NEW HAVEN, CONN. Festival to feature global art

The festival's budget has been lowered $500,000.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- The eighth annual International Festival of Arts & amp; Ideas plans to return in June with performances from artists around the globe.
Aid to the festival had been threatened by state budget problems, but fund-raisers have helped close the gap, festival director Mary Miller said recently.
This year's 16-day festival, which opens June 12, has a smaller budget -- $3.2 million instead of $3.7 million. State aid, which had been about $1 million, is expected to be cut about $350,000, Miller said.
"We have been extraordinarily fortunate in our fund raising. People have stayed loyal, and we have attracted new donors, both independent donors and organizational money. And we've seen some surprising increases," Miller said.
2002 event
Last year, the event ran 18 days and featured 1,300 artists from 26 nations.
One of the most popular festival attractions, a free performance by New York's Metropolitan Opera, is back with a presentation of Puccini's "Turandot" June 18 on the New Haven Green.
Mexican composer Hilda Paredes will present the world premiere of her new opera, "Phantom Palace," an adaptation of the novella by Chilean writer Isabel Allende.
The work was commissioned by the festival, along with the English National Opera and Musik der Jahrhunderte in Germany. The opera travels to Great Britain and Germany after its appearance at the festival, June 12-15.
Broomhill Opera of South Africa returns with "The Beggar's Opera," an 18th-century farce, and "The Mysteries," a retelling of biblical stories. The performances are with Wilton's Music Hall of Great Britain.
The festival also includes dance offerings, poetry readings and discussions.
XOn the Net: Art & amp; Ideas New Haven Web site: http://www.artidea.org