dehydration and fatigue and that doctors advised him to check into the hospital. He was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach.

In a statement, Kravitz apologized to his European fans.

“I am extremely disappointed that I am not able to come to Europe to see everyone and also perform. Unfortunately I need to take this time to rest and get healthy and so I was forced to make this decision,” he said.

Kravitz’s European trip will be rescheduled as soon as possible, Donovan said.

His first stop was scheduled for London next Monday, followed by a performance in Brussels, Belgium.

___

On the Net:

Lenny Kravitz:

http://www.lennykravitz.com/

Josh Grossberg Tue Feb 12, 9:03 AM ET

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Nobody told her there'd be days like these.

Lennon Murphy—a little-known singer-songwriter who was named after John Lennon—has found herself at odds with Yoko Ono over who has legal rights to the famous moniker.

An attorney for Lennon's widow filed a petition last week with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office seeking to cancel a trademark Murphy took out in 2003 for "Lennon" as the name of her band.

The petition cites the "likelihood of confusion" in the marketplace and "dilution" of the music icon's surname. (Lennon itself is a fairly common throughout Ireland and is derived from the Gaelic word "Leannon," which means a "lover" or "sweetheart.")

The 25-year-old Murphy claims that, as a courtesy, she sought and received Ono's blessing to use the name back in 2000, when she signed with Arista Records.

According to Murphy, the label was concerned about the name issue and sent her product manager, Justin Shukat (reportedly the son of Ono attorney Peter Shukat), to approach the prickly 74-year-old artist. Ono supposedly gave her okay, clearing the way for the Tennessee-born Murphy and her eponymous band to release 5:30 Saturday Morning.

Arista dropped Murphy and her mates from the label after that debut album failed to generate big sales. However, Lennon the band continues to perform concerts and release music independently.

According to Muphy, Ono's change of heart came two days before the statute of limitations was due to run out. In her complaint with the Trial and Appeal Board, Ono claims Lennon the band  "fraudulently" registered its trademark.

Another attorney for Ono, Dorothy M. Weber, tells E! Online, "We don't comment on anything currently pending whether in court or otherwise."

In an anguished post on her MySpace blog, Murphy decries the filing and says that her career could be in jeopardy, even though she believes she's in the write.

"I'm not sure what confusion I could be causing since I don't have the $50,000 to hire a lawyer and fight this. If people were confusing me with John Lennon and accidently [sic] buying my records I should have more than enough money to live my life and hire a lawyer? I wish that was the case," she writes.

"I haven't worked since Oct. 2007, so I live on just enough to get through the months until I get back on the road. I have no idea what I'm going to do yet in this situation, and I'm stressed, angry, and scared."

The performer went on to defend her name: "I never falsified my intentions, I never used John Lennon for my benefit, and I never took one cent out of Yoko's bank account. I play music, my name is Lennon, and the most heartbreaking thing out of this whole situation is the insult it gives to my late mother and who she believed in; on top of demeaning the man that John Lennon was and will always be."

Although Ono has picked a fight with Murphy, the young singer has gained support from a potentially key ally.

Julian Lennon, John's son from his marriage to first wife Cynthia Lennon, himself a singer-songwriter who has had his own run-ins with his stepmom in the past, posted Murphy's message on his MySpace blog and expressed sympathy for her situation.

"This is NOT about me, but about a girl named 'Lennon,' " writes the 44-year-old Julian. "She has my full support."

Come on, Yoko, give peace a chance.