In an unprecedented move, the provincial government of Ontario has signed on to become an investor in the massive new musical production of The Lord of the Rings, set to open in Toronto in 2006. “Taking on a role traditionally played by impresarios, idealists and other theatrical gamblers, the provincial government will contribute some $2.5 million of the show’s $23 million budget, betting that the production’s global appeal will justify a unique, and risky, public-private partnership.” The province stands to gain a great deal from a successful run – Toronto will have exclusivity for the show through spring 2007 – and while there is some risk involved, government officials expect the show to turn a $40 million profit.
Tag: 10.11.05
Hollywood’s Pseudo-Intellectualism
The movie business just loves tackling “the big issues,” especially near Oscar time. Nothing gets a green light faster than a mildly controversial storyline captained by a big-name star going out on a limb to shed light on the horrible scourge of, say, sexual harassment. Or war profiteering. Or physical violence. “Because these movies are Hollywood products, though, they need to navigate between inoffensively pleasing a mainstream audience and actually saying something. What results is a genre of timid films with portentous-sounding themes, works that offer prepackaged schoolroom lessons or canned debates. Hollywood may be drawn to Big Ideas, but it is always more comfortable with sound-bite-size thoughts.”
Van Gogh’s Other Art
Vincent Van Gogh’s pen-and-ink drawings are every bit as astonishing and expressive as his famous paintings, yet amazingly, there has never been a major U.S. exhibition of the drawings. That changes this week, when New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art puts 113 Van Gogh drawings on exhibit. The works have been borrowed from various public and private collections, and will likely not be seen in public again anytime soon, due to the relative fragility of pen-and-ink works.
Nobel Judge Resigns In Protest
“A member of the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Prize for Literature, has resigned in protest at the choice of last year’s winner. Knut Ahnlund said he was stepping down because the 2004 award went to Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek. The Academy member called Jelinek’s work ‘a mass of text shovelled together without artistic structure’. His attack on Jelinek’s books and plays came days before the announcement of the 2005 winner, due on Thursday.”
Houston S.O. Hires Ex-San Antonio Exec
“Steven R. Brosvik, the former executive director of the San Antonio Symphony, has been appointed general manager of the Houston Symphony. Brosvik succeeds Matthew VanBesien, who was promoted to executive director and CEO in April after Ann Kennedy resigned from that post. The executive director of the San Antonio Symphony from 2001 through late 2003, Brosvik oversaw the orchestra through the financial struggles than eventually led it to declare bankruptcy.” The Houston Symphony has had myriad troubles of its own in the last few years, ranging from the catastrophic flooding of its concert hall and library in 2001 to a bitter musicians’ strike in 2003.
Should Madison Take Control Of Its PAC?
Madison, Wisconsin’s new Overture Center for the Performing Arts has been hailed by audiences and critics since opening last year, and the center is expected to operate in the black for the foreseeable future. But long-term financing is enough of a concern that the city’s mayor is floating a plan under which Madison would buy the center for $1 and operate it directly, rather than partnering with a development corporation in a refinancing deal which exposes the city to some future financial risk. “Representatives from several Overture Center resident arts groups, including the Madison Ballet, the Madison Repertory Theatre and the Madison Symphony Orchestra, came out strongly against city ownership Monday.”
New Takacs Doesn’t Miss A Beat
The Takacs Quartet, considered one of the world’s best chamber ensembles, has launched its first season without longtime violist Roger Tapping, who left the group this past summer. So how is the Takacs sound faring with new violist Geraldine Walther, late of the San Francisco Symphony? Very well, thank you. “With less than a month’s worth of performances under her belt, Walther — with her warm, honeyed tone, her clarity and confidence — is already a fit with the group, which sounded remarkably, delicately in balance… There was an incredible airiness to Sunday’s performance, with its refined, tremulous atmospherics: It evoked sunlight passing through fog. You could ‘see’ each refracted ray.”
Can A Fresh Face Save ENB From Itself?
“All dance companies go through ups and downs, but English National Ballet seems to have spent more time at the bottom of the seesaw than fate or fortune should decree… So if you saw the job of artistic director advertised would you want it? Well, apparently many people did. This is, after all, a big company with an outstanding history, 64 dancers, a full orchestra, £5.5 million in Arts Council funding and the potential to bring quality ballet to audiences around Britain. Enter Wayne Eagling, former Royal Ballet star and the man handed the job of putting English National Ballet back on track.”
Berlusconi Cuts To Devastate Italian Culture
Italy’s right-wing government has announced plans to slash arts funding by a whopping €260 million ($312.8 million) per year. The cuts, which are being loudly opposed by Italy’s cultural leaders, would fall hardest on the Venice Film Festival, and would also have serious consequences for La Scala and the Venice Biennale, among others. “Workers’ organisations and actors’ unions in the Italian film industry have called for a strike, to be held on Friday, and they are urging theatres to follow suit.”
Hopefully The Art Will Be Better Than The Cars
“The French government wants to turn a disused Renault car factory on an island in the River Seine west of Paris into a major European centre for artists, featuring workshops, homes and galleries, the prime minister said yesterday… The site was to have hosted a prestigious museum to house the collection of one of France’s richest men, Francois Pinault, until he pulled out in May, blaming red tape.”