Bass-baritone Bryn Terfel has upset opera fans at Covent Garden, Salzburg and Munich opera houses by canceling his next four months of performances to be with his wife for the birth of their third child, due in January. – BBC Music Magazine
Tag: 10.16.00
VINCENT CANBY DIES
Theatre and movie critic Vincent Canby dies of cancer at the age of 76. – New York Times
NEA INCREASE ASSURED
The US Senate passes a $7 million increase in the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts – its first significant increase since 1992. – Backstage 10/16/00
THE ETERNAL QUESTION
What is art? The Age goes out and asks artists and the general public to give their definitions (in one sentence). No two answers were the same. – The Age (Melbourne) 10/16/00
PLAYING KEEP-AWAY WITH THE CENSORSHIP RULES
Australia’s politicians have gone on a rampage of legislation tightening censorship rules. “Film censorship rules have to be tightened next time they come up for review. Censorship of magazines has already been tightened. Porn has been squeezed. A review of video games is under way.” But a survey of Australians says that Aussies don’t see much need for these clampdowns. – Sydney Morning Herald 10/16/00
ARTS LEADER ATTACKS “LAZY” COLLEAGUES
“Graham Sheffield, artistic director of the Barbican Centre, in London, has broken with convention to launch an unprecedented attack on his colleagues. It is the first time someone that from inside the arts world has publicly alleged that weaknesses and unaccountability in world-famous institutions such as the National Theatre and Royal Academy were failing the public.” – The Independent (UK) 10/16/00
WHO’S THE CULTURAL CAPITAL?
Melbourne likes to think of itself as the cultural capital of Australia. But is the city’s position slipping? “Melbourne used to love itself and support itself, but that’s happening in Sydney now, where there’s a sense that it’s trendy to be at the theatre.” – The Age (Melbourne) 10/16/00
LOST CITY
An enormous Etruscan city dating from the 5th Century BC has been unearthed under a plain in Tuscany. Workers were excavating for a new truck yard. – Discovery
MAYAN PUZZLE FILLING IN
Why did Mayan culture collapse centuries ago? New large archaeological finds in Central America are filling in the puzzle. “Some estimates put the Maya population in the lowland jungles at a staggering 500 people per square mile, roughly twice the current density in Florida. Just before the collapse there are more Maya around then ever before, and they’re packed into cities that are larger, more numerous, and more closely spaced. The slightest added stress could have precipitated a catastrophic spiral of collapse. A drought, war, or crop failure could have pushed the society over the edge.” – Chronicle of Higher Education
IS COLLECTING ELITIST?
Some British museums are having difficulty convincing their governing boards that adding to their collections is an important thing to do. “A fashionable theory that objects are less important than visitors’ experiences, and that collecting is little more than elitist hoarding, is now in vogue among some museum governing bodies.” – The Telegraph (UK)