An exhibition shared between the Sackler Gallery in Washington and the Seattle Art Museum “reveals for the first time a virtually unknown school of monumental Hindu painting on paper that thrived from the 1720s to the mid-19th century. Not even specialized scholars had set eyes on the 60 works from the Marwar area, now part of the state of Rajasthan, that are preserved in the Mehrangarh Museum in the Fort of Jodhpur. The loan of important unpublished works of art by an Indian institution to a Western museum is a first in international museum relations.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Scottish Ballet Getting A Home Of Their Own
After years of rehearsing in a rundown old army drill hall, Scottish Ballet is getting ready to move into a purpose-built £11m headquarters in Glasgow. “[E]veryone I ask about the move says what they’re looking forward to most is not the huge, hi-tech studios, the education suite, or health and fitness centre, but being in a building that doesn’t leak.”
Durham, NC Opens New Performing Arts Center
“The 2,800-seat, $44-million DPAC is expected to add from $7 million to $11 million annually to Durham’s economy. Its Broadway touring shows and top-tier entertainers are expected to attract ticket-buyers from a 100-mile radius that includes not just our Triangle neighbors in Raleigh, Cary and Chapel Hill, but much of the North Carolina’s bustling Piedmont.”
Ozawa’s Return To Boston
Some observers were mightily relieved when Seiji Ozawa finally stepped down from the Boston Symphony’s music directorship in 2002. But he got a mightily warm welcome from the audience when he returned to Symphony Hall this week. And that was just when he came onstage.
Clarinetist Mitchell Lurie, 86
The man whom Pablo Casals called “the ideal clarinetist,” Mitchell Lurie, died in Los Angeles at age 86. He was principal clarinet with the Pittsburgh and Chicago Symphony Orchestras in his 20s, then moved to California and became a much-sought-after soloist, chamber player and film musician. He also developed reeds, mouthpieces and ligatures that are now used worldwide.
Sole Portrait Of Lucrezia Borgia Identified
“A painting owned by the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne has been identified as a portrait of Lucrezia Borgia, an infamous figure of the Italian Renaissance. The oil painting, purchased in 1965, was formerly called Portrait of a Young Man and was thought to be by a Northern Italian painter. On Tuesday, however, the gallery announced it had discovered the painting was by famed Renaissance artist Dosso Dossi who lived 1486-1542.”
Donmar Warehouse Dominates London’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards
The little powerhouse took three big prizes: Best Director – Michael Grandage for Ivanov, Othello and The Chalk Garden; Best Actress – Margaret Tyzack and Penelope Wilton, jointly, for The Chalk Garden; and Best Actor – Chiwetel Ejiofor, beating out Kevin Spacey, Alan Rickman, Kenneth Branagh and Simon Russell Beale with his performance as Othello. Spacey received a special award for his work as director of London’s Old Vic.
And Why Did They Win Those Awards?
The Evening Standard‘s judges explain their choices.
David Lynch Gets The Deborah Solomon Treatment
DS: “Is the small screen a good format for discussing meditation?”
DL: “Any format is a good format for meditation. Every single person has within an ocean of pure vibrant consciousness.” […]
DS: “As a devotee of cultivated bliss, how do you explain the proclivity for twisted eroticism and dismembered body parts in your films?”
DL: “A filmmaker doesn’t have to suffer to show suffering. You just have to understand it. You don’t have to die to shoot a death scene.”
Mortier, Having Jilted New York, Elopes To Madrid
A mere three weeks after he pulled out of his agreement to run New York City Opera beginning next season, retiring Paris Opera director Gérard Mortier has signed on to become artistic director of the Teatro Real in Madrid, beginning in January 2010. Mortier will not hire a successor to departing music director Jesús López-Cobos, opting instead to “work with a permanent team of orchestra directors which will replace the opera house’s musical director position.”