“An Egyptian court convicted 11 officials from the Culture Ministry, including the deputy minister, of gross negligence and incompetence in the theft of a Vincent Van Gogh painting that embarrassed the government.”
Tag: 10.12.10
Bolshoi Ballet Joins the Cinema Simulcast Party
“Some 300 cinemas in 22 countries around the world will show real-time ballets staged by Russia’s Bolshoi Theater starting from December 19.” For the first season, the simulcasts will be offered in ten European countries, the US, Japan and Australia.
How Victor Hugo Ruined (and Made) Mario Vargas Llosa
“Escaping into the world of Jean Valjean gave Llosa the fortitude he needed to face the real world. But it also made the real world seem pale in comparison. Real reality couldn’t live up to the dreams of Victor Hugo.”
Minnesota Orchestra Plans Festivals Throughout State
“The Minnesota Orchestra is launching a new series of weeklong festivals around the state. The first in the series, called ‘Common Chords,’ will be held in Grand Rapids in October 2011.”
How New York Changed Modern Dance, Fifty Years Ago
Downtown Manhattan in the 1960s “was a time, in particular, when choreographers and visual artists formed a new bond, collaborating and influencing each other. The results changed both stage and gallery for ever.”
One-Time Rock Star Ryuichi Sakamoto Quiets Down
“Like a latter-day Erik Satie, the 58-year-old Japanese composer sits reflectively at the piano, sounding chords that ripple like pebbles dropped in still water, warranting contemplation but just as content to be simply enjoyed. Is it ambient music? New Age? Classical?”
Actors, Leave Us Alone! We Like the Fourth Wall!
Peter Marks: “Playwrights, directors and performers all seem to think that we want to be part of their act, that during a performance we’re desperate for actors to descend into the aisles, converse with us, tussle our hair – even, occasionally, drag us back up into the footlights with them.”
Theatres of England, Give Us Sunday Matinees!
It took them long enough, but London theatres have finally been catching on to the fact that there is serious audience demand (with the consequent revenue) for Sunday performances. Why can’t England’s regional theatres do the same?
Howard Jacobson (‘the Jewish Jane Austen’) Wins Man Booker Prize
“Howard Jacobson’s laugh-out-loud exploration of Jewishness, The Finkler Question, last night became the first unashamedly comic novel to win the Man Booker prize in its 42-year history. … [The book] beat a strong field including a novel that had unexpectedly become odds-on favourite with the bookmakers,” Tom McCarthy’s C.
Split Decision in The Guardian‘s Not the Booker Prize
“We have a winner! No, hang on, we have two! Deloume Road and The Canal have polled the same number of votes in the final round of the Not The Booker prize. It was never going to be straightforward, was it?”