Tag: 12.02.03

Bolshoi Dancer No “Fourth Swan”

Reinstated Bolshoi ballerina Anastasia Volochkova says she won’t accept lesser roles now that she’s been rehired by the Bolshoi Ballet. “She has objected to comments by the Russian culture minister that she should take any ‘fourth swan’ role she is given after winning back her job. She said: ‘I have played the leading role in nearly every classical ballet’.”

When Harry And Sally Went To the West End

A musical stage version of the movie “When Harry Met Sally” is headed for London’s West End. It’s the latest in a string of theatre projects to be made based on movies. “The play is set to open in February for an initial limited run of 16 weeks. The role of Sally – Meg Ryan in the film – was likely to go to an American actress, producer James Tod said.”

Heppner – Back In Form

After stumbling in recital in Toronto last week, Ben Heppner recovers in Vancouver, writes William Littler. “Whether he is correct in his vocal diagnosis — that he has been suffering from sheer fatigue, rather than something more serious — remains to be determined through the course of future performances. In the meantime, Canada’s most important voice on the world’s operatic stage appears to be on the mend and the relaxed way in which Ben Heppner bantered with his Vancouver listeners and signed post-concert autographs for a lobby full of them, suggests that its owner, at least, isn’t greatly worried.”

In Aid Of Hearing (The Concert, That Is)

Cell Phones off. Pagers, ditto. But what about those whistling hearing aids? “This is a delicate matter. Users of hearing aids at performances have an unfortunate impairment and are still, to their credit, trying to enjoy live music. Moreover, a person wearing a hearing aid often cannot hear the whistling that his device sometimes produces. It is a pesky sound to track down for others in the hall. Those high-pitched sustained tones throw you off. You could be sitting just seats away from a malfunctioning hearing aid and think that the whistling is coming from somewhere up in the balcony.”

Chicago Theatre Crackdown

“Several small, non-profit Chicago theaters still are reeling from a surprise Nov. 21 crackdown by the City of Chicago’s Department of Revenue on venues without the required Public Place of Amusement (PPA) licenses. And at least one of the city’s theaters consequently has given up its home for good.”

Hirst Dove Similar To One By Street Artist?

A picture of a dove by Damien Hirst looks awfully familiar to one by a street artist. Taalat Elshaabiny is “not resentful that Hirst can knock out what is very nearly the same image and sell it for so much. ‘He’s famous. And of course he has the right to paint the picture. If I were famous I would ask the same price. But I am poor and work on Bayswater Road’.”

The Joy Of Grammar (As Bestseller)

Just how did Lynne Truss’ book about the joys of grammar hit the bestseller list? “The book tells you the rules, but is also full of jokes and anecdotes. ‘It is a sort of celebration of punctuation. You can’t help cheering it on, because it has done such a good job in its humble way.’ She speaks of the delights of the semi-colon with relish. She has listened to ‘the man from the Apostrophe Protection Society’ (yes, it exists) but does not sound like a member of any such group.”

Poetry: How $100 Million Changes You

It’s been a year since Poetry Magazine was given $100 million. “Over the last 12 months, the euphoria within the organization over what is believed to be the largest gift to a literary group — and which effectively guarantees in perpetuity the survival of the monthly founded 91 years ago in Chicago — has been undercut by the prosaic details of managing new wealth and responsibly employing it in the service of poetry. For some staffers, the excitement over a submission by a promising new poet has competed with the tedium of long meetings on legal, accounting and investment issues.”