“In 1951, he and his brother, Wieland, were elected to lead the month-long festival their grandfather initially created in 1872 to premiere his epic Ring Cycle. However, he has been the sole director since his brother’s death in 1967.”
Tag: 07.25.08
Ancient Rock Art Threatened By Development
“Australia’s greatest ancient Aboriginal rock art is at risk of being damaged or destroyed because it sits at the epicenter of the country’s resources boom, experts say. The etchings of men and animals on the rocks of the Burrup Peninsula, some of which are believed to be up to 30,000 years old, lie in Western Australia’s remote and mineral-laden Pilbara region.”
Hollywood’s Blockbusterish Season
Despite strike threats and recession woes, Hollywood is actually feeling pretty good about itself. And last week’s record numbers triggered by “Dark Knight” reinforced this sense of well being.
Is Oregon Symphony On The Brink Of Disaster?
“Top leaders at the Oregon Symphony are struggling to shore up losses, which totaled $5.1 million between 2002 and 2008, plus pay off a $7 million bank loan that has saddled the nonprofit with $400,000 in yearly interest payments.” Efforts are well underway to cut losses, but the orchestra’s board chair worries that “we might have already lost the symphony.”
Restoring Some Of The World’s Great Stonework
The tiny northern Italian village of Canova has had a rough haul the last few decades, as residents left for larger cities and better jobs elsewhere. But a new focus on the town’s historic stone architecture has attracted preservationists, and a new civic association “hosts field schools and exhibitions in the village and offers restoration consultations throughout the valley.”
Writers’ Trust Prizes Get Bigger
“The Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize will now award each winner $25,000 and finalists $3,500 (up from $15,000 and $2,000).” The Canadian-based literary awards were already among the richest in North America.
Breillat, Reinvented
“Catherine Breillat is probably better known in mainstream media for the controversies that surround her often sexually explicit films, as opposed to the more subtle, cerebral details of her work celebrated by serious critics and cineastes.” But her latest film represents a departure from the norm, and reflects the tumult that has been the filmmaker’s life in recent years.
Dark Knight Keeps On Rolling
The new Batman movie is set to shatter multiple box office records this week. “The Dark Knight, which opened last weekend to a record $158.4 million and piled up big numbers all week, could add on $75 million or more this weekend.”
Barbara Ann Teer, 71
“Barbara Ann Teer, who gave up a promising career in commercial entertainment to concentrate on developing African-American culture in Harlem and who founded the National Black Theater there, died on Monday in Harlem.”
Can The Arts Survive Without Public Dollars?
“PONCHO, long a pillar of arts funding in Seattle, has just announced another change in leadership and focus,” and is clearly struggling in a down economic climate to maintain its role. So is it time to reevaluate our privately funded model for arts and culture?