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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, June 22, 2009

Soprano, pianist win classical 'Idol'


Advertiser News Services

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Leah Crocetto

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An American soprano singer and a Ukrainian pianist have won top honors at a competition that combines elements of "American Idol" and classical music.

Leah Crocetto, a 29-year-old first-year fellow with the San Francisco opera, won the $50,000 first prize in the vocal portion of the third annual Jose Iturbi International Music Competition at the University of California, Los Angeles.

She also received two separate $3,000 prizes, including the people's choice award for the weeklong competition whose $252,000 in prizes were announced this weekend.

Dmitri Levkovich, a 29-year-old pianist from the Ukraine, won the $50,000 first prize in the piano competition. He also won a separate $3,000 award known as the Spanish prize.

ROKER TRAVERSES THE COUNTRY FOR CHARITY

The "Today" show's Al Roker usually does his national weather reporting from New York, but this week he'll be experiencing it coast-to-coast as he hits the road for the program's eighth annual "Lend a Hand Today" charity event.

Starting today in Los Angeles, Roker will be in a different city each day this week to surprise a local charity organization with much-needed supplies and donations to improve their communities.

"This country, in a sense, was built on charity and volunteerism," Roker said. "A lot of these places ... are the ones that are on the front lines every day."

Other cities on his itinerary are Portland, Ore.; Little Rock, Ark.; Galveston, Texas; and Charlotte, N.C.

DOCTOR'S DALI DRAWINGS GOING ON DISPLAY

Fifteen drawings Salvador Dali made for a dermatologist will be on exhibit for the first time at the University of Buffalo.

The artist gave the late Dr. Edmund Klein the personalized drawings as payment for treatment over nearly a decade, beginning in 1972. They will be on display for two months this summer.

Klein and his family stored the drawings in a bank vault. His widow, Martha, revealed their existence last summer.

AUDIENCES SAY 'I DO' TO 'THE PROPOSAL'

Movie audiences accepted a proposal from Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, who scored the summer's first big romantic comedy hit.

Bullock and Reynolds' "The Proposal" took in $34.1 million to open as the weekend's No. 1 movie, according to studio estimates yesterday.

"The Proposal" took over the top spot from the Warner Bros. bachelor-party comedy "The Hangover," which slipped to second place with $26.9 million. A surprise smash hit, "The Hangover" raised its total to $152.9 million.

Disney's animated adventure "Up" was No. 3 with $21.3 million, lifting its total to $224.1 million and following Paramount's "Star Trek" as the second movie of 2009 to cross the $200 million mark.

Debuting in the fourth spot with $20.2 million was Sony's caveman comedy "Year One."