“This weekend’s closings were striking for their last-minute nature — at the Metropolitan Opera, audiences were already in their seats for Puccini’s ‘La Bohème,’ while on Broadway, actors were backstage and audiences were on their way.”
Tag: 01.24.16
Why Do We Keep Describing Early-Music Voices As ‘Pure’?
Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim: “Where does this emphasis on purity come from? What does it mean to singers and conductors? And to writers: As a critic who is compelled to use metaphors to describe the intangible qualities of a performance, I also wonder about the assumptions I’m making when I use certain words. … In the course of phone interviews with performers and scholars, I received an invigorating plurality of points of view – and a sobering reminder of the gap between the way critics and singers talk about the same voices.”
Trisha Brown’s Company, Without Trisha Brown
“For dance companies that seek to exist beyond their founding choreographer, there is the inevitable conundrum. How does a company exist without new works? The Merce Cunningham Dance Company disbanded when faced with that prospect; others, like the Martha Graham Dance Company, evolved into repertory groups. But the Brown company, which has seven members, is trying something different: remounting Ms. Brown’s works in site-specific locations all over the world.”
Oscars So White? Or Oscars So Dumb? NY Times Critics Discuss
A.O. Scott: “The nominations are a numbers game, and in each case you can offer a nonracial explanation for the oversight. Other movies and actors just had a few more votes.”
Wesley Morris: “But I also don’t think any voter wants to be told that he or she has to vote for a predominantly black film or: racism!”
Manohla Dargis: “The lived, embodied experiences of the membership greatly matter and that sometimes even the most well-intentioned white people just don’t see the racism and sexism in front of them.”