Artistic director Kevin McKenzie: “The composition of the company has always been about 60 percent American and 40 percent everywhere else. And what became American about everybody was, the Cubans started to look at the English who started to look at the Russians and thought, if I could partner like that and jump like that and turn like that. That’s what’s American. They reinvent themselves.”
Tag: 06.17.12
What Makes An Orchestra “Great”?
“The question of greatness used to be an easy one. In years past, the measures were fairly straightforward and objective: budget size, wages, number of recordings, volume of touring. These days, the standards are more complex, and the orchestral landscape has changed dramatically.”
The Singularly Singular Voice Of George Plimpton
Taylor Plimpton: “My father’s voice was like one of those supposedly extinct deep-sea creatures that wash up on the shores of Argentina every now and then. It came from a different era, shouldn’t have still existed, but nevertheless, there it was … You heard it and it could only be him.”
The Stokowski Mystique Endures (And Leopold Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way)
“Leopold Stokowski could only have been invented – by Leopold Stokowski. Magnetic, innovative, and the exception to most rules, starting a century ago Stokowski made the Philadelphia Orchestra what it is today, with a glamour and showmanship that reached listeners well beyond the core classical audience.”
Sydney Plans To Become Broadway’s Next Great Incubator Of Musicals
“Dr Zhivago and An Officer and a Gentleman don’t sound as Australian as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, yet all three were reborn in Sydney as musicals. What’s more, they will soon be joined by a host of sing-along siblings.” Australia’s largest city aims to be “where international producers and investors join forces with their Australian counterparts to develop new musicals that will use their premiere here as a launch pad to global success.”
James Corden, Now A Broadway Darling, Used To Be Insufferable
North American theatre fans, who mostly know of Corden because of his comic virtuosity in One Man, Two Guv’nors and his heartfelt Tony acceptance speech, are likely unuaware that, just a few short years ago, Corden was one of the most reviled actors in Britain. William Langley (in a none-too-friendly way) explains.
Getting The Art Establishment To Take Glass Seriously As A Medium
“In a medium known for work many regard as lightweight and decorative” – think of all the respect Dale Chihuly gets in high art circles – “[Josiah] McElheny’s creations strive to convey sophisticated, often dark ideas.”
Haiti’s Ayikodans Finally Emerges From Earthquake’s Ruins
Following the massive 2010 temblor, choreographer Jeanguy Saintus and his dance company were in crisis: their studio was destroyed, their own lives were chaotic, and their paying students had mostly fled the country. “But 2 years later, Ayikodans [is] … performing to rapt audiences in Miami and earning the kind of rave reviews and cultural attention and support Saintus strived so long for.”
Venezuela Demands Return Of “Sacred” Rock From Germany
“The Venezuelan government is demanding the return from Germany of a red sandstone rock that is the central attraction of a Berlin sculpture park, claiming it has sacred properties and was stolen from a group of indigenous people. The 35-tonne boulder was procured from the Canaima National Park in south-eastern Venezuela by the German artist Wolfgang von Schwarzenfeld in 1997.”
Andrew Davis Appointed Conductor Of Melbourne Symphony
“Davis said his four-year tenure with the MSO, commencing early 2013, will focus each season on the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, the tone poems of Richard Strauss and the orchestral music of Hector Berlioz.”