Author: Matthew Westphal

Ten-Year Restoration Of Tutankhamen’s Tomb Is Finally Complete

“In 2009, with help from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, the [Getty Conservation Institute] brought in a team of environmental engineers, architects and designers to improve the tomb’s infrastructure, an Egyptologist to conduct background research, microbi­ologists to study the brown spots, and conservators to treat the walls. Together, they carried out the most intensive study and restoration of the tomb since [Howard Carter discovered it in 1922].” — Hyperallergic

#MeToo And Mozart: Do ‘Don Giovanni’ And ‘The Marriage Of Figaro’ Glorify Predators?

“Many critics feel that [these operas] glorify the repugnant behavior and patriarchal values they depict — and question their place in the repertoire”, writes Frankfurt-based violinist Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch. Not surprisingly, for those who know the operas, Rauch makes the case that Mozart is solidly on the side of his female characters, but her argument and analysis are good. (Unfortunately, she doesn’t address Così fan tutte, which is a trickier case.) — Slate

Long-Stalled Plans For New Vancouver Art Gallery Back On Track With $40M Gift; Herzog And De Meuron Design Revealed

The project for a new building for the museum, first launched in 2008, has been revived from the Chan family, prominent Vancouver philanthropists who gave the anchor donation for what’s now the Chan Center for the Performing Arts. This new gift is the largest private one for arts and culture in the history of British Columbia. At the announcement, updated designs by Herzog & de Meuron were presented, showing a building clad in vertical glass logs and wood. — Vancouver Sun

Producers Try Out French-Language Mega-Musical In West End, Using With Opera-Style Surtitles

“The musical Notre Dame de Paris” — aka “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” — has been a hit around the world since it opened in France in 1998. But, in London two years later, the critics savaged the English-language version. Now, a producer is taking the bold step of bringing it back to London — but in the original French. The secret, he says, is in the surtitles.” — BBC

Mellon Foundation Gives $1.25M To Increase Diversity In Academic Publishing

“The [four-year] program offers apprenticeships in acquisitions departments at six university presses: the University of Washington Press, the MIT Press, Cornell University Press, the Ohio State University Press, University of Chicago Press, and Northwestern University Press. The grant will provide for three annual cycles of editorial fellows at those presses.” — Publishers Weekly