“Jonathan Miller is in a state of disgruntlement. Despite his congeniality and his mischievous good humor, things are getting him down.” At 72, he says New York, where his City Opera production of “The Elixir of Love” opens Saturday, will soon be crossed off the list of places where he’s willing to work. ” ‘I even have to pay my own hotel. It took three hours to get the papers I need to work here. And another seven hours flying here. And what do I get in return? The New York Times.’ “
Tag: 10.03.06
Neuenfels A Poor Poster Boy For Free Expression
Has the “Idomeneo” controversy prompted a worthy discussion in defense of inferior art? “Whether or not the production goes forward next month, issues about artistic freedom and intimidation by special-interests groups – all very important – are being raised on behalf of a production that could well be an embarrassment to other daring opera directors, and to opera in general. … Hans Neuenfels, the Berlin ‘Idomeneo’ director, is among the least credible of Europe’s high-concept directors. Though I haven’t seen this production, his past work has exemplified artistic license so out of control that it becomes high-budget provocation.”
The New Leipzig School? What School?
“Ever since the movement’s ‘discovery’ in 2003, when Miami collectors Don and Mera Rubell went on a shopping spree in the former East German city, the New Leipzig School has been the talk of the art town.” But, Blake Gopnik says, a touring exhibition of the Rubells’ collection proves that it’s “not much of a school. There isn’t any shared agenda among its artists or even much in common other than an education at the conservative Leipzig Art Academy. (One thing they do have in common is their male sex. The only Leipzig women on view at the Katzen are in the paintings. They’re often nude.)”
Giller Looks Beyond The Obvious
This year’s Giller Prize finalists for Canadian writers are less-known than those who usually make the list. “Pascale Quiviger’s A Perfect Circle, which won the Governor General’s Award for fiction in French in 2004, is perhaps the most acclaimed of five books selected for the list, announced in Toronto Tuesday.”
NSO Follows Yellow Brick Road To Kansas
“The National Symphony Orchestra has announced that Kansas will be the site of the ensemble’s 2007 American Residency — the NSO’s 17th such extended visit since 1992.”
Giller – The Year Of Not Being Alice Munro
“For an award that tends to favour well-established and high-profile writers, most of the big shots of the 2006 fall season were conspicuously absent from the long list.”
TV, Video Games Not Good For Kids After All
“Middle school students who watch TV or play video games during the week do worse in school than those who don’t, a new study finds, but weekend viewing and gaming doesn’t affect school performance much. … Children whose parents allowed them to watch R-rated movies also did worse in class, and for boys, that effect was especially strong.”
Actress Isabel Bigley, 80
“Isabel Bigley, who won a Tony award in 1951 playing Sarah Brown, the Salvation Army missionary who falls in love with a handsome gambler in the raucous Broadway hit ‘Guys and Dolls,’ died Saturday in Los Angeles.”
Metropolitan Opera Offers $20 Orchestra Tickets
More proof that things really are different at the Met under Peter Gelb: “The Metropolitan Opera says it will offer 200 orchestra seats to the general public at a cost of $20 each for performances Monday through Thursday, starting tonight. The seats, at the sides and toward the back of the hall, would normally cost $100.” (Second item.)
At MoMA, A New Department For “Media”
“New media. Digital art. Interactive installation. No matter what ungainly term you choose, the field of artists whose work falls outside the traditional realms of photography, film, and video is growing. In recognition of that fact, the Museum of Modern Art announced yesterday the creation of a new Department of Media, to be run by a curator from the department formerly known as Film and Media, Klaus Biesenbach.”