Kiri Te Kanawa

This goo was worth a point in February 2024.

publication date: Friday, February 16, 2024 (part of February 2024)

category: Music

clue: New Zealand's queen of OPERA has been critical of popular music, despite winning a Grammy as part of the West Side Story ensemble.

explanation: Te Kanawa has made controversial comments about pop stars not being true singers since they use microphones. In 1984, when Leonard Bernstein re-recorded West Side Story as the conductor and the album won a Grammy, she played Maria. more…

intended difficulty: medium

solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, LaVonne Lemler, Samir Mehta, and Richard Slominsky

Ancient Acrostic: Sator Squares are a meme from ancient Rome, a double-acrostic palindrome puzzle in which five words repeat backwards, forwards, upwards, and downwards. The tiles were made over the course of centuries, and historians have a variety of theories as to their origin but no definitive explanation, making them a compelling historical enigma. Ponder their meaning with these seven celebrities, each of whom was inspired by a different five-letter word that can be traced in a winding route on the squares.

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