New Cairo City, currently under construction on the edge of the metro area, about 25 miles from central Cairo, will become Egypt’s administrative center; the “city of arts and culture” within it, to be completed in 2022, will have a 2,000-seat opera house, two other theaters for music and drama, cinemas, museums, art galleries, and libraries. While Egyptian arts figures welcome the facilities, they’re warning that audiences won’t come from the old city unless the government makes sure there are things worth seeing. – Al-Monitor
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Maverick Conductor Teodor Currentzis Stomps Away From His Russian Home Base
The Greek-born maestro, a naturalized Russian citizen, has been getting plenty of love-it-or-hate-it attention for recordings (particularly of Mozart operas) with his period-orchestra-and-chorus MusicAeterna. Since 2011, he and his ensemble have been in residence at the State Opera and Ballet in the Urals city of Perm. Now they’re leaving, with Currentzis complaining of lack of understanding and interference from local and regional politicians: “Without their complete lack of understanding, the absence of all reverence and sensitivity, I would never have summoned the strength to make the decision to abandon my heavenly kingdom [at the opera house].” (in German; Google Translate version here) – Musik Heute (Germany)
Blind Dance Company brings talent into the light
“The Blind Dance Company currently has ten blind dancers, some of whom lost their eyesight later in life. ‘Many blind people love to dance, and stopped dancing when losing their sight,’ [company founder Hydeia] Muhammad said. ‘I teach blind dancers the same way I teach any clients. I feel like it’s easier to teach blind dancers because they’re not trying to figure out what’s happening ahead of time. They kind of relax and let the physical guidance teach them.'” – CBS
The Irish Film Industry Has Grown Up. So What Does It Mean To Be An “Irish” Film?
“To resist globalisation, we need to insist on the importance of the local, whether that’s local food, local dialects, local industries. At its most successful, Irish cinema tells local stories that resonate as much abroad as they do at home.” – Irish Times
Why You Choke Under Pressure
“When we are performing our normal, practiced tasks everyday, we often are – counterintuitively — not paying attention to all the little details of what we are doing; our prefrontal cortex is running largely on autopilot. But in times of intense stress, like a playoff game, major presentation, or a job interview, your prefrontal cortex can go into overdrive. When the pressure is on, we often start focusing on the step-by-step details of our performance to try and ensure an optimal outcome and, as a result, we disrupt what would have otherwise been fluid and natural.” – Harvard Business Review
La Scala Picks A New Leader
Dominique Meyer, who is French and has been director of Vienna State Opera since 2010, has been celebrated for increasing revenue at the Austrian institution at a time when many opera houses are struggling. – The New York Times
JFK’s New TWA Hotel Reminds Us When Air Travel Was Fun (And Glamorous)
Michael Kimmelman: “When was the last time you lingered for pleasure at Kennedy Airport? When was the last time you felt happy to be there? An architectural advertisement for the thrill of air travel at the sunny dawn of the jet age, Saarinen’s reincarnated terminal is an unavoidable reminder of just how sad and degrading the experience of flying has become, if you’re not rich.” – The New York Times
Climate Change Anxiety Is Finding Its Way Into More Pop Culture
“Although movies and television have long toyed with doomsday scenarios, we’re now seeing deeper, more poignant treatments of the issue, with scenes of children and young adults trying to grapple with their fears about a fast-changing world.” – Washington Post
Smithsonian Declines Senator’s Request To Remove Sackler Name Of Its Building
In a letter to Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley dated Friday, new Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III reiterated the institution’s position that it is legally bound to keep the name of the late benefactor, Arthur M. Sackler, who, in 1982, donated 1,000 objects and $4 million toward the construction of the museum. – Washington Post
Revealing Toni Morrison: A New Film Shows The Public-Averse Author
Given her absence from my generation’s digital public square, it is a gift to “see” Morrison through reflections from Angela Davis, Oprah Winfrey, the critic Hilton Als and the poet Sonia Sanchez among others. – Washington Post