“The house, complete with its miniature furniture and dolls, is one lot in a two-day auction of the private collection of antique dealer Roger Warner… The Christie’s auction, which also features a piece of lace torn from a church altar by Oliver Cromwell and a desk chair used by William Wordsworth, has attracted 150,000 visitors to the online catalogue – the highest ever for a sale.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Jean Nouvel Covers A Building In Blue Velvet
Okay, it’s not velvet – it’s a translucent fabric sheath stretched over the external frame of Nouvel’s new Copenhagen Concert Hall. During the day you can see silhouettes of the people inside; at night, it’s lit a bright cobalt blue with a montage of projected video images. Nicolai Ouroussoff calls the result “one of the most gorgeous buildings I have recently seen.”
Gérard Mortier Speaks!
The man who’s spent the past six months roiling the opera world talks about abandoning his New York City Opera job (“I accepted some sacrifices, but there are limits”), his take on that company’s future (“I’m afraid it will disappear”), his bid to run Bayreuth (“a question of principle”), and the great flaw of the French. And he’s very proud of what he achieved at the Paris Opera (lower ticket prices, a younger audience, and a ticket sales rate of 92%).
Stephen Sondheim Lets Fly
He had plenty to say to Frank Rich the other night in a 90-minute chat at Avery Fisher Hall. On Ethel Merman: “We found out later that she could act.” On Spanish in West Side Story: “The Sharks now sound more authentic than the Jets.” On critics: “Musicals are the only art form reviewed by ignoramuses.” And the man hates South Pacific: “It’s the happiest war I’ve ever seen.” (By the way, he says Bobby in Company is definitely not gay.)
Hear Patti Lose It On Stage!
As AJ’s own Amanda Ameer blogged last week, Patti LuPone – in her next-to-last Broadway performance in one of the crowning roles of her career, as Mama Rose in Gypsy – stopped in the middle of her big 11 o’clock number and blew her stack at an audience member taking pictures. Now there’s live audio on YouTube.
How Books Changed Barack Obama
Michiko Kakutani: “But his appreciation of the magic of language and his ardent love of reading have not only endowed him with a rare ability to communicate his ideas to millions of Americans while contextualizing complex ideas about race and religion, they have also shaped his sense of who he is and his apprehension of the world.”
Something Useful To Do With Those Publishers’ Clearing House Thingies
Texas artist Annette Lawrence has taken a year’s worth of junk mail, cut it into two-inch strips, stacked and bound it, and called it art. And she’s charging $10,000 for a month’s worth. (The Dallas Museum of Art has already bought December.)
National Ballet Of Canada Lures Hometown Hero From Stuttgart
“Toronto-born Jason Reilly studied at the city’s National Ballet School before jetting off to the Stuttgart Ballet for a 12-year stint, where he leapt from the corps de ballet to demi-soloist to principal dancer.” He begins as a principal dancer in Toronto as of the 2009-10 season.
As Obama Ascends To Office, Contemporary Chamber Music Plays
“So President Obama’s administration was ushered in with a new chamber music work by a living American composer. Classical singers have performed for inaugurations in recent decades. But to have a new instrumental piece played was most unusual, something that should gratify classical music lovers.”
Susanna Foster, 84, Star of 1943 Phantom Of The Opera
She could mimic Jeanette Macdonald at age 3, was groomed for child stardom at MGM alongside Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, turned down the role in National Velvet that went to Elizabeth Taylor, played the prima donna in the first talkie version of Phantom, and did musicals and operetta with her husband, baritone Wilbur Evans.