“The culture minister Lorenzo Ornaghi said that ‘Brera has been stagnant for the last 40 years’ and the government officially announced plans this week to hand over the museum’s management to the Fondazione La Grande Brera. Milan’s head of culture Stefano Boeri stresses that ‘foundations are not-for-profit’. Critics have condemned the move as ‘privatisation’ and ‘selling off’ Italy’s heritage.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Maybe Einstein On The Beach Is Really A Dance Piece
“Where other operas have a story, this one has stage images that move to music. Everything that happens in its scenes and between them is choreographed, fitted by [Robert] Wilson into his intricate visual and thematic design. Even the stagehands dance.”
James Taylor Sues Warner Over Download Royalties
“Taylor’s action, filed Sept. 13 in Superior Court in L.A., seeks at least $2 million in compensatory damages, plus interest and a declaration that the musician is contractually entitled to 50% of net receipts for digital downloads and ringtones.”
British Conductor George Hurst Dead At 86
“From 1958 to 1968, he was principal conductor for the BBC Northern Orchestra, and is credited with establishing it on the global stage. The orchestra, based in Salford, is now known as the BBC Philharmonic. … In 1968, he established the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, and acted as artistic advisor to both this orchestra and the Bournemouth Symphony until 1974.”
Can Benjamin Millepied Get World-Class Dance Established In L.A.?
“Not that others haven’t tried” – notably the Joffrey Ballet, which tried to make a go of it at the Music Center in the 1980s (and ended up in Chicago). “Many hope, and some actually believe, that Millepied has the right mix of pedigree, name recognition and fundraising savvy to build a company that can fill theater seats, generate sustained audience interest and, finally, put Los Angeles on the dance map.”
The Tempted Husband, The Crazy Stalker, And That Poor Bunny Rabbit: Fatal Attraction, 25 Years On
“You’d think that a quarter-century later the movie’s melodrama about the dangers of straying would have badly dated. You’d be wrong. Fatal Attraction still expresses our Puritan queasiness about sexual desire much better than the swarm of stalker rip-offs that it has spawned – as well as our insistence on blaming the skank for any threat to marital fidelity.”
Remember When Steve Martin Was A Stand-Up Comic?
“Mr. Martin has appeared in so many bland movies lately … that it’s easy to lose sight of how funny he is. … While stand-up is typically best at its most intimate, Mr. Martin’s act was an exception. His satirical routine kept growing with the size of his theaters, turning rock-star comedy into a delirious spectacle, performance art for the masses.”
Britain’s First Street Artist
“A while ago, a friend of mine from Lancashire asked if I knew where Alvin Stardust was born. She had a vague childhood memory of seeing a huge mural of the 70s star, the size of a whole house, on the end of a terrace in Bury. I checked and found out that Stardust – whose real name was Bernard Jewry [aka Walter Kershaw] – was born in London and grew up in Nottingham.”
UK’s National Theatre To Open US Office
“Following the financial and critical success of their London-to-Broadway productions of War Horse and One Man, Two Guvnors, executives at the National Theater of Great Britain announced on Thursday that they are opening their first office in New York next month to oversee future shows and deepen relationships with theaters and donors in the United States.”
What Janet Malcolm Got Completely Wrong In The Journalist And The Murderer
Errol Morris: “Janet Malcolm says that trying to discern MacDonald’s guilt or innocence from the evidence he sent her is like trying to prove the existence of God by looking at a flower. But the existence of God is taken on faith. The innocence or guilt of a criminal defendant is not. Period.”