“The Handel and Haydn Society, which claims to be America’s oldest continuously performing arts organization, turns 200 this year. Once an amateur oratorio society dedicated to performing new music — the American premieres of Verdi’s Requiem (in 1878) and Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” (1879), among much else — alongside the old, its orchestra and chorus have been among the country’s most prominent early-music ensembles since 1986, when it moved to playing with period instruments.”
Tag: 05.24.15
How To Fix Opera In New York (Ask The Germans)
“New York is great. Opera is great. They deserve each other. So what can we do to get them together? Who can show us how it’s done? We need to ask the Germans, as a recent opera-intensive visit to their country confirmed.”
How To Reinvent A Big Performing Arts Center (With An Interim Director, No Less)
Toronto’s Sony Centre “has been buzzing this season with many events and lots of community engagement. In 2014, the centre presented 23 events plus 59 rentals by other presenters; that grew to 36 Sony events and 74 rentals in 2015 plus many corporate events.”
This Is Why Palmyra Is Important To World History
“It would be folly to believe that the survival of archaeological reports and photographs could in any way compensate for the destruction or looting of the ancient remains. The preservation of buildings and objects that managed to survive for two thousand years of Palmyra’s history has to be a priority wherever civilization is cherished.”
Ahhhh. So Macbeth Had PTSD?
“We know from soldiers today coming back from Iraq or Afghanistan that they have these hallucinations,” Michael Fassbender said. “You could be walking down the Croisette here and then it’s Basra. All of a sudden it’s Basra”.
Australia’s Backward Progress In Indigenous Theatre
“The use of on-stage tropes to represent colonial oppression has been written about extensively by many scholars in my field of Theatre Studies. The over-arching theme is that non-Indigenous playwrights appear consumed by the desire to exhume, revise, critique or, perhaps, correct a national narrative in which colonial violence, massacre and dispossession has remained concealed in official accounts of history.”
Raymond Carver’s Work Finally Makes The Leap To Ebooks
“Vintage, a paperback imprint under Penguin Random House, has a catalog of almost 6,000 backlisted books. Nearly 4,900 of those have been converted into e-books. The publisher held off on publishing digital editions of Mr. Carver’s books because early e-book technology often mangled lines of poetry, mashing it into undifferentiated blocks of text.”
Amazon Starts Paying Sales Tax In Europe Amid Ongoing Investigation
“Amazon’s move marks a sea change in its approach to tax in Europe. Depending on how the company allocates costs, it could significantly boost the firm’s tax bill in many EU countries. It could also put pressure on other companies to do the same.”
Disney’s Dying For Millennial Fans, But Can’t Let Its News Partners Do Their Own Thing
“The cultures of the companies and Fusion have already clashed. For instance, according to two senior Fusion staff members, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Disney put the organization on notice that it would not take kindly to coverage that might dent its standing with consumers. The warning came after Fusion published several stories based on documents that hackers stole from Sony.”
Great Comedian And Actor Anne Meara Dies At 85
“During the heyday of Stiller and Meara, Meara also pursued a separate career as an actress. She had already amassed an impressive list of stage credits before beginning her comedy career, including an Obie Award-winning performance in “Madchen in Uniform” in 1955 and roles in several Shakespeare in the Park productions.”