Werner Klemperer, actor, and son of famed conductor Otto Klemperer has died. “Mr. Klemperer performed in many opera productions and, in the last two decades, served as narrator with virtually every symphony orchestra in the United States.” – New York Times
Tag: 12.08.00
BIGGER IS BETTER?
“Nowadays, museums build bigger buildings and erect huge impersonal additions to house uneven collections. Trustees, millionaires and board members pick architects; they help lay out loading docks. Museums are becoming architectural attractions in and of themselves. But is bigger better? Is more more?” – Artnet
GENDER CONFUSION
Recent trends suggest there is an increasing convergence of commerce and culture, where “shops are becoming more like museums – places for visual and aesthetic display – while museums are becoming more like shops.” – The Independent (UK)
ART IMITATES LIFE?
“Jeffrey Archer, the best-selling author and member of the House of Lords who is one of Britain’s most colorful political figures, was last year alleged to have perjured himself in a past court case. He was forced to give up his candidacy to become London’s mayor and was thrown out of the Conservative party in disgrace. Did this most self-confident of public figures give in to despair and seclusion? Not Archer. In a move that seems defiant even by his famously bullheaded standards, Archer fell back upon the power of the pen. He has written ‘The Accused’, a courtroom drama in which a man played by Archer himself is accused of murdering his wife.” – Time Europe
KEEPS ON TICKING
Next week in London “The Mousetrap” is to give its 20,000th performance. “Next year, assuming it continues its run, will be the play’s 50th year of continuous production. A long time ago, it ceased being an adaptation of one of Agatha Christie’s slighter works and became something else: a record-breaker, a curiosity, a fixture for tourists, an ambiguous example of infinite success. To a certain sort of theatre-goer or stage professional, the Mousetrap is heaven – a fragment from a lost dramatic age of polite dialogue and sets with floral sofas. To lots of other people – fans of new drama, most critics – the play is a glimpse of hell.” – The Guardian
BOMBS ARE NEVER PRETTY
The $12 million invested in the show “Pan” in Australia, which recently closed after a lacklustre 10-week run, will probably never be recouped. “It’s wrong that people can come from overseas, invest in a show and then avoid payment of their debts merely by getting on an aeroplane and leaving the country.” – Sydney Morning Herald
MAKING RECORDING PAY
At a time when classical music recording labels are floundering, the London Symphony Orchestra, which started its own recording label last year, is actually turning a profit.”This may not be the answer to all the industry’s ills, but it certainly promises a wider variety of new recordings than might otherwise be on offer, whatever happens to all those labels that have dominated the field for so long.” – The Guardian
PEOPLE GO DOWN
Up With People, the ever-bright enthusiastic singing organization founded in 1965 is shutting down. Members paid $14,000 a year each to belong, and the group has five touring troupes. “The group’s 262 employees worldwide will lose their jobs, including 66 at the headquarters north of Denver. The headquarters land and building will be sold to help pay off the group’s $7.3 million in debts and leasing commitments and provide operating cash.” – The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) (AP)
OUR BODIES AT EIGHT
A parent has filed a complaint against the San Francisco Ballet School for discrimination because the school rejected her daughter on the basis of her looks. The eight-year-old girl was told not to try out because of her figure. The fourth-grader is 3-foot-9 and weighs 64 pounds. The mother claims the school’s criteria used to weed budding ballerinas from also-rans violates San Francisco’s nondiscrimination provisions. – New Jersey Online (AP)