Mozart’s Magic Flute not only makes little narrative sense, but it’s imbued with weird racist, sexist and other problematic connotations. But it’s performed like mad. Beyond the obvious musical attractions, why?
Tag: 10.08.11
Christopher Hitchens: Life, Politics, And Living With – Not Dying Of – Cancer
Hitch still has a lot to say, and when he’s not talking or writing articles, he says some of it in a recent book that covers terrorism, oral sex and wine waiters.
Winning Awards For Playing Bad Guys: The Secret Is Not To See Them As Villains
“These men who are monstrous, so to speak, are enormously, enormously rewarding to play — much more so than a good man,” Frank Langella says. Not that there aren’t rewards to playing heroes. “But there’s so much more that you can draw on when you play a man who’s complicated, difficult and downright mean.”
Pity The (Kindle) Fools Who Can’t Show Off Books They Haven’t Read
Sure, you might have 2000 books on your Kindle, but who would ever know? After all, the point of bookshelves is to make your erudition clear.
North And South: London, Divided And United
“The south side worked, stored, processed, brewed. The north was another sort of bank, a money magnet. A collided necklace of palaces and privilege.”
Wild English Gardens: A Meme Begun By The French
English landscapes didn’t just happen. Is a French painter to credit, or blame? “These new landscapes were contrived to look natural: clumps of trees wrapped around lakes, clearing to reveal views to the far horizon, just like in Lorrain’s Judgment of Paris. As in the paintings, classical ruins would be slotted into this apparently wild landscape.”
Should We Preserve Merce Cunningham’s Choreography – Or Leave It To Its Time?
“Cunningham’s art, though highly choreographed, was linked in part to the art scene in New York which produced a series of ‘happenings’ – works that questioned the fundamental principles of dance by putting everyday actions on stage, or breaching conventions in other ways. Their revolutionary nature was part of their importance.”
Thank You For Dystopian Futures, H.G. Wells (And Orson Welles)
Why are so many movies (books, T.V. shows, etc.) about a scary machine-driven future? We have H.G. Wells (and Orson Welles) to thank, or castigate.
Leonardo Show At Risk Thanks To Security Cutbacks
In the wake of attacks on Poussin paintings, a planned Leonardo da Vinci blockbuster at London’s National Gallery might not be safe enough for its security guards –Â and now they may take action to shut down the show, expected to be wildly popular.
Need Solar Power? Pour Some Glitter On It
New ideas abound for small solar cells. “Being so tiny, the cells don’t have to be mounted on a stiff, block-like substrate. They could be mounted on flexible surfaces or even clothing. Imagine plugging into a jacket to extend the battery life of a smart phone.”