“‘You’re the only one in tonight,’ said the man at the box office as I picked up my ticket. It took a second for this to sink in. What, no one else? Just me? Yes, it seemed so; I was to be the sole audience member for Charlie Shand’s When Do We Start Fighting? on a chilly midweek evening.”
Tag: 02.17.09
Beijing Will Lend Taipei Works From Imperial Collection
“The Palace Museum in Beijing has agreed to lend works of art to the National Palace Museum in Taipei for an exhibition next autumn, temporarily bringing together a small part of China’s imperial collection for the first time in 60 years, both museums said on Monday.”
Unearthed: Opera And Instrumental Music, Circa 1907
A bit over a century ago, the Gramophone Company provided two dozen wax records to be sealed and locked for 100 years beneath the Paris Opera. Now they’ve been retrieved, and the recordings are about to be reissued on CD. “Most intriguing is the repertory chosen for posterity, and here the surprise is the lack of surprises.”
Mickey Rourke Is Back — So Who’s Next?
“Comebacks are not just a commercial or sentimental phenomenon – they are the best way for a star to atone in public for his or her perceived sins. Whether you’ve squandered your big chance, become mired in drugs and booze, been caught committing a misdemeanour on a Los Angeles thoroughfare, or simply faded from view (arguably the most unpardonable crime in the industry’s eyes), it is best regarded not as a career setback but the ideal opportunity for a relaunch.”
Goya Didn’t Paint Prado’s Colossus? Not So Fast.
“Clearly there is a need for an international committee to create a new and definitive Goya catalogue raisonné, a lengthy and complex project on the order of that organized for two other great and immensely prolific painters, Rembrandt and Rubens. Until then, the attribution of the ‘Colossus’ to anyone other than Goya remains unproved and highly questionable.”
Money Dries Up, And Festivals Shrink Or Disappear
“Across the country, festivals that give communities a sense of pride — and bring crowds to towns that rarely attract visitors otherwise — are getting crunched by the economic crisis. Events are being canceled or downsized as local governments, community groups and corporate sponsors pull back their dollars.”