Putative ‘Frida Kahlo’ Archive Under Investigation For Forgery

“Mexican federal prosecutors said Tuesday they are investigating a claim that more than 1,000 items attributed to artist Frida Kahlo were forged. The Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Trust filed a complaint saying signed paintings, notes and drawings featured in two recent art history books are fake, the Attorney General’s Office said.”

Forward To The Past Under Paris Opera’s New Chief

Nicolas Joël opened his first season at the helm of the company with Gounod’s dimly remembered Mireille. “Starting the new era with a half-forgotten, 19th-century opera in a period-style production is, of course, not an innocent coincidence. It’s an explicit break with the policy of Joël’s predecessor, Gérard Mortier, who favored overbearing directors and willful reinterpretations.”

Bolshoi Finds A Music Director Just In Time For Opening Night

“A few hours before raising the curtain on its 234th season, Russia’s famed Bolshoi Theatre revealed the latest addition to its team: new music director Leonid Desyatnikov.” He’s not an experienced conductor or administrator, but he is the composer behind one of the great artistic scandals of post-Soviet Russia: the opera Rosenthal’s Children.

A Trendy Dance Contest, With Benefits All Around

“It would be easy to dismiss the Global Dance contest as a gimmick. But simply by offering a prize of £2,000 and the chance to perform in the theatre’s 2010 Sampled programme, [Sadler’s] Wells has arguably come up with a fabulous scheme for flagging up its own cool credentials – and, more importantly, for diverting punters to its own website.”