Today’s highlights
Art
Rebuilding Palmyra, brick by electronic brick
The ancient city of Palmyra was shattered by Islamic State. Now a Syrian artist is rebuilding it on her computer
The decline and fall of Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst’s work is stale, insular, highly lucrative. Why were we ever taken in by him?
London’s visionaries and fascists
A new futurist exhibition, Breaking Lines: Futurism and the Origins of Experimental Poetry, offers a warning about alliances with fascism
Bound together, pulled apart: Catalan artists in Paris
At the start of the 20th century, Paris and Barcelona were united by modernist art. Then came a shocking, public suicide
Apocalypse right now: visions of destruction and disaster in Northern Italy
A new exhibition recalls the litany of catastrophe that has afflicted the world for centuries
A year of unmissable exhibitions
2025 looks like being an outstanding year for art
Books
Matthew Goodwin’s book of nonsense
The populist commentator’s book on UK universities is filled with unoriginal argument, cherry-picked evidence and enormous self-regard. If he truly believes what he’s written, the only suitable response is pity
The cookbooks which hurl you headlong into the beating heart of a nation
The original great European cookbooks may be filled with recipes that we no longer use, but they take us back to the past in a poignant way
Sergio Leone’s big dreams
A sumptuously illustrated book of interviews with the director reveals his extraordinary love of the monumental
The book of Europe
A compilation of European literature, compiled by the son of Thomas Mann, is a reminder of the continent’s cultural power
How I remember John Prescott
At the late former deputy prime minister’s funeral, it became clear that Britain could do with some politicians like him today
The restless odyssey of Alma Karlin
The Slovenian writer who defied the Gestapo during an eight-year journey round the world holds lessons for us all in the era of Trump
Music
The soprano dubbed the ‘highest expression of Venus on Earth’
Her career as one of the world’s leading operatic sopranos often came second to gushing entreaties to her ravishing appearance
Italy’s national obsession
Cherished and controversial, Sanremo is Eurovision… but turned up to eleven
Marianne Faithfull: death of a troubled icon
Her association with the Rolling Stones meant she was dismissed as a ‘muse’ – but she overcame misogyny and drug addiction to become an experimental artist of rare breadth
The decline and fall of Italy’s disco empire
Photographer Simone Nanetti’s haunting images of Italy’s abandoned nightclubs
How a British conductor found the lost music of Auschwitz
There were at least six orchestras at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Eighty years after the camp’s liberation, most of their music has been lost to history. Can conductor Leo Geyer change that?
Ace of Base and the darkness behind the light
From catchy pop hits to far right death threats and knife attacks – the shocking story of the Swedish pop group
Film
Why The White Lotus is murderously good
The third instalment of Mike White’s acclaimed series is back with its usual love of mystery, lurking lust and dark humour
Sergio Leone’s big dreams
A sumptuously illustrated book of interviews with the director reveals his extraordinary love of the monumental
How September 5 and the Munich Olympics changed the newsroom
Tim Fehlbaum takes a journalistic approach to his account of the terrorist massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics
The brutality of truth
A new film about an architect who survives the Holocaust is a stunning achievement, and one with deep resonance for our own time
The world is a better place with films like Hard Truths
Starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Mike Leigh’s comedy drama is an artistic masterclass in what cinema can do
A real-life Vatican thriller
Conclave is racking up award nominations. But the machinations surrounding Pope Francis are every bit as intriguing
Theatre
Vulnerable, terrifying Rami Malek will have you in rhapsodies
The man who played Freddie Mercury stuns in an Oedipus revival
The Ambassadress of French Song
One chance encounter transforming a life is rare enough. Guilbert enjoyed two a few days apart
Terence Rattigan’s mainline to the human condition
A revival of two of his best-loved plays from the 1950s have plenty to say today
Life after Death
Death of England, one of the cultural highlights of 2024, is coming to streaming. But what’s next for playwright Roy Williams?
A Bad Sister’s very good stage return
The Little Foxes confirms Anne-Marie Duff as a true great
The best interpretation of The Tempest I’ve ever seen
Sigourney Weaver shines in her west end debut in Jamie Lloyd’s powerful new production of Shakespeare’s final solo-authored play
Great European Lives
The Pirate who valued his authenticity above all else
At a time when cyclists had begun to resemble machines, Pantani was almost impossibly human, unable to conceal his emotions
The soprano dubbed the ‘highest expression of Venus on Earth’
Her career as one of the world’s leading operatic sopranos often came second to gushing entreaties to her ravishing appearance
The Ambassadress of French Song
One chance encounter transforming a life is rare enough. Guilbert enjoyed two a few days apart
The perpetual outsider who was always the centre of attention
Little blame can be attached to André Roussimoff for exaggerating the truth of his stories because everything about the wrestler and actor was already exaggerated
The man of paper who died with his city
The footballer was the toast of the Viennese coffee houses, the intelligence of his play being praised in the same terms as poets
The big-time film mogul who saw the importance of making art
Many directors might not have scaled their creative heights without Ponti’s recognition that one could make daring and challenging cinema and still turn a profit