A spokesman for the opera in London’s Covent Garden confirmed on Sunday that Voigt had been dropped from the lead role in a summer 2004 production of Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne on Naxos” and that the reason was her size. The spokesman, Christopher Millard, said Sunday that casting director Peter Katona had selected a black evening dress for the part and believed Voigt would not look right in it.” Still, says the company, Covent Garden hopes Voigt will consent to perform there again in the future
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Amis Available – No Big Bidding War
Martin Amis is a certified literary star. But his latest book was a critical failure and a dud in the bookstore. And now? Amis is without publisher, and available…
UK Museums – Victims Of Their Own Success
So UK museums want a big block of added government funding. There’s something horribly familiar about this cri de coeur, heard again and again from different parts of the arts community over the years. But they do have a strong case. Since the government-directed abolition of admission charges in 2001, museums have become victims of their own success.” Millions more are coming through the doors, and it’s put a strain on museums.
Hip-Hop Under Police Stakeout
“The Miami and Miami Beach police have a black ring-binder six inches thick that starts with 50 Cent and ends with Ja Rule. In between come photographs, arrest records and other information on all the other major rappers in the US, from P Diddy to DMX. The police photograph them arriving at Miami airport, stake out hotels and video shoots and scrutinise their lyrics and connections in search of hints of potential violent conflict. It is the latest development in a nationwide effort to place every aspect of hip-hop culture under state surveillance.”
Welsh Opera Slashes Ticket Prices
When an arts organization moves into a shiny new home, it often takes the opportunity to boost ticket prices. Not the Welsh National Opera, though. They’re lowering the tariff to get in. “Top price tickets will be cut by 25% to £35, while cheapest seats will cost as little as £5, a reduction of 37%. The WNO say the increased seating capacity at the new venue makes this possible.”
Giving Weight To The Issue Of Opera Singers
Does being fat help opera singers? “Despite the success of a few far-from-slender singers—Luciano Pavarotti being the most conspicuous example—there is no scientific evidence to suggest that greater mass allows for better range, breath control, or projection without microphones. Nevertheless, heavy opera singers tend to believe their weight aids them. And since singing, like any other human talent, is greatly affected by the performer’s comfort and state of mind, a soprano who believes that her heft helps her with tricky arias may actually give a better performance.”
Art From The Racist Point Of View
There is plenty of art done from the victim’s point of view. But what about art from the racist’s point of view? A Seattle artist has made work explores racism from the oppressor’s point of view. His “flat style — a blend of American Pop and Japanese ukiyo-e or “floating world” graphics — gets inside his hot subject and gives it a deadpan edge.”
First A Helping Hand, Then A Slap To The Face
Back in January, the Toronto city council voted almost unanimously to move the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art from its current home in North York to the center of a growing arts district in the city’s downtown. But budget crunches are forcing the city to cut back all over, and one of the items slated for a serious fiscal blow is the MCCA’s budget. Under the current plan before the council, the museum would lose more than a third of its annual budget, which will force it to curtail most of its programming for the year.
Modernism Meets The Assembly Line
“What if modern architecture could meet up frankly, honestly with mass production the way that French architect Le Corbusier imagined it? What if you could actually afford to buy a house by award-winning architects? If the project of modernism took hold, North America might start to look like a place of gritty, tenacious promise and less like a bad copy of its past. To help undo the prevailing nostalgia for architecture, in which new houses typically look as dated as top hats and waistcoats, there is the Royal Q series of modernist homes or cottages designed by Kohn Shnier Architects.”
Audition Horror Stories
There may be no more stressful way to job hunt than to take an audition for a big-time orchestra. Flying around the country at your own expense for the chance to play the hardest excerpts in the orchestral repertoire for three minutes, before being summarily dismissed by a disembodied voice – it’s not the most relaxing job interview environment. So you can imagine how Boston-based violist Karina Schmitz felt at her last two auditions: the first in Detroit, where airline mishaps got her to the hall after a night of unscheduled flights around the Midwest; and the second in Los Angeles, where the power on stage went out as she was playing her concerto.