Terry Teachout on John Simon: “As the saying goes, John Simon has forgotten more about theater than I’ll ever know. For all the controversies he stirred up over the years, he was and is a critic of the very first rank, not least because of his ability to place what he sees on stage in so wide and deeply informed a cultural context. Even when I disagree with him, I take no one else’s opinions as seriously.”
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Stearns: Garner Opera Works
Michigan Opera Theatre created a lot of buzz about its Richard Danielpour/Toni Morrison opera “Margaret Garner”, writes David Stearns. “It’ll do fine (I think). Dramaturgical lapses are there, but the strengths of Margaret Garner are so considerable and wide-ranging that the piece is legitimately destined to make new friends for opera without alienating old ones.”
Philadelphia Orchestra President Steps Down
Joe Kluger is stepping down as president of the Philadelphia Orchestra after 16 years. “Kluger’s tenure makes him the second-longest current chief of a major American orchestra (after Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra president Steven Monder), according to the American Symphony Orchestra League. Kluger, 50, said that he will take on a consulting role with Adrian Ellis, whose firm, AEA Consulting, specializes in facilities and operational issues for arts groups. Kluger said that he does not know if that will be a short- or long-term step in his career.”
Alberta Museum Gets $150 Million Overhaul
Alberta’s provincial music is to get a $150 million update and a new name in honor of the Canadian province’s 100th anniversary. “The money, to be spent over the next five years, will be used to update and renew the museum, which will also be christened with a new name – the Royal Alberta Museum – when the Queen visits Alberta later this month.”
The Best In UK Classical?
What (and who) was best in Brish classical music this year? The Royal Philharmonic Society makes its annual awards…
Picking The Tonys
Who will win this year’s Tony Awards? Terry Teachout handicaps the field…
The Genius Of the City
“Humankind’s greatest creation has always been its cities. They represent the ultimate handiwork of our imagination as a species, compressing and unleashing the creative urges of humanity. From the earliest beginnings, when only a tiny fraction of humans lived in cities, they have been the places that generated most of mankind’s art, religion, culture, commerce, and technology.”
Art Of The (Movie) Deal
Why do movies cost so much to make? “The art of the deal has come to replace the art of movies. To understand how the new Hollywood really works, one need only read stars’ contracts…”
Why Theatre?
“Agreed, commercial theatre is too expensive. And, agreed, theatre, unlike TV and film, doesn’t always look like ‘real life’. And, yes, theatre can seem middle class and unexciting – particularly when, like these critics, you judge the entire art form on the basis of a few middle-of-the-road West End examples. Theatre, though, is alive. The performers are right there, their awfulness (if awful they be) as hard to avoid as beads of their sweat and spittle. Other people are there too, in the audience next to you. Theatre is an inescapably communal, corporeal experience.”
Playwright Turns Down Prize
Quebec playwright Wajdi Mouawad has turned down the prestigious Molière theatre prize to honour the greatest living francophone writer. “He declined the award, given for his play Littoral, saying the gesture was a protest against the indifference theatre directors have displayed toward his work.”