Runnicles On His Departure From San Francisco Opera

“David [Gockley] has this extraordinary legacy behind him in Houston. But I think David and I have different ideas about where the San Francisco Opera should be going, and those differences became apparent early on. … [O]f course one should aspire to have the finest singers. But singers are to opera what grapes are to wine. It’s the environment – what the singer is surrounded by, enriched by, supported by – that makes the difference.”

An Evening Without Monty Python

That’s the title of a show to play L.A. and NYC this fall. It “will consist of short musical numbers and skits from past Python productions that were originally created by [Eric] Idle, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.” No Python vets are in the cast, though Idle will direct.

In Upstate N.Y., Disgraced Salander Gets A Gallery Job

“Manhattan art dealer Lawrence B. Salander is trying to rise from the ashes of a 100-count indictment in a quaint storefront in pastoral Millbrook, New York, about two hours north of the city. … Dressed in a crisp, white linen shirt, Salander declined an interview request. He did say that he works at the gallery, that he didn’t own it and that his father-in-law, Donald Dowden, also works there.”

Bollywood Strike Shutters A Cinema In Queens

“In Mumbai, India, a seven-week-old strike by film producers has brought Bollywood, that country’s multibillion-dollar film industry, to a halt. The Eagle specializes in first-run Bollywood movies, and without a supply of new films, theaters like it around the world have had to screen old ones, dip into the pricier Hollywood and European film catalogs — or shut down.”

Spoleto, Others Eye $100 Million-Plus Stage Renovation

“The Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, Charleston’s largest performance venue and an essential stage for local arts groups and Spoleto Festival USA, will undergo extensive renovations beginning as early as 2011 if enough money can be raised to pay the hefty price tag. The project likely would cost more than $100 million,” and “a $20 million matching gift already has been committed.”