After a 26 year absence, New York City Ballet is returning to Chicago, and will appear at the harris Theatre. “The announcement is historic on a number of levels. In addition to a long-overdue return by a great troupe, the plans signal a new era for the 2 1/2-year-old Harris, venturing into new territory as a presenter of its own attractions. Opened in fall 2003 as a rental house, mostly for local companies, the theater, part of Millennium Park, did not sponsor presentations itself. Now, that’s changing in a blockbuster way.”
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The Online Novel – Just A Gimmick?
Walter Kirn is writing a novel online, in real time. But is there any advantage to this, wonders Sven Birkets. “The traditional aim of art, in response to deeply planted human needs, has from the first been fundamentally contemplative. The work offers a deliberate distancing from the chaos and turbulence of the immediate and allows the reader or viewer to process its tensions through the recognition of underlying patterns.”
Soprano To The Met In 18 Months (Years)
For 16 years, Erika Sunnegardh studied singing, but didn’t get very far. Then in 2004 the Swedish-American soprano made her professional debut. Eighteen months later, she’s on stage at the Metropolitan Opera…
Report: Majority Of Those Who Use Subtitles Aren’t Deaf
A new study of British TV viewing habits reports that of the 7.5 million people who use TV subtitles, six million have no hearing impairment at all. “The problem with subtitles is once discovered they can be incredibly hard to let go of. Their value extends to a rich variety of TV-watching scenarios.”
Architecture In Adversity (Good For New Orleans?)
The reconstruction of New Orleans is a mess. But maybe that’s good for architecture, writes Chris Hawthorne. “Without Category 5 levees, wetlands restoration along the Gulf Coast or a forward-thinking planning strategy in place, homeowners who choose to rebuild will have to acknowledge the possibility of future flooding in every design decision. And if they approach the reconstruction process with that level of wariness — with their eyes wide open — they will be tapping into a rich architectural tradition in this city, odd as that may sound.”
In Baghdad, A Museum Waits For Peace
Though it has been repaired, baghdad’s national Museum has not reopened. “Even with thousands of pieces still missing, the museum houses an extraordinary collection by any standard. What is lacking is the peace it needs to admit the public. ‘When a museum is reopened, it means that peace has come.’ For now, it is a hollow place, devoid of life, empty of discourse. This echoing museum at the heart of Baghdad – that is to say, at the heart of the American project in Iraq – is an image of hope frustrated.”
Dominic Dromgoole On His Life
“Well, I was thinking about how I had developed as a person,” Dromgoole says. “And in the absence of religion, which we never had very explicitly as a family, and in the absence of politics, which I didn’t develop until I was older, and in the absence of obsessions like football, the largest voice of authority and the most important thing by which I could try to discover who I was and what I felt — well, that was Shakespeare.”
Museums – Like It? Buy It
By nature, many of us are pack rats and want to collect souvenirs wherever we go. Museums are picking up on this in a big way; most have gift shops that swell the bottom line. But a number of museums are also commissioning artists and selling the artwork…
Utah Symphony and Opera Turns A Corner?
A year ago, the fortunes of the Utah Symphony and Opera were on the rocks, and the organization looked in peril. “The outlook for the USO is now ‘cautiously optimistic,’ words recited like a mantra by management, musicians and patrons alike. Indeed, there is reason for hope: Ticket sales are up and donations are rising. But the institution isn’t in the clear yet. Administrators need to keep the numbers moving upward and grapple with ongoing challenges.”
Peru Wants Machu Picchu Artifacts Returned
Peru is seeking to get artifacts from Machu Picchu housed at Yale, returned. “When Yale launched a major touring exhibition featuring the artifacts three years ago, the Peruvian government started negotiations to get them back. Yale offered to divide the items up and help Peru install its share in a museum near the site. Peruvian officials would not agree to any joint projects until Yale acknowledged that all of the objects belong to the Peruvian people. Yale refused.”