Cameron Mackintosh once said a musical takes seven years from inception to a fully staged production. Australian Peter Johnston is now into his fifth year working on “Moses” “He’s got an orchestrated score, concert versions in London and New York and another semi-staged production with orchestra in London behind him. There is also a recording planned in London next year with an international cast.” – The Age (Melbourne)
Author: Douglas McLennan
LANCASTER’S MIRACLE
“It’s a musical theater extravaganza of truly biblical proportions that will play to more than 200,000 people before the run ends in two weeks here in Lancaster County. And those people will gaze upon the power and the glory of the highest production values, and they will rejoice.” – Washington Post
CAN MACHINES IMPROVISE JAZZ?
“Even more than most creative endeavors, jazz is surrounded by a rhetoric of intuition and inspiration, especially with regard to the central role of improvisation. Yet now another endeavor once thought to be our own exclusive cognitive province has, it would appear, been colonized by faster, smarter, ever more complex computing systems.” – Feed
TOP POET?
Canada considers naming a poet laureate. – CBC
WORLDWIDE ART THEFT
The list of stolen art work is constantly growing. Estimates worldwide of art theft run from $2 billion to $6 billion annually. “And the possibility of getting your prized possession back is slim to none. Recent UNESCO statistics show that only five to 10 per cent of stolen cultural goods are ever recovered.” – CBC
GREAT DANE DIES
Danish pianist/clown Victor Borge died in his sleep this weekend. He was 91. – The Age (Melbourne)
PHONETICALLY FUNNY: “Mr. Borge always preferred to write his own material. Many of his best lines began as ad-libs that he then worked into his act.” – New York Times
BAH HUMBUG
There’s no escaping Scrooge and “A Christmas Carol” this time of year. “Some 20 feature films and at least 17 television movies notwithstanding, ‘A Christmas Carol’ has really been a theater phenomenon from the beginning, despite difficulties like transforming a door knocker into Jacob Marley’s face onstage.” – New York Times
AN OPERA BUFFA?
The life of one of Italy’s most controversial politicians is being made into an opera. The rise and precipitous fall of former Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi, who died in exile in Tunisia almost a year ago, has provided the inspiration for B.C, an ‘opera oratorio in three short acts’. – The Guardian
LOOKING GOOD AT 400
Opera is 400 years old and still going strong. “One way in which opera stays healthy is by reinventing itself every generation or so. The old stereotypes – plump matrons impersonating tender young consumptives, tenors strutting their high Cs at the footlights – are so yesterday. Audiences are more demanding of opera now. It’s no longer enough just to have great singing; people expect a total visual, dramatic and musical experience for their buck. – Chicago Tribune
WIGGING OUT
For all its musical riches, London’s concert venues are decidedly second-rate acoustically. Except for one place – Wigmore Hall. It’s hard to describe what the Wigmore means to those of us who play there. It has partly to do with the acoustics — which are perfect, as good as you’ll find anywhere — and partly to do with the intimacy. When you’re on stage, the audience feels incredibly close.” – New York Times