“Opera Ireland and Opera Theatre Company (OTC), the country’s main touring opera group, are being disbanded to make way for a new company, Irish National Opera (INO), which is not expected to stage its first opera until at least the spring of 2012.”
Tag: 11.14.10
Fired War Horse Stagehand Sues, Alleging Racial Harassment
“A stagehand who worked behind the scenes on the critically acclaimed West End production War Horse is pursuing a case for wrongful dismissal after blowing the whistle on an alleged culture of drunkenness and racism, which he claimed was making life traumatic for cast and crew.”
Lone Isaksen, 68, Star of Harkness and Joffrey Ballets
“At the Harkness Ballet, where she and [Lawrence] Rhodes were founding members from 1964 to 1970, Ms. Isaksen could seemingly do no wrong and was acclaimed by critics and the public alike. Small and elegant, she transformed her deceptive fragility into a startling flexibility that flowed into the convoluted shapes created for her by an array of modern choreographers.”
Why Flops Are Vital to Cinema
“An era’s great flops serve countless functions in pushing the art and industry of filmmaking forward. They introduce technological innovations. They help filmmakers and actors – those that manage to work again, at least – learn how to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. … Alcoholics often need to hit rock bottom before turning their lives around. This is the role that flops play for some actors.”
Mark Twain Settles Some Scores, 100 Years Later
“The three-tome work is one of the literary events of the decade and the first volume – already riding high in the US best-seller lists – will go on sale in Britain on Monday.
What will be revealed in its full ferocity is his loathing for Miss Lyon and her then-husband Ralph Ashcroft, a Briton who was the writer’s erstwhile business advisor.”
Matthew Bourne Talks Dance
On Strictly Come Dancing: “I think it’s wonderful. Our audiences have grown and their enjoyment of dance in general has grown. I hope we have been part of that. In fact, I am sure we have been.”
The Race To Replace Ticketmaster
“Among fans and artists, of course, Ticketmaster is widely despised. It extracts high service fees but has offered very little innovation in ticketing over the past 30 years. In offices around the US, startups staffed with veteran ticketing executives and backed with millions of dollars in venture capital are working to find new ways to sell seats to fans.”
How Abu Dhabi Intends To Be A Major Cultural City
“It has the ambition, with the stated aim of becoming one of the world’s top five cities by 2030 and a leading cultural centre in just three years’ time. And that money has helped it get the names.”
Why Scientific Innovation Needs The Arts
“Innovation in the sciences is always linked in some way, either directly or indirectly, to a human experience. And human experiences happen through engaging with the arts – listening to music, say, or seeing a piece of art.”
Are New Books Too Long?
“Whatever happened to brevity? Once upon a time, it was not just the soul of wit, there was a strong literary preference for the shorter book.”