It’s exactly 100 years since Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) was born. “Today Dr. Seuss’s 44 books have been translated into 21 languages, selling more than 500 million copies. ‘We’re even in Braille,’ Ms. Geisel said from her home here, an old observation tower overlooking the Pacific, where her husband did his illustrations. A private man, during his lifetime Geisel never sold his art; he was a pack rat who hoarded everything.”
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Bashing The Women’s Magazines
Myrna Blyth used to edit the Ladies Home Journal magazine. Now she’s written a book that criticizes the whole genre of women’s magazines. “It is the most sustained attack on women’s magazines since Gloria Steinem started Ms. in 1972 and suggested that the typical women’s magazine was just a “survival kit” for the unliberated and edited for advertisers, not readers. But Ms. Blyth’s book is all the more powerful because it comes from someone who until recently reigned as one of the queens of women’s magazines, selling millions of copies with the same practices she now finds so distasteful.”
Berlin’s New Operatic Reality
Berlin can no longer afford three opera houses, funded in the manner they traditionally have been. But it couldn’t close any of them either. “The solution that has now been imposed by the Berlin Senate, amid squeals of dismay and sighs of resignation, was predictable. The three opera houses — the Deutsche Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Deutsche Oper and the Komische Oper — will remain open, but they must cut costs, including 220 jobs, and learn to live on smaller subsidies. They are also to share workshops, and will shortly merge their three ballet companies into a single Staatsballett Berlin.”
Cleveland Orchestra Boss Steps Down After 17 Years
After 17 years as executive director, Thomas Morris leaves the Cleveland Orchestra. “Morris’ tenure in Cleveland strikingly reflects the paradoxes that surround world-class orchestras. Sublime artistic accomplishments are accompanied by endless financial challenges and sometimes heated relations between musicians, conductors and management.”
Art Of The Terminally Ill
A new British festival staged by the terminally ill involves 250 people “ranging in age from 20 to 80, sufferers from cancer, HIV/Aids, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis and other incurable conditions. “Among the works awaiting audiences at the Rosetta: Live! festival will be 15 videos made by amateur film-makers, most of whom are no longer alive. There will be performances, music, a mural, installations, workshops, collaborations with established artists including Mike Figgis, the director of Leaving Las Vegas, and talks by experts such as Dr Oliver Sacks.”
The ENO’s Coliseum – Nice To Look At, Hard To Hear
The English National Opera moves back into its home at the Coliseum, but the critics are kept away. Still, Peter Jessup gets a peek inside, and reports that the makeover of the theatre is quite handsome. But up in the higher balcony, it’s still difficult to hear what’s going on…
The ENO’s New Era Begins (Haltingly)
Friday night, the English National Opera finally got to play in its newly refurbished home, after a long delay. “The good news is that the performance finally went ahead, the first building block in the first ENO Ring for more than a quarter of a century. The bad news is that, at the last moment, ENO told opera critics to stay away, citing inadequate stage preparation time since the company reclaimed its home theatre this month after an eight-month refit.”
The New Irish Chicks
“The young women of Ireland are storming the global market for ‘chick-lit’. A new breed of Irish female authors in their 20s and 30s, from both Northern Ireland and the Republic, have become hot properties and publishers like Penguin are queueing for their signatures.”
Can A New “Serious” Newspaper Find An Audience In Britain?
What has happened to serious British newspapers? They’ve dumbed down. “It is undeniable that our broadsheet newspapers are a good deal less serious-minded (without being any wittier) than they were little more than a decade ago. No doubt most readers are perfectly happy with this state of affairs, but not everyone is. The question is how many people really yearn for a grown-up newspaper that provides honest reporting and intelligent commentary without the trivia and pap that is generally also served up.” Stephen Glover thinks there’s an audience of about 100,000, so he’s raising money to give it a try.
La Scala’s Grand Makeover
The fix-up of La Scala opera house should be completed by November 10. “The new architecture includes a striking elliptical extension rising from the classical building. The new stage tower is 2.4 metres taller than its predecessor, while the stage area will be twice the size at 1,600 square metres. The rebuild will allow La Scala to mount no less than three different productions simultaneously.”