“A lot of people who are walking out of musicals and loving them may not even know that it was a musical,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore. - The Wall Street Journal
This month the 63-year-old Dutch conductor began his term as music director at the Seoul Philharmonic. That orchestra had been considered one of Asia's most prominent, but it has suffered a decade of nasty management conflict and financial difficulties; van Zweden is looking forward to rebuilding the ensemble. - The New York Times
"Few details about the design (by Rafael Viñoly Architects) have been released, but the terminal's main feature will be a vast sloping roof, which will be lined with skylights and 38 rows of usable vineyards." - Dezeen
"Mass tourism has turned the Italian city of Florence into a 'prostitute,' the director of Galleria dell’Accademia" — home to Michelangelo's David — has said, sparking anger and calls for her to step down. Although Cecilie Hollberg has apologized, Italian politicians have slammed her comments this week as offensive to Florentines." - CNN
"Alejandro Triana Prevez, a 30-year-old Cuban national, was arrested just days after the 75-year-old New York gallerist was found dead in his apartment in Rio. … Prevez’s lawyer Greg Andrade revealed that his client had confessed and alleged the crime was masterminded by another person." - Artnet
"The comic-turned media mogul (Byron Allen) has made a $14.3 billion offer to buy all outstanding shares of Paramount Global. … The deal would also see Allen Media Group assume Paramount’s roughly $15 billion debt load, valuing the shares at about a 50% premium to their recent trading prices." - The Hollywood Reporter
"The biggest player in this new genre is ReelShort, an app that offers melodramatic content in minute-long, vertically shot episodes and is hoping to bring a successful formula established abroad to the United States by hooking millions of people on its short-form content." - The New York Times
"Sotheby’s was cleared Tuesday in Manhattan federal court of claims that they helped Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier defraud Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, in a high-profile civil case that has stretched on weeks." - ARTnews
"With her raven hair, lithe frame and smoky voice, Ms. Rivera cut a mesmerizing Broadway figure for more than six decades, her name synonymous with vitality and longevity on the musical stage. She was a reliable box-office draw, … and proved choreographically adaptable from Bob Fosse to Jerome Robbins." - The Washington Post (MSN)
Set up under the patronage of George IV to “reward literary merit and excite literary talent”, the society still has royal sponsorship from Queen Camilla. But those critical of its recent past speak of a “shambolic” and “clubby” institution – a place intended to shelter elite talent, rather than represent the wider community of accomplished writers. - The Guardian
Outernet in December announced that it recorded 6.25 million visitors in its first year of operation, while the British Museum attracted 5.83 million visitors in 2023. The world’s most visited art museum, Musée du Louvre in Paris, received 8.86 million visitors last year. - The Art Newspaper
Unless there's a turnaround in the sector, arts leaders who spoke with the Star say the once-thriving sector in Toronto — one of the largest theatre centres in the world — could become a shell of its former self. - Toronto Star
Nina Yoshida Nelsen, a mezzo-soprano and the cofounder of the Asian Opera Alliance, joined the company as an artistic adviser in 2021. She becomes the first person to hold the permanent artistic director position following the 2021 departure of general and artistic director Esther Nelson. - MSN
