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Monster Mash: Chinese scroll sells for $63.8 million; Leonard Slatkin speaks out on ‘La Traviata’

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Hot market: An anonymous bidder paid a record $63.8 million for a calligraphic hand scroll by Song Dynasty master Huang Tingjian in a sale at Beijing’s Poly Auction, the largest auction house in mainland China. (Artinfo)

Dog show: Performance artist Laurie Anderson entertained hundreds of canines with a concert of high-frequency sounds outside the Sydney Opera House. (Agence France Presse)

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Backstage drama: Conductor Leonard Slatkin has given his side of what happened during the troubled opening night of the Metropolitan Opera’s ‘La Traviata’ in March. He denies he was unprepared and cites problems that include what he calls soprano Angela Gheorghiu’s ‘unprofessional behavior.’ (Detroit Free Press)

Singalong: The video game Green Day: Rock Band, which is due out this week, will allow users to play along with 19 songs heard in the Broadway musical ‘American Idiot.’ (Broadway.com)

Farewell: Jeffrey Kahane led a final weekend of concerts marking the end of his five-year stint as music director of the Colorado Symphony. Kahane also is music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. (Denver Post)

Joint venture: The British Museum and Wikipedia are collaborating to help enhance the museum’s presence in the pages of the online reference source. (New York Times)

Ailing: Seiji Ozawa, who is undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer, has canceled a weeklong European tour he was set to conduct in early December. He still plans to lead a Dec. 14 concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. (BBC News)

Spirit of the ‘60s: British photographer Brian Duffy, one of a trio known as the ‘Black Trinity’ whose celebrity and fashion portraits helped define the swinging ‘60s, has died at 76. (Telegraph)

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Theater historian: Helen Krich Chinoy, who collected the views of actors and directors and documented women’s contributions to the American stage, has died at 87. (New York Times)

And in the Los Angeles Times: New Museum of Contemporary Art director Jeffrey Deitch talks about his fascination with Andy Warhol; Lewis Segal reviews Merce Cunningham’s ‘Roaratorio’ at Walt Disney Concert Hall; television critic Mary McNamara reviews ‘Smash His Camera,’ a documentary about celebrity photographer Ron Galella; opera soprano Renee Fleming rocks out on her new album, ‘Dark Hope.’

-- Karen Wada

Greg Wood / AFP / Getty Images

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