Tom Huizenga explains opera to NPR listeners: “It’s one of the most complicated art forms because, if you think about it: you’ve got drama, you’ve got music, you’ve got singing, you’ve got costumes, you’ve got lighting, you’ve got ballet sometimes. You’ve got all kinds of stagecraft. When all the cylinders are firing, it can be mind-blowing. But for me, it ends up being all about the voice. They’ve got to do it without a microphone, over the top of an orchestra, and they’ve got to project that voice, even if it’s soft, way up to the nose-bleed seats.” – NPR
Tag: 01.26.20
Is There Anything Steve McQueen – Turner Winner, Oscar Winner, Recent Knighthood Recipient – Can’t Do?
He’s not a big fan of artistic cowardice. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s all about the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. End of. To get to that, you have to go in close, uncover what’s been hidden or covered over. Obviously, the easy thing is not to go there, but I have a need to go there.” – The Guardian (UK)
Sam Mendes Wins The Directors’ Guild Award For ‘1917’
Can any other film win the Oscar? Doubtful. “The strongest best-picture spoiler is likely Parasite, the South Korean thriller that prevailed at the Screen Actors Guild Awards this month and could become the first film not in the English language to win the top Oscar. Still, with the momentum of the PGA and DGA prizes, 1917 will be tough to beat.” – The New York Times
How Britain Could Rescue Its Arts, And Arts Funding, From ‘Perennial Elitism’
A couple of ideas: Give more to regions, and have the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera tour the entire nation. – The Guardian (UK)
Dear Met: Please Create A Series Of Concert Performances
This series of unstaged performances of Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust was an accident – they were meant to be seven fully-staged performances. But what a happy accident, and what the Met could learn from the experience: “Rameau, Lully, Vivaldi: The glory of early music could finally ring at the Met without the pressure and expense of full stagings. Ditto Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise, a late-20th-century classic still unheard in this city.” – The New York Times
A Grammy Sweep For 18-Year-Old Billie Eilish (And Here Are The Rest Of The Winners Too)
Eilish, whose 22-year-old brother produced her album (and who won Producer of the Year), won Best Song, Best Record, Best Album, and Best Artist. Dudamel and the LA Phil won a Grammy; Jennifer Higdon won a Grammy; Joyce DiDonato won a Grammy … the entire list is at the link. – Los Angeles Times
The Paris Opera Opens Again (Perhaps Briefly) After Weeks Of Strikes
Public sector workers, dancers, and musicians have been on strike since December, with cancellations costing the Paris Opera nearly 15 million euros. But Saturday night, the production of Tales of Hoffman went up. “‘To preserve the economic integrity of the Opera, we have made the decision to go ahead with the performance this evening, but we remain mobilised for the withdrawal of this bill,’ said a union representative at the start of the performance, in a statement recorded by a spectator and posted on Twitter.” – France24
One Massive Problem With Blockbuster Art Shows
They create, sustain, and promote inequality – and a lack of public funding is increasing the issue. “The trend of putting on safer exhibitions by established artists to guarantee high visitor numbers and offset a decline in state funding could make it even harder for experimental and minority artists to break through.” – The Observer (UK)