No, theatre and dance and opera and concerts won’t be returning in the autumn. “‘I am 100 percent confident that it is not happening,’ said Nancy Umanoff, Mark Morris’s executive director. For many dance companies, that means giving up on lucrative holiday season performances of The Nutcracker, a crucial best seller that, for example, brings in 45 percent of New York City Ballet’s annual ticket sales.” Here’s what may happen for dance, and all of the other performing arts as well. – The New York Times
Author: ArtsJournal2
The Case For Letting The Restaurant Industry Die
Does this have implications for other systems that aren’t working well for the people who actually do the work? Perhaps. At the least, the industry “offers a very important lens to examine the choices that we make.” – The New Yorker
Is It Time To Change The Academy Awards To Recognize Streaming-Only Films?
Not just for this year, when the change makes sense due to the coronavirus, but forever? Well, says one critic, “I believe there’s something sacred in the moviegoing experience that I can’t re-create at home. And relaxing Oscar rules risks chipping away at the institution you and I hold dear: going to see movies in the dark, on the big screen, among crowds, where they hold our undivided attention — as opposed to competing with incoming emails, phone calls and other distractions. But the truth is … the Academy risks irrelevance when it stands in the way.” – Variety
Interracial Romance Gets A Little More Real In Recent Shows And Movies
And that’s partly because of who’s controlling the narrative. There’s a small, but perhaps growing, “cultural trend in which black women, especially those of medium-to-dark-brown complexions — long positioned at the bottom of the aesthetic and social hierarchy in the United States because of racist standards — are increasingly appearing as leading ladies and romantic ideals in interracial relationships onscreen. In some cases, these are works created by black women themselves.” – The New York Times
What’s Next For The Arts In Britain?
The director of the National Theatre and the Tate convened (by screen, natch) to figure it out. “At the beginning, it was shocking but people thought the crisis would last three weeks. Possibly six. Now we’re at a moment where we have to think about more than the recovery of individual institutions and our sectors. We’ve got to start thinking: how do we shape the world for the new normal? The pressures we’re under – financial, practical and emotional – mean we’ll not be the same on the other side.” – The Observer (UK)
John Macurdy, American Bass Who Sang More Than 1000 Performances At The Met, Has Died At 91
Macurdy’s rich voice and stage presence won him accolades over his 38-year career at the Met. “Though he achieved success in key roles like Gurnemanz in Wagner’s Parsifal, King Marke in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and Sarastro in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Mr. Macurdy proved essential to the house for his standout performances of supporting roles, including the Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, which he sang 75 times at the Met; Daland in Wagner’s Der Fliegender Holländer; the King of Egypt in Verdi’s Aida; and many more.” – The New York Times
English Landscapes And Landmarks Inspired Important Spots In Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Ring
Perhaps that’s obvious, but a new book “will argue that many assumptions previously made about the origins of scenes from the sagas are wrong.” – The Observer (UK)
The Future Of Filmmaking
Some things may change until there’s a vaccine – constant testing, small pods of workers instead of a huge crew, no craft services table – but others, like board meetings by Zoom, are here to stay. Director/producer Frank Marshall; “I know there’s a future, I know we will get through this, but the big question is when.” – Los Angeles Times
A Song Criticizing A Politician Tops The Charts In Poland – And Moments Later, It’s Completely Disappeared
Kazik Staszewski is a rock legend in Poland, and his song, “Your Pain Is Better than Mine,” hit a chord last week – or perhaps too many chords when it hit number 1 on a popular show. “Within minutes of the show ending, the results disappeared from the website of the show’s state-run broadcaster. Mr. Staszewski’s anthem had vanished, along with the rest of the chart.” One of the radio station’s many now-resigned hosts says, “even the Communist regime had more respect for the freedom of speech at Trojka than the current government has.” – The New York Times
Turmoil And Rancor Strike The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, With Calls For The Board And Managing Director To Resign
The musicians asked to take a 50 percent pay cut. Instead, while two-thirds of the administrative staff stayed on with a 20 percent pay cut, “the board opted to temporarily stand down its musicians and put them on the federal government’s JobKeeper program in response to the financial impact of COVID-19.” The musicians are not fond of this plan. – Sydney Morning Herald