Artistic Director

After judges last weekend narrowed a field of 61 vocalists to nine, the Annapolis Opera announced the finalists who will compete in Sunday's 17th annual vocal competition. Two are from Maryland, three are from Virginia and four are from Pennsylvania, with all nine possessing a strong educational background. The finalists are baritone Jason Kaminski and soprano Jung-A Lee, both of Maryland; soprano Leanne Gonzalez, baritone Nemeh Azzam and soprano Lori Lind, all of Virginia; and baritone James Kee, bass-baritone Damian Savarino, soprano Brenda Atzinger and tenor Jinho Hwang, all of Pennsylvania.

JAN WOLKERS, 81 Novelist, poet and sculptor Novelist, poet and sculptor Jan Wolkers, whose sex-charged books helped shake off the shackles of postwar conservatism in the Netherlands, died yesterday at his home on the North Sea island of Texel, his publisher said. His best-known book was Turkish Delight, about a stormy relationship between a sculptor and his girlfriend who break up and are reunited shortly before she dies of a brain tumor. It was published in 1969 and has been translated into a dozen languages.

If you sat in the right spot at Center Stage's recently concluded production of Charles Ludlam's "The Mystery of Irma Vep," you might have noticed a portrait of a knight in armor hanging in the little hallway on the far left of the set of the musty English manor.Looking more closely, you could have caught a few anachronistic details: The crest of Yale University was painted in one corner; the school mascot, a bulldog, was painted in another; and the subject of the portrait was wearing glasses.

John Field, 69, a former director of the Royal Ballet and Sadler's Wells Theater Ballet companies, died Saturday in London of cancer. He also had been ballet director at La Scala. Born in Doncaster in northern England, he studied dancing in Liverpool and made his first appearances at the age of 17 with the Liverpool Ballet Club. At age 18 he joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet in London and took part in its first wartime tour before joining the Royal Air Force in 1942. After World War II, he rejoined Sadler's Wells and became one of its principal dancers, appearing with Margot Fonteyn and Beryl Grey.

Totem Pole Playhouse, the summer theater nestled in Pennsylvania's Caledonia State Park, is in the midst of the second production of its six-play season. Alfred Uhry's 1997 Tony Award-winning play, "The Last Night of Ballyhoo," continues through July 4 and features several current Baltimoreans -- actors Wil Love and Rosemary Knower and director Carl Schurr (who is also the theater's artistic director) -- as well as former Baltimorean Tess Hartman. The production will move to Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre in January.

And you thought things were rocky backstage at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for the past few years, what with a stream of personnel changes, morale problems, fiscal woes. You want to talk rocky? Check out the English National Opera. The distinguished London company has been immersed in its own opera - more of a soap opera - since 2002. There has been one resignation or firing after another, including two general directors, two music directors (one of them quit before he even started working there)

When the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble performed and gave workshops last weekend at the Howard County Center for the Arts, it was yet another tangible sign of the residency agreement between the New York-based modern dance organization and the state of Maryland.In Howard County alone, for instance, there is even more Ailey activity on the way. The main company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, will perform at Merriweather Post Pavilion June 27 as part of the Columbia Festival of the Arts.

Debbie Chinn will step down from Center Stage after a whirlwind two years as managing director of Baltimore's largest and best-known regional theater — a decision she says she initiated. Chinn, 53, announced her resignation Tuesday during a meeting of Center Stage staff. "There were gasps," she said, adding that she will leave at the end of December. "These are extraordinary times that require bold decisions," Chinn said. "I've been thinking about this for quite some time and became convinced that Center Stage should be free to chart its own course without being confined by past practices — even if that meant reconsidering my own position.

Ballet Theatre of Maryland in the 2002-2003 season will honor the life of Edward Stewart, the BTM founding artistic director. Stewart, who died of lung cancer July 30, left a legacy of dedication and discipline for the dancers who begin a new season without him. A number of guest choreographers will offer their artistic perspectives in new productions. The company will not select a full-time artistic director until at least the end of the season. The season begins with a program designed by choreographer Peter Anastos, who arrived Sept.

Rep Stage, the professional theater ensemble in residence at Howard Community College in Columbia, has announced details of its 2001-2002 season. "We've programmed a group of plays in which reality is mixed with fantasy and mystery to create great theater," says Valerie Costantini, Rep Stage's producer and artistic director. "There are remarkable inner lives in the characters we're bringing to the stage this season. Their exteriors may look plain but, inside, they are strong and vibrant creations."