The new venue — sort of a deluxe, sturdy version of the tent the festival uses currently, with the Hudson River and highlands as a backdrop — comes from Studio Gang, the Chicago-based architectural firm of MacArthur fellow Jeanne Gang. The structure's opening is scheduled for summer 2026. - Playbill
For the fiscal year just ended, US visitors totaled 5.5 million, slightly above the (pre-pandemic) figure for 2019. What's more, just over half of those visitors were nonwhite, the highest level ever. The attendance totals for those from abroad, however, are still half of what they were before COVID. - Hyperallergic
The Philadelphia museum has eliminated a dozen positions, about 6% of its staff, over six months, despite the fact that it has a budget surplus. One ex-staffer, in the new position of Assistant Curator for Art of the African Diaspora, maintains that he was personally fired by the Barnes's director. - ARTnews
"Disney has reached a tentative agreement with four unions representing thousands of workers at its California theme parks, including ride operators, candy makers and parking attendants. … The deal comes days after workers overwhelmingly authorized a potential strike, following months of negotiations over wages, sick leave and other benefits." - AP
Cara Kizer, the horn player who was denied tenure after reporting an alleged rape by associate principal trumpet Matthew Muckey, says now-former CEO Gary Ginstling was the only orchestra executive ever to reach out to her since the 2010 incident. And there's a chance she could return to the Philharmonic. - Vulture (MSN)
"After negotiations between the SFA-CGT union representing performers, Paris 2024 organizers and Panam 24 (the producers of the opening ceremony) ended in a stalemate and a continued strike notice Tuesday, the union said Wednesday it accepted an offer involving increased pay for performers’ broadcasting rights." - USA Today
While the conductor issued a subsequent statement maintaining that he had resigned, the announcement by the board said it had "made the decision that Sir John Eliot Gardiner, founder of the Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, will not be returning to the organisation." - The Guardian
Born into a very old and eminent family (though one no longer, by his day, very rich), he wrote about the American aristocracy with skepticism and even scorn. Twice he reinvented one of the country's oldest magazines, attracting readers, attention and respect (though never profit). - The Washington Post (MSN)
It took decades for Olympic opening ceremonies to reach this scale. At the first modern Olympics in 1896, in Athens, athletes simply entered the stadium to hear speeches and a specially composed hymn – though more than 50,000 spectators still attended. - The Conversation
Salonen’s anticipated departure casts a long shadow over the Symphony amidst a furor of concerns about leadership, transparency and board decisions. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
It is unclear how ordinary citizens can reliably evaluate the ideas circulating within the public sphere. Figuring out the truth about complex political issues is highly challenging. If people are selling untruths—simplistic, unfounded, or inaccurate ideas—how would ordinary citizens know? - Conspicuous Cognition
Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are all cutting back to reduce their streaming losses. Amazon has the resources to compete with Netflix, but is still figuring out the best path to streaming sustainability. Even Apple, which has seemingly unlimited resources, is growing a little more cost-conscious. - Bloomberg
There’s something profoundly cynical in the way ACE used the last government’s ineptitude as cover for its own anti-classical agenda: its cack-handed assault on English National Opera, and its slashing of touring companies to the point where several major UK cities now have no regular live opera. - The Critic
The publishing industry is suffering from a damaging gender imbalance. According to a recent UK publishers’ survey, 83 per cent of marketing, 92 per cent of publicity and 78 per cent of editorial staff in Britain’s publishing industry are female. - The Critic
The annual tax, currently £169.50 ($219) and mandatory for any household with a television or using BBC's iPlayer online, is the national broadcaster's primary source of funding. Younger people in particular seem willing to do without the BBC's content, worsening the network's financial woes. - The Guardian
