Madame Butterfly: Broadcast Live in HD

The Met Live in HD continues to captivate a worldwide audience, bringing live, high definition productions of the world’s greatest opera to millions of worldwide viewers. The series continues  with Puccini’s hauntingly beautiful love story, Madama Butterfly, which will be screened at several Nashville venues on Saturday, March 7 at 12 noon (CST).

Opry Mills Stadium 20 Plus IMAX, 570 Opry Mills Drive and  Green Hills Stadium 16, 3815 Greenhills Village Drive, both in Nashville, will screen the live broadcast. In addition, for those who will miss the Saturday showing, Green Hills will screen encore showings on March 18 at 7 p.m. and March 18 at 1 p.m. Running time is three hours and 21 minutes, with two intermissions.

Patricia Racette returns to the title role of Anthony Minghella’s stunning production, a new classic of the Met repertory, opposite Marcello Giordani. Conducting is Patrick Summers, with production by Anthony Minghella, Patricia Racette and Marcello Giordani. [Read more]

J.R. “Model T” Tate launches APSU’s “2009 Peay Read”

A man who has written extensively about the Appalachian Trail – and hiked the trail’s entire 2,175 miles four times – will be at Austin Peay State University to speak on his experiences and help kick off the Spring 2009 book series of The Peay Read.

J.R. Tate, a retired Marine Corps officer who completed Appalachian Trail thru-hikes in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2006, will speak at 4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 22 and at noon, Friday, Jan. 23. Both sessions, free and open to the public, will be in the Morgan University Center, Room 308.

He will be on hand to announce “A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail” by Bill Bryson. Bryson tells of his encounters while hiking the trail.    [Read more]

Blue Note strikes new chord in Clarksville

Mike Goldman’s Blue Note Coffee, Bagel and Sandwich Company, which opens December 8 in the Sango area of Clarksville, will strike a new and different chord with a creative menu of gourmet sandwiches, bagels, great coffee, WiFi and live blues music.

Located at 3371 Highway 41A South (Madison Street in Sango), the Blue Note is in part Goldman’s way to “get a good bagel” by making his own, baked on the premises and served up with assorted cream cheeses or butter. That’s just the beginning. Espresso and assorted hot and iced coffee-based beverages include  Caramel Attack (a blend of caramel flavor drizzled over whipped creme, foaming milk and Espresso), Snapping Turtle (steamed milk, caramel, dark cocoa, whipped creme and chopped peanuts), Berry Patch (white cocoa, Expresso and raspberry flavor)…and of course, there’s regular coffee and espresso “straight up.” [Read more]