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William and Kate wedding set for instant download

Prince William and Kate Middleton are set to storm into the charts after tying the knot, with the almost instant release of their wedding ceremony for download, record producers said on Wednesday.

An audio recording of the entire ceremony, due to take place at London's Westminster Abbey on April 29, will be available within hours on Apple's iTunes and other leading online stores.

The recording will be released in record shops worldwide six days later by classical label Decca Records and music bosses expect millions of people to snap it up.

Decca also recorded the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981, as well as Diana's funeral in 1997 following her death in a Paris car crash.

But the wedding of William, second in line to the throne, and his university sweetheart will be the first time a British royal event has been released almost immediately for download.

The recording will be "the first official royal wedding album ever to enter the worldwide digital charts", said Decca president Dickon Stainer.

The Abbey's choir, the Chapel Royal Choir, the London Chamber Orchestra and Royal Air Force musicians are among those confirmed to perform.

Prominent classical producer Anna Barry, who has previously worked with artists including Jose Carreras and Andrew Lloyd Webber, will be in charge of the recording.

"This is a great honour and an enormous responsibility," she said.

"The wedding means so much to millions of people all over the world -- we have to capture every note and every nuance perfectly and have the recording ready within minutes of the end of the ceremony."

Canadian polygamy trial weighs religious rights

Religious rights are being weighed against those of women and children in a landmark Canadian court case deciding if the country's long-standing law against polygamy should be struck down.

Prosecutors warned in closing arguments in British Columbia Supreme Court on Monday that women and children will be the losers if Canada allows a fundamentalist Mormon religious sect to continue practicing polygamy.

The province of British Columbia has asked the court to decide if the law is constitutional before it pursues criminal charges against members of the U.S.-headquartered Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).

The group has practiced polygamy since the 1940s at its community called Bountiful, near the British Columbia-Idaho border, but authorities have been wary of prosecuting members out of fear the law would not hold up in court.

Opponents of the law say it should be struck down on the grounds of religious freedom. Critics of polygamy say the social harms outweigh any infringement on religious beliefs.

The case has spurred a separate investigation into whether minor girls have been smuggled from Canada into the United States and forced to marry older men of the fundamentalist Mormon sect headed by Warren Jeffs.

Subjugation of young women is just one of the social harms that will develop if Canada legalizes polygamy, and that potential harm outweighs any infringement of religious rights, prosecutors told the court.

"It is anti-democratic, anti-egalitarian, anti-liberal and antithetical to the proper functioning of any modern rights-based society," Craig Jones of the British Columbia attorney general's office told the court in Vancouver.

The constitutional case has been unusual because it has included testimony from social and legal experts as well has current and former members of the sect, which has communities in Canada and the United States.

FLDS leaders deny the abuse allegations and a legal brief filed for the closing arguments accuses critics of using stereotypes to defend a law that attacks one of their religious tenets.

"While the freedom of religion is not absolute, it is the submission of the FLDS that polygamy in and of itself does not cause harm to, or interfere with, the rights of others," the group's attorneys wrote.

The FLDS, with an estimated 10,000 members, broke away from the main Mormon Church, which has abandoned polygamy.

Evidence submitted to the trial by Texas officials has prompted Canadian police to investigate if more than two dozen underage girls were trafficked over the border from British Columbia as part of forced marriages.

Texas officials say documents seized in a raid on an FLDS community in 2008 indicated two 12-year-old Canadian girls were driven to Utah by their fathers and placed in marriage with Jeffs, the group's spiritual leader.

Jeffs, 55, is awaiting trial in Texas on charges including sexual assault of a child and bigamy. He has pleaded not guilty.

(The case is "In the Matter Concerning Constitutionality of S.293 of the Criminal Code" VA SO97767)

(Reporting Allan Dowd; editing by Rob Wilson)

THE BOOK SHELF: Gerald Bordman's Updated "American Musical Theatre," Plus "Diaghilev" & Three Librettos

We page through the Fourth Edition of "American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle"; newly published librettos of Oklahoma!, Sound of Music and Avenue Q; and a biography of Serge Diaghilev.

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Gerald Bordman altered the scope of American musical theatre history — and the weight of the American musical theatre history bookshelf — in 1978 with his 750-page "American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle." Here was a book that attempted to tell us something about each and every musical produced over the course of more than 100 years. That's right; Bordman went back to the 1866-67 season — who knew there was an 1866-67 Broadway season? — and gave us at least some information about each and every musical he could find. New York shows, as well as major musicals produced elsewhere across the country. He didn't find everything; once in a while you might be looking for a show that "wasn't in Bordman," but most of them were in the book.

The information included the date of the opening, the theatre, and a brief (or not so brief) discussion of the plot and people involved. Length of discussion ranged from a short paragraph to more than two pages, depending on the importance of the show. Or the importance Bordman ascribed to the show. Anyone writing such a book, inevitably, is likely to be influenced by their personal preferences. Bordman's can be inferred by a glance at the table of contents. What he called Act Four, being his fourth main section of the book, was called "The Golden Age of the American Musical, 1924-1937."

Gee, that seems mighty early to me for the "Golden Age." Before Rodgers & Hammerstein, before Lerner or Loewe, before the arrival of Styne, Bernstein, Loesser, Sondheim, Bock, Kander, Coleman, Herman and more. Bordman's chapter covering 1951-1965 — the years of The King and I, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, West Side Story, Gypsy, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, She Loves Me, Hello, Dolly! and Fiddler on the Roof — is subtitled "Lowering Standards."

Bordman went on to prepare a second edition in 1992 and a third in 2001; while the American musical theatre admittedly led a problematic existence through the past decades, one can only surmise that Bordman was happiest when writing about the musicals of the golden age. His golden age, that is, the mid-year of which was 1930. This did not negatively affect the importance of "American Musical Theatre"; it remained the only book of its kind, and an invaluable one. But it did put kind of a filter on the discussion of the modern-day American musical.

For the new Fourth Edition, Bordman and his publishers have seen fit to bring in a new voice. Richard Norton, author of the three-volume "Chronology of American Musical Theater," has provided the updated material, encompassing the first ten years of the 21st century. This new decade, extending through (fittingly) The Scottsboro Boys and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, encompasses 56 pages — which is almost more than Bordman spent on the '80s and '90s combined. Norton considers the current-day musical in the same manner that Bordman considered his golden age, putting the book back on track. "American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle [Fourth Edition] by Gerald Bordman with updates by Richard Norton" [Oxford] now runs over 1,000 pages, and has something of a textbook feel to it. Happily, it seems to be crisper and cleaner than the earlier editions, easier to read and easier for browsing.

[PAGE]Applause Books has for some time now been refurbishing the book shelf with librettos of musicals, mixing new hits with reprints of older titles. They have just published three selections in fresh new softcover editions: "Oklahoma!: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical" by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II; "The Sound of Music: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical" by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse; and "Avenue Q The Musical: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical" by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx, and Jeff Whitty. Oklahoma! (which has a new introduction by Ted Chapin) and Sound of Music (with a new introduction by Timothy Crouse) are old standards, if recently out-of-print. Avenue Q (without introduction) is the new kid on the block; as fans of the show are aware, the book and lyrics are both filled with rude and explosive laughs. Each book includes a section of photographs of the original and subsequent companies.

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Chronicles of the international artistic life of the first quarter of the twentieth century are frequented by the larger-than-life personality of Serge Diaghilev and his revolutionary work with the Ballets Russes. Born into a wealthy Russian family — albeit one that lost all its money before he turned 20 — Diaghilev had champagne tastes. After flitting through the arts, he eventually settled on the world of ballet, which he more or less revitalized and recreated with a little help from his friends. You can do that when your friends are named Nijinsky, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Debussy, Ravel, Balanchine, Matisse, Picasso and more.

Yes, Serge turns up in numerous studies and biographies, but Dutch art scholar Sjeng Scheijen has rewritten the book on Diaghilev, if you will. "Diaghilev: A Life" by Sjeng Scheijen [Oxford] (and translated by Jane Hedley-Prole and S.J. Leinbach) recreates the world Diaghilev inhabited, in many cases presenting "new" information and revised interpretations that have the ring of truth to them. Yes, it's a fascinating story; the dramatis personae above almost guarantee that. But in Scheijen's hands, this is quite a read, quite a life, and quite a book.

(Steven Suskin is author of the recently released updated and expanded Fourth Edition of "Show Tunes" as well as "The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations," "Second Act Trouble" and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. He also pens Playbill.com's On the Record and DVD Shelf columns. He can be reached at Ssuskin@aol.com.)

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Passionate about theatre books? See what thehas on its shelves.

Analysis: Cuba fights latest U.S. "invasion" -- on the Internet

HAVANA (Reuters) – It is 50 years since the last U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba but the island's communist leaders believe another one has begun -- not on the shores of the Bay of Pigs as in 1961, but in the virtual world of the Internet.

Cuba fears "cyberdissidents" could use Twitter, Facebook and other online social networks to undermine the government. [ID:nN05138791] Its concern has taken on added significance since the same communication tools were used by protesters in Egypt to help topple long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak last week.

A leaked video recently posted on the web (http://vimeo.com/19402730) shows a Cuban intelligence Internet expert telling interior ministry officials that the new cyber opposition is a more serious threat than the island's traditional dissidents.

The authorities are worried about people like Claudia Cadelo, a frail-looking 27-year teacher of French who created Octavo Cerco (www.octavocerco.blogspot.com), one of about 30 blogs critical of the government written inside Cuba.

"Social networks have become a new weapon for civil society," she told Reuters in an interview. "They don't want the social networks to spread because they are aware of the danger that poses to a totalitarian government which hides the truth from its people.".

Given Cuba's low rate of Internet connectivity, the tweets Cadelo types into her mobile phone don't reach many Cubans. But that could change as Cuba gains access to broadband Internet and mulls the pros and cons of granting wider access.

After initially blocking public access to some critical websites, the Cuban government has switched strategy and unleashed an anti-dissident counter-attack by a legion of some 1,000 pro-government "revolutionary" bloggers.

From his office in the headquarters of Cuba's state telephone company ETECSA, journalist and blogger Manuel Henriquez is on the front lines of that official offensive.

"There is evidently an intention to attack Cuba through the Internet. And of course Cuba has the right to defend itself," said the 47-year-old author of the blog Cambios en Cuba (http://cambiosencuba.blogspot.com).

"It is an old war and this is its latest expression. What these (opposition) bloggers are looking for is to demonize the country, create an image of a repression that doesn't exist and later on allows justifying laws and blockades."

Bloggers like Henriquez take aim at Cuba's cyberdissidents, led by prominent critic Yoani Sanchez and her Generacion Y blog (http://www.desdecuba.com/generaciony/). They accuse the critics of being financed by the U.S. government, Cuba's ideological foe, and often post damaging rumors about their personal lives.

LOW CONNECTIVITY

Experts say the Internet is offering Cuban dissidents unprecedented room for political debate, but that the transforming potential of Twitter and other social networks depends heavily on connectivity levels.

In Tunisia, the cradle of recent protests that have rocked the Arab world, 19 percent of the population was on Facebook, but Internet access in Cuba is restricted by the government.

"It's worth asking what percent of Cubans have regular Internet access. Access to mobile phones. If those numbers are low, it's unlikely these are the most effective organizing channels," said Ethan Zuckerman, senior researcher at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

Wilfredo Cancio, a Cuban exile journalist who publishes a Cuban affairs web site Cafe Fuerte (http://cafefuerte.com/) in Miami sees a "Cold War" mentality in the Cuban government's declared digital offensive against cyber opponents.

"I think the government is betting on winning this battle, above all from the control perspective," he said.

Cuba, the Caribbean's biggest island, has a population of 11 million, and last reported 1.6 million people online, but they mostly only have access to a government-sanctioned intranet that does not permit links to Twitter or Facebook.

Mobile telephony has grown dramatically since it was legalized three years ago, but costs are high for ordinary Cubans. Cadelo says she pays the equivalent of $1 every time she tweets by sending a text message to a number in Britain.

A fiber-optic submarine cable hooking Cuba to its socialist ally Venezuela could soon increase the island's data transfer speed by 3,000 times.

Cuba's government says the long-standing U.S. embargo has been the main obstacle to Internet penetration and that there are no "political obstacles" to opening up the Internet to the broader public. But they say for the time being they cannot afford to install the needed wider infrastructure.

Ted Henken, a Cuba analyst at City University of New York, thinks Cuban authorities may try to emulate the Chinese model of opening up the Internet while controlling information flow.

"Using these technologies to spark anti-government protests is impossible now given the low penetration, access and use ... But this is likely to change in the future as the government tries to benefit economically from broadband," he said.

On the leaked government video, the Cuban Internet expert said the United States was smuggling satellite phones into Cuba to provide dissidents with unrestricted access to the web.

Alan Gross, a U.S. government subcontractor held in Havana and accused of introducing such devices into Cuba, is awaiting trial and faces up to 20 years in jail on charges of "crimes against the security of the state." [ID:nN10267900]

In the video, the Cuban official called Gross a "mercenary", comparing him to the CIA-backed Cuban exiles who invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961.

Henriquez, the pro-government blogger, says the United States is trying to export a cyber rebellion model promoted in places like Iran. "But it isn't going to work whether there is Internet or not. A Twitter message isn't itself a reason to mobilize," he said.

Cadelo, however, says it is just a matter of time. "The Internet is going to get to the people. They can't avoid that. A war against the Internet is a lost war," she said.

(Reporting by Esteban Israel; Editing by Jeff Franks, Pascal Fletcher and Kieran Murray)

Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy to Open Fall 2011

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 7, 2011 – Innovative statewide online school now accepting applications for students in grades K-10

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy (LAVCA), one of the state's first online public charter schools, is now accepting student enrollment applications for Fall 2011.

LAVCA, sponsored by the Community School for Apprenticeship Learning (CSAL), expects to serve over 1,000 students in grades K through 10 from all around the state. The charter school was recently authorized by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

LAVCA will hold a series of events across the state in the coming weeks to give families the opportunity to find out more about this innovative, tuition-free public school option and receive enrollment information. A schedule of events in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and other cities, can be found at .

Open to all Louisiana families, LAVCA will utilize high quality curriculum, technology, and school services offered by K12 Inc., America's largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online school programs in kindergarten through high school. In partnership with school districts and public charter schools, K12 operates online public schools in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Since 2000, K12 has provided over 2 million courses to tens of thousands of students in the U.S. and worldwide and consistently receives high marks from parents and teachers. Students graduating from K12-operated schools have been accepted to some of the top colleges and universities in the country.

"We are excited to offer the students of Louisiana this excellent education option," said Dujan Johnson, Executive Director of CSAL. "The highly individualized program that LAVCA will offer students is exactly what many families are looking for in a school. I'm confident LAVCA will help increase opportunities for children and give families all over Louisiana a public school option that is high quality and accountable."

The K12 virtual school program combines its award-winning curriculumusing engaging online lessons and hands-on education materialswith highly skilled teachers, advisors, state-of-the-art technology, and numerous social opportunities that connect students to a vibrant school community. From advanced learners to children with special needs, LAVCA will offer a flexible and personalized learning program that works for all types of students.

The school's teachers and administrators will be available for students and parents every step of the way. Teachers provide instruction, guidance and support, and will communicate regularly with students and parents via phone, email, innovative web-based "e-classrooms," and face-to-face meetings. Teachers will also organize school field trips, activities, clubs, and events for students and families.

LAVCA will follow all the same state accountability standards. Like students in brick and mortar schools, LAVCA students will be required to meet state attendance requirements and participate in state assessments, such as the Louisiana Education Assessment Program (LEAP) tests.

Online learning is one of the fastest growing segments in education according to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning. The demand for online schools among parents and students is high, and many teachers are also choosing to pursue their profession in online schools. A national report titled Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning shows that more than half the states in the U.S. offer full-time, statewide online public schools. With LAVCA, Louisiana is the latest state to provide students the option of statewide online public charter schools.

More information on LAVCA, including a complete list of events around the state, can be found at .

K12 is a registered trademark of K12 Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCELouisiana Virtual Charter Academy

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