WQXR’s Brian Wise offers citations for Worst Financial Woes (a competitive category), Most Complicated Anniversary, Best and Worst Marketing Ploys, and Podium Pharmacist of 2013 (that would be Michael Tilson Thomas).
Author: Matthew Westphal
12 Pivotal Moments in Opera in 2013
For WQXR, Philadelphia Inquirer critic (and ArtsJournal blogger) David Patrick Stearns cites the Wagner/Verdi/Britten anniversaries (naturally), a thrilling Monteverdian battle, seedy Baroque opera in a strip club burlesque house, and the hot new opera score he stole from the neighbor’s trash.
With Largest Donation in Its History, Philadelphia Museum of Art Completes Endowment Campaign
With philanthropist (and Inquirer co-owner) Gerry Lenfest making good on his $27 million matching grant, the museum has a new $54 million endowment to fund 29 staff positions.
Audrey Totter, Femme Fatale of Film Noir, Dead at 95
The star of Lady in the Lake and The Postman Always Rings Twice “could twist daggers with the subtlest arch of her perfectly plucked eyebrows.”
Robert Fairchild’s Ballet Workout
The New York City Ballet principal walks us through his daily exercise and strength training regimen (and throws in a quick tribute to colleague and fiancée Tiler Peck).
Britten in Venice in Moscow
Countertenor Iestyn Davies writes of his trip to the Russian capital to give special Britten centenary performances of the Canticles and Death in Venice with Ian Bostridge and Gennady Rozhdestvensky (who knew and worked with Britten) to people who had never heard this music before.
How Economics Really Got The Nickname “The Dismal Science”
“The story goes like this: Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish writer and philosopher, called economics ‘the dismal science’ in reference to Thomas Malthus, that lugubrious economist who claimed humanity was trapped in a world where population growth would always strain natural resources and bring widespread misery.” Turns out that what Carlyle was saying was far more dismal (not to mention abhorrent).
The Hopi Nation Got A Secret Santa For Its Precious Artifacts
This foundation (you’ve heard of it) joined in anonymously on bidding for a group of sacred Hopi artifacts being auctioned in Paris – with the aim of returning them to their creators’ descendants.
Was Helen Mirren’s Evening Standard Award Rigged?
Three of the five outside jurors for the prestigious London theatre honours have quit – the first mass resignation in the event’s half-century history. Matt Trueman explains what the ballyhoo is all about.
Juror: “‘My Jaw Dropped When Helen Mirren Won The Award”
“There is scandal in theatreland following the resignation of three judges from the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Charles Spencer, one of the resigning judges, reveals what really happened and why he quit.”