The contentious negotiations to build a new performing arts center in Kansas City have taken another turn, this time sparking a return to the original plan to build the PAC on a downtown hilltop. “The decision ends months of uncertainty that began in April when the center board voted to examine an alternative — renovating the historic Lyric Theatre at 11th and Central streets and adding a new concert hall. Backers said the concept did not save enough money to justify abandoning the earlier plan.” Funding for the project, which is estimated to cost $304 million, is still somewhat uncertain, but backers are hoping to start construction by fall 2006.
Tag: 09.18.05
The Cultural Devastation of Katrina
Katrina struck at the very heart of the Deep South’s cultural community, and while some individual organizations may have escaped relatively unscathed, the rebuilding effort for the arts will take many, many years. The head of the National Endowment for the Arts points out that “culture is the second largest industry in Louisiana,” and across the Gulf Coast, venues have been damaged or destroyed and artists themselves are scattered to the winds. And while overall relief efforts are well underway, priorities of safety and livability are necessitating a “hurry up and wait” approach for many arts organizations.
Relief From The Northwest
The Seattle Symphony raised $45,000 for hurricane relief with a benefit concert Friday night…
Philly Singers Cancel Half Season
The Philadelphia Singers, one of that city’s major choral groups, has canceled half its season. “The decision comes after five years of declining support from private donors, foundations and subscribers, which numbered 400 last year. Executive director Rebecca Bolden called the move ‘painful’ but ‘fiscally responsible’ in consideration of the chorus’ $40,000 deficit against a $600,000 annual budget.”
The Highest Soprano In The World?
Surely Diana Damrau sings the highest of any soprano. In a world where high “C” is considered an upper range, she goes higher. Much higher. “Last December, in the first modern performance of Antonio Salieri’s “Europa Riconosciuta,” at La Scala in Milan, she topped the composer’s three F sharps with an unwritten high G. What’s more, she managed to give that unearthly note real sheen and body. And in concert, she has sung an A flat in Johann Strauss’s “Voices of Spring.”