“After a three year partnership, the American Film Institute and the Dallas Film Society have decided to part ways. The Dallas Film Society announced Wednesday that it would not be renewing its licensing agreement with AFI, which it began in 2006.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
A Quest We Can All Get Behind: Where To Get The Best Sleep?
“It was the mythical supersleep, deeper than any other, the Atlantis of the unconscious. It was a heavy dose of what scientists call slow-wave sleep. I’ve been trying to find it again ever since – but the question is, where?”
The Top Ten Movies To Help You Understand Iran
As the aftermath of the Iranian election plays out and the world watches nervously, here’s a list of films that help explain – and, in some cases, have themselves affected – the country’s politics and society.
Arizona Opera Makes Deep Cuts, But Maintains ’09-10 Season Plans
“To bring expenses in line with anticipated income, several senior positions have been consolidated, staff layoffs and furloughs were implemented, salaries have been reduced across the board and the overall budget was restructured.”
Some Good News For A Change: Dallas Symphony Sets Box Office Record
The orchestra “sold a record $11 million worth of tickets for its recently completed season thanks to a push that lured first-timers to fill more than 25% of the seats at the Meyerson. A huge part of that spike in new patron ticket sales came from the buzz surrounding its new musical director, Jaap van Zweden.”
You Think Your Orchestra Has It Bad? Look At The Belgrade Philharmonic
“Serbia’s flagship classical music ensemble, squeezed by the economic downturn, pleaded for help recently from music-lovers. ‘The national Philharmonic orchestra, with 85 years of tradition and a rich repertoire, can now play at your house for a reasonable fee,’ a self-parodying newspaper advertisement declared.”
The University Major Most Common Among Terrorists (It’s Not Art History)
Researchers “found that engineers are three to four times as likely as other graduates to be present among the members of violent Islamic groups in the Muslim world since the 1970s. … The largest single group were engineers, with 78 out of 178, followed by 34 taking Islamic studies, 14 studying medicine, 12 economics and business studies, and 7 natural sciences.”
Met’s New Hoffman Loses Another Marquee Name (But Gets One, Too)
Having already lost tenor Rolando Villazón to throat surgery, the new staging of The Tales of Hoffmann by director Bartlett Sher (South Pacific) has now lost superstar bass René Pape, who was to sing the four villains. Alan Held will step in, while rising tenor Joseph Calleja will take over the title role from Villazón. Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca remain on board. (So far.)
Soprano Ekaterina Shcherbachenko Wins BBC Cardiff Singer Of The World
“It’s 20 years since baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky won the Cardiff Singer of the World title. No Russian has repeated that success until now.” Six-foot-8-inch bass Jan Martiník took the Song Prize, and 21-year-old bass Giordano Lucà received the Audience Prize.
Seiji Ozawa Has Emergency Hernia Operation
“The 73-year-old conductor has cancelled three concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic – two in Vienna on June 19 and 21, and one in Paris on June 22 – after ‘undergoing emergency surgery 48 hours ago for a hernia’.”