Tag: 04.29.09

Rolando Villazón To Have Larynx Surgery

The star tenor, whose vocal troubles and cancellations have made headlines regularly for the past few years, has withdrawn from all of his engagements for the rest of 2009 and plans to have a cyst removed from his vocal cords “as soon as possible.” Among the performances he’ll miss are L.A. Opera’s season-opener and a new Tales of Hoffmann at the Met.

The Out-of-Town Tryout, Backwards

When Next to Normal, a new musical about bipolar disorder, ran Off-Broadway last year, “the tone of the show was off,” says director Michael Greif. “Big moments just weren’t landing.” So the producer decided “to take an unusual step: he moved a show that had already opened in New York to an out-of-town theater (Arena Stage, in Washington) for an overhaul.”

Cluster-Suit Over Collar And Bow Sculpture At Disney Hall Settled

Frank Gehry got his friends Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen to create a 65-foot-tall bow-tie and collar for his downtown L.A. concert hall. But the sculpture’s aluminum skin kept coming off and costs soared; ultimately the L.A. Music Center sued the artists, fabricators and consulting engineer, who all counter-sued each other. After two years and a five-volume case file, the entire affair has been ended.

Baltimore Chamber Orchestra Plans Comeback For 2009-10

The ensemble, which suspended operations in January, “has improved its financial picture sufficiently to return to a regular concert season in October. Well, almost regular. The budget will be half of what it would be normally. Music director Markand Thakar has volunteered to work without pay. Instead of five orchestral programs, there will be three, plus one recital.”

Does Unesco World Heritage Do More Harm Than Good?

For “the planet’s most precious places,” Unesco’s “World Heritage seal is a guarantee of preservation. … At least that’s the perception. But now many within the conservation community are convinced Unesco is failing. They say the moribund organisation is teetering on its once sound foundations as its principles and priorities crumble under the weight of bureaucracy and outside influence.”

Harnoncourt: Mozart’s Last 3 Symphonies Are An Oratorio

“I have just discovered that the last three Mozart symphonies are an instrumental oratorio,” Nikolaus Harnoncourt told interviewer Tom Service, who explains: “[A]ll that he had time to tell me was that it’s because the 39th Symphony is the only one with an introduction, and the 41st, the Jupiter, the only one with a proper finale; and that there are thematic connections across all three symphonies – and not just the four-note tag that dominates the finale of the Jupiter.”

Managing Your Own Attention Span: Yes, You Can!

“Mention the fact that you’re finding it harder and harder to concentrate lately. The complaint appears to be universal, yet everyone blames it on some personal factor: having a baby, starting a new job, turning 50, having to use a Blackberry for work, getting on Facebook, and so on. … Winifred Gallagher’s new book, ‘Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life’ argues that it’s high time we take more deliberate control of this stuff.”

How The Millionth English Word Is A Lot Like Bull Semen

“I don’t blame you for losing track, but today was supposed to be the day the English language reached 1 million words. For a few years now, Paul Payack of the Global Language Monitor in Austin, Tex., has been issuing these deadlines like a millennialist preacher predicting the end of the world. Don’t worry: He’s already moved the magic date to sometime in June.”