“Villanova University abruptly canceled a weeklong workshop by a gay performance artist whose stage shows are often laced with nudity and simulated sex but who has taught and lectured at numerous colleges, including the nation’s largest Catholic university, DePaul, in Chicago.”
Tag: 02.20.12
David Foster Wallace Would Have Been 50 This Week
“It would be weak to take Wallace’s tongue-in-cheek humility as definitive evidence of what he was or wasn’t as a writer. Wallace was likely aware, even in his more self-doubting moments, that he was a skilled reporter (he certainly enjoyed it, at least).”
David Brooks: We’ve Become A Talent Society
“It’s more accurate to say that we have gone from a society that protected people from their frailties to a society that allows people to maximize their talents.”
Taviani Brothers, Now In Their 80s, Win Golden Lion In Berlin
“The Italian docudrama Caesar Must Die from octogenarian sibling film-makers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani won the top prize at the Berlin film festival on Saturday. The film follows real-life inmates of a high-security jail as they rehearse for a performance of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.“
English National Ballet Loses Artistic Director Wayne Eagling
“The company gives no reason for this exceedingly short notice, which leaves them having to advertise the third most significant job in British ballet within the next few days, and a precipitate appointment procedure only weeks after the departure of their managing director.”
Is Culture Replacing Class At The Heart Of British Society?
Television broadcaster Melvyn Bragg: “Class has not slunk away from these islands. It never will. Too many people have an investment in it. But … I would argue that we are now a nation of cultures rather than a nation of classes. If we look at the passion with which people describe what they do in their leisure time, you have a truer picture of our society today.”
Ben Heppner, With More Vocal Trouble, Pulls Out Of Moby-Dick In San Diego
In the West Coast premiere of Jake Heggie’s hit opera on Saturday, Heppner’ voice was reportedly in distress. Now he has withdrawn from Tuesday’s performance due to illness, with the two remaining dates up in the air.
Soprano Elizabeth Connell Dead At 65
She began her four-decade career as a mezzo and became a widely-praised dramatic soprano, working frequently at Covent Garden and Opera Australia. Born in South Africa, she starred in the historic 2004 staging of Fidelio in honor of Nelson Mandela at Robben Island prison.
Anna Pavlova – What Made Her Great?
“She evidently lacked the dynamic virtuosity of her contemporary Karsavina … Her technique was, by modern standards, limited. But what she did have was a unique charm, matched to a lithe but wiry physique (including an exceptionally long, pliant neck and high-arched feet) which gave her musculature a feline ease and sensuality.”
Vulture Capitalism: Musical Of Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard Headed For London
“Tony and Grammy award-winner Heather Headley will play singer Rachel Marron – the role originated by Houston” – in the adaptation of the 1992 film starring the late singer and Kevin Costner.