Author: Laura Collins Hughes

Taking The Boy Out Of Venezuela — To Sweden

Gustavo Dudamel “is a sensation and pretty much still always a surprise. When he begins as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the fall, he is expected to generate a huge amount of attention, no matter how celebrity-saturated the city. But even a conducting sensation has to learn the music director business somewhere, to say nothing of a broad repertory of pieces. That’s where Gothenburg comes in.”

Method Contemporary Gets Plum Prize At Horton Awards

“The 18th annual Lester Horton Dance Awards … handed the top honor, outstanding achievement in performance by a dance troupe, to Method Contemporary Dance Company for ‘This Is Not an Exit.’ … The awards, given by the Dance Resource Center of Greater Los Angeles, cite excellence in performance, choreography, design, music and other categories for L.A.-area dance presentations.”

At BEA, Uncertainty Ruled — But That’s Not All Bad

The future was in the eye of the beholder at this year’s BookExpo America. “For major publishing conglomerates … there was a sense of retrenchment, a feeling that the business model had irrevocably shifted — although to what exactly, no one was quite sure. But for independent publishers … there was an air of possibility, the belief that the future was very much in play.”

Does Lincoln Center’s Redesign Go Too Far?

“Having lost the battle against transforming the campus’s north plaza in front of the Vivian Beaumont Theater, laid out in 1965 by the celebrated landscape architect Dan Kiley, some preservationists say they fear that the rest of the $1.2 billion redevelopment project could end up compromising the original 1960s composition of Lincoln Center as a whole.”

Eyes Well As Curtain Falls On Amato Opera

“Tears were to be expected; an era was ending, and everyone knew it. The Amato Opera, a feisty local troupe founded by Anthony and Sally Amato in 1948, was calling it a day with a final performance of Mozart’s ‘Marriage of Figaro.’ … At 88 Mr. Amato has earned a comfortable retirement. But he does not intend to disappear, having announced plans to organize a foundation to provide scholarships for young opera conductors, directors and performers.”

Two Nonprofit Funders Spread Wealth Differently This Year

“Shubert Foundation coin will top $17.5 million this year, with about $12.5 million going to theater orgs — 6% more than in 2008. The Randall Grant, previously a $100,000 subsidy awarded to one production of a classic text, has been temporarily restructured to provide smaller grants for general operational support of a number of companies.”

LAByrinth’s Hoffman A.D. Team Replaced By Guirgis Trio

“The three artistic directors of Gotham’s LAByrinth Theater Company, including Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz, have stepped down from their posts, citing growing professional and family commitments. Three LAB members — playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, costume designer Mimi O’Donnell and actor Yul Vazquez — will take up the reins.”

O’Connor, Ginsburg, Sotomayor and … Nancy Drew?

“It doesn’t take a big clue to deduce that there’s something between Supreme Court women and Nancy Drew of River Heights, Somewhere, U.S.A., the teenage star of a wholesome series of detective novels that have been in print in some version — dated and updated — since their inception in 1930. What stuck with these judicial women might be a harder case to crack.”

As Income Plummeted, NYC Opera Fell $11.3M Into Red

“The embattled New York City Opera lost $11.3 million in the year ending June 30, 2008, when the company still believed that Belgian Gerard Mortier would lead it into a new era. According to City Opera’s tax return, provided to Bloomberg upon request, revenue, including ticket sales and income from donations and investments, fell 23 percent to $32.9 million. Expenses jumped 11 percent to $44.2 million.”