“The discord between the [bankrupt] Louisville Orchestra and its musicians reached new levels Monday as the players said they would unanimously reject a blunt offer from the orchestra’s management to perform on a ‘per-service model’ or risk losing their positions.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Merged Dance Theater Workshop/Bill T. Jones Company Announces Plans For First Season
“The most significant effort is the Resident Commissioned Artist Program: Each year, one mid-career artist will be given the rare package of a salary, health benefits, a two-year residency and a commission.”
New York City Opera Boss Responds To Attacks On Him And His Plans
At a press conference announcing the endangered company’s 2011-12 season, George Steel “suggested that the union protests were ‘political theater which can obscure more than uncover.’ When asked about the personal attacks, he said, ‘I guess it’s a strategy some people think is effective’.”
Theater Of Cruelty: Does Depicting The Horrific In Art Help Us Overcome It In Life?
“How should we react to such blatant examples of art whose purpose, or so it would seem, is to force viewers face-to-face with the human capacity for viciousness? … What new thoughts does it make possible to think? What new emotions does it make possible to feel? What new sensations or perceptions does it open in the body?”
Fiscally, San Francisco Opera’s Ring Cycle A Hit
“According to the [company], the four-opera Wagner masterpiece staged as 14 performances in June and July sold 44,055 tickets – 99.96 percent capacity – and generated $7,236,673 at the box office.”
Amazon.com’s Position On State Taxes: Unfair, Unethical And Powerful
“It’s an argument between reason and emotion, between your brain and your gut. Amazon has no intellectually sound arguments against collecting taxes from residents – by all ethical and civic standards, its position is unsound. Instead, Amazon is counting on our emotions prevailing – on loyal, tax-savvy customers like me lashing out at our price-hiking legislators.”
Did The Inca Actually ‘Write’ Using A System Of Knotted Cords?
The Inca “have long been considered the only major Bronze Age civilization that failed to develop a system of writing … In recent years, the question of whether these khipus [knotted cords] were actually a method of three-dimensional writing.”
Why Did Warhol Choose Campbell’s Soup For A Subject? (Blame De Kooning)
Christopher Knight: “Soup was essential studio slang, the conversational lingo among New York School painters when they talked about their work. Specifically, soup was the metaphor used by Willem de Kooning – the most successful artist of the era – to characterize his robust Abstract Expressionism. If soup worked for him, why not for Warhol?”
Is The Royal Danish Ballet A Hotbed Of Cocaine Use?
“An internal report on the Royal Danish Ballet leaked to the press last week alleges that a culture of cocaine abuse, stemming from the artistic director down to the ballet corps, pervades the prestigious company.”
At The Freestyle Dancing World Championships
“Barely heard of in the mainstream, freestyle has been left to flourish into its own surreal and awe-inspiring discipline. … Covered in spray tan and makeup, these young dancers are wearing costumes ostentatious enough to make Lady Gaga feel dowdy.”