“The renowned conductor … got an early break when, as a very young man, he was hired as Claudio Abbado’s assistant at La Scala in Milan. Now Mr. Chailly, 62, is following in the footsteps of Mr. Abbado, who died in 2014, in more ways than one: he became principal conductor at La Scala this year, and on Thursday he was named music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, which Mr. Abbado revived and led for 11 years.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
ABT’s Newest Principal Is 37 – And Came Back From An Injury That Nearly Ended Her Career
Just as she was turning 30, Stella Abrera damaged her back and sciatic nerve; recovery took 18 months and a relearning of her technique. Six years later, she’s been made a principal dancer. “It’s got to be unprecedented by someone at my age, at this point in the game to be promoted.”
BBC Radio’s Global Business News Program Goes To The Opera
“Opera is an expensive art form. It receives millions of pounds of public money. Can that be justified? Peter Day gets a range of operatic experiences – from top opera companies, to pub performers and a country house summer festival. The first opera was performed 400 years ago in Italy; how does the future look?” (audio)
When People Have The ‘Porcupine Problem’ (As Schopenhauer Called It)
“Imagine a group of porcupines trying to survive a cold winter. They huddle together for warmth, only to then poke one another with their quills and withdraw. Schopenhauer wrote that human relationships are like this: Much as cold drives the animal porcupines together, ‘the need of society drives the human porcupines together, only to be mutually repelled by the many prickly and disagreeable qualities of their nature.'”
Tenor Sings During His Own Brain Surgery
“Joined by a pianist in the operating room, Slovenian tenor Ambroz Bajec-Lapajne delivers the first and last couplets of Schubert’s ‘Gute Nacht’ (in major and minor) so doctors could monitor his ability to sing and recognize key changes” – making sure that they didn’t inadvertently damage his brain further during the operation. (video)
The Rise Of Phone Reading: How Publishers Are Rethinking Books For The Small Screen
“The rise of phone reading is pushing publishers to rethink the way books are designed, marketed and sold with smaller screens in mind. It’s also prompting concern about whether deep, concentrated thinking is possible amid the ringing, buzzing and alerts that come with phones.”
David Simon Talks About His New Miniseries – About Housing Desegregation – With Sen. Cory Booker
“In the edited conversation that follows, Mr. Booker” – former mayor of Newark, now U.S. Senator from New Jersey – “and Mr. Simon traded ideas about cities as America’s future, where not just the economy and creative capital but also equality and justice need to be worked out.”
Are Horror Movies Inherently Sexist? If They Are, Can They Be Changed?
“Horror films, particularly those about masked men wielding blades and taking out unsuspecting innocents one by one, often have a roster of stereotypical female victims. … Reporting for Talking Movies, Nada Tawfik talks to several women film-makers who believe that a different approach to horror is possible.” (video)
Ukraine Bans Russian Books For Spreading ‘Hate Ideology’
The blacklist of 38 titles, including works by Russian nationalists Alexander Dugin, Eduard Limonov and Sergei Glazyev, was released by the Ukrainian State Television and Radio Committee, which accused Russia of “information warfare.”
Chinese City Unveils Copy Of Anish Kapoor’s ‘Cloud Gate’ (Chicago’s ‘Bean’) – And Kapoor Is Not Happy
“It seems that in China today it is permissible to steal the creativity of others,” said the sculptor, who plans to sue and wants Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to join the case. Authorities in the Xinjiang oil town of Karamay insist that their sculpture, intended to represent a giant oil bubble, is completely different.