Glyndebourne's dreadlocks-and-driftwood Janacek misses the Slavic touch, while Harrison Birtwistle's 'opera' is simply loathsome

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Album: Saint Etienne, Words and Music by Saint Etienne (Heavenly)

The handover between "Over the Border" - a semi-spoken memoir about the powerful hold of pop over the young mind - and "I've Got Your Music" encapsulates everything that's great about Saint Etienne: one minute they're singing about great pop, the next they're actually doing some.

How We Met: Chris Cox and Tim Minchin

'I get frustrated by how good he is, but it inspires me to do better'

Shock tactics aren’t required and Robert Jay doesn’t use them

James Cusick: Britain's most televised barrister dons the disguise of Captain Slow

His disguise works best when the person on the receiving end gets too comfortable

The Insider: How to freshen up your second-hand buys

Like your homewares pre-loved – but wary of whiffy flea-market and charity-shop buys? Don't be: take tips from the pros and do a Cinderella on scabby, shabby or stinky second-hand finds...

Angry Birds Land comes home to roost in Finland

Finland’s Särkänniemi Adventure Park has opened its doors for the summer season with a brand new addition, the world’s first Angry Birds themed attraction.

On song: Pauline Malefane rehearsing 'Venus and Adonis'

Poetry in motion from across the seas

Chanting, dancing, singing and stamping – welcome to the township take on the Bard. By Ivan Fallon

On song: Pauline Malefane rehearsing 'Venus and Adonis'

Poetry in motion as South Africans tackle Shakespeare

A Cape Town theatre company offers an exciting take on the Bard

Leading article: Better to maintain the mystery of Springfield

And so the mystery is solved. After 20-plus years and more than 500 episodes, the creator of The Simpsons has finally cracked and admitted that it was Springfield, Oregon, all along. Since the very beginning, fans have speculated as to which of the 34 US towns that bear the name – not to mention the one in Essex – could claim to be "the real Springfield", home of the world's most famous yellow family. Now they know.

Album: Klaus Florian Vogt, Helden (Sony Classical)

German tenor Klaus Florian Vogt has the appeal of a period film star – the granite chin, the mane of shoulder-length hair and legs that probably look great in swashbuckler's tights – and there's a sunlit, youthful spirit to his delivery that's entirely suitable for the heroic roles anthologised on Helden: soaring, ambitious, morally certain, with little of the gravitas, doubt and compromise one detects in more mature tenors.

Rebel Robb Stark

'Game of Thrones': It's like Tolkien, but with naughty bits

It's back on the box from tomorrow and Tim Lott explains why its blend of swords, sorcery and sex is such a winner

DVD: Puss in Boots (U)

"What can I say, I was a bad kitty," explains Antonio Banderas's outlaw mog at the start of this very enjoyable spin-off from the Shrek franchise.

Damon Albarn on stage with Bobby Womack
Kristy Bamu was tortured and drowned in a bath on Christmas Day 2010

Pair jailed for 'witch' boy murder

A couple were jailed for life today for torturing and drowning a teenage boy they accused of being a witch.

Robert Fisk on the Sudan-Ethiopia border in 1984

Robert Fisk: The heroic myth and the uncomfortable truth of war reporting

Like other correspondents, Robert Fisk has risked his life to 'witness history'. But after almost four decades, he feels ambivalent towards his profession

Career Services

Day In a Page

David Rodigan: An MBE for reggae

David Rodigan on an MBE for reggae

The DJ from Oxfordshire and his obsession with the sound of Jamaica which is shared by Prince Charles
An artist who maps the human body

Mapping the human body

Angela Palmer: Life Lines picture preview
Crossrail: Celebrating 60 years in transport

Jubilant Crossrail

Celebrating 60 years in transport
Grace Dent: If you were on your first foreign trip for 24 years, would you want Bono to be a part of the package?

Grace Dent

If you were on your first foreign trip for 24 years, would you want Bono to be a part of the package?
Ireland's austerity D-Day: How much pain can it take?

Ireland's austerity D-Day: How much pain can it take?

After years of savage cuts, the Irish now face a stark choice: do they hand over control of their economy to Europe – or go it alone without the safety net of future bailouts?
Is doctors' fixation on treatment making us ill?

Is doctors' fixation on treatment making us ill?

Advances in medicine have made the impossible, possible. But an over-reliance on healthcare threatens to bankrupt the world – and make all of us sick
The most complained-about advertisements of all time

The most complained-about advertisements of all time

The ASA has received 430,000 complaints during its existence, with a record 31,548 in 2011
Olympians: They're fit and don't we just know it

Olympians: They're fit and don't we just know it

From Tom Daley's six-pack to scantily clad volleyball players, Olympic athletes are being sold on their sex appeal. Why can't we appreciate talent, not totty?
Return of the unacceptable face of capitalism?

Return of the unacceptable face of capitalism?

Sir Richard Needham's resignation from the board of Lonrho brings back bad memories of the group's controversial past
Off the rails in Bermuda

Off the rails in Bermuda

Best known for beaches, it's also home to a stunning hiking trail that follows the route of an old railway line
Get ready for a royal good time

Get ready for a royal good time

There are plenty of events to help you fly the flag during the Diamond Jubilee long weekend and half term
Spain: World football's marathon men

Marathon men: Are Spain running out of puff?

They have every right to be exhausted after four taxing years of almost non-stop action but the chance to claim a unique treble is spurring them on
Usain Bolt: The Bolt show runs on

Usain Bolt: The Bolt show runs on

Friday's 'slow' 100m has done nothing to dent Jamaican's supreme confidence he will triumph in London
The weirdest and most wonderful Diamond Jubilee memorabilia

Weird and wonderful Jubilee memorabilia

Coronation Chicken ice cream and Jubilee jelly moulds
'I may be deaf, but you can still talk to me'

'I may be deaf, but you can still talk to me'

Being a teenager is hard enough – for those with hearing loss, it can be even more complicated