“Desperate times led to a remarkable solution in Verdi’s ‘Aida’ at [Pittsburgh’s] Benedum Center last night: The conductor stepped in to sing for an ailing tenor.” Not only that, Pittsburgh Opera music director Antony Walker kept conducting the performance, while singing the male lead!
Tag: 04.02.08
British Museum, Reinvented
“This is the place where we go to see brilliant antiquities – Greek, Roman, Egyptian, for example. The very idea seems to go hand in hand with notions of precious, untouchable, awestruck remoteness. Is all this true of the British Museum in 2008? Not any more, 40 years on. It is now an institution capable of marvellous surprises, near acrobatic flexibilities.”
Will American Museums Change Their Tune On Provenance?
“As American museums deal with the fallout from more scandals over stolen and looted art, it’s not clear if others are as willing to drastically shake up how they do things.”
Aboriginal Art Heist The Work Of Drunks (Artwork Recovered)
“Police allege that what had been labelled as the most significant, if bumbling, Aboriginal art heist in Australia’s history was carried out by drunken itinerants who smashed a window of the art gallery and, dripping blood, carried off six Papunya Tula board paintings from the Western Desert and a Central Australian watercolour.”
British Culture Secretary Argues For More Women For Top Culture Jobs
“Despite the notable exceptions of some women, including Jude Kelly, artistic director of the South Bank Centre, who have risen to leading positions in the arts world, almost all the key arts roles are occupied by men.”