Taking off from a newly-revealed incident on the Life of Pi, in which the tiger nearly drowned, The Hollywood Reporter presents an in-depth investigation of treatment of animals in the U.S. movie industry.
Archives for December 3, 2013
Cleveland Orchestra Looks To Expand Its European Bases Further
In addition to its growing residencies in Vienna and Linz (music director Franz Welser-Möst’s hometown), the Clevelanders are working on launching ongoing partnerships with venues in Bratislava and Paris (at the soon-to-open Philharmonie).
Bolshoi’s Music Director Abruptly Quits
In a notably terse statement, the theater’s general director announced that he had accepted the resignation of Vasily Sinaisky, effective immediately. Sinaisky, who had been in the job for three years, was due to conduct a new production of Verdi’s Dopn Carlos that opens in two weeks.
Laure Prevost Wins Turner Prize 2013
“Laure Prouvost was the rank outsider from a particularly strong 2013 shortlist that included the higher-profile artists Tino Seghal and David Shrigley. She was awarded the £25,000 prize by the actor Saoirse Ronan at a ceremony in Derry, Northern Ireland.”
Performing The Vagina Monologues In China
In fact, performers and activists have been presenting Eve Ensler’s script in the still-socially-conservative People’s Republic off and on for a decade now – with widely varying responses from officials and audiences alike.
Did Dorothy Parker Rip Off Lolita From Nabokov?
Maybe. Nothing could be simple where those two were concerned, after all. Galya Diment reviews the evidence.
Angela Lansbury To Make West End Return At 88
“Angela Lansbury is to appear on the London stage for the first time in almost 40 years in a new production of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. She will reprise the role of Madame Arcati, which she first played on Broadway in 2009, winning a Tony Award.”
The Truth About The Left Brain/Right Brain Relationship
“Is the idea that the left hemisphere of the brain is more logical and the right more intuitive a scientific fact or a cultural fiction? Commentator Tania Lombrozo turns to an expert for answers.”
Rare Biblical Texts From Bodleian And Vatican Libraries Digitized
“A Gutenberg Bible, a dazzlingly illuminated 15th-century Hebrew Bible from Spain and a copy of Maimonides’s 12th-century commentary on the Mishnah written in the philosopher’s own hand are among the rare bibles and biblical commentaries from the Vatican Library and the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford that have been digitized and posted online.”
Accountant For Princeton’s Triangle Club Accused Of Embezzlement
“Founded in 1891, Princeton University’s touring musical comedy troupe … has counted among its members luminaries like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jimmy Stewart and Brooke Shields. But one man involved with the prestigious organization allegedly reached a low point and is now accused of treating the club’s purse as a piggy bank to pay off his personal debts.”
Broadway Posts Record Thanksgiving Week
“Broadway had its best Thanksgiving week ever at the box office, setting a record of $31.5 million in ticket sales for the 32 musicals and plays running last week.”
Australia’s Only Major Classical Music Magazine May Close
Limelight magazine, which won the national award in its circulation category for Consumer Magazine of the Year 2013, needs to find a buyer within less than two weeks, before its current owner, Haymarket, closes its Australian operations entirely.
The Real-Life Folksters Who Inspired The Coen Brothers’ New Movie
For the dozen or so of us who don’t remember the New York folk music scene circa 1961, David Haglund provides an illustrated tip sheet for Inside Llewyn Davis.
Can You Distinguish Blue From Blue?
In a blog entry rendered entirely in verse, Robinson Meyer points us to an online quiz testing your ability to tell one shade of Silicon Valley’s favorite color from another.
For Maria Callas’s Birthday, Five Great Rumors
“In the decades since her death, rumors continue to persist about Callas’ colorful career and personal life. Here are five of the most famous anecdotes, their veracity never confirmed nor completely discounted.” (What, you never heard about the tapeworm?)
Critic Marion Lignana Rosenberg, 51
“A multilingual writer of wide-ranging interests – from Italian art and literature to the life of Maria Callas – Rosenberg’s feature stories and music criticism appeared frequently in Time Out New York, as well as Newsday, Forward, Capital New York, Opera News, Salon, the Classical Review and La Voce di New York.”
Serbian Composer Djuro Zivkovic Wins Grawemeyer Prize
“Zivkovic, who is also active as a violinist, has a mystical bent. He characterizes his winning piece as an “instrumental cantata” inspired by the religious music of J.S. Bach and especially the Philokalia (love of the beautiful), a collection of ancient Eastern Orthodox texts.”
Bolshoi Dance Convicted, Sentenced To Six Years In Acid Attack
“Although the charge carries a maximum of 12 years, state prosecutors had sought nine years for Dmitrichenko, who is best known for his portrayal of villains in Swan Lake and Ivan the Terrible.”
How Smartphones Are Ruining The Museum Experience
“Flash photography has long been banned owing to the damage its blasts of high-intensity light can inflict on paintings. Smartphones and tablets pose a less visible but potentially graver threat. They disconnect the visitor from the art on display and imperil the museum in other, very real, ways.”
Why Are Lists The Crack Cocaine Of Journalism?
“Despite the growing derision of listicles exemplified by the comic, numbered lists–a venerable media format–have become one of the most ubiquitous ways to package content on the Web.”
FTC Wonders If Music Teachers Are Anti Competitive?
“The association’s sin, according to the feds, rested in its code of ethics. The code lays out ideals for members to follow–a commitment to students, colleagues, society. Tucked into this worthy document was a provision calling on teachers to respect their colleagues’ studios, and not actively recruit students from other teachers.”
Online Video Streaming Data Shows Us How TV Networks Have Misjudged Prime Time
“What exactly constitutes “prime time” is different online than it is on traditional television.”
LA Weekly Cuts Theatre Reviews
“The number of capsule theater reviews per week will drop from the current non-holiday norm of seven (allocated) or eight (sometimes allowed) to only two.”
Violin Prices Soaring
“Despite the recent economic downturn, instrument prices have continued to rise at remarkable rates. Between 1980 and 2011 the average auction prices for Stradivari increased at an annual rate of 15.4%.”
The Problem With Involving The “Public” In Public Art
“Consultation doesn’t work. If I am going to be kicked for a piece of art work, and I fully expect to be, than I want to be kicked for a piece that I have chosen, that I can stand by.” Public art, though, executed in our name, requires the vision of an artist who can shape and lead public taste without patronising people.”