Why the ongoing obsession with Shakespeare? His presence runs through every new theatre season. “Is it audiences that clamour for such well-worn tales or the powers that be? Are Mr Darcy, Anne Boleyn and Macbeth so much more interesting than what’s going on today? In this turbulent time of war and money, of natural disasters and manmade destruction, are our contemporary stories so dull, so unfabulous, so irrelevant?”
Tag: 09.25.05
The Genius That Burns Out Young
So often the talent or genius that burns bright as a prodigy, ends up burning out early. “We are stalled in a state of permanent adolescence; the economy relies on the avidity of teenage consumers who have to be tantalised with a fresher face every few months. Adolescent celebrities are obsolete by their early twenties.”
The Arts Need Introductory Offers
As New York’s Fall for Dance sampler demonstrates, there’s a big audience for dance if it’s priced and packaged right. But what are arts organizations doing to lure those people who might be interested but aren’t yet ready to commit major money to attending? “It’s understandable that theaters want to reward their devotees, especially as they typically constitute half the audience. But what’s keeping the venues from encouraging more people, besides students, to become devoted? Why, for example, are there no introductory offers?”
Page: Domingo Conquers Tristan
Tim Page declares Placido Domingo’s new Tristan recording a triumph. “It has long been thought that Domingo had it in him to actually sing Tristan, and some listeners suspected that he might prove to be the most musical Tristan since the legendary Lauritz Melchior, who virtually owned the role in the 1930s and ’40s. And now, at the age of 63, Domingo has proved it, with a new recording of “Tristan und Isolde” for EMI Classics. His performance is everything one could have hoped for — ardent, lyrical, intelligent and astonishingly sweet-toned, with only a few effortful passages to remind the listener that Domingo has been before the public for more than 45 years.”
Bilbao-On-Roanoke
Roanoke Virginia is the latest to roll the dice on the “Bilbao effect.” The Art Museum of Western Viginia is building a new $46 million home. “Interlocking roofs, sheathed with ribs of brushed stainless steel, will roll like hills across the site. Walls with chemically treated zinc shingles will remind visitors of rock striations they’ve seen in the nearby mountains. A soaring prow of glass will erupt from these layers of metal, inviting wonder and, at the same time, signaling where the front door is. Another word people might use a lot to describe the 75,000-square-foot building, after the dust settles, is beautiful.”
Petitioning For Library Privacy
More than 200,000 petitions have been gathered to repeal the section of the Patriot Act that pertains to libraries. “The Campaign for Reader Privacy has been collecting petitions at libraries and bookstores since March 2004. It gathered 100,000 last year. Supporters are the Association of American Publishers, the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association and PEN American Center. There’s more urgency this year because of the law’s expiration date.”
Getty Attorneys: “Masterpieces’ Of Questionable Origins
Getty attorneys have determined that as many as half of the ancient masterpieces in the museum’s collection can be traced back to suspect dealers. “In correspondence with the Getty, the dealers made frank, almost casual references to ancient sites from which artifacts had been excavated, apparently in violation of Italian law, the records show. The Getty’s outside attorney considered the letters “troublesome” and advised the museum not to turn them over to Italian authorities. Although Italy is seeking the return of 42 objects, the Getty’s lawyers did their own assessment and determined that the museum had purchased 82 artworks from dealers and galleries under investigation by the Italians. They include 54 of the 104 ancient artworks that the Getty has identified as masterpieces.”
LA – Story Of A Chamber Orchestra
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is 35 years old. A tumultuous history and a record of solid music-making have put the orchestra on a solid track as one of the city’s primary musical assets
John Adams Goes Nuclear
“Doctor Atomic will surely not deliver history’s final verdict on Robert Oppenheimer. It may, however, lay to rest persistent misconceptions about John Adams’s work, which has been described since “Nixon in China” as “CNN opera.” The label applies well enough to other operas “ripped from the headlines.” But it never really applied to the Adams operas, which sought from the first to lend topical subjects the timelessness and ambiguity of myth.”
Opera Doesn’t Work In The Present
Opera set in modern times just plain doesn’t work. Writes Andrew O’Hagan: “Opera can’t cope with modern boredom or the banality of everyday speech without making it seem hilariously camp, overblown, unreal, and unfelt. Anything prosaic quickly seems fake. Everything practical suddenly seems doomed. Maybe opera is just too bold-gestured and not the kind of drama I can believe in when set in a modern context. Even where the music is lovely, and the look is right.”