Tag: 12.13.00

NO SALE

A small Quebec auction house thought it had scored a coup when it got a Renoir to sell and touted it as potentially “one of the most important art sales in Canada.” But the painting “went as high as $1.45-million, but stalled before the auctioneer pulled the painting off the block because it did not meet the minimum price set by the owner. It had been estimated at $1.5-million to $2-million.” – The Globe & Mail (Canada)

ACTORS IN POVERTY

The Equity actors’ union takes a poll of 408 of its members and finds that the majority of actors (72 percent) earn less than £10,000 a year from their profession. “Performers felt they were seen either as glamorous, arrogant, overpaid slackers or laughable luvvies and that acting is not a proper job”. – BBC

BETTER BLACK?

The Guardian’s theatre critic wrote that Stephen Jeffreys’s new play would have been better if he was black. The playwright disagrees: “One of the basic requirements for being a playwright is to be able to inhabit other people’s skins. But why, when no one has ever questioned my right to create roles for women, old people and gays, am I supposed to baulk at the barrier of race?” – The Guardian

VERDI CELEBRATIONS

“It will be 100 years ago next month that Giuseppe Verdi died, and Italy has been yearning ever since for his unifying genius. But while Italy is playing up the Verdi year for all it is worth in tourist dollars and Rome-promoted national cohesion, the uncomfortable questions are not being asked. Verdi represents an end, not a renewal.” – The Telegraph (UK)

COMMITMENT TO CLASSICAL?

Chicago’s mom-and-pop classical music station WNIB was a labor of love – a low-budget affair that survived decades of buy-out offers on the strength of its owners’ commitment. But $165 million is too much money to turn down… Also too much money for the new owners to continue the classical format. – Chicago Tribune