The first British staging since 1926 of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari's mafiosi opera takes the crown for lurid incident and spectacle

The company who sold the Banksy mural "Slave Labour" have prompted further outcry after a second well-loved artwork was removed from a north London wall yesterday to be put up for auction commercially.

The action is grittier, the stakes (and skirts) raised higher, and the orchestral noises louder than anything else of its time: if Puccini’s realist operas are verismo then Wolf-Ferrari’s 1911 I gioielli della Madonna is verissimo.

Norwich dusts off the red carpet for the return of the prodigal Alan Partridge

Out of America: For 20 years this newly bankrupt city, in the words of a Tamla tunesmith, has really got a hold on me. The recovery is already beginning

Album of the Week: Some rich pickings among the boasts and garish beats

A group of village children scampered behind the coffin as it was driven past some mud-brick stables. Inside was the body of Dr Sayeed Abdel Salaam. Until last week he had been a 42-year-old government vet; a father-of-three who gave away much of his money to help local orphans, according to friends. Today he became a statistic – a battered and bloodied victim of the 30 June insurrection.

‘Luther’ is back, with over-the-top murders and its tongue in its cheek

In this age of the spectacle, music increasingly matters less than the event surrounding the music - this year has seen Daft Punk's album applauded as much for its marketing campaign as for any intrinsic musical value it may have, and now we have Jay-Z's new album, notable largely for the deal struck with Samsung to deliver a million free downloads to its customers, at a cost of $5 apiece to the company, three days prior to its official release.

It would help if you read Daniil Kharms’ short story before you go to see The Old Woman which opened this year’s biennial Manchester International Festival. It would help. But not a lot.

Theresa May said activists' presence in the UK would 'not be conducive to the public good'

The British Museum is set to hold an exhibition on the subject of sex in Japanese art.

The city of Bristol boasts a striking new landmark after the unveiling of a giant mural depicting a breakdancing Jesus Christ.

The Met has appealed to anyone who saw EDL graffiti daubed on the walls of a Somali community centre before it was destroyed in a suspected arson attack.