European Tour

It's been four years now since our last encounter with Robert Langdon, the be-tweeded hero who has Da Vinci'd and Demon-ed his way through three previous Dan Brown page-rippers. Brown's last book, " The Lost Symbol ," came out in 2009, smack in the vortex of a Brownado — a whirling era of "Da Vinci Code" European tour packages and Tom Hanks's second cinematic turn as the lank-haired Harvard symbologist. "The Lost Symbol" seemed of the moment and of particularly heightened American interest, set as it was in D.C. Tuesday marks...

BERLIN — It probably wasn't the reception Barbie was hoping for at the start of her European tour. Feminist protesters burned a doll on a cross and left-wing demonstrators shouted "pink stinks" at the Berlin opening of a life-sized Barbie house Thursday. They far outnumbered Barbie fans who came to see the Mattel toy's fictional Malibu home. Security guards swiftly ejected the protesters from the site, which is tucked away behind socialist high rises, railroad tracks and a shopping center near the...

"Our focus, increasingly, will be on international touring," Rita Shapiro, the executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra, said in an interview in April, when the orchestra announced its tour of South America from June 12 to 28. That was no idle boast. Tuesday, the NSO announced that only eight months after its return from South America, the orchestra will go on another tour, of Europe, for 11 days in January and February. The price tag on this tour is approximately the same as it is for the South American jaunt: $2 million.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — About the only thing Fred Couples and Colin Montgomerie had in common was a golf swing good enough to trust for a lifetime. Couples became the first American to reach No. 1 in the world and won the Masters by a blade of grass that kept his ball from trickling into Rae's Creek. Montgomerie found fame on the European Tour, where he won the Order of Merit a record seven times in a row, though he never won a major, a glaring hole in his credentials. Couples sauntered down the...

President Obama and Europe were bound together during his first two years in office by the global economic downturn and the collective effort to resolve it. But the dominant themes of the president's European tour, set to begin Monday, highlight how much the world has changed over that time. As he enters the second half of his term, security issues, in South Asia and the broader Middle East, have replaced the economy as the chief shared interests of the world's wealthiest and most powerful allies.

Diana Damrau, one of the finest coloraturas of her generation, finally came to Washington National Opera on Monday night. It was not exactly the debut one might have hoped for, not on the main stage and not in her typical repertory. Still, in a recital of largely ethereal German and French songs, the German soprano showed herself a gifted storyteller, set against the evanescent backdrop of arrangements for harp played by Xavier de Maistre. Many hearts leaped into many throats when...

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — About the only thing Fred Couples and Colin Montgomerie had in common was a golf swing they could trust for a lifetime. Couples became the first American to reach No. 1 in the world and won the Masters by a blade of grass that kept his ball from trickling into Rae's Creek. Montgomerie found fame on the European Tour, where he won the Order of Merit a record seven times in a row, though he never won a major, a glaring hole in his credentials. Couples...

BERLIN — It probably wasn't the reception Barbie was hoping for at the start of her European tour. Feminist protesters burned a doll on a cross and left-wing demonstrators shouted "pink stinks" at the Berlin opening of a life-sized Barbie house Thursday. They far outnumbered Barbie fans who came to see the Mattel toy's fictional Malibu home. Security guards swiftly ejected the protesters from the site, which is tucked away behind socialist high rises, railroad tracks and a shopping...

NHL 7 p.m. Montreal at Washington » Comcast SportsNet, WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM) 7 p.m. New York Rangers at Philadelphia » NHL Network NBA 8 p.m. New York at Boston » TNT 10:30 p.m. Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix » TNT MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 7 p.m. Purdue at Michigan » ESPN 7 p.m. Tennessee at Mississippi » ESPN2 7 p.m. LIU-Brooklyn at St. Francis (N.Y.) » Fox College Sports 7 p.m. Virginia Commonwealth at Richmond » CBS Sports Network 8 p.m. Virginia at...

Charley Hoffman's quick start gave him a two-shot lead over U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson after three rounds of the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, S.C., on Saturday. Hoffman had four birdies on his first five holes to shoot a bogey-free 5-under-par 66 and keep out front at 11 under on a windy, cool day at Harbour Town Golf Links. Simpson also didn't make a bogey on the way to a 65. Kevin Streelman shot a 69 and was alone in third at 8 under. The round started with 91 players making the cut, tying...

OMAHA, Neb. — A lot more people in Roger Chapman's hometown know who he is nowadays. That's what happens when a guy wins a couple majors on the Champions Tour. Chapman would have been best described as a journeyman on the European Tour before he broke through last year with wins at the Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Senior Open. "It's been an enormous change in my life," the 54-year-old Englishman said Monday at the media day for the 2013 U.S. Senior Open that will be played in...

For all the talk about the greens, Rory McIlroy's most important club was his driver Thursday in the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte. McIlroy kept the ball in play at Quail Hollow and gave himself plenty of birdie chances on a cloudy, soft afternoon. He ran off six birdies in a seven-hole stretch around the turn and finished with an eight-foot birdie putt for a 5-under-par 67 to share the lead with six other players. It was the first time this year McIlroy has been atop the leader...

Charley Hoffman's quick start gave him a two-shot lead over U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson after three rounds of the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, S.C., on Saturday. Hoffman had four birdies on his first five holes to shoot a bogey-free 5-under-par 66 and keep out front at 11 under on a windy, cool day at Harbour Town Golf Links. Simpson also didn't make a bogey on the way to a 65. Kevin Streelman shot a 69 and was alone in third at 8 under. The round started with 91 players making the cut, tying...

Diana Damrau, one of the finest coloraturas of her generation, finally came to Washington National Opera on Monday night. It was not exactly the debut one might have hoped for, not on the main stage and not in her typical repertory. Still, in a recital of largely ethereal German and French songs, the German soprano showed herself a gifted storyteller, set against the evanescent backdrop of arrangements for harp played by Xavier de Maistre. Many hearts leaped into many throats...

NHL 7 p.m. Montreal at Washington » Comcast SportsNet, WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM) 7 p.m. New York Rangers at Philadelphia » NHL Network NBA 8 p.m. New York at Boston » TNT 10:30 p.m. Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix » TNT MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 7 p.m. Purdue at Michigan » ESPN 7 p.m. Tennessee at Mississippi » ESPN2 7 p.m. LIU-Brooklyn at St. Francis (N.Y.) » Fox College Sports 7 p.m. Virginia Commonwealth at Richmond » CBS Sports Network 8 p.m. Virginia at...

Christoph Eschenbach is fiercely loyal to a cadre of musicians he has discovered, mentored and partnered with over the years. It's customary to roll one's eyes a bit when discussing such blind loyalty, particularly when some of the musicians don't hit the mark, at least as conventional wisdom sees it. It's especially customary to roll one's eyes when discussing it in reference to pianist Tzimon Barto . In the classical music world, Barto is...

Sean O'Hair and Jim Furyk set the pace Saturday at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass., and brought Retief Goosen along for the ride. That threesome combined to make 17 birdies and one eagle, finishing two rounds at a combined 34 under par. All that counted was the individual scoring, which wasn't bad, either. O'Hair ran off six birdies and an eagle during an eight-hole stretch in the middle of his round for a 7-under 64, giving him a share of the lead with Furyk, who had six birdies to offset a few mistakes for a...

Christoph Eschenbach is fiercely loyal to a cadre of musicians he has discovered, mentored and partnered with over the years. It's customary to roll one's eyes a bit when discussing such blind loyalty, particularly when some of the musicians don't hit the mark, at least as conventional wisdom sees it. It's especially customary to roll one's eyes when discussing it in reference to pianist Tzimon Barto . In the classical music world, Barto is...

It costs about a million dollars a week to take a major symphony orchestra on tour. So says Rita Shapiro, the executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra ; and she should know, because her orchestra has just announced a second international tour within a span of eight months. The National Symphony Orchestra, which leaves for a 15-day trip through South America this week, is also going to Europe in January. Touring has long been a staple activity of orchestras. It declined in the early years...