Will Orange County Ever Get Another Opera Company?

A year ago, the county’s only professional opera company closed. “Getting another company going will be a tough proposition; it would be even if the times weren’t as hard as they are. It’ll take imagination and stamina and a lot of money. The cheapest way may not be the best way artistically (then again, it might), but it’s probably the most likely way that opera will regain its foothold.”

Writer Alan Sillitoe, 82

He “was one of the most important British writers of the postwar era. He made his name with the novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1958) and the collection of short stories The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1959), and he is still routinely perceived as a member of the kitchen-sink branch of the Angry Generation.”

Does The World Still Need Art Chicago?

“Depending on whom you ask, the fact that Art Chicago has soldiered on for three decades is either a no-brainer or a miracle. Its longevity is admirable. Its financial stability, especially now that it’s in the hands of a trade-show giant, is undeniable. But the questions remain: Do we still care about one of the longest-running art fairs in the United States?”

3D – On Which Hollywood’s Hopes Are Pinned

As with every hot trend in Hollywood, it’s uncertain whether the 3-D onslaught is simply a flash, like the push in the 1980s to colorize black-and-white films, or a fundamental transformation akin to the advent of sound in the 1920s. “The real question now is: ‘How many movies per year does the audience want to put on glasses and pay a premium for?’ “