Tag: 05.28.20

Leading Thinkers Envision The Post-Pandemic World

“They describe a society that is clear-eyed about the disparities that have made this pandemic so much worse for some communities than for others. They call on us to sustain each other through mutual aid, understanding that our lives are all woven together in ways that may not always have been visible until now. They outline the necessity of protecting democracy, resisting authoritarianism, and paying attention to one another, filling in the spaces left by loss.” – LitHub

How Verdi Evolved To The Next Form Of Opera

“At the Paris Opéra, there were many colleagues to deal with and only the institution’s most successful composers had enough clout to impose their will on a piece. It makes sense that Verdi’s triumph came at the end, when he was no longer just a successful foreigner, but a living legend and someone who had a work history with the company. For Don Carlos, he was the ultimate authority, like a modern movie auteur.” – San Francisco Classical Voice

When Art Became “The Show”

Today the more relevant split is the more recent one between modern and contemporary fields (the latter has no exact date of origin—1968, 1980, 1989?), which is a schism less between the university and the museum than between scholarly curators and flashy exhibition-makers. This split was opened up when the 20th-century art museum was penetrated by the culture industry, and it was deepened when the contemporary art world expanded into the global business of art biennials and fairs. With the first development came a demand for on-site entertainment, and with the second a need for far-flung attractions. – Artnet

Europe’s Dance Companies Begin, Very Carefully, To Go Back To Work

Here, for instance, are the rules for dance class at the Ballet du Rhin in France: “Dancers are not allowed to use changing rooms. Instead, they must go directly to the studio and stand at a marked spot at the barre, about 11 feet away from others. Their outside clothes must go into a bag to ensure they do not touch anything … [and] that bag must then be put into another one provided by the company that is thrown into the trash once the class has finished. They are also each given a spray to disinfect the barre. And, of course, they have to dance wearing masks.” – The New York Times

Kennicott: Online Arts Experiences That Work For Me

“I want stuff that has not been made in response to the pandemic, that would exist if we weren’t all in the same boat. Or things I know I won’t have time for once the real world begins to make its usual demands once again. I want to use my brain in ways that it didn’t ordinarily get exercised in the pre-pandemic world, things that I know I probably won’t have the time or patience for once this all gets back to some kind of normal.” – Washington Post

Missy Mazzoli’s ‘Breaking The Waves’ Premiered In 2016. The World’s Pretty Different Now. Does The Piece Hold Up?

Before the coronavirus hit, the Met was going to perform a new co-production of the opera this spring at BAM. David Patrick Stearns went online to revisit the original Opera Philadelphia production, and here’s why he believes that, despite the terrific craft in the score and libretto (and in Kiera Duffy’s performance as Bess), with the cancellation “the Met and Mazzoli dodged a bullet.” – WQXR (New York City)

Here’s One Theater That’s Putting On A New Show Every Weekend Despite The Lockdown

“As most American theaters have pared down their offerings to a mix of Zoom readings, artist conversations, and archival streams, Seacoast Rep, in Portsmouth, N.H., has been web-casting new productions since mid-May and has them planned for every weekend until at least July 5.” Says one of the Rep’s artistic directors, “People in the industry thought ‘no live audience means no live theater.’ We thought we just had to change our delivery system.” – The New York Times