NEW YORK (AP) – Opera fans got a preview of the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” on David Letterman’s “Late Show.”

An abbreviated performance from the finale of the opera’s first act marked the first time the CBS late-night talk show had presented a scene from an opera in full costume, the Met said.

A 22-piece orchestra, 16-member chorus and six principal singers crowded onto Letterman’s signature blue floor Wednesday at the Ed Sullivan Theater, where the show is taped.

They offered viewers a nearly 3-minute preview of the Met’s new production of “Barber,” which premieres Friday at Lincoln Center.

Letterman said he was honored and very excited to have the Met perform on his show.

“Maybe I’ll learn something,” he said. “These are, like, as good as it gets in the world of opera. Just try and get these folks to your house some night. It’s just not gonna happen.”

Peter Mattei, the baritone who stars as Figaro in the Bartlett Sher-directed opera, said the “Late Show” appearance was “very cool,” according to the Met’s Web site.

“You can call your friends who know nothing about opera, but they know Letterman,” Mattei said.

—

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) – Two senior Malawian officials have praised Madonna for adopting a child from their country – and rebuked those who have criticized the pop star.

Madonna’s efforts to adopt a motherless 13-month-old boy, David Banda, from the African country have set off a media storm. The 48-year-old singer and her husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, who have a home in London, were granted an interim adoption order by Malawi’s High Court last month.

Some critics have said it would have been better for the child if Madonna had helped his impoverished father, Yohane Banda, to care for him in Malawi. Madonna has said Banda refused her offer of financial assistance to help him keep his son.

“What Madonna has done is great,” said Education Minister Anna Kachikho during a visit Thursday to a school in the Scottish capital.

“Here is Madonna who has picked a son from a Malawian father who has lost a wife and nobody takes care of, and she says, “I would like to educate and bring home that child.’

“I’m against whatever people are saying against Madonna, if there is credit to give we should credit Madonna because she is saving the life of this young David. Why condemn Madonna? … We should thank Madonna,” she said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Joyce Banda – no relation to the boy – said Madonna’s charity, Raising Malawi, had helped several thousand children in the southeast African nation.

“On top of all that she has opened up her home to this one child. So it’s not just about David, it’s about her reaching out to Africa, to a country called Malawi, to empower 4,000 children which not many people have done,” Banda said. “So the Malawi government is grateful.”

The ministers were attending the launch of two Scottish-led training programs aimed at helping teachers from Malawi.

—

On the Net:

Madonna: http://www.madonna.com/

—

LONDON (AP) – Culture Club announced they are postponing a reunion tour, days after criticizing former frontman Boy George.

Three founding members of the ’80s pop band – drummer Jon Moss, bassist Mikey Craig and keyboard player Phil Pickett – had been due to start a British tour Dec. 7 with new singer Sam Butcher replacing George.

A statement issued Wednesday by Culture Club’s manager, Tony Gordon, said the tour was being postponed until next year so the band could finish recording tracks for a new album.

No new dates were announced.

The band said recording was “taking longer than we planned, but we feel it’s the right decision.”

Band members said they wanted to begin the tour “with the release of a hit comparable to our worldwide hits “Karma Chameleon’ and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me.”‘

Moss and Craig told The Associated Press last week that they were fed up with criticism from Boy George, who declined to join the reunion tour and declared new singer Butcher was “dreadful.”

“The only person George loves is George,” Moss told the AP. “He’s like a nightmare ex-wife.”

—

WEATHERFORD, Okla. (AP) – Oklahomans should honor the land and those who came before them, said Michael Blake, who won an Academy Award for the screenplay version of his novel “Dances With Wolves.”

Blake returned Wednesday to western Oklahoma’s Southern Plains, which inspired the novel, as part of a three-day speaking tour.

“My spirit is lifted by being here on the Southern Plains,” said Blake, who is promoting his new book, the nonfiction “Indian Yell.” “So many of my heroes lived here – Kiowas or Comanches or Cheyenne.”

Blake recounted how history inspired him to chase his own dream of becoming a successful writer.

“For 27 years, I worked every odd job imaginable so I could become a writer,” Blake said. “Then, in 1986, I began writing my first novel. I lived out of my car.”

“Dances With Wolves” would become a New York Times No. 1 best-seller and the screenplay would be turned into the 1990 film directed by Kevin Costner, who also starred in the movie.

Blake’s new book chronicles episodes from the Plains and Indian wars between 1854 and 1890.