Could it be? Salinas, California, the place that proudly calls John Steinbeck its native son, may close its public library? “Unless the city can raise $500,000 by June 30, the John Steinbeck, Cesar Chavez and El Gabilan Libraries will be shuttered, victims of the city’s $9 million budget shortfall. If the branches are closed, Salinas will become the nation’s largest city without a public library.”
Tag: 04.04.05
Planners For Seoul Opera House Look To Copenhagen
Seoul is going to build an opera house, and is looking to Copenhagen’s new theatre for inspiration. The project will cost $247 million. “Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak, just back from a tour of Europe, said Monday the Opera House in Copenhagen, Denmark, seemed to make the best benchmark for Seoul in terms of location and characteristics. Seoul City will select an architect in an international contest, with construction slated to start early next year.”
Protesting Tibetan Treasures Show
“For the first time, treasures from Lhasa’s Potala Palace, the 300-year-old Vatican of Tibetan Buddhism, from the Norbulinka Summer Palace and the six-year-old Tibet Museum are being seen outside Tibet. Everywhere, the exhibition has been greeted with protests and demonstrations. On this third leg of the tour, an alliance of the Students for a Free Tibet, the Tibetan Women’s Association and the Tibetan Youth Congress has denounced the exhibits as stolen “art from Chinese-occupied Tibet”.”
LA County Museum Director’s Resignation A Surprise.
Longtime director Andrea Rich’s announcement was unexpected. “Her resignation comes just weeks after the museum announced that $156 million had been raised for an ambitious expansion and renovation, enough for construction to begin by year’s end on the first round of architect Renzo Piano’s plans for the Wilshire Boulevard facilities. That announcement marked a major turning point for the museum, which had to abandon an earlier, more sweeping plan for the museum complex after failing to raise enough money.”
LA County Museum Director To Retire
Andrea L. Rich, president and director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for nearly 10 years, will retire in November. “During her decade at the museum, Ms. Rich has beefed up the institution’s public programming and more than doubled its endowment, to more than $100 million from $49 million. She has also added to the museum’s collections.”
Stucky Wins Pulitzer
Composer Steven Stucky has won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for music. “Born in 1949, Stucky has long been associated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he currently serves as Consulting Composer for New Music. He also sits on the faculty of Cornell University. He is published by Theodore Presser. As a conductor, Stucky appears frequently with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group and with Ensemble X, a contemporary music group he founded in 1997.”
Much Ado About Nothing? (Well, What’s The Something?)
Jérôme Bel’s new show is a hot ticket. But while Tobi Tobias is “intermittently” charmed, she wonders what all the fuss is about. “The stage is quite bright now. Still no one there. A third song starts. I guess the idea is that if you look at nothing for a very long time, you’ll be fascinated by anything that finally shows up. There’s some truth in this, but you’re less likely to perceive wonders in vacancy when you know some director type is using the sensory-deprivation strategy as a gimmick.”
Jessye Norman Pulls Out Of Opera Premiere
Jessye Norman has pulled out of the $2 million premiere of a new opera written with her in mind. “Composed by Richard Danielpour with a libretto by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, “Margaret Garner” tells the story of a fugitive slave who kills her children rather than raise them in bondage. Norman was slated to sing all five performances as Cilla, the sympathetic mother-in-law to Margaret. Danielpour tailored the role for Norman’s dynamic voice and dignified carriage, and he said in an earlier Free Press interview that the moment the opera became real to him was the moment she agreed to participate.”