“Here’s a great photo that Getty photographer Paul Kane snapped at Perth’s North Cottesloe Beach earlier this week. The performance features musicians from the West Australian Symphony Orchestra playing their own instruments in the surf. It’s apparently the latest in a series of ‘surreal human sculptures’ by artist Andrew Baines.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Be Careful What You Ask For (And From Whom)
Seattle artist and political/social activist Deborah Lawrence was one of several hundred artists invited to create ornaments for this year’s White House holiday tree. Her submission was the only one rejected. The reason: her ornament (to the surprise of nobody who knew her well) was covered with tiny text calling for George Bush’s impeachment. (Laura Bush’s spokeswoman said, “I think it really is a shame and, quite frankly, not very much in the holiday spirit.”)
Yeah, Angela Gheorghiu Is A Crazed Diva, And She Doesn’t Care Who Knows It
“Gheorghiu is a bit of an anomaly on the opera scene today. She hasn’t embraced the conciliatory attitude of her colleagues… She likes to request new costumes, is honest about a performer’s desire to be adored, and when she says, ‘No comment,’ it usually means something akin to ‘We’re just getting started.'” She knows she’s called “Draculetta” and (with her husband, tenor Roberto Alagna) “the Bonnie and Clyde of opera” – and she has an enterprising response…
Original Masters Of Nellie Melba’s First Recordings Found
The gramophone era’s first female opera star made her first recordings in 1904, and the original metal masters (electroplated from the wax cylinders engraved by the machine into which she sang) have been rediscovered, stashed away deep in the Deutsche Grammophon archives. “Many were buckled and distorted, but modern techniques allow them to be restored to near-pristine condition. There’s no digital enhancing. Melba sings exactly as she would have done in her drawing room 104 years ago.”
The Secret Of Obama’s Appeal? He Stimulates Your Vagus Nerve
A psychology researcher theorizes that “when we experience transcendence, it stimulates our vagus nerve [in the autonomic nervous system], causing ‘a feeling of spreading, liquid warmth in the chest and a lump in the throat.’ For the 66 million Americans who voted for Obama, that experience was shared on Election Day, producing a collective case of an emotion that has only recently gotten research attention. It’s called ‘elevation.'”
The Fine Art Of The Rejection Letter
The editor of the book Other People’s Love Letters is seeking submissions for his latest compilation, to be titled Other People’s Rejection Letters. But one journalist and editor who used to compose and send out such rebuffs reminds us that “writing rejection letters is a delicate skill, one that must be fine-tuned over time (weeks, even) as one digs out from under the slush pile. For it is not easy to achieve and balance the two central goals of a truly accomplished rejection letter: trying not to make the writer feel distraught whilst also discouraging him or her from ever contacting you ever again.”
Cleveland Orchestra’s Bridge Fund Plugs Hole In Budget (Again)
“For the third fiscal year in a row, a Bridge Fund comprising special contributions has patched what would have been a significant hole in the [Cleveland Orchestra’s] budget. […] The Bridge Fund was a $17 million pot created in 2004-05 for the purpose of covering future deficits. It is one piece of a long-term ‘turnaround’ plan enacted that year by trustees and community leaders to stabilize the orchestra’s books… According to the plan, the orchestra aims to balance its books without the fund beginning in 2010.”
Theatre Online, V. 2.0
“The New York-based Ontological-Hysteric Theatre is in the process of rehearsing its new show, Astronome – A Night at the Opera, and will be streaming its rehearsals online every Wednesday evening until the show opens. This idea has excited bloggers stateside. George Hunka says, ‘It’s a unique offering from two unique theatre and music artists… watch Foreman, his cast and his crew create a new work before your very eyes. You want the theatrical process available through the internet, you’ve got it.”
Nude Artists’ Models Speak Out!
A few of the hard-working folks who get naked and sit still for art students discuss the requirements, pains and pleasures of the job.
Donor Pulls Ballet BC From The Brink
“An anonymous benefactor has chipped in C$42,000 to give 1,000 children a rare holiday treat while saving Ballet BC from imminent financial collapse.” The donor bought and donated 1,000 tickets for the company’s annual Nutcracker presentation (performed by the Moscow Classical Ballet); the income should ensure that the Vancouver company can rehire its dancers for the spring 2009 season.