“In 16th, 17th, and 18th-century Italy, nuns routinely sought loopholes in the edicts issued by local church authorities, and occasionally broke rules in spectacular fashion.” There were “nuns who plotted escapes, who burned down their own convent, and one who got caught sneaking out to the opera, disguised as an abbot.”
Tag: 12.05.10
Helen Boatwright, 94, Maverick American Soprano
“A concert and oratorio singer who performed in public until she was in her 90s, Mrs. Boatwright was known for her pure, unfussy sound; impeccable diction; and thoughtful, sensitive interpretations. These attributes made her well suited for early music and contemporary works, and throughout her career she sang both, to favorable notices.”
Charleston Symphony Musicians and Board Battle Over Future Governance
“Musicians demanding the immediate resignation of Charleston Symphony Orchestra board members and the right to nominate new members have received a quick response from symphony officials.”
Was John Lennon Really Such a Champion of World Peace?
“Though he lived for 40 years, Lennon’s reputation as a peacenik derives from just a brief period in the very late ’60s and early ’70s, when antiwar attitudes were practically de rigueur among the hip cognoscenti. Until then, he had largely kept quiet about politics. … The peace protests that Lennon is best known for probably were not even his own ideas; more likely, they were [Yoko] Ono’s.”
How Not to Succumb to Post-Nietzschean Nihilism
“God is dead … in a very particular sense. He no longer plays his traditional social role of organizing us around a commitment to a single right way to live. Nihilism is one state a culture may reach when it no longer has a unique and agreed upon social ground.” Sean D. Kelly finds alternative ground in, of all places, Melville’s Moby-Dick.
Jazz Sampler – A Taste Of All The Live Jazz In New York
“The idea is to make it easier for you to know what a jazz group sounds and looks like, so that you will go out and see it yourself, wherever it’s playing. To finance the four-nights-a-week shooting schedule, he’s attempting to raise $75,000 for the project on the online pledge-drive site kickstarter.com.”
Phillips Collection To Reopen After Fire
All the work will be finished by Jan. 15, the museum announced, and a celebration will begin that day to welcome back the famed paintings. The art was not harmed in the Sept. 2 fire, which was restricted to the roof and the suite of offices right under the roof. But there was extensive water damage to 12 galleries in the 1897 building.
Critics Charge Inconsistency, Unfairness In Movie Ratings
“The ‘Blue Valentine’ rating is the latest in a string of controversial decisions by the MPAA and its Classification and Ratings Administration board that have raised the anger of filmmakers and moviegoers.”
In New York City – Death Of The Freelance Musician?
“The New York freelance musician — a bright thread in the fabric of the city — is dying out. In an age of sampling, digitization and outsourcing, New York’s soundtrack and advertising-jingle recording industry has essentially collapsed. Broadway jobs are in decline. Dance companies rely increasingly on recorded music. And many freelance orchestras, among the last steady deals, are cutting back on their seasons, sometimes to nothingness.”
The King’s Speech – A Drama Critic Who Stutters Responds
“I never thought I’d live to see the day when stuttering would be the subject of a serious mainstream movie. The condition, after all, has been coded as a joke in popular culture, one of the few disabilities considered fair game for laughs.”