“Among the recipients of the special artist awards are the Italian soprano Mirella Freni who is receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award and the Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt, voted Instrumentalist of the Year. Two singers are receiving the Singer of the Year, the Latvian mezzo Elina Garanca and the German baritone, Christian Gerhaher.”
Tag: 12.16.09
Why Plum Pudding Only Tastes Good In A Christmas Carol
“There is a strong synesthesia that takes hold of the reader when food is described in literature. … But the corollary of this is that no cherries will ever taste as delicious as the ripe cherries in The Snow Queen and no Martini will ever be able to match James Bond’s in Casino Royale, shaken or stirred.”
When Short Is Too Short: Sixty-Second Plays
“[I]sn’t theatre one of the few places left where we can escape the pace of modern life? Call me a traditionalist, but I want to take my time with theatre. It isn’t an amuse-bouche, it’s a slow-roasted main course.”
Uh, New York? What About Met’s Tosca Upset You So?
“New Yorkers are a big bunch of weenies. … This muscular, clear-sighted and often powerful staging of a familiar repertory standard – marred, admittedly, by a handful of small but painful directorial missteps – is all it takes to arouse the collective ire of New York’s opera crowd?”
Mocked By Jay Leno, Chanticleer Gets Its Revenge
In a YouTube video, the male vocal ensemble “sings an ethereal version of the ‘Carol of the Bells’ with appropriate lyrics paying homage to Leno’s ‘gigantic chin’ and mentioning ‘watching Leno give his f- monologue.'”
Alastair Macaulay: Let’s Stop Scapegoating The Nutcracker
“It’s sadly true that there are ballet companies whose only annual performances are of ‘The Nutcracker,’ and that almost every American ballet company relies on its ‘Nutcracker’ performances as its most reliable draw. … But let’s not blame the ‘Nutcracker’ [for the field’s troubles] just because it is the cash cow of American ballet.”
As Oldsters Fret, Square Dancing Courts Youth
“The push has some purists grumbling that the true square-dancing tradition … is being ruined. In particular, older dancers complain that young people are too loud and don’t respect traditional clothing or music. Despite the complaints, leaders stress that they must update or die.”
Would Hirshhorn Bubble Steal Oxygen From The Art?
“[T]he problem with this project, or with any other grand museum project you could name, is that it risks making activity and action the museum’s central goal, with contemplation pushed to dismal second place. Art museums ought to be about three things: Art. Art. And more art.”
Sans Guarantees, Contemporary Auction Sales Fell 75%
“‘As soon as guarantees were taken off the table, sellers became uncertain,’ said Philip Hoffman, chief executive of the London-based Fine Art Fund. ‘Clients don’t want to see big- ticket works go to public auction and fail. A lot of people turned to discreet private sales at the auction houses.'”
Under New System, Classical Radio Market Share Plummets
“When 12 major areas, including New York and Los Angeles, switched to [measuring ratings with Portable People Meters] last year, classical radio’s market share fell 10.7 percent in those areas, a significant drop, according to a study by Research Director, a ratings consultancy.”