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Preserving Pavarotti’s (Pretend) Perfection

Any opera buff can tell you the legendary story of the night that Pavarotti was booed off the stage at La Scala after he cracked a high note. But a new DVD release of that very performance of Verdi’s “Don Carlo” is mysteriously missing the infamous mishap. The record company EMI has, in fact, patched the offending moment with a better take. Why? Simply because they can – after all, “live performances can [now] be edited as easily as studio work.”

When A Critic Is Also The Playwright…

Ontario’s Stratford Festival is due to announce its new season soon. One of the plays under strong consideration was written by the theatre critic at Canada’s National Post newspaper. So what will this mean for critic/playwright Robert Cushman? “It’s an answered prayer for any dramatist, of course. Lights! Attention! Semi-fame! But if so, will the National Post ask Cushman to step aside as the newspaper’s Stratford critic for the 2005 season? That’s an onerous demand for a freelance writer with family to support and whose income comes story by story, but it’s one the Post and its scribe likely will have to consider.”

A Tale of Two Museums

“Two new museums open in the Washington area during the last year or so. One, in suburban Virginia a good hour’s drive from the Mall, lives up to hopeful expectations… The other museum, smack downtown and across the street from the new Convention Center, falters after just 14 months of operation… The reason for the difference? Wondrous stuff to look at — or a puzzling lack of such.”

Carnegie Hall’s New Boss

Clive Gillinson is a “singular” arts administrator who turned around the fortunes of the London Symphony Orchestra. “He persuaded a bunch of perfectly understandably cynical musicians that what they went to musical college to study, and the art form that they pursue, is central and worthy and necessary and should be performed at the highest level for the sake of itself.”

The Publishing Exec And The Great White Way

Jonathan Karp is “a baby-faced 40-year-old” who became editor-in-chief at Random House in May. He has a glittery list of authors, and Variety has also called him “one of the more visible book publishers in town.” “Still. For years and years and years, like scads of lesser-known schleps who wait tables or answer telephones, Mr. Karp dreamed of writing a musical comedy, a dream he has nourished through playwriting workshops, amateur readings and weekends and vacations devoted to lyrics and plot lines.” So he did…

The Way America Builds (Sloppily, and That’s Bad)

“As more high-profile buildings by foreign architects rise in the United States, and as computers allow architects to strive for engineering, design and construction complexities never before imagined, a gathering rumble can be heard across the profession about the way America builds. The country has garnered a reputation for overlooking gaping joints, sloppy measurements and obvious blemishes, and refusing to deviate from even the most outmoded standardized practices. Having exported its expertise, in the 80’s and early 90’s, to destinations from Singapore to Dubai, it is now facing stiff competition from Europe and Asia, where the building traditions favor singularity, craftsmanship and durability over speed and cost.”

Another Orchestra Negotiating Through The Press

Hot on the heels of the Philadelphia Orchestra management’s nearly unprecedented decision to speak publicly about the usually secret world of labor negotiations, the Cleveland Orchestra’s leadership has held a meeting with reporters to outline the financial position they are taking in negotiations with their own musicians. Cleveland’s ticket sales have dropped in recent years, and deficits have become the rule rather than the exception. Still, while the negotiations might be contentious, no one seems to be anticipating a strike, which has been expressed as a very real possibility by both sides in Philadelphia.

An “A” In Turntabling

“Until recently, aspiring DJ’s had to rely on a combination of osmosis and experimentation: you’d take mental notes at nightclubs, then you’d retreat to your room and keep practicing until you got the hang of it. Now, more and more people are learning how to DJ in classrooms. The turntable may be the most important musical instrument of the current era — it’s certainly the most ubiquitous — so it’s only fitting that turntable conservatories are starting to emerge.”

Why National Anthems Suck

Why are so many national anthems so horrendous from a musical standpoint. More importantly, why do so many sound the same (stilted and overly formal) and so few reflect the cultural heritage of the country they celebrate? “Even the recent anthems of the post-colonial nations are mostly pompous dirges. Ironically, a 19th-century European flavour was seen as having the correct seriousness for a new country. Like other symbols of state, such as uniforms and titles, the main idea seemed to be to boost the mystique and authority of the state. Creativity and enjoyment took a back seat.”