Natalia Osipova Never Thought She’d Dance At The Royal Ballet – Here’s How She Got There

“I never associated myself with that troupe, which has its own, clearly expressed characteristic, its own style. I didn’t think of experimenting with that repertoire. I thought that I would never dance English ballets, that they don’t suit me! But two years ago Kevin O’Hara, the director of the Royal Ballet, invited me to dance Swan Lake.”

Desperate To Keep Ahead Of ISIS, Iraq’s National Library Is Digitizing Its Whole Collection

“In February, IS torched more than 8,000 rare books and manuscripts in Mosul, Iraq’s second city, which the group seized in June, 2014. … The microfilm department overseeing the digitisation in Baghdad faces significant obstacles, as many books have been ruined by fire or dampness, while others have become hardened and petrified as a result of extreme heat and dampness.”

Steve Jobs, The Opera, Is Coming

“The Santa Fe Opera announced Wednesday that The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, by composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell, is scheduled to debut in 2017. … The piece will explore Jobs’ complicated professional and personal lives … [and] will also delve into the touchy area of his relationship with a woman whose child he initially disowned.”