“The affair began as a grudge match between two actors, but escalated into a street riot outside the Astor Place Opera House in which at least 22 people died. The Astor Place Riot still counts as one of the bloodiest episodes in New York’s history. The cause of the incident seems, by contemporary standards, hard to credit: who played the better Macbeth – an Englishman or an American?”
Author: Matthew Westphal
When Two Boston Kids Discovered Their Parents Were Russian Spies (Yes, It’s The Real-Life Version Of ‘The Americans’)
“Not only were their parents indeed Russian spies, they were Russians. The man and woman the boys knew as Mom and Dad really were their parents, but their names were not Donald Heathfield and Tracey Foley. Those were Canadians who had died long ago, as children; their identities had been stolen and adopted by the boys’ parents.”
Ballet Star Lashes Out At Reviewer’s Alleged Criticism Of His Ginger Hair And Pale Skin
Edward Watson of the Royal Ballet in London: “There’s one particular tw** who still writes, ‘Oh, he’s still there with his horrible ginger hair and his horrible pale skin’ and you just think, is it really relevant to talk about someone’s skin and hair in a review? I find that kind of ridiculous.”
La Scala’s Ballet Dancers Publicly Object To New Director’s Program For Next Season
“At the close of today’s press conference at La Scala to announce Mauro Bigonzetti’s 2016-2017 season, fifty or so company dancers arrived to protest at the repertoire proposed. … [They complain] that the season has ‘too little classical [ballet] and wasn’t in line with company’s tradition.'”
‘It’s Gorgeous, Just Gorgeous’ – An Operatic ‘Hamlet’ From The Age Of Verdi Resurfaces
“Amleto by Franco Faccio (1840-91) had a disastrous 1871 La Scala premiere … [and] the composer never again allowed the opera to be performed … The librettist was young Arrigo Boito (1842-1918), known as one of the great librettists in opera history for his later collaborations with Verdi on Otello and Falstaff. … And the singers and the creative team [for a new revival] say this operatic Hamlet needs no apologies.”
$7.25 Million Settlement For Worker Who Fell Through Glass Ceiling At Philadelphia’s Rodin Museum
“On Nov. 26, 2012, [Phani] Guthula, then 27 and working as an engineer for ICF International, was inspecting lighting fixtures in the museum when he fell. The suit contends that the Art Museum, which administers the Rodin Museum, and its security company, AlliedBarton Security Services, failed to protect him from harm when he stepped onto the unprotected glass floor.”
Today’s Hot Trend In Website Design? ‘Web Brutalism’
“All of these sites – some years old, some built recently – and hundreds more like them, eschew the templated, user-friendly interfaces that has long been the industry’s best practice. Instead they’re built on imperfect, hand-coded HTML and take their design cues from ’90s graphics.
Here Are The Issues Surrounding The BBC And The Renewal Of Its Charter
Steven Erlanger explains for us overseas folks the controversy surrounding the public broadcaster and the Conservative government’s plans for it.
China Made Korea Cancel Our Shows There, Says Falun Gong-Linked Dance-Theater Company
“Consulate officials accused Shen Yun of ‘propaganda’ that uses a message of compassion and peace to disguise ‘the truth and to realize their evil purpose of exerting mind control over them’.”
After A 70-Year Career In France And Worldwide, Charles Aznavour Tries His First American Musical
“Of course, the subject is French: the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec cavorting in the scandalous Montmartre district of Paris. And the show’s music brings the sound of Gallic authenticity. But there are also major Broadway names attached to the work, titled My Paris, which opens at the Long Wharf Theater [in New Haven] this week.”