Lawmakers Want Hearing On Minnesota Orchestra Finances

“More than a dozen [state] House lawmakers signed on to a letter to Minnesota Orchestra management, calling for a hearing to find out if they were misled before awarding millions of dollars to the Orchestra. … Legislators also want to know if any that money is being used for lawyers, security or any other expense to fund the [ongoing] lockout.”

The Jewish Diva Who Won Over Vienna’s Ex-Nazis

“It was 1947 in post-war Vienna, and Hilde Zadek remembers taking a deep breath behind the curtain. A rookie on her first opera gig, she was about to sing the prestigious role of Aida for an audience full of particularly harsh critics – whistle-packing Nazis she says were determined to show ‘that Jew from Palestine’ she was not welcome at one of the world’s greatest opera houses.”

Free Admission At India’s First Art Biennale Scrapped

“The government is happy that it rakes in revenue by way of tourism and culture promotion. But the Kochi Biennale Foundation is broke and individual artists, who strived for the event, have incurred huge personal debts. … Badly off, the KBF has decided to charge from visitors an entry fee of Rs.50 per adult [slightly less than $1] and Rs.10 per student.”