“I don’t want to cancel a show, because people have paid to come hear me sing the three queens. So … I wash my hands constantly; they’re raw from washing. I’m going to the gym and really taking care of myself and trying to stay fit, eating properly. Anything I can do.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Heart Of Stone: Tracey Emin Has Married A Rock
“[The artist] says the story may sound pretentious and stupid, but she recalls finding a small box and in it was a ring with an ant on it. ‘I put it on my finger and suddenly realised it’s superstitious to put a wedding ring on your finger unless you are getting married, otherwise you have to throw the ring away,’ she said. But because she liked the ring so much, she decided instead she needed to marry someone – and why not the rock?”
She May Just Be The World’s Foremost Stage Designer
She works on everything from West End plays and musicals to opera at the Met and Covent Garden to rock stars’ arena tours to the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics. Says one director, “[She] doesn’t design plays. Or, at least, she doesn’t design the locations in which they’re set. Instead, she designs the ideas, the thought structures, the systems in which the characters operate.”
The Sea Creatures That Inspired Art Nouveau
The drawings that biologist Ernst Haeckel made while aboard the HMS Challenger‘s round-the-world voyage in the 1870s had a surprisingly wide influence. (They’re also very cool.)
‘Big Ego And High-Handed Obstinacy’: Maybe It’s A Good Thing That English National Opera’s Music Director Quit
Rupert Christiansen: “Urbane and cultured, [Mark Wigglesworth] is a charming and intelligent person with exceptional musical talent, but his big ego and high-handed obstinacy are qualities that, in its current ’emergency measures’ position, ENO cannot accommodate. He’s long been well known to be a tricky customer with a short fierce temper, and his brilliant early career hasn’t fulfilled its promise because of it.”
‘The Situation Looks Bleak, But It Need Not Be Terminal’ At English National Opera
Charlotte Higgins: “For many years now, ENO has been a paradoxical place. It has had a superb orchestra and chorus, the best technical team in Britain, and has produced artistically brilliant work. This is true even now, as everything seems in a state of disintegration, with its productions of The Magic Flute and Akhnaten.”
Theatre As Activism – Can It Really Have An Effect?
“There is a long history of performance as activism, from the street interventions of Bread and Puppet Theater to the secret shows of Belarus Free Theatre … But can we really expect even the most urgent and rage-fuelled piece of theatre to have audiences rushing to man the barricades and topple governments? … Do such shows do anything but preach to the converted?” (Maybe.)
UK Government Publishes First Culture White Paper In 51 Years
“Ed Vaizey, the UK culture minister, has published his White Paper. This is the first such governmental policy statement on culture since that of Jennie Lee, the Labour arts minister, in 1965. The Culture White Paper announces the establishment of detailed reviews of museums, arts and heritage.”
Cliburn Winner’s Wife Pleads Not Guilty To Murder Of Their Children
Based on further details of the crime released by the police, Sofya Tsygankova – the estranged wife of pianist Vadym Kholodenko – will presumably use an insanity defense.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.23.16
A Closer Look At Max Hollein, New Director in San Francisco
Yesterday the trustees of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco announced that they had selected Max Hollein, currently director of the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, as their new chief. I’d say that was a good … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-03-23
Fine with Hollein: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Snare an International Standout as Director
The last time I interviewed Max Hollein, 46, who has just been named to become the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s new director (effective June 1), he was in New York for the November … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-03-23
Snapshot: Pilobolus’ Walklyndon
Pilobolus Dance Theater performs an excerpt from Walklyndon, choreographed in 1971 by Robby Barnett, Lee Harris, Moses Pendleton, and Jonathan Wolken. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-03-23
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