Monty Python alums are known for crafting diverse and successful careers, from slapstick comedy to serious filmmaking. Now, former Python Terry Jones is jumping into the opera world, directing a production in Lisbon of a new opera for which he wrote the libretto.
Author: sbergman
Curing Your Arts Addiction
Feeling overwhelmed by all the arts and culture in your life? (Okay, us neither. But let’s say you were…) Here’s an easy ten-step arts detox program that also serves as a good guide to winnowing the cultural wheat from the chaff.
Beijing’s Building Boom
With the Beijing Olympics looming, China is putting up huge new buildings at dizzying speed. What will the lasting impact be on the rising capital’s architecture? “China is currently the one nation on earth blessed with the mix of overweening ambition, brute strength and deranged self-confidence that might lead a country to build something quite as crazy as the new headquarters of China Central Television (CCTV).”
Granta At 100
“Launched in 1979 under the inspired ‘lunacy’ of Bill Buford, Granta magazine became the home of vital new writing and launched the careers of some of our greatest novelists.” Now the quarterly is celebrating 100 issues, and its rise from student publication to influential literary journal.
Expensive Start To A Big Year For Liverpool
“On the eve of Liverpool’s year in the spotlight as European Capital of Culture 2008, the city has run up a £20m debt… The deficit is so large – almost as big as the entire £22m budget for arts projects for the year – that Liverpool council has asked the government to bail it out.”
Jacksonville Lockout Drags On
It’s been nearly two months since the Jacksonville Symphony management locked out its musicians, and no progress has been made toward a settlement. More worrying, the staredown will likely make it difficult for the JSO to attract new donors and supporters even once the musicians return. And no one seems to agree on what the right recipe for fiscal stability includes.
Changing Hollywood’s View Of Women Over 40
Laura Linney is hardly a megastar, but the actress has had success in such a wide range of roles that she now finds herself being cast in parts that could be considered revolutionary: complicated women over the age of forty, who fail to fall into any of the traditional Hollywood pigeonholes.
“Onerous” Quote Reverberates In Jacksonville
Early on in the Jacksonville Symphony lockout, the orchestra’s board chair made an off-the-cuff remark to a reporter: “I really do respect our musicians, but there’s something about a 37-week year and 20 hours a week that doesn’t seem too onerous.” That sound bite has been repeated everywhere in the music world, and for the musicians, has come to symbolize a management mindset completely at odds with orchestral reality.
Jerusalem Symphony Regains Its Footing
The court-appointed receiver whose job it was to steer the cash-strapped Jerusalem Symphony out of a sea of debt has resigned his position, signaling that the JSO is once again able to function on its own. Fiscal challenges will undoubtedly continue, but for an orchestra that faced extinction only a few months ago, the announcement was cause for celebration.
Utah S&O Needs Change, And Fast
“There is no doubt that it’s time to inject some fresh blood into the [Utah Symphony & Opera.] In fact, it is long overdue… Too often in the 5 1/2 years since the symphony and opera merged has the musicians’ input been neglected or been merely given token consideration… Selecting a new music director also needs to be done carefully, although time is running out to find [Keith] Lockhart’s successor.”