Svetlana Zakharova is the Bolshoi Ballet’s reigning star. “In the flesh, it’s hard not to be a little dazzled by Zakharova’s improbably fine features and impossibly big blue eyes – but these are merely the finishing touches of a long, strong, beautifully proportioned body that’s one of the great balletic instruments of our times. On stage, such is her athleticism and purity of line, that one doubts she has ever found anything difficult. Is this true?”
Blog
Thinking About It (The Real Theatre)
On London Stages this summer the interior side of acting is on show. “In a season rich with A-list actors giving bright external life to the shadows of the human mind, it is often — more than anything that is actually done or even said — the thought that counts.”
What’s A Memoir Without Some Pain And Suffering?
“Contemporary memoirs tend to be either convalescent or nostalgic in mood. Suffering produces meaning. Life is what happens to you, not what you do. Victim and hero are one. Hence the preponderance of memoirs having to do with mental illness, sexual and other violence, drug and alcohol addiction, bad parents and/or mad or missing loved ones.”
Choreographers Of The World’s Most-Seen Dance
Rich and Tone Talauega are “two of the most sought-after choreographers for television commercials, which makes them two of the most important and influential choreographers in the world: in the course of just 30 seconds, their work will reach millions of people, far more than ever see even the most successful theatrical dance production. And for their labors they’re paid far more than a theatrical production could manage: upwards of $3,000 a day.”
The Essence Of The Literary Magazine
“Where indeed in the independent ‘little’ literary magazines does the pleasure lie? The exercise of judgment, the settling of scores, the advocacy or the pillorying of the new: each magazine has an area of rhetorical specialism, a politics, and advances or counters the interests of a movement or a generation. In the past three decades, which magazines have made a substantial mark, a difference, a contribution?”
Chihuly Lawsuit Poses Ownership Questions
A lawsuit brought by glass artist Dale Chihuly against a former employee raises “intriguing questions about what makes any artist’s work unique, what qualifies as inspiration and what defines a mere knock-off.” The ex-employee’s dealer “expects the suit to cost him $1.6 million. He says the suit already has cost him a lot of business, including a cancelled deal with Costco stores to produce a special line of sea shapes for $550 a pop.”
Atlanta Opera Quits City, Moves To Suburbs
“Beginning in fall 2007, it will make the new arts center’s 2,750-seat Williams Theatre its home. The move is historic: It marks the first time a major-city opera company will leave its established location within a city and move all its performances to a suburb, according to Opera America, a service organization based in New York. And though metro Atlanta’s reputation may be that of one large, sprawling landmass, for the opera, being in Cobb County could present an uncertain bundle of financial, sociological and political ramifications.”
Atlanta Opera Cuts Back Programming, Sells Headquarters
The company will “sell its Midtown headquarters for $4 million and make significant cutbacks in its programming. The moves will allow the 27-year-old opera company to pay off its $2.85 million debt and trim back its annual budget by $1 million. The actions come on the heels of its historic decision last month to move its performances from Midtown’s Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center to the new Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in 2007.”
Where The Population Is Declining
World population growth is a big problem. But “forty-three of the 193 nations around the world will register a decline in population by 2050. Russia’s population is expected to decline by a staggering 31 million, from 143 million people to 112 million people. Alcohol is one of the main factors contributing to this decline, primarily among men. It is accountable for the world’s largest life expectancy gap between men and women in any country. On average, Russian men can expect to live only to the age of 55.”
Why Opera Languishes In Boston
“Twice in the past, Boston has arrived at the top level of international opera, with a combination of adventurous repertoire, major singers, and theatrically exciting productions. This occurred early in the 20th century at the old Boston Opera House on Huntington Avenue, and later on with the late Sarah Caldwell. But this can’t even be a goal nowadays for two basic reasons: There isn’t the money for it because of competition for funding with older and more prestigious arts organizations such as the BSO. And there isn’t a suitable venue.”