Clue: This (6 letters, nationality, 2nd letter = "a") director (3 words, 4, 3, 5) was scheduled to direct (opera: 2 words, 3, 4) at (location, 8 letters) but has since withdrawn his participation.

Hint 1: It's not quite accurate of me to call what he was supposed to be directing "an opera."

Hint 2: The director is somewhat controversial but famous -- some of his movies have been criticized as unwatchable.

The danish director Lars von trier was suppoed to direct The Idiot at Bayreuth

Harzer

Not quite. Or were you just trying to be funny? This composer can be regarded as an idiot by some (or worse, I suppose).

But you can take the next clue.

von Trier was scheduled to direct the Ring but pulled out. Not quite an opera as it's a cycle of four operas.

Please give us the next clue, harzer.

ttt/harzer?

I looked up "Danish Director" on Google to get this info.

The next clue:

This Polish town of six letters is known as "the crossroads of European history". Nearby is a memorial museum to victims of the Holocaust, named after the associated concentration camp.

Name the camp: ----a---

the town: Lublin
the camp: Majdanek

correct, cmt - too easy i guess.

Up to you now ...

Harzer

A side note:
111op- have a great trip to Paris/Loire!

Hey, thanks! I'm leaving after work, so I'll still be eagerly awaiting the next clue for a couple of hours. :-)

What're you doing for Labor Day weekend, by the way?

The English version of the title of a famous European novel has the name of a common European fruit in it. (The title in the original language is the name of a family.)

The fruit: 6 letters; the 4th is oan "L" from Lublin.

The novel takes place in a town with 9 letters (sometimes written as two words with 3 and 6). The 6th letter (3rd letter of the second part) is the "E" from Majdanek.

The city where its author was born has 7 letters. The 5th is the "N" from Lublin.

A less common name for the nearby mountain has 10 letters. The penultimate is another "L" from Lublin.

Medlar
Aci Trezza
Catania (I've also seen Vizzini, which does not fit the clue)

Read about the novel here:
http://www.uga.edu/~italian/ottocento/otto4.htm

I don't know this one at all, by the way.

I need to look up the nearby mountain.

Mt Etna is also called Mongibello.

http://www.petralia.freeserve.co.uk/Etna/Index.htm

Anyway, if cmt doesn't confirm before I leave today, someone else or DT can just give a clue. I'll check the thread when I'm back.

Have fun people.

Correct. You're "it," 111op.

I've about 8 minutes left on this internet cafe thing by the W4th subway station, so I might as well give a clue. Then I can go to JFK and catch the plane. :-)

I'll give two, for the heck of it. They've a similar flavor.

Clue: 1. Common nickname of two musical works. One is a piano sonata and the other is a symphony. (10 letters, 2nd = "a")

2. A literary work contains the nickname of a musical work, and so does a subsequent string quartet. (8 letters, 4th = "e")

2. might be a little harder -- hint here is that the literary work is Russian.

Have fun and just continue without me!

Sorry, in 2., the title of the literary work and the string quartet directly reference the nickmame of the initial work.

Sorry, 3rd of 2. is "e".

Don't miss your train!
Have a safe trip.
I'm working all weekend and all week next week. :(

Tolstoy wrote a story called "The Kreutzer Sonata".

Is "Pathetique" the name of both a sonata and a symphony?

Harzer