“In Latin America, it’s said that Chile produces poets, Argentina produces short story writers, Mexico produces novelists, and Uruguay produces ‘los raros‘ — the strange ones.” And, writes his translator, Annie McDermott, “[Mario] Levrero was a raro of the highest order.” – Literary Hub
Author: Matthew Westphal
How Shakespeare By And For The Inebriated (Actors And Audience) Went From Fringe To Franchise
“Imagine Macbeth, but with a five-person cast that includes an inebriated actor in the title role. Add a prop dildo, an interpretive dance break and the president’s rousing speech from Independence Day. For the witches’ brew, stir together samples from the plentiful cocktails poured for audience members.” – The New York Times
Pennsylvania Ballet Adopts New Ranking System, And Lots Of Dancers Get Promotions
“Artistic director Ángel Corella has … add[ed] demi-soloist and first soloist levels to the mix. PAB now joins a handful of other U.S. companies, including Miami City Ballet, Houston Ballet, Ballet West and Tulsa Ballet, that have adopted a more European-style, multi-tiered ranking system.” – Pointe Magazine
Meet The Woman Who’s (Finally) Taking The Helm Of The National Ballet Of Cuba From Alicia Alonso
“Over the years, rumors of possible successors have surfaced and vanished, as [the now-98-year-old] Ms. Alonso, at least partially blind since the 1940s, talked of living to 200. But her grip has finally loosened. In January, the Cuban ministry of culture appointed Viengsay Valdés, the Ballet Nacional’s 42-year-old prima ballerina, as the troupe’s deputy artistic director … She is now responsible for all artistic decisions: programming, casting, promotions.” – The New York Times
Planned New Airport For Machu Picchu Horrifies Archaeologists, Historians
“Bulldozers are already scraping clear millions of tonnes of earth in Chinchero, a picturesque Inca town about 3,800 metres above sea level that is the gateway to the Sacred Valley.” Says one Peruvian art historian, “This is a built landscape; there are terraces and routes which were designed by the Incas. Putting an airport here would destroy it.'” – The Guardian
Pennsylvania Is Helping Pay For The Philadelphia Orchestra’s China Tour. What Do State Taxpayers Get Out Of It?
Basically, as one executive put it, “there are two Philadelphia brands the Chinese respect — the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the Philadelphia Orchestra.” Classical music is often used as a conversational warm-up for business discussions in China, not unlike the way sports is used elsewhere, and, as another executive puts it, the orchestra’s tour “serve[s] as a big draw for potential Chinese investors and companies to explore investment opportunities in the Philadelphia area.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Fired Brown University Conductor Files Racial Discrimination Complaint With State Panel
Brandon Keith Brown took up his position as conductor of the Brown University Orchestra in September of 2017; within six weeks, and shortly before his first scheduled concert leading the group, he was dismissed amid student complaints of intimidating and abusive behavior. Mr. Brown argues that the university fired him because he is black, and he has filed a case with the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights. – Providence Journal
Jeff Koons Once Again Holds Record For Most Expensive Work By A Living Artist
Sold for $91.1 million, “Rabbit, a stainless steel casting of an inflatable rabbit, was the star of [Christie’s] spring sale and overtook the previous record set by British painter David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), which sold last November at Christie’s for $90.3 million.” – Yahoo! (AFP)
Weinstein Company (As In Harvey) Files For Bankruptcy Liquidation
“In a bankruptcy filing on Tuesday, lawyers for the studio … said it was burning through what little cash it had left. … The Weinstein Company has been negotiating for more than a year with insurers, creditors and women who have sued for compensation for abuse, and the filing could be legal maneuvering intended to speed up a resolution.” – The New York Times
The Arts Funder Created To Get Away From The Culture Wars Fought Over The NEA
In 2006, weary of the endless political battles over the NEA and worried about the cuts to its funding, the Ford, Prudential, Rockefeller, and Rasmuson Foundations joined forces to create a private-sector equivalent, United States Artists. Says former chair Susan Berresford, “There was an idea that outside the government, there could be an endowment to free yourself from understandable political pressures [in order] to take some risks.” – New York Observer