Alfred Hubay, 93, The Metropolitan Opera’s Box Office Whiz

His job titles belie his importance at the company; Mr. Hubay did far more than oversee ticket sales. He became something of an expert on opera and opera singers, so much so that he would be asked to judge singing and scholarship competitions. He also served on the boards of numerous musical organizations, including the Glimmerglass Opera, the Oratorio Society of New York and the Marilyn Horne Foundation.

The Gender Gap In Top Orchestras Is Still Too Wide

“Quartz at Work examined the instruments played by the musicians of the world’s 20 greatest orchestras, as ranked by the UK’s Gramophone magazine [in 2008], to understand how gender shapes their composition.” The findings? Not only are the musician ranks as a whole predominantly male (69%), but with some instruments, the divide is much larger.

It’s Not Only Denise Scott Brown: The Great Female Architects Overlooked In Favor Of Their Husbands

“Scott Brown is not alone. A deeply institutionalised invisibility cloak has long obscured the women in successful architectural partnerships, whether it’s MJ Long’s work on the British Library, a project usually credited to her husband Colin St John Wilson, or Su Rogers and Wendy Foster’s work on early projects with their husbands, Richard and Norman.”

Trying To Give Kids The Opera Bug Really, Really Young

“Welcome to London’s Royal Opera House, where Opera Dots, a workshop for toddlers, aims to build a future fan base, one hop at a time. Beneath an elegant iron-and-glass ceiling, a group of young guests giggle on a multi-colored play mat as they mimic a costumed performer singing and dancing her way through Hansel and Gretel. Some of the children do boisterous impressions of a scary witch, luring the innocent pair into her house of sweets.”

Smithsonian To Go Ahead With This Weekend’s Saudi-Sponsored Festival Despite Khashoggi Disappearance

“Saudi Aramco donated $175,000 for the Arab Culture Weekend and other family programs at the Freer and Sackler galleries, the Smithsonian’s Asian art museums. The event opens amid an international backlash against Saudi leaders following the Oct. 2 disappearance and alleged killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The writer was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.”

Man Booker Prize 2018 To Anna Burns’s ‘Milkman’

“The experimental novel, Burns’s third, is narrated by an unnamed 18-year-old girl, known as ‘middle sister’, who is being pursued by a much older paramilitary figure, the milkman,” during Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Burns, the first Booker winner from Ulster, “beat writers including the American literary heavyweight Richard Powers; Daisy Johnson, at 27 the youngest author ever to be shortlisted for the award; and the Canadian writer Esi Edugyan.”

France’s Culture Minister Replaced In Cabinet Reshuffle

“Although her appointment in May 2017 by Emmanuel Macron had been welcomed enthusiastically, the fact that she was replaced came as no surprise. [Françoise] Nyssen — whose publishing house, Actes Sud, is one of France’s most successful — had been facing accusations of conflict of interest, in addition to a simmering scandal concerning building permits for which she’s under investigation. … [Franck] Riester, the new minister of culture, is a center-right politician whose primary experience has been in the broadcasting sector.”

What’s Working On Netflix? Romantic Comedies

Eighty million subscribers watched Netflix romcoms this summer. Netflix released a series original movies as part of its “Summer of Love” over the past few months, including “Set It Up,” “The Kissing Booth,” “Like Father,” “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser” and the aforementioned “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.” The company said Tuesday that it was already in production of “the next set of original rom-coms” for its members.