“[She] was the epitome of the ‘gruff but lovable’ type, often bringing comedic sparkle to workaday frustrations while playing figures worn weary by their lives but still able to laugh off the worst.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Lasers Are Helping Restore Pompeii Murals
“Conservators are using lasers to clean the delicate frescos in one of Pompeii’s most popular sites, the Villa of Mysteries. If successful, it could change the way future conservation projects are carried out there.”
Diocletian’s Palace Shows Off Its New Laser-Powered Facelift
“Conservators in Croatia have completed a ten-year project to remove more than 1,700 years of grime from the courtyard of the palace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian (AD244-311), in the coastal city of Split. ”
British Equity Sues Producers Of Delayed Musical For Back Pay
“Equity is launching legal action against the producer of delayed off-West End musical The Golden Voice, in a bid to claim back tens of thousands of pounds in unpaid cast wages.”
Sticker Shock: “Premium Tickets” And VIP Packages Come To London’s West End
“While the high price of theatre tickets is well known, it still comes as a surprise to discover that some members of the audience for Arrivals & Departures, the latest play by Alan Ayckbourn, may have paid £1,500 for the privilege.”
Bolshoi’s New Director Warns Ballet Dancers Of “Star Illness”
Vladimir Urin: “To my regret I have to say this star illness does exist and to fight with this I surely must. If you start to think you’re a star it means that your personal culture or your education is not high enough. … You should prove yourself with your daily work.”
At Ballet Class With The Bolshoi
“Prima ballerina Ekaterina Krysanova takes The Telegraph backstage to watch a training class” during the company’s London visit.
Is The OED Really Changing Its “Marriage” Entry To Include Same-Sex Couples?
That’s what the news media reported last Friday. “Though such a development would not be unwelcome, we [at Slate] had a sneaking suspicion while sorting through the coverage that this story might be a bit overblown.”
What Makes A Melody Beautiful?
Jan Swafford: “For now, I want to offer a small tour of some of the most beautiful and enduring melodies I happen to know, and talk about what makes them that way. Will we thereby find the eternal secret of great melody? Well, no. But it’s one of those questions that can get you somewhere if you don’t take it too seriously.”
New Classical Music And Climate Change
Brett Dean wrote a score about the ferocious 2009 bushfires outside Melbourne. Laurie Anderson and the Kronos Quartet created an evening-length piece about Hurricane Sandy. Mason Bates has what he calls a “water symphony” that “heats up in each movement.” And there’s the entire oeuvre of John Luther Adams.