“Awadagin Pratt, who was dismissed by executive director and CEO Mark Ernster on July 8, will continue in the role of artistic director. The competition also announced on Wednesday that Ernster resigned from his position on July 20. Board chair Jack Rouse, who had resigned on July 8, returned as chairman on July 26.”
Tag: 05.29.15
Supertitles Are Distancing Audiences From Opera, Says Critic
Fred Plotkin: “They may bring some people to the opera house but they do not necessarily bring people closer and more intimately to opera … They distance people (who are not paying attention) from the overwhelming glory that is the combination of forces – conductor, orchestra, chorus, soloists – who do the astonishing feat of performing (without amplification) some of the most magnificent music ever written.”
Festival Un-Cancels Play By Controversial French Author
Michel Houellebecq’s “Elementary Particles “has nothing to do with Islam. But that didn’t stop [Dubrovnik] Festival organizers from removing it from the lineup when an analysis carried out by the Croatian Security and Intelligence Agency said it represented a serious security risk.” Well, they’ve changed their minds.
Michael King, 67, King Of The TV Syndicators
With his brother, he “transformed King World Productions, a modest company they inherited from their father, into a syndicator of television megahits like The Oprah Winfrey Show, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.”
Pilobolus Reconceives Portraiture
At the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Museum, the dance troupe and video artist Bo Gehring take the genre as far as they can from the cliché of old white guys in wigs.
Why America Is Obsessed With Spelling Bees
Over the years the Scripps Spelling Bee has become a greater part of the nation’s pop culture. Much of this can be attributed to ESPN’s quasi-sporting-event coverage of the competition, which this year began with the slam poet J.Ivy delivering a spoken-word presentation about the allure of the bee.
Second Day Of Strikes Called Off At Shakespeare’s Globe
“Tour guides had been preparing to stage a day of strike action on June 1, following previous industrial action on May 18. The guides have been seeking an increase to their pay since a pay demand was issued last November.”
Should Composers Disrupt What A ‘Song’ Means?
“For instance, Spotify, the clear leader in the streaming space, pays after 30 seconds, so an honest question is: A) Why write beyond that? And … B) Are you, in fact, screwing yourself six times over for writing a three-minute song (:30 x 6 = 3:00 song)?”
Hollywood’s Most Famous Monster-Making Guy To Retire Because, Well, CGI
“He said his work on recent fantasy Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie, which was CGI-heavy, could have been done ‘in a garage’ and suggested studios are increasingly looking to use technology to replace handcrafted work.”
The Popular Artist Who Painted ‘The Singing Butler’ Injured His Shoulder And May Quit Painting
“The artist, who grew up in Methil, Fife, first found fame in 1989 when two of his canvases submitted to the Royal Scottish Academy sold on the first day. His work has since featured in exhibitions in Edinburgh, London and New York. He was made an OBE in 2003.”