“Ms. Norman, who found acclaim as well as a recitalist and on the concert stage, was one of the most decorated of American singers. She won five Grammy Awards, four for her recordings and one for lifetime achievement. She received the prestigious Kennedy Center Award in 1997 and the National Medal of Arts in 2009.” Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb called her “one of the greatest artists to ever sing on our stage.” – The New York Times
Month: September 2019
Marin Alsop Remembers Christopher Rouse
“Chris was a collector, and a collector of unexpected things: meteorites, records, guns. He started collecting composers’ signatures when he was a kid and amassed what I imagine is the largest private collection of composers’ autographs in the world. He knew how much I loved Brahms ( because we argued about Brahms regularly) and gave me his Brahms autograph last week…kind hearted to the end.” – NewMusicBox
Margaret Atwood’s “Handmaid’s Tale” Sequel Breaks Canadian Bookseller Records
The novel, which is a sequel to Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, sold more print copies in the first week than any other Canadian book since BookNet Canada began tracking sales data in 2005. – CBC
Ontario Film Rating Board Is Losing Money. So The Government Is Closing It
The Ontario Film Authority was designed to operate on a cost-recovery basis, charging filmmakers fees for issuing ratings such as PG, 14A or Restricted. Its most recent annual report shows the agency brought in $2.2 million in revenue, but ran a shortfall of $130,000. – CBC
Making Non-Boring Theatre About Climate Change
There’s a sliver of space where audience members can start to consider societal change. “I keep coming back to the idea that, as theatremakers, our greatest weapon in the fight against climate change may ultimately be this sliver of audience-lifting space. In this space comes an expanded capacity for empathy and, perhaps, the ability to be more collectively accountable.” – HowlRound
Is It Theatre Or Theater?
“I remember we thought we should use the British spelling of ‘theatre’ so that people would take us more seriously.” – Washington Post
Seattle’s Intiman Theatre: A Truly Existential Crisis
Myriad issues are to blame. Donors’ funding priorities have changed, and corporations are donating less to nonprofit theaters, making the fight for funding more competitive. High-quality entertainment can be accessed on-demand at low cost. Arts journalism has become more sparse, and the public, concerned about an economic slowdown, might be less inclined to show up. – Crosscut
When The Culture Wars Was About Your Aesthetic Taste
There was a time when we judged people, labelled them, loved them or hated them because of their taste in literature, art and even pop music. – The Spectator
Mommie Dearest
The most notable thing about Barrie Kosky’s production of Handel’s Agrippina at the Royal Opera is that every member of this ensemble can act — especially Joyce DiDonato, giving what I expect will be remembered as an historic performance of the title role. – Paul Levy
Message received
Heidi Hall, an old friend of mine from Smalltown, U.S.A., died last week. She was 49, far too young for so extravagantly vital a woman to lose her life to cancer. I, on the other hand, am 63, which isn’t nearly as old as it was a few generations ago. Why did people back then seem to age so much more quickly than they do now? – Terry Teachout