"More than 1,000 days after she and her fellow musicians were first displaced, (violinist Tetiana) Martyniuk-Bahrii said she had grown accustomed to the uncertainty. 'It’s a life, but I can’t say it’s a totally happy life,' she said. 'Who knows what will be next?'" - The New York Times
Before COVID, the company typically offered eight productions per season, but, as with the current season, there will be only six productions plus a few concerts in 2025-26. General director Matthew Shilvock said there is "great enthusiasm for the art form but with costs increasing faster than income." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
"A year after (he) controversially vetoed $32 million in arts grant funding, he wants most of it back. But he … wants language in Florida law to 'ensure funding is provided only to activities and programs that are appropriate for all age groups.'" - Florida Politics
Though he also sang with the great companies of London, Paris, Milan, Munich, San Francisco, and other cities, he's best known for his long association with the Met, where he gave 1,672 performances in 88 roles. - OperaWire
Justin Sun, a cryptocurrency mogul who earned international notoriety when he purchased Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian (the banana duct-taped to a wall) and ate it, claims that an art adviser forged his signature and fraudulently sold to Geffen Giacometti's Le Nez. Geffen's attorney calls the suit "bizarre and baseless." - The New York Times
"The newly discovered work shows an unidentified man with a thin moustache, quill in hand, standing next to a stack of papers or books — a prosaic image compared to the scene of Jesus Christ, bound and wearing a crown of thorns, that Titian later painted over it." - Reuters
"The Giller Prize has parted ways with its lead sponsor Scotiabank more than a year after members of the literary community began protesting the bank's ties to an Israeli arms manufacturer. The Giller Foundation, which administers Canada's richest fiction prize, said its 20-year relationship with Scotiabank ended Monday." - The Canadian Press (MSN)
The closure comes nine months after Wales' Culture Secretary assured the historic building would remain open, despite concerns from the museum's director over its deteriorating condition. - BBC
A Hong Kong troupe specializing in the traditional form (a sort of cousin to the better-known Beijing opera) has produced a modern-dress piece based on the 2024 election, with Trump and Kamala Harris singing in Cantonese — and it's a hit. - AP
Of that figure, Ampere claims that streaming services will spending $95 billion on content this year, a 39% share, while commercial broadcasters will comprise 37%. The rest of the spend will be made up by public broadcasters (9%), theatrical studios (8%) and pay-TV (7%). - Variety
Alex Shustorovich, who built his fortune buying Russian science journals after the collapse of the Soviet Union, is using his newfound control of IMG Artists, a small business known for managing classical musicians, to take on his much larger rival. - Financial Times (MSN)
Back in 2014 in Munich, he and historian Doug Fullington did a full reconstruction of Petipa's 1881 version of the piece for the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg. This season at New York City Ballet, he's decided on a "new, freer approach." Here's why. - Playbill
The fate of those grants now appears to be in limbo. A spokesperson for the NEA said the agency is “currently reviewing the recent executive orders, accompanying guidance from the White House Office of Management and Budget, and related documents to ensure compliance and provide the required reporting.” - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
Not only is he directing, he writes librettos and does translations; in fact, he still hates supertitles and thinks opera should be in the audience's language. He has other strong opinions, too: Arts Council England has "got it in for opera. It hates the art form." - The Telegraph (UK) (Yahoo!)
Early in my career I decided it was my duty to write at least twice as many blurbs as I received. I’ve now written about 20 times as many, and I’ve been happy to do it. But recently three things broke me. - The New York Times
