“In order to cover the combined $1.8 million in annual operating deficits among Actors Theatre, Kentucky Opera, the Louisville Ballet and the Louisville Orchestra, the fund needed to grow its campaign from $8 million to $10 million. So as of this past June 30, we’re halfway to that goal. A year goes by, and — assuming that the $10 million mark is reached — what then?”
Tag: 07.06.08
What If “Good” English Is The Exception?
“Thanks to globalization, the Allied victories in World War II, and American leadership in science and technology, English has become so successful across the world that it’s escaping the boundaries of what we think it should be. In part, this is because there are fewer of us: By 2020, native speakers will make up only 15 percent of the estimated 2 billion people who will be using or learning the language. Already, most conversations in English are between nonnative speakers who use it as a lingua franca.”
China’s Art Grottos In Trouble
“Known as Mogaoku — ‘peerless caves’ — and filled with paradisiacal frescos and hand-molded clay sculptures of savior-gods and saints, they are, in size and historical breadth, like nothing else in the Chinese Buddhist world. And Mogaoku is in trouble. Thrown open to visitors in recent decades, the site has been swamped by tourists in the past few years. The caves now suffer from high levels of carbon dioxide and humidity, which are severely undermining conservation efforts.”
25 Years Of Being Able To Follow Opera
“Now, in the 25th anniversary year of supertitles, such systems have been embraced by companies and audiences. The benefits are obvious. Opera is a form of drama, and that basic element of the genre becomes immediately apparent, even to neophytes, when titling is used. Still, as with subtitles in foreign films, supertitles come with built-in tradeoffs.”
Reconsidering Puccini, 150 Years Later
“Giacomo Puccini was the most commercially successful opera composer there has ever been. At his death in 1924 he was worth well over £130m by today’s standards. Recently, fresh light has been shed on what went on in Villa Puccini 100 years ago.”