"Like a Virgin," a dance tune that helped propel Madonna to stardom as risqué pop ingénue in the 1980s, was performed as a mournful cabaret with violin accompaniment. At one point, the singer was trussed up and hoisted into the air by four male dancers, then lowered onto a platform as though into a volcano - a virgin sacrifice.

For "Gang Bang," Madonna wrestled with armed intruders whom she then dispatched with a pistol - their "blood" spattering across an enormous video backdrop. In a routine for "Revolver", she wielded a Kalashnikov rifle, used by many modern-day insurgents, while one of her dancers favored an Israeli Uzi.

The exertions never sapped her confident singing, though she did become somewhat breathless during remarks to the audience at Ramat Gan stadium on Tel Aviv's outskirts.

"I chose to start my world tour in Israel for a very specific and important reason. As you know, the Middle East and all the conflicts that have been occurring here for thousands of years - they have to stop," she said to cheers.

A devotee of Jewish mysticism, Madonna had dubbed the first leg of her 28-country "MDNA" tour the "Peace Concert" and distributed free tickets to some of the Palestinians who attended from the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Among them was a woman named Yasmine, who declined to give her last name in light of Palestinian calls to boycott the Madonna concert and other cultural events in Israel. She offered a mixed assessment of the show.

Pianist Li Yundi will serve as deputy director of a newly founded Piano Research Institute with Sichuan Conservatory of Music, his alma mater.

It is reported that on May 25, Li will go to Chengdu to accept the post.

The director will be Dan Zhaoyi, his teacher. Li will be one of the three vice-directors.

Li will also be enrolled as a visiting associate professor of the college on the same day.

Officials from the college said the institute would look into the history of piano music in Sichuan province and Li would set up his studio so that piano students could learn from him face to face.

As the youngest and first Chinese winner in the history of the International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition, Li enjoys great fame both home and abroad. He used to deliver lectures on the piano and Chinese culture at world famous universities, such as the University of Cambridge and Royal College of Music in London.

I consider Kenny G romantic because he's happy and free onstage. His performances are unconstrained, and feature free movements and a great deal of improvisation. His cheerfulness is infectious, indeed.

The ability to translate any pop song into smooth sax jazz is what has made Kenny G the world's best-selling instrumentalist.

I hadn't been excited when I saw Moonlight Represents My Heart and My Heart Will Go On on the concert's set list. But these otherwise tired classics were given new vitality by Kenny G's adlibs.

That ability to reinterpret pop into sax jazz has popularized the instrument and holds potential for winning younger Kenny G fans.

Kuang Renji, 11, has been studying sax for a year.

He danced for joy after Kenny G gave the boy an autograph at the album signing following the Guangzhou show.

Kuang had been growing bored with the tedious basic exercises but rekindled his passion after Kenny G's live performance of My Heart Will Go On.

"Kenny G charms different generations," the boy's father, Kuang Weiwen, says.

He has been a fan since he attended Kenny G's concert in the US 24 years ago.

Soap opera "General Hospital" scored the highest number of daytime Emmy nominations on Wednesday, including a nod for best drama, with long-running children's program Sesame Street coming in tied for second place.

"General Hospital" on ABC gained 23 nominations, including best lead actor in a drama series for both Maurice Bernard and Anthony Geary and best lead actress for Laura Wright. Fellow soap opera stalwarts "The Young and the Restless" and "Days of Our Lives," followed with 16 and 15 nominations respectively.

"Sesame Street" gained 16 nominations and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," received 12.

Among TV talk shows, NBC's "Today" show brought home six, including one for its coverage of the British royal wedding last year, against one nod for its ABC rival "Good Morning America", which last month knocked "Today" off its No.1 morning spot for the first time in 16 years.

Among networks however, ABC ruled the roost with a leading 56 nominations thanks mostly to its daytime soaps and programs like female chat show "The View".

PBS was second with 51, mostly due to its strong children's programming, CBS had 32 and NBC got 24 nods.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper also did well, scoring three nominations in the first year of his new syndicated daytime talk show "Anderson".

Jazz Fest has helped carry the New Orleans brand far and wide, Kappus said. Major music events around the world routinely include Louisiana bands in their lineups, and younger musicians are finding the kind of fame that once accrued only to long-established groups such as the Neville Brothers.

"Five years ago, Trombone Shorty had barely played outside of New Orleans, and recently, he's played on five continents in two months," Kappus said.

Along with showcasing the city's musical and culinary assets, Jazz Fest also shines a light on its visual artists and artisans, many of whom reflect New Orleans' diverse cultural roots.

In a large heritage exhibit area, mixed-media artist and New Orleans native Epaul Julien on Friday showed off elegant, framed montages of his photographs and drawings. He said his work "is all about New Orleans," but it also flows from his Haitian and Senegalese heritage.

"My great-great grandfather came here after fleeing the Haitian Revolution in 1802," he said.

Like local musicians and food vendors, Julien's art also is finding a wider audience. Next month he will show his work at an exhibit in Milan, Italy.

Displays by such local artists deepen the cultural experience of a visit to Jazz Fest, but many would probably still say the biggest draw is fun.

"I have a friend who's been coming to this festival for 20 years, and he used to tell me I was an idiot for not coming," New Yorker Steven Rolnik said Friday as he finished off a plate of Cajun boudin. "Well, this is my second time at the festival, and you know what? My friend was right."

Ousted "American Idol" singer Elise Testone said on Friday she was proud of her song choices and performances on the show, even though they may not have connected with the voting public.

But bluesy rock singer Testone, the oldest of the contest's Top 10 at 28, said she had hoped to stay on and fight another day.

"I was a little bit surprised because in my heart I didn't feel it was time for me to go. But it wasn't a total shock because being in the bottom three that many times it was inevitable it would happen sometime. But I guess I just felt like a fighter and that I was going to push through," Testone told reporters the day after her exit.

Testone finished in 6th place in the TV competition after her rendition this week of Queen's "I Want it All" and the Jimi Hendrix number "Bold as Love" - songs that reflected her rocker style - were criticized by the judges.

The songs put the vocal coach from South Carolina in the bottom three yet again.

"I think the majority of voting comes from middle America so if I can't win them over it's not going to happen. I felt if I was honest and sung from my heart and my passion, that was the best I could do," Testone said.

"Those were the best choices for me," she said of her performances this week, "but probably the majority of people at home want to be able to sing along."

Eason Chan becomes 1st Chinese artist at O2 Arena

Hong Kong superstar Eason Chan has become the first Chinese artist to perform at London's O2 Arena.

The singer sold out the arena within 20 minutes of tickets going on sale and crashed the venues servers.

Before the show Chan said he was surprised by the high demand in London but promised a show full of energy.

The performance was part of his popular "Duo Eason Chan" tour which kicked off in his hometown of Hong Kong on March 20.

The tour will take him to 35 cities in nine countries.

The 37-year-old has released more than 30 solo albums and is one of the best-selling Mandarin and Cantonese pop artists.

This was his second appearance on a London stage after performing at the Royal Albert Hall back in 2010.