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Opera As “A State Of Emergency”

Created to commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary, Complications in Sue opens Wednesday with 10 composers commissioned to write eight-minute scenes. These collectively encompass the century-long life of a mythical everywoman named Sue. - Philadelphia Inquirer

South African Artist Sues Her Government For Blocking Her Venice Biennale Artwork

A South African artist is suing the arts minister after he blocked her from representing the country at the Venice Biennale, having called her work addressing Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza “highly divisive”. - The Guardian

Struggling San Antonio Philharmonic Cancels February Concerts

The news comes as the Philharmonic is embroiled in a legal dispute with the Scottish Rite over payments related to renovations of the historic building. - Texas Public Radio

Trump Wants To Build A 250-Foot Triumphal Arch In Washington

Trump has grown attached to the idea of a 250-foot-tall structure overlooking the Potomac River, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe his comments, a scale that has alarmed some architectural experts who initially supported the idea of an arch but expected a far smaller one. - Washington Post

I Write For A Living. I Tested My Students. They Preferred The AI Writing To My Own (That Hurt!)

I gave the students time to read both pieces, and then asked for their comments. To my surprise, the majority told me the AI version was better. They said it was better argued, more clearly structured, more ambitious in scope, and, this was the real kick in the guts, a few even told me it was more personal than...

How The Metropolitan Opera Got To Be In Such Dire Straits

How did America’s greatest operatic institution get to the point of needing Saudi money to cover its $330 million annual operating budget? Ticket sales account for less than a third of that. - New York Post

The Latest Art Basel Opens — In Qatar

It was the unlikely, but ultimately successful, host of the 2022 soccer World Cup. Its Grand Prix has become a Formula One fixture. And this week it will premiere a new event from Art Basel, the world’s biggest, most prestigious art fair franchise. - The New York Times

Are Tribeca Galleries Planning To Report Immigrant Street Vendors?

The “report,” encouraged in an email after a meeting among many galleries, would be to New York’s 311 system. Then the mostly immigrant vendors would be entered into a system that shares info with many different law enforcement operations. - Hyperallergic

Three Men From Oscar-Nominated Documentary Moved To Solitary In Alabama Prison

“Family members of the three men said they fear for their loved ones’ safety and are concerned the moves to solitary confinement are a form of retaliation for outspokenness about problems within the prison system.” - The Guardian (UK)

Why Some Theatre Critics Hate Contemporary Musicals

“Since the gargantuan success of Hamilton, … Broadway productions have leaned in to liberal identity politics as their state ideology, favoring ‘message musicals’ (like the women’s suffrage show Suffs) and casting stunts (an all-female 1776) that marry liberal identity politics with the genre’s emotional sincerity.” - The Paris Review

The 8-Year-Old Who’s The Breakout Star Of Sundance

“Despite the presence of stars Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan, it’s Reeves, who de Araújo discovered at a Richmond District farmer’s market on Clement Street, who captured the hearts of festival viewers.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Oscar-Nominated Screenwriter Of ‘It Was Just An Accident’ Arrested In Tehran

“Mehdi Mahmoudian, the Oscar-nominated co-screenwriter of Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident, was arrested in Tehran yesterday after signing a statement condemning the actions of Iran‘s supreme leader, Ali Khameni, during the recent violent crackdown on government protesters.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Twenty-Eight Films For The Twenty-Eight Days Of The 100th Black History Month

“Art is here to be a guide to construct new modes of understanding, communicating, and believing. In this moment of collective reckoning, Black cinematic history remains a prism of possibility that reflects the times and illuminates the possibilities of our beings.” - Black Film Archive

In Case You Don’t Already Love Sondheim, Take Five Minutes And Fall

“Sondheim, who died in 2021 at the age of 91, was also just a damn fine tunesmith, turning out songs that, in context or out, pop style or classical, slip easily into your ears en route to your soul.” - The New York Times

Artists Who Embrace Rejection Can Change Their Worlds

“Rejection has often functioned as a crucible, helping to forge some of the most extraordinary artistic movements, from impressionism to punk. A reject has less to lose and doesn’t have to behave in the way the group dictates.” - The Guardian (UK)

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