"Puccini’s universalism was sincerely felt, even if it’s unfashionable today, and it deserves to be appreciated rather than cynically apologized for — as some opera companies seem to do while continuing to reap the ticket-selling benefits of his popularity." - The New York Times
The Guadeloupe-born writer didn't publish her first book until age 40, and she came to international prominence in her 80s: in 2018, she won the New Academy Prize, which Sweden instituted when the Nobel for Literature was suspended due to an internal scandal. - AFP (Yahoo!)
"The post-pandemic picture is improving but from such a low that no one can feel confident about moving forward. Theater attendance hasn’t yet rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, production and administrative costs have skyrocketed with inflation, and donor fatigue has turned to exhaustion." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Or, as it’s more commonly called, ‘monster smut.’ One bookseller says, “We had one that actually sold out really fast where it was called Hot Tyrannosaurus Rex. It’s just like, dinosaur smut.” - Oregon Public Broadcasting
"(In Teeth,) a show in which violence begets vengeance, … it’s a lot to endure, for both biter and bitee. … Campy or not, choreographing the many scenes of intimacy and assault required extraordinary sensitivity." Enter Crista Marie Jackson. - The New York Times
Sebastian Smee: "As an artist, he was no bully. Rather, he was a physicist. He wanted you to know, and to feel in your bones, that weight isn’t just a thing — it’s a force. It’s mass times acceleration. As such, it carries an inherent threat." - The Washington Post (MSN)
With the completion of the Chapel of the Assumption in 2025 and the last and highest of its six towers the following year, construction of architect Antoni Gaudí's masterpiece will conclude after 140 years, just in time for the centennial of his death. Well, complete except for the enormous, controversial staircase. - CNN
"The possible choice for the opening ceremony of Aya Nakamura, a superstar French-Malian singer whose slang-spiced lyrics stand at some distance from academic French, has ignited a furor tinged with issues of race and linguistic propriety and the politics of immigration." - The New York Times
Copyright is even embedded in the US Constitution as a tool “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.” Now generative AI is destabilizing the foundational concepts of copyright law as it was originally conceived.
"As the quilt was spread out across the museum’s main entrance, activists encircled the display, carrying signs that read ‘We See Genocide,’ ‘Let Gaza Live,' and 'None Of Us Are Free Until Palestine Is Free.' The protesters also broke into Palestinian dabkeh folk dance." - Hyperallergic
Inside, the Stadtschloss is publicly funded. Donors control the exterior. "A Christianised dome was hoisted atop the palace in 2020, complete with a band of text, compiled by 19th-century King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, calling on all peoples to submit to Christianity.” Now? Old Testament prophets. - The Observer (UK)
The budgetary alarm bells are ringing for fabled institutions, including the Royal Shakespeare Company, says a new arts lobbying group. "The new campaign frames culture as part of the crucial infrastructure of any successful country, let alone one that enjoys Britain’s arts and entertainment track record." - The Observer (UK)
Going car-free is a lot harder than it seems. Not only has it led to politicians and urban planners facing death threats and being doxxed, it has forced them to rethink the entire basis of city life. - Wired
"With his distinctive lumbering form and droll delivery, Walsh was an ideal supporting player. A master of off-kilter comic delivery and dogged edginess, he excelled at roles that dwelled in the darker corners of humanity. No matter whom he played, he made a colorful impact." - The Hollywood Reporter
The installation at Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is by Kirsha Kaechele, wife of museum founder David Walsh, a math prodigy who made his $200 million fortune by gambling. Kaechele said in court that "(men's) experience of rejection IS the artwork." - The Guardian
Not only have they released an open letter calling on the orchestra's Board of Governors to reverse the cuts that motivated Salonen not to renew his contract, the musicians leafleted Saturday's audience, urging listeners to contact Board chair Priscilla Geeslin and CEO Matthew Spivey. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
"In 2026, it will be 150 years since Wagner premiered the full Ring at his festival in Bayreuth, Germany. Each year until then, (Kent) Nagano and Concerto Köln … are touring installments of their historically informed Ring operas," based in large part on Wagner's own writings about performance. - The New York Times
"Shot in just over a week in September 2022, Opus is a spare and intimate film. In stark black and white, the concert is just a man performing behind a grand piano. Off camera, though, there was a crew of over thirty people." - The Verge
"Everything radiated outward from this central core across two carpeted floors, in diminishing order of importance: the slightly smaller publishing houses, then the ones whose best years are behind them, then the niche ones, then the flatly obscure." - The New York Times
"Key insights: States with higher proportions of rural population tend to have lower levels of arts vibrancy – with some notable exceptions. States ranking higher on arts vibrancy generally have lower poverty rates; but having low levels of poverty doesn’t guarantee a top arts vibrancy ranking." - SMU Data Arts
