La Scala’s opening night is the most glamorous event on the annual arts calendar. This year’s opening is high stakes though: “The first is the recent announcement that its standing-room area, lair of the claque and wellspring of disruptive booing, will be permanently closed – a brave, if not foolhardy, step that has excited enormous antagonism. The second is that January 27 will mark the centenary of the death of Giuseppe Verdi. – The Telegraph (UK)
Tag: 12.11.00
A SEASON FOR VERDI
La Scala, just down the road from the hotel where the composer died in January 1901, is dedicating its season to him, and the city has mounted a magnificent and comprehensive Verdi exhibition in the Palazzo Reale. – The Times (UK)
“ZERO CHANCE”
It was only a month or so ago that Mariss Jansons was being talked up as a successor to Kurt Masur at the New York Philharmonic. But the marriage is evidently not to be. Critics cite the “lack of devotion reportedly exhibited by Philharmonic musicians during a concert Jansons conducted them in on Oct. 31. Reviews of the performance were mixed, and some felt that the connection between Jansons and the Philharmonic musicians was lackluster. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
TORONTO SYMPHONY DEFICIT
After a musicians’ strike and a prolonged search for a new executive director, the Toronto Symphony has posted the largest deficit in its history. “The orchestra now has an accumulated deficit of $4.9 million, after an operating loss of $2.3 million this past year.” – CBC
NEW COVENT GARDEN LEADER?
Michael Kaiser departs as head of London’s Royal Opera House this Friday. No successor has been chosen yet, though the short list is said to include Pierre Audi, artistic director of the Netherlands Opera for 12 years and founder of London’s Almeida Theatre, Rudolf Berger, who runs Strasbourg Opera, Richard Lyttleton, president of EMI Classics, and Tony Hall, currently head of BBC News. – BBC
REALITY AND E-PUBLISHING
Stephen King’s decision to pull the plug on his online serial novel because not enough readers were paying for it, has publishers lowering their expectations for online publishing. – The Age (Melbourne) (AP)
WORKING THROUGH THE ILLNESS
Nobel literature laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez says being diagnosed with lymphatic cancer last year was an impetus to get him to write his memoirs. “More than a year ago I was put under treatment for three months for lymphoma, and today I am surprised at the enormous stroke of luck this stumbling block has been in my life.” – Dallas Morning News
WATCHING HOME-GROWN
A new law in Korea mandating that a percentage of the films theatres show should be Korean seems to be working. Screening of Korean films has soared. – Korea Times 12/11/00
TRADING PLACES
Exploring how critics do their jobs, The Guardian newspaper in London has had its critics swap jobs for the week. “Critics are experts in their fields, but is that always a good thing? Or can a fresh pair of eyes offer new insights?” – The Guardian 12/11/00
- Theatre critic Michael Billington: “We theatre critics have it easy, both physically and intellectually, compared to our art-reviewing colleagues.” – The Guardian 12/11/00