"The project responded to ongoing reports of record-breaking levels of first-time attendance. Since full houses are central to the artistic and financial health of opera companies, OPERA America set out to uncover ways to retain and convert these newcomers into a sustaining audience for the future." - Opera America
"Italian authorities have recovered precious 3rd century B.C. artifacts from an Etruscan necropolis looted by a couple of bungling tomb raiders in Umbria who stumbled across the haul on their land. … The artifacts, including eight urns, two sarcophagi and beauty accessories …, are worth at least 8 million euros ($8.5 million)." - CNN
"Nicholson previously served as chief film critic at LA Weekly beginning in 2013, then at MTV News starting in 2016. She has written for publications including The New York Times, Variety, The Washington Post, The Guardian and Rolling Stone." - Los Angeles Times
"ENO says it will be 'firmly established' in Greater Manchester by 2029. But it will start working in the city before that, with productions at the Lowry, Bridgewater Hall and Aviva Studios from 2025, and plans for (a youth opera company and) a mass singing project with grassroots football teams." - BBC
The 45-year-old educator, an Ailey alumna who has been dean of the Juilliard School's dance division since 2018, will take the helm at the company in July. She succeeds Robert Battle, who resigned suddenly this time last year for health and personal reasons. - The New York Times
The Swiss conductor, who was chief conductor of the Paris Opera for 12 years (2009-2021) and the Vienna Symphony for six years (2014-2020) before moving to the Vienna State Opera (whence he departs in 2025), will succeed Cristian Măcelaru at the ONF in 2027. - Le Monde (in English)
In 2021, he was convicted for staging a fake hate crime against himself in Chicago in January 2019. But the local DA had dropped charges, and, under public pressure, a special prosecutor revived the case. The Illinois Supreme Court has now ruled that this violated Smollett's civil rights. - CNN
"From eliciting boos and hisses from audiences of all ages, to making sure there are enough local jokes and updating old stories for today, Holly Williams hears from playwrights tackling their first pantos and veterans who pen several every year about how they keep the tradition alive." - The Stage
"Founded 30 years ago by two former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancers, ... the company has developed a signature style that’s both immediately recognizable and widely influential. Echoes of it can be seen all over today’s opera houses, competition ballrooms, and TV screens." - Dance Magazine
When do we feel compelled to say “etcetera” or “ityadi” or even “blah blah,” not just literally or in a manner of speaking but in the way we experience and create the world? - LA Review of Books
Nora Abrams, who has been the director of Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art since 2019, will succeed Jill Medvedow, who will leave her position in March 2025. - WBUR
The city argues that its new method of funding organizations creates a more equitable process to sustain the city’s myriad creative centers. But many of Portland’s smaller arts organizations say the shift in who decides their funding has led to the exact opposite result, leaving them less money for the following year than expected. - Willamette Week
"Clarisse Yeung, 38, is an artist and, previously, an elected member of Hong Kong’s district council. She first rose to prominence during the 2014 pro-democracy protests. … (She) was among 45 of 47 defendants convicted under the national security law for their roles in an unofficial party primary election (in 2020)." - Artnet
"This is a troubling turn of events, particularly for the arts, where nonprofit organizations are prominent players in the form of museums, alternative art spaces, galleries, and even some publications, not to mention institutions of higher education. If it passes, will this bill muffle artistic expression? My guess is yes." - Hyperallergic
This legislation would allow the Secretary of the Treasury to designate section 501(c) nonprofits as “terrorist supporting organizations” at the Secretary’s discretion, without requiring the Secretary to share their full evidence or reasoning with accused nonprofits. - Non-Profit Quarterly
