The company has let go nine of its 31 dancers, cut its administrative staff and postponed its May program to next season. But all of the soloists and principals are staying on, as is artistic director James Canfield, and the April program is going ahead as planned.
Tag: 03.11.09
Major Staff Cuts At Philadelphia Orchestra
“In what is only the first step in averting a deficit this season, the Philadelphia Orchestra Association today shed 20 percent of its administrative staff and said other cost-cutting moves were on the way.” Twelve people were laid off, six vacant positions will remain unfilled, and all administrators earning over $50,000 will take pay cuts.
Major Discovery Of Mayan Carvings In Guatemala
“Archeologists have uncovered carved stucco panels depicting cosmic monsters, gods and serpents in Guatemala’s northern jungle that are the oldest known depictions of a famous Mayan creation myth.”
Cockfighting For Political Junkies: Bill Maher And Ann Coulter, Together On Stage
The libertarian/quasi-liberal HBO host and the far-right-wing provocateuse did a three-city tour this week, debating before an audience as part of the 2009 Speakers Series run by MSG Entertainment. (That’s MSG as in Madison Square Garden.)
National Symphony To Tour Far East This June
“At the invitation of the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China, the [Washington, D.C.] orchestra’s principal conductor, Iván Fischer, will lead the ensemble in five concerts in Macau, Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai. […] The NSO will then continue on to play two performances in Seoul and Goyang, South Korea.”
Bolshoi Reopening Postponed Yet Again, This Time To 2013
The reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theatre began in 2005 and was originally supposed to be finished by mid-2008. Just last month, the estimated completion date was pushed back to 2011; now the project’s chief architect says work may not be finished until 2013 – and will cost an extra $1.5 billion. The Moscow landmark had not been refurbished since 1856 and was reportedly near collapse.
Barbican Creates Five Residencies For Leading Orchestras
“Instead of being a venue for one-off flying visits by orchestras, the Barbican said it wants to change the dynamic and develop more lasting relationships with organisations that it today names as international associates.” They are the Los Angeles Philharmonic, “the New York Philharmonic, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the New York-based Jazz at Lincoln Centre, which will be the first resident next year.”
Teaching Artists To Act Like Business People
“The recession has not been kind to the arts world. It seems every week there’s more bad news about opera companies folding or theaters scaling back their seasons. But there’s a group dedicated to helping the nation’s small arts organizations work better as businesses.” Fractured Atlas, that is.
Women Likely To Fill Both Of UK’s Top Poetry Posts
“The two most important positions in the British poetry establishment are about to be filled – and it looks likely, for the first time ever, that both incumbents will be women. An announcement is expected in the next few weeks on the poet laureate to succeed Andrew Motion when he steps down in May. That same month, an election will be held to find a replacement for Christopher Ricks as the Oxford professor of poetry – a position held, variously, by Matthew Arnold, WH Auden and Seamus Heaney.”
Billy Corgan To Congress: Radio Should Pay To Play
“Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan came to the Hill yesterday to testify about musicians being paid fairly when AM/FM stations play their songs, as part of MusicFIRST’s coalition to inundate the Hill with artists’ testimony. … (Being paid when one’s song plays on the radio happens in nearly every country in the world, except for a few notables like China and Iran.)”