A Professional Mercenary Explains Why ‘The More Horrors I Witness, The Deeper I Cling To Opera’
Sean McFate: “For a man in my profession, there’s much to love. Like war, things usually go horribly wrong in opera. For instance, take Verdi’s La forza del destino.” But it’s more than that: “Opera is my lodestone in the darkness. Its beauty offsets war’s ugliness, and without such balance, we slip into numbness and eventual insanity, robbed of our humanity.” — Quartz
Gay Magic-Realist Novel Banned By The Nazis Appears In English For First Time
“At the Edge of Night, by Friedo Lampe, was first published in 1933. … The [Nazi] regime objected to the novel’s inclusion of homoerotic content, and its depiction of an interracial liaison between a black man and a German woman. The book was placed on their list of ‘damaging and undesirable writings’.” Yet it was praised by no less than Hermann Hesse in 1933, and it has gained admirers since the uncensored version was published in Germany in 1999. — The Guardian
How The World’s Biggest Financial Scandal Ensnared The Art World (And Leonardo Di Caprio)
Nate Freeman recaps the story of financier Jho Low and 1MDB, the enormous Malaysian government investment fund whose billions were diverted into the personal accounts of former prime minister Najib Razak and his family and friends — and from there into extremely high-priced art. — Artsy
Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center Had A Plan To Finance Renovation Of Its Newest Theater. That Plan Has Fallen Apart
The Merriam Theater, which the Kimmel acquired in 2016, was the city’s most uncomfortable, problematic major venue, and the plan for fixing it involved partnering with a developer who’d build a skyscraper above it. But, after doing due diligence, no developer has agreed to do it. — The Philadelphia Inquirer
Broadway ‘Mockingbird’ Shoots Down British ‘Mockingbird’
“A British touring production of [the old Christopher Sergel adaptation of] To Kill a Mockingbird, which was to start next month, has been canceled after Scott Rudin’s company Atticus — the firm behind the Broadway hit [adapted by Aaron Sorkin] — threatened legal action … saying it held worldwide rights for professional stagings of the book.” — The New York Times
Oscars Hosting, Super Bowl Halftime, White House Dinner — Why Have Big-Name Entertainers Started Turning Down The Biggest Gigs?
Kevin hart blew his chance at the Oscars, and nobody wants to replace him; Rihanna and Cardi B both passed on the Super Bowl; the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has become so fraught that they’ve asked a historian to MC. These jobs have always been dangerous (look at the blowback if you say the wrong thing), but the opportunity used to be worth the risk. Here’s why that’s no longer the case. — The Guardian
Russell Baker, New York Times ‘Observer’ Columnist, Dead At 93
“Mr. Baker, along with the syndicated columnist Art Buchwald, was one of the best-known newspaper humorists of his time, and The Washington Post ranked his best-selling autobiography, Growing Up, with the most enduring recollections of American boyhood — those of James Thurber, H. L. Mencken and Mark Twain.” — The New York Times
Barnes Foundation Aims To Raise $100 Million For Endowment (And It’s Already Well On The Way)
“With its centennial year approaching in 2022, the Barnes Foundation is on a path to raise $100 million by that celebratory anniversary, its leaders said Tuesday. The campaign has quietly bubbled along for more than a year, bringing in its first donation in December 2017, and has raised $35.3 million so far in pledges and gifts.” — The Philadelphia Inquirer
Why The Sydney Opera House Has Put Dogs On Staff
No, they aren’t audience engagement personnel, at least not in the usual sense. The Opera House has a couple of very popular places to eat outdoors, and the place is right on the harbor — so there are plenty of brazen seagulls ready to steal your food. Management has finally hit on the right way to keep the greedy fowl at bay. — Time Out Sydney
Alicia Alonso, At Age 98, Finally Turns Over The Reins Of The National Ballet Of Cuba
“[The company has named] the beloved hometown prima ballerina Viengsay Valdés … deputy artistic director, which means she will immediately assume the daily responsibilities of running the company. Alonso will retain the title of general director, but in practice, Valdés will be the one making all the artistic decisions.” — Dance Magazine
Observer Dance Critic Luke Jennings’s Farewell Column
“Part of the excitement of being a critic was that I never knew when a work was going to undo me in this fashion: to leave me so intoxicated that, when writing about it hours or days later, it was still racing through my bloodstream.” — The Observer (UK)
UK Cinemas See Highest Attendance In 48 Years
“Britons went to the cinema 177m times in 2018, the highest number since 1970, when hits including M*A*S*H, Love Story and Airport helped attract 193m admissions … The lack of a Star Wars blockbuster failed to dampen enthusiasm, with attendance rising thanks to a diverse slate of US and domestic films.” — The Guardian
Chopin Was The Quintessential Composer For The Piano. But Was He A Great Composer?
Alan Walker’s Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times, which came out in the U.S. last October, is the first full-scale English-language primary-source biography of Chopin.1Best known for his definitive three-volume biography of Franz Liszt, Walker has done an equally thorough and thoughtful job of recounting the life of Poland’s foremost composer, of whose music he is an unstinting admirer. – Commentary
How To Create A “Viral” Play (What Is That?)
Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour: “Marketing-wise at the time I didn’t have anyone helping me, so I put my email address in the show. I urged people to write to me. I asked a random audience member to keep the script after the show; it’s my way of spreading the word. It was a strategy and it worked.” – American Theatre
All-Or-Nothing? Following Dreams Is Fine, But It’s Not Everything
Advocates of dream-following, of commitment and career leaps of faith, often say: ‘You’ll regret it if you don’t.’ They might be right about that (actually, they almost certainly are). But here’s the rub: regret is not the sole preserve of the cautious compromiser. A failure to compromise can also beget future unhappiness. – Aeon
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A Professional Mercenary Explains Why ‘The More Horrors I Witness, The Deeper I Cling To Opera’
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Gay Magic-Realist Novel Banned By The Nazis Appears In English For First Time
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How The World’s Biggest Financial Scandal Ensnared The Art World (And Leonardo Di Caprio)
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Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center Had A Plan To Finance Renovation Of Its Newest Theater. That Plan Has Fallen Apart
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Broadway ‘Mockingbird’ Shoots Down British ‘Mockingbird’
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A Scaffold Is Intruding On A Historic James Turrell Ceiling “Window”
The obstruction seems to be protruding from the gargantuan high-rises going up across the street from PS1, at 22-44 Jackson Avenue. These two residential buildings, which replaced the former legendary graffiti haven 5Pointz, are also called 5Pointz and will house 1,115 units total (including 223 affordable housing units) when they’re finished. – Gothamist
Can Translations Be Anything More Than Compromises?
Doesn’t translating a work of literature inevitably involve moving things around and altering many of the relations between the words in the original? In which case, either the original’s alleged perfection has been overstated, or the translation is indeed, as pessimists have often supposed, a fine but somewhat flawed copy. – New York Review of Books
It’s Popular To Dump On “Rich” Cities. Why?
Well, there’s bad traffic. And unaffordable housing. Unaffordable everything. And income inequality. And forget about getting anything done. But why should this be? Rich cities should be places where things get better. The fact they don’t lies with policy. – James Russell
Rock ‘n’ Roll Laundry: Meet The Guy Who Washes The Clothes For The Superstars’ Touring Shows
“The world’s top specialist for tour laundry, [Hans-Jürgen] Topf has traveled with many of the world’s biggest music acts, including Madonna, Pink and Beyoncé. As tours have become bigger and more professionalized, their logistics have become increasingly daunting. … That’s where ‘der Topf,’ as he likes to call himself, comes in.” — The New York Times
How Did The English Language Come To Be?
Is it fair to say it’s a mongrel language, drawing influence from all over. So it is important to remember that the formation of English was influenced by a huge range of ethnic and geographical forces. The emerging ‘England’ of this period was a melting pot. – BBC
What The Dance World Needs From Artistic Directors (And Doesn’t Always Get Enough Of)
“‘Oftentimes people get put into this position just because they were a star performer,’ says Sacramento Ballet artistic director Amy Seiwert. But leading a healthy, thriving dance company requires a lot more than charisma. Directors also need everything from business savvy to a commitment to nurturing their artists. So how can the dance world be more deliberate about shaping future leaders — and how can aspiring directors prepare themselves to succeed?” — Dance Magazine
Why Do We Fall For Fake News? Researchers Have Theories
Much of the debate among researchers falls into two opposing camps. One group claims that our ability to reason is hijacked by our partisan convictions: that is, we’re prone to rationalization. The other group — to which the two of us belong — claims that the problem is that we often fail to exercise our critical faculties: that is, we’re mentally lazy. – The New York Times
Changing The Face Of Ballet, Both Onstage And Behind The Scenes
“Called ‘The Equity Project: Increasing the Presence of Blacks in Ballet,’ the three-year initiative, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is a partnership between Dance Theatre of Harlem, the International Association of Blacks in Dance and Dance/USA.” — Dance Magazine
Gallery Sues Former Employee For Stealing “Trade Secrets”
It alleges that Bona Yoo, a former director who is now working at Lévy Gorvy gallery as a sales director, “surreptitiously copied valuable trade secrets” from Lehmann Maupin’s computer systems before she left and “maliciously corrupted” or deleted important information from the gallery’s database. Yoo’s plan, according to the lawsuit, was designed to impede the gallery’s business while simultaneously allowing her to use the information for her own financial gain at another gallery. – Artnet
‘Turning The Usual Pattern Of Arts Engagement On Its Head’
An Arts Council England-funded program called Creative People and Places “aims to increase arts participation in places where people are less likely to take part in arts activity” — and it seems to be succeeding with the groups least likely to engage with the arts generally. What’s the secret? Nothing very secret at all, actually. — Arts Professional