“Who could predict that an immigrant from war-torn Lebanon who took her first singing lesson at 19, who had never appeared on a professional stage before arriving at the Met in 1997 – who was faxing her homework back to engineering school on the opera-house fax, for goodness’ sake – would now be the name on every opera-house director’s lips?” – The Globe & Mail (Canada)
Author: Douglas McLennan
STEEL-REINFORCED SUCCESS
Danielle Steel’s new book is promoted as a “bestseller” on its cover even before it’s published. How do they know? “Such is Steel’s reputation and following – she has produced 49 best-selling novels in the last 25 years, for total sales of 430 million books – that ‘Journey’ is guaranteed to be a success.” – National Post (Canada)
KLEMPERER DIES AT 80
Werner Klemperer, actor, and son of famed conductor Otto Klemperer has died. “Mr. Klemperer performed in many opera productions and, in the last two decades, served as narrator with virtually every symphony orchestra in the United States.” – New York Times
BIGGER IS BETTER?
“Nowadays, museums build bigger buildings and erect huge impersonal additions to house uneven collections. Trustees, millionaires and board members pick architects; they help lay out loading docks. Museums are becoming architectural attractions in and of themselves. But is bigger better? Is more more?” – Artnet
GENDER CONFUSION
Recent trends suggest there is an increasing convergence of commerce and culture, where “shops are becoming more like museums – places for visual and aesthetic display – while museums are becoming more like shops.” – The Independent (UK)
AND THE WINNER IS…
“Creating a design award can be a daunting task. The challenge involves conceiving an object that’s not only new but somehow noble, based on a genre that is essentially kitsch (think bowling trophies). At the same time the trophy should have a timeless, abstract quality that doesn’t appear too suggestive of any style or period.” – Metropolis
ART IMITATES LIFE?
“Jeffrey Archer, the best-selling author and member of the House of Lords who is one of Britain’s most colorful political figures, was last year alleged to have perjured himself in a past court case. He was forced to give up his candidacy to become London’s mayor and was thrown out of the Conservative party in disgrace. Did this most self-confident of public figures give in to despair and seclusion? Not Archer. In a move that seems defiant even by his famously bullheaded standards, Archer fell back upon the power of the pen. He has written ‘The Accused’, a courtroom drama in which a man played by Archer himself is accused of murdering his wife.” – Time Europe
KEEPS ON TICKING
Next week in London “The Mousetrap” is to give its 20,000th performance. “Next year, assuming it continues its run, will be the play’s 50th year of continuous production. A long time ago, it ceased being an adaptation of one of Agatha Christie’s slighter works and became something else: a record-breaker, a curiosity, a fixture for tourists, an ambiguous example of infinite success. To a certain sort of theatre-goer or stage professional, the Mousetrap is heaven – a fragment from a lost dramatic age of polite dialogue and sets with floral sofas. To lots of other people – fans of new drama, most critics – the play is a glimpse of hell.” – The Guardian
SELLING REVOLUTION
“As art resources become scarcer, auction houses fight to the death to get works for sale and give in to requests for high estimates and assorted ‘reserves’ demanded by vendors. Every auction becomes a lottery. Some vendors make a killing by hitting the jackpot, others kill their goods as failure to sell is broadcast worldwide. As such mishaps multiply, the credibility of the system crumbles to dust.” – The Art Newsroom
BOMBS ARE NEVER PRETTY
The $12 million invested in the show “Pan” in Australia, which recently closed after a lacklustre 10-week run, will probably never be recouped. “It’s wrong that people can come from overseas, invest in a show and then avoid payment of their debts merely by getting on an aeroplane and leaving the country.” – Sydney Morning Herald