Author: Laura Collins Hughes

Why Didn’t Bach Ever Write An Opera?

“Among the odd assortment of Festival opera this year, no production is more curious than that billed as Johann Sebastian Bach’s Actus tragicus. After all, the greatest ever Lutheran church composer never actually wrote an opera. Closer inspection … reveals this to be a modern assemblage of six of Bach’s sacred cantatas, fused together” — and so the question remains: “Why did he never turn his genius to the opera stage?”

Edinburgh Fringe Advance Sales Up 40 Percent Over ’08

“Advance ticket sales for the Edinburgh Festival’s 2009 season have soared by up to 40 per cent, leaving Fringe bosses baffled but delighted. Recession-wary ‘staycationers’, the weak pound, or punters taking no chances after last year’s box office fiasco have all been credited with helping the dramatic sales boost in the midst of a downturn. … The Fringe is desperate for a strong year after last year’s annus horribilis.”

Official: Vetting Scheme For Authors, Others Needs Rethink

“The man whose inquiry led to new vetting procedures for adults working with children today calls on the Government to rethink parts of its controversial anti-paedophile register.” Some prominent authors have said they will stop visiting schools rather than join the registry. “Sir Michael [Bichard] said the idea that people like actors, authors or entertainers, who only occasionally visit a school, should register with the scheme should be reconsidered.”

Under Pressure, Skylight Opera Managing Director Resigns

“Embattled Skylight Opera Theatre managing director Eric Dillner has resigned, ending a standoff that pitted company management and its board of directors against the artists who have regularly worked for the troupe. … William Theisen, whose dismissal on June 16 began the strife at the Skylight, will not return as artistic director, but he will direct four of the five shows he originally planned to stage for the 2009-’10 season – the company’s 50th.”

After Death, What Happens To A Choreographer’s Oeuvre?

“[I]magine a situation where the paintings of Rauschenberg or Bacon were taken down from galleries as soon as those artists died; where the novels of Saul Bellow were removed from the bookshelves, or the music of Stravinsky was silenced. … No other art form would accept for a second that death implied the possible death of an artist’s oeuvre. But what makes this a genuine issue for modern dance is the umbilically close connection between most choreographers, their companies and their work.”

Despite Scarce Funding, A New String Camp For Poor Kids

“A recession is no time to launch a new summer music camp, especially one that would be free to inner-city kids. The sheer audacity of it is impressive. … John Littlejohn — that is his real name — says he didn’t raise as much money as he would have liked to launch his camp, dubbed Thrive City String Academy. So he shortened it and invited fewer kids.”

NYC’s Guggenheim Museum At The Half-Century Mark

“Fifty years ago, an object landed on Fifth Avenue in New York City. It looked like it had dropped from outer space, and was treated as such. Writer Norman Mailer said it ‘shattered the mood of the neighborhood’ — ‘wantonly’ and ‘barbarically.’ Prominent avant-garde artists signed a petition against it, even though it was meant to hold contemporary art.”

Mourning An E-Reader’s Premature Demise

“Please tell me it isn’t dead. In the search for the perfect e-book (and I am always on the hunt), the Readius was an intriguing contender. But several recent reports say the company developing it, Netherlands-based Polymer Vision, has run into financing difficulties and put the device on hold. That would be a shame, because the Readius is unlike any other e-reader I’ve come across.”