"A recent survey showed tourists did not enjoy the experience (of seeing the famous portrait), with comments ranging from 'never been so disappointed' to 'torture.'" Says the museum's director, "Moving the Mona Lisa to a separate room could put an end to public disappointment." - The Telegraph (UK) (MSN)
The rewriting of old books is hardly a new practice, though it’s one that critics often like to complain about. Doesn’t anyone have an original idea? Can’t we just leave the classics alone? - The New York Times
"At Curtis, it’s just the music, but we tell you you’ll know something about how the music business works and we think you should know something about risk-taking. … And now we’ve expanded to say you should think about how performance experiences will be successful in the future.” - San Francisco Classical Voice
“The new FTC rule shines a klieg light on how best to retain quality employees in the industry — noncompetes are on their way out, so companies need a better solution." - Hollywood Reporter
Leaders from across the theatre sector have outlined their vision for a reformed Arts Council England, warning that an unchanged funding body could stoke competition for cash in its current "binary system of extremes". - The Stage
Among the encouraging stats, participation in the arts has reached its highest level since the survey began in 2005, up to 54%. Young people, deaf and disabled, Māori and Pacific peoples participate in the arts most frequently. Engagement in the arts has had a bump too, up three per cent from the last survey at 78%. - Big Idea
When viewing larger or less-cluttered scenes, participants were more likely to experience time dilation; thinking that they had viewed the picture for longer than they actually did. The opposite effect — time constriction — occurred when viewing smaller-scale, more cluttered images. - Nature
"Comedian Arj Barker’s interaction with a mother who brought a seven-month-old baby to his comedy show in Melbourne on Saturday night has sparked outrage, sympathy and debate about the woman’s decision to bring her infant to the gig and his decision to ask her to leave." - The Guardian
The self-organized group of musicians playing under the No Name Pops banner is negotiating with the family of late pianist and conductor Peter Nero to acquire the Philly Pops name. - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
Pacific Northwest Ballet principals Kyle Davis and Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan had long wanted to bring fully professional dance to Davis's hometown. After several years of preparation and (of course) delay because of the pandemic, the first Green Bay Ballet Festival is now underway. - Pointe Magazine
By the late 1960s, bankers increasingly saw credit cards, which combined innovative information technology with access to affluent consumer markets, as the road to the future – as the key to innovating around the restrictive financial rules. - Aeon
Anthony Roth Costanzo, 41, has a history with Philadelphia going back almost 30 years. His first appearance at the Academy of Music was in 1996 at the tender age of 14, performing the Shepherd Boy in Puccini’s “Tosca,” in a traveling production created by Luciano Pavarotti. - WHYY
"On May 1, the Washington National Opera will recognize transgender singer Katherine Goforth as the inaugural recipient of" the True Voice Award, to be given triennially and "intended to help support the training of transgender and nonbinary opera singers, as well as increase their visibility in the industry." - The Washington Post (MSN)
LLMs have begun to disrupt the traditional relationship between writer and reader. Type how to fix broken headlight into a search engine, and it returns a list of links to websites and videos that explain the process. Ask an LLM the same thing and it will just tell you how to do it. - The Atlantic
"Today Dallas is home to one of the most dynamic, international literary scenes in the country, inspired in many ways by the infectious, D.I.Y. energy of Deep Vellum, now one of the country’s largest publishers of translated literature, and (independent bookstore) Wild Detectives." - The New York Times
