In a program that combines cultural preservation and economic development (i.e., tourism), the seaside city of Shimoda is using public money to train some young ladies in the traditional song, dance and instrumental music in which the city’s geishas once specialized.
Author: Matthew Westphal
How Charlotte Gainsbourg Feels About Her Work (It Ain’t Pretty)
“The first time I performed live, I did a terrible show in Paris. It was a nightmare and I thought I’d never do it again. No, even my agent told me how dreadful it was. … I’m not a professional actress like Meryl Streep: she knows where she’s going. I never know where I’m going! If I’m good in a scene, it’s a miracle.”
Indianapolis Symphony CEO Resigns; Board Chair Says He Wasn’t Asked To Quit
“Simon Crookall’s abrupt departure Thursday from the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra was entirely voluntary, the organization insists.” Board chairman John R. Thornburgh “denied that the board had investigated Crookall’s behavior in either his job or his private life.”
Where Clybourne Park Diverges From A Raisin In The Sun
“Where the dramatic urgency of Raisin and the first act of Clybourne” – both set in the same African-American neighborhood – “is driven by blacks and whites fighting to do the right (or wrong) thing in 1959, by 2009 the crises of action have been replaced by a comedy of manners. The issue is no longer what we should do but what we should say and how we should say it.”
Having Saved Pasadena Playhouse, Executive Director Quits
“Stephen Eich, who played a leading role in helping the Pasadena Playhouse survive a financial near-death experience during more than 2½ years as its executive director, has resigned, saying he feels ‘a great sense of satisfaction in what I’ve accomplished’ as he moves on to other ventures, including independent theater production.”
Béla Tarr Says He Has Quit Filmmaking
The 58-year-old Hungarian director, best-known (or most notorious) for the seven-and-a-half-hour Sátántangó, has confirmed that his most recent work, The Turin Horse, is his last. “It is an extraordinary move from a man who has won rabid devotees as a standard-bearer for art-house modernism.”
Benjamin Zander Talks About His Dismissal From New England Conservatory
A few weeks after he was fired from his positions with NEC’s youth orchestras for having engaged a former child sex offender as videographer, the widely-loved conductor and teacher talks about the lead-up to the controversy, its aftermath, and his own errors in judgment.
Spinoza, Godfather Of The First Amendment
“He was an eloquent proponent of a secular, democratic society, and was the strongest advocate for freedom and tolerance in the early modern period.”
Admiring Verdi’s Favorite Creation
“[The composer’s] own idea of what his proudest legacy would be – he called it his favorite of all his works – was the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, a retirement home in Milan for musicians who had reached age 65 and found themselves in dire straits. … Casa di Riposo still stands today beside a busy Milan traffic circle, still active.”
Trying To Rehabilitate Broadway’s Most Notorious Stinker
“Carrie was such a critical and financial flop (at $8 million) that, afterward, its three creators refused to allow another professional production anywhere in the world … But this winter MCC Theater, a respected Off Broadway company, is trying to reclaim Carrie from contempt. The creators have rewritten the story into a modern-day tale of bullying, with mean girls mocking notions of ‘equality’.”