“Following the arrest of Marino Massimo de Caro, the former director of Naples’s Girolamini library over the theft of 1,000 books from the historic institution,” he and several accomplices “confessed to stealing more books from the Biblioteca dell’Osservatorio Ximeniano and the Biblioteca Scolopica San Giovannino, both in Florence.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
The Difference Between Bolshoi And Mariinsky Style
Ballerina Olga Smirnova: “In Mariinsky theatre, my dance would be considered as more spiritual and refined, but Bolshoi audiences sometimes might judge it as cold.”
Sotheby’s Sale Of Disputed Pre-Columbian Art Falls Flat
“Four Latin American nations – Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and Costa Rica – had objected to the sale, and the controversy was publicized heavily in the European media. About half the items from the Barbier-Mueller collection sold in the face of assertions by the four nations that more than 100 of the 313 lots had been illegally exported in the 1900s.”
Will Our Devices Rob Us Of The Very Ability To Connect In Person?
“If you don’t regularly exercise your ability to connect face to face, you’ll eventually find yourself lacking some of the basic biological capacity to do so.”
A Tale Of Two Giselles
“The Mikhailovsky Ballet opens its London season this week with the most perfect of all romantic ballets, Giselle. … And one of the tantalising attractions of the Mikhailovsky programme is the chance to see Olesya Novikova and Natalia Osipova dancing their two very different interpretations of the role.”
Fire Threatens Library, Museum In South London
“The emergency services evacuated 30 people from the Cuming Museum and Newington library in Walworth, south-east London, after a fire took hold in the roof before lunchtime.” The museum “is home to artefacts including objects from Roman London, Chinese ornaments and African tribal costumes.”
Hollywood Is Abandoning Sex Scenes In Favor Of Special Effects
Says one market analyst, “Sex scenes used to be written, no matter what the plot, to spice up a trailer. But all that does today is get a film an adult-only rating and lose a younger audience. Today such scenes are written out by producers before they are even shot.”
Oregon Symphony Plans Week Of (Almost-)Anything-Goes Concerts
“The musicians want listeners to toss etiquette out the window. Not all etiquette. Don’t expect to stand on your chair and sing along. But you will be encouraged to take photos, tweet, text and clap anytime the spirit moves you. … Afterwards, you can even ask the musicians questions.”
Tenor Bryan Hymel Wins $50K Beverly Sills Award
“Tenor Bryan Hymel has been named the recipient of the eighth annual Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers at the Metropolitan Opera. The $50,000 award, the largest of its kind in the United States, is designated for ‘extraordinarily gifted singers between the ages of 25 and 40’ who have already appeared in featured solo roles at the Met.”
He Left Behind Art Worth Millions But Not Enough Cash For A Burial
Merton D. Simpson “was an Abstract Expressionist painter and arguably the most significant dealer of traditional African art in the United States … But now his singular archive and extraordinary collection are matters of contention among an array of friends, family and staff members, who all claim to have his best interests at heart.”