“It’s a fallacy to think that this is new. But for some reason, the idea that opera can be topical has carried with it a whiff of provocation, even titillation, since the earliest days of the genre, when thinly disguised mythological narratives referring to contemporary rulers were a standard feature of every self-respecting state celebration.”
Tag: 01.30.11
Three Times As Many Books Are Self-Published As Are Produced By Traditional Publishers
“Make no mistake: It will be your responsibility to market it. Many reviewers and bookstores won’t take you seriously. And you may never earn back your investment, which could be as high as $20,000. Is it worth it? Apparently, it’s at least worth the risk.”
Have Professional Critics Reached The End Of The Line?
“Well, of course the internet has something to do with it, but the decline in critical authority began a long time before the net was imagined, let alone built. What we’re looking at – at least in a British context – is the cumulative result of social and demographic changes that go back to the 1950s.”
The Ten Greatest Composers Of All Time? Perhaps
“So how do you come to conclusions about the “greatest”? Think about the music you listen to most frequently, the composers you can’t live without, the works you’ll pack for that desert island.”
Sundance – Reinventing Coming-Of-Age
“If anything, independent films that train a careful eye on that singular moment when someone begins to first define who they are, who they will become, are a deeply entrenched Sundance tradition. But no more. Oh, the young and troubled are still here in force, but the rules are being rewritten by filmmakers with a genre-busting consistency that suggests something larger and much more exciting is at work.”
Is 3D TV Bad For Your Health?
“Is there any truth to the idea that 3D TV, which gives the illusion of depth by flicking between two separate images, could be dangerous?”
Composer Milton Babbitt, 94
“Mr. Babbitt, who had a lively sense of humor despite the reputation for severity that his music fostered, sometimes referred to himself as a maximalist to stress the musical and philosophical distance between his style and the simpler, more direct style of younger contemporaries like Philip Glass, Steve Reich and other Minimalist composers. It was an apt description.”
US Movie Ticket Prices Hit New Record
“The average ticket price at theaters in the U.S. last year rose to an all-time annual high of $7.89, up 5% from $7.50 in 2009, according to the National Assn. of Theatre Owners. In the fourth quarter, the average price was $8.01, up 5% from the year-ago period.”
The Bi-Coastal Mr. Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas has two long-running orchestra gigs.”Even good relationships between conductors and orchestras can lose a little chemistry. But he is a cultural force in San Francisco, and the vitality of the orchestra is palpable. Next season it celebrates its centennial. Meanwhile, a spirit of renewal pervades the New World Symphony.”
Oscars’ Odd Approach To Foreign Films
“An elaborate and mysterious winnowing process pares down the thousands of potential nominees to five. The usual pre-nomination handicapping — the canvassing of critical opinion and the weighing of popular sentiment — does not apply to these movies, which might in principle make the choices less compromised, but in practice only serves to make them more confusing.”