This play, written in verse, takes place mainly in an European country. The play accounts a folklore of a man who, after wreaking havoc in his home country, went on a long journey in the world before returning home in old age.
A decade after the play was published, a composer (same nationality of the author) wrote a piece of music based on it.

Name:
Play (2 words, 4,4)
Playwright (6,5, "i" is 5th letter of first name)
Composer (6,5, "i" is 3rd letter of last name)
"i" from Blois.

Ok, I had to rely on Google for this one.

Peer Gynt
Henrik Ibsen
Edvard Grieg

I had no idea that is what Peer Gynt is all about, actually. I don't think that I've really listened to this piece -- it's very famous, of course. I don't think that I've listened to much of Grieg beyond the Piano Concerto and the "Lyric Pieces" (for piano).

Yes. Peer Gynt it is.

Clue: Identify this husband/wife team, where the husband is a singer who has become pretty famous and who has also collaborated with a legendary singer. The husband and wife have collaborated on a new album. The wife is the daughter of an illegitimate affair between two film superstars.

Husband:
first name = 8 letters
last name = 6 letters (2nd = "i")

Wife:
first name = 6 letters (2nd = "i")
last name = 11 letters (7th = "i")

Legendary singer:
first name = 8 letters (4th = "i")
last name = 5 letters (no is)

If you find this too obscure, you can already find hints to the identities fo the superstar parents somewhere in this thread (or its prequels).

Hint: Superstar mom is French; superstar dad is Italian.

These are obscure people (at least to me!). I'm really not into French music. Here's what I think the answers are:

Husband: Benjamin Biolay
Wife: Chiara Mastroianni (daughter of Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve)

Legendary singer: Julien Clerc?

I was too tired last night when I answered. This morning I realized some of my answers # don't match the clue.

I'm pretty sure the wife is
Chiara Mastroianni, but the "i" is the 3rd letter of her first name, not the 2nd.

In terms of the legendary singer, Julien Clerc is only 6,5; not 8,5. Searching a bit more makes me think the singer should be Juliette Gréco instead.

Oui, oui, bien sur!

Ok, so you can go next.

Actually I don't listen to chansons either, but reading guide books has a way of generating clues for the thread. You can bet that most of my clues will be related to Italy or France. :-) And isn't it bizarre that Deneuve had an affair with Mastroianni? I never knew that!

This artist produced a series of work, which was commissioned by an European country government, to commemorate the 700th birthday of this poet.

Artist: 4
Series: 6,6 ("n" is 5th letter of 1st word)
Poet: 5,9 ("n" is 3rd letter of first name)

"n" taken from Mastroianni.

Hint:
The poet is Italian, but the artist is Spanish.

Artist: Salvador Dali
Poet: Dante Alighieri
Painting series: Divine Comedy

Correct, cmt!

I just went to an exhibition today at the Dallas Museum of Art, which displayed part of Dali's Divine Comedy series.

Now your turn.

A peachy drink was named after a painter. A famous composer had the same last name as this composer. In the composer's city of birth, a famous dish containing eggplant was named after the composer's most famous work.

1. the drink: 7 letters; the 2nd is the "e" from Dante.

2. the painter: first name - 8 letters; last name - 7 letters. The 2nd letter of the first name is the "i" from Alighieri.

3. the composer: first name - 8 letters; last name - 7 letters. The 3rd letter of the first name is the "n" from Dante.

4. the city: 7 letters, ending with the "a" from Dante.

5. the dish: 3 words, having 5, 4, 5 letters. The penultimate letter of the last word is the "m" from Comedy.

6. the composer's work: 5 letters, containing the "m" as described above.

P.S. I just did an image search on Google and found some of the Dali works for the Divine Comedy series. I don't think I'd ever seen them before.

P.P.S. Last night for supper I made the eggplant dish that's the answer to one of my clues.

I can't quite see the post when I hit post my reply, but

the drink = Bellini
the painter = Giovanni Bellini
the composer = Vincenzo Bellini
the piece = Norma
the dish = Pasta alla Norma

(I did have to use Google.)

Perfect! Your turn.

(I'm sorry I forgot to check this yesterday.)

Clue: The accepted (or prevalent) translations of this classic movie are oddly just very slightly different in the UK and the US. One could argue that the UK translation is more faithful to the original.

US translation: 3 words
UK translation: 2 words
Title in the original language: 3 words, 5, 2, 10, 5th letter of the first word is "i."

You know what -- let's throw in a couple more "i"s.

2nd letter of 2nd word = "i."
Also the 2nd and the 4th letters of the 3rd word.

(These are all the "i"s.)

Hint: Movie is Italian.

Life Is Beautiful?

No (the Italian title doesn't fit the clue anyway -- isn't it La vita e bella, or something like that?).

Another clue: It's a neo-realist classic and routinely pops up on Top 10 lists (such as the polls by Sight and Sound every 10 years).

The bicycle thief
bicycle thieves
Ladri di biciclette

Yes. That wasn't so difficult, was it?

Over to you, DT.

This is a funny story:

"And I swear I'm not making this up, but I once heard an American voice in the National Film Theatre's bookshop asking the cashier if the videotape it was selling under the title Bicycle Thieves was a sequel to The Bicycle Thief."

http://www.michaelbrooke.com/2004/03...wild-oats.html

DT?

topping for DT

Maybe DT is out of town.

Since I'm bored, why don't I give another clue? Let's do this -- we can continue with the game until DT comes back and gives us a clue. The clue left unanswered when DT returns can be replaced with a clue of DT's choosing. Alternatively, if the person who answers the last clue when DT returns hasn't come up with a clue, then the person forfeits his/her turn for a clue and DT gets to give us a clue.

Clue: This modernist villa (9 letters, 8th = "a" from Ladri) designed by the architect commonly referred to as (4 letters) is a UNESCO landmark but is apparently in severe disrepair.

Hint: The clue is not too difficult if you read the things I read. :-)

Hi 111op: Would this be Villa Tugendhat designed by architect, Mies van der Rohe? Rohe being the 4 letters you want?

Actually I wanted Mies (usually the archiect is referred to as "Mies," as far as I know). By the way, his famous maxim is "less is more," I believe. I've been wanting to give a clue on Mies.

But no matter. You're up, Huitres!

Article from NYT (whereelse):

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/21/ar...gn/21mies.html

And by the way, Mies van der Rohe is not his real name, if I recall correctly. I forget what the real name is.

Hmmm...
Tugendhat?

According to this link:

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe wasn't really his name--he made it up using Ludwig Mies as a base.

http://www.metropolismag.com/html/co...rev/rev01.html

oooops. guess i'm too slow!

Well, Huitres beat you, yk.

Ok, here's my clue:

First a Roman, then Greek colony, this city (7 letters) became known for its famous medical school during the Middle Ages, the first of its kind in Europe. This ruler, (3 words: 7 letters, 2 letters, 5 letters) made this city the capital of an empire. It was later home to an illustrious resident whose name is linked to a nearby isle (7 letters).

Salerno & Procida?
Still working on the ruler

Somehow my guess is that Napoleon is the illustrious resident linked to Corsica. Maybe I'm off to a wild goose chase -- I haven't had time to research this clue properly.

111op: You are too funny! :) No, not this clue!