ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

OPERA

U.S. Debut: Andrea Bocelli, the superstar Italian crooner, will make his U.S. operatic debut alongside mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves at Detroit’s Michigan Opera Theater in October, singing the title role in Massenet’s “Werther.” The tenor, who is among this year’s best new artist Grammy nominees, has been singing operatic arias in stadium concerts but has done only a few actual opera productions--all of them in Italy. Bocelli is blind, which makes appearing in a staged production difficult, but Michigan Opera Theater’s general director, David Di Chiera, said there would be enough onstage rehearsal time for Bocelli to memorize the physical layout. “He’s an exciting artist, with a tremendous amount of charisma,” Di Chiera said. “I hope his presence will mean that people who are not opera-goers will be tempted to come into our opera house.”

AWARDS

NAACP Gets in the Groove: Stella was grooving at Sunday’s 30th NAACP Image Awards ceremony, with “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” winning honors for outstanding motion picture, best actress (Angela Bassett) and best supporting actress (Whoopi Goldberg). The awards, held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, will air on Fox March 4. Oprah Winfrey’s “Beloved,” meanwhile, which had received six nominations, picked up just one award--best actor for Danny Glover. Morgan Freeman was named best supporting actor for “Deep Impact.” In the TV categories, CBS’ soap “The Young and the Restless” received three awards--outstanding daytime drama, best actor (Shemar Moore) and best actress (Victoria Rowell). CBS’ “Cosby” was named outstanding comedy series and its network-mate “Touched by an Angel” won for best TV drama, while NBC’s “The Temptations” was named best TV movie or miniseries. And hip-hop songstress Lauryn Hill--who’s up for 10 Grammy Awards later this month--won Image Awards for best new artist, female artist and album (“The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”).

POP/ROCK

Concert Casualties: Poor safety and security conditions at 31 rock concerts and music festivals resulted in eight deaths in 1998--down considerably from the decade-high of 19 deaths in 1997, according to an annual Rock Concert Safety Survey released Monday. But the study, conducted by the Chicago-based firm Crowd Management Strategies, found that at least 5,691 concert-goers worldwide were injured last year, compared with 1,100 injuries recorded in 1997. Of the eight concert fatalities, six were the result of violence, including the two U.S. deaths, both the result of fatal shootings. A seventh death was linked to unknown causes during a riot in Swaziland, and the other occurred when a concert-goer fell from a balcony in Australia. At least three other people died in traffic accidents near outdoor festivals in the United States but were not counted in the survey’s death total. Since 1993, 62 people worldwide--including 17 in the United States--have died and roughly 21,000 have been injured while attending 177 concerts and festivals, the survey found.

STAGE

‘Angels’ Stirs Romanian Protest: Orthodox Christian protesters in Romania destroyed posters and threatened the staff of a Bucharest theater staging American playwright Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning gay-themed play “Angels in America,” authorities said Sunday. Uniformed officers had been posted outside the Nottara Theater Saturday night, while plainclothes officers waited inside to prevent any possible disruptions. Earlier in the week, authorities said, anti-gay protesters stopped and insulted theatergoers as they arrived to see the play and phoned in threats to theater employees. Police did not identify the group behind the protests, but the head of the Young Orthodox Community in Romania, which is active in the campaign against homosexuality, called it “a shame and a lack of good sense to stage such evil plays, which fail to distinguish between right and wrong.” Theodor-Cristian Popescu, the play’s director, called the protests uncivilized, adding: “Romania is among the last bastions against homosexuality, but it has to fall in the end.” “Angels in America,” which won two Tonys after its 1993 Broadway opening, was rejected by several other Bucharest theaters before the Nottara Theater agreed to stage it.

QUICK TAKES

ABC’s heavily promoted “Storm of the Century” won its time period Sunday, but was one of the lowest openings ever for a Stephen King miniseries, luring about 19.5 million viewers, just ahead of CBS’ movie “Deep in My Heart.” . . . The Rolling Stones have rescheduled their two San Jose concerts that were postponed last month by Mick Jagger’s bout with the flu. The new dates are April 19 and 20. . . . Meryl Streep received the Berlinale Kamera, a special achievement honor, at the Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday. Festival organizers called Streep--who last week received her 11th Oscar nomination (for “One True Thing”)--”one of the most exceptional actresses in the international history of film.” . . . Mickey Rooney, 78, missed the opening weekend performances of a Cleveland stage production of “The Wizard of Oz” after being taken to an emergency room Friday due to a bad reaction to unspecified medication. He was expected to be back on stage at the Cleveland Playhouse tonight. . . . Janet Jackson and her longtime love, Rene Elizondo Jr., have separated. A statement released by the pop diva’s publicist noted that the couple had a “personal relationship” for 13 years, and plan to continue their friendship. Jackson, 32, was married to singer James DeBarge for about a year when she was in her late teens, and began dating Elizondo shortly after her divorce.