“Magomaev, who launched his career with an internship in Milan’s famed La Scala opera theater in 1963 and enjoyed great success in Paris’s Olympia theater, abandoned opera in favor of a more pop repertoire, becoming a legend of the Soviet Union’s 1960s generation.”
Tag: 10.26.08
Ian McEwan Writes A Libretto. Next Up? Musicals.
Novelist Ian McEwan has ventured into opera with the libretto of “For You,” composed by Michael Berkeley. McEwan isn’t a frequent operagoer, but only because he doesn’t usually like it. “Because of the terrible plots,” he explains. “The biggest problem with opera, for me, is the disjunction between the sublime quality of the music and the silliness, often, of the drama. “
Broadway Shows Hammered By Downturn
“As audiences cut back on spending, at least six other major Broadway shows are now operating at below break-even, while four that were scheduled to open this year – including a $4.5m revival of Godspell – have been suddenly cancelled after investors got cold feet. And there are signs that the infection is spreading to London’s West End.”
The Orchestra, The Video, And The Audience
The Louisville Orchestra has been using video in performances for some time now. But what, wonders Andrew Adler, would the next step in video performance in concert halls look like?
Has Theatre Become Irrelevant When It Comes To Social Commentary?
“For too long, dramatists and directors, following the cues of marketing-mad producers and lowest-common-subscriber-oriented artistic directors, have been reflecting the vain self-regard and superficial profundity of a relatively small swath of the country’s population — affluent urban theatergoers. Seduced by the new turbocharged American dream (or at least complicit with it), these artists haven’t been in the best position to critique its hedge-fund-era perversion.”
A Case For Investing In The Arts (Even In Bad Times)
“The calls to cancel the construction of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in the early ’90s during Los Angeles’ last major recession nearly succeeded, and the hall was delayed for many years. Fortunately, that didn’t succeed, and Los Angeles has a building that lifts our spirits and serves as a symbol of a great city’s aspirations. It also is an income-producing tourist attraction and magnet for downtown investment. How many times over has the hall earned its relatively paltry $265-million investment, which is less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the Wall Street bailout? Who got the better deal?”
A Lost Trove Of Recordings From The 1890s
The recordings are fascinating historical documents. They were mostly made in living rooms, at informal social occasions. Listeners applaud and yell “bravo!” The musicians often introduce themselves, as an 11-year-old Heifetz does in a high-pitched voice.
The Essential 1000 Works Of Art
The Guardian writers make a list and explain it…
Can Cabaret Make A Comeback?
“The peak cabaret experience is a three-way relationship among singer, song (often a standard) and audience in which performers pour their life experiences in thematic shows using the American songbook as a platform; songs are stations in an autobiographical journey shared with the listener.”
The House You Could Take With You
“What if a house had the built-in capacity to evolve? What if it could grow or shrink, or the rooms could be reconfigured, without hiring contractors and tearing out walls? An emerging movement of architects suggests that we need to start conceiving and designing houses in a new way: Not as immutable objects, expensive and painful to alter, but as flexible structures that can adapt to the inevitable changes in their owners’ lives.”