Random House Canada marketing VP Scott Sellers is hoping to bring some of the Manhattan event’s mojo north of the border with the new Globe and Mail Open House Festival, launching in May. Headliners include Naomi Klein, Ha Jin, Calvin Trillin, Adam Gopnik, Zoë Heller and Richard Florida.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Concert Assn. Of Florida Gives Up On Broward Center
South Florida’s biggest presenter of touring classical artists has seen subscriptions and ticket sales plummet for its concerts at the Fort Lauderdale venue. Observers blame a steep increase in ticket prices, changes in CAF’s leadership, scheduling disputes with Broward Center management, and the perception that big-ticket events happen only at the Arsht Center in Miami
Miami City Ballet Brings Balanchine To Balanchine’s Home
The company founded and led by Edward Villella, Mr. B’s biggest male star at New York City Ballet, is making its Manhattan debut at City Center, the theater where Villella and NYCB had their glory days. The MCB repertoire for New York includes five ballets Villella learned directly from Balanchine.
‘America’s Studliest Ballet Dancer’
That would be Edward Villella, according to New York magazine, which has posted a Q&A with Mr. V. as his Miami City Ballet comes to town. Sample Q: “You were held up as a paragon of heterosexuality. The word ‘virile’ was used a lot.”
Critic Vs. Agent Fistfight At Sundance (And The Critic Wins!)
Variety‘s John Anderson didn’t like a film that’s being repped at Sundance by producer/agent Jeff “The Dude” Dowd (the real-life inspiration for The Dude in The Big Lebowski). Dowd followed Anderson from cinema to breakfast table trying to change the critic’s mind, Anderson wanted to eat in peace, and tempers were lost.
Obama Transition Team Meets Arts Leaders
“Attending [on Jan. 15] were the CEOs of groups such as Opera America, Dance USA, the League of American Orchestras, Association of Art Museum Directors, Chorus America, Dance USA, the Theater Communications Group and a host of others… What’s this? The U.S. government paying attention to the arts and actually soliciting input from the field?”
Lebrecht: Paris Set To Become Classical Music Capital
With three dynamic young conductors arriving on the scene, a large stable of gifted soloists and generous state subsidy, “Paris will join Berlin, Vienna, London and New York… This cultural quake will be felt most significantly in London, where deep-seated complacencies will be severely shaken.”
Lawsuit Filed Over 9 To 5
“The trust representing the late writer-director Colin Higgins has sued attorney Barry Hirsch for failing to properly represent his interests in the 9 to 5 stage musical.”
Peoria Symphony Lets Go Its Music Director
The orchestra’s board has decided not to renew the contract of conductor David Commanday, despite being pleased with his work. In fact, the board plans to reconsider whether it wants a resident conductor at all.
Some Good News: Atlanta Opera Meets Its $10.9M Goal Nine Months Early
The amount “includes more than 3,600 gifts from more than 1,500 donors.” But “[t]he organization must raise another $1.8 million to balance its budget for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.”