Contract negotiations drag on. Players say they want salaries that can attract top talent. Management says it wants to pay better but the cash just isn't there. And with the orchestra having merged with the Kimmel Center in 2021, a strike could upend the city's entire arts ecosystem. - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
"In an internal memo, … the group’s founder and artistic director, Brad Clark, has announced he will end the operations of Maryland Lyric Opera, effective immediately. Clark, the son of billionaire construction mogul A. James Clark, founded Maryland Lyric Opera in 2014." - Washington Classical Review
Men accounted for 95 percent of the conducting credits at the 11 largest American opera companies between 2005 and 2021. But men also dominated other major roles in opera: they accounted for 85 percent of directoring credits, 88 percent of set-designer credits, 85 percent of lighting-designer credits and 59 percent of costume-designer credits. - The New York Times
"When I'm in my practice sessions with my breakdance crew, sometimes I put some classical instrumental music and I invite them to actually explore that because music dictates movement. - NPR
The biggest windfall is headed straight to Swift, who stands to make as much as $4.1 billion from the Eras Tour, according to estimates from Peter Cohan, an associate professor of management at Babson College. - Washington Post
The statement comes hours after Martyn Brabbins said he could not “in all conscience continue to support the Board and Management’s strategy for the future of the company.” Brabbins resigned after the ENO announced plans to cut 19 musical staff positions and put the remaining staff on part-time contracts. - OperaWire
Smithsonian Folkways is gearing up for another epic release - this of Robert "Mack" McCormick's "unruly collection" that he called "The Monster." - Washington Post
Generally speaking, a sudden cancellation could mean an arena loses out on roughly $500,000 in revenue, according to some estimates. For music’s largest shows—stadium events—a dark night could mean the venue misses out on up to $1 million or more. - The Wall Street Journal
"In this, the 148th season of the company, the tiny core of remaining artists" – most of them escaped to Lithuania and are touring Europe to earn cash – "is battling on in Kharkiv to bring live music, song and dance to the city." - The Guardian
The city's own Baroque-instrument ensembles seem to run out of energy and money after no more than ten years. (The venerable Music of the Baroque persists in playing modern instruments.) But Cleveland-based Apollo's Fire now has a growing concert season and school residency in Chicago. - Chicago Sun-Times
When repeated listenings do deliver, the satisfaction can be deeper than the feeling the easier kind of music brings, at least for me. - The New York Times
Mostly well, writes Peter Dobrin. The three major offerings got a very warm reception from audiences and critics alike; one sold out its last three performances. But one of them — "one of Opera Philadelphia’s best-ever productions" — played to a large but only half-full house. - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
As the nonprofit world shrivels in importance, mass media consolidates and grows more influential, and its stars grow ever more powerful, as the economic tidal waves accompanying the summer’s two largest concert tours, by Swift and Beyoncé, have demonstrated. - San Francisco Classical Voice
