The re-opening of the London Coliseum following a 4-year, £41 million renovation will take place at the end of February, and despite some last-minute technical glitches, “advance word is that the project will prove a big success, restoring the original kitschy splendours of Frank Matcham’s 1904 architecture.” But Rupert Christiansen writes that even the most successful renovation imaginable will not make the Coliseum a truly great opera house, and London has yet to make good on any of the plans devised over the years to erect one. Still, new opera houses are a tough sell with the public these days, so the Coliseum may be as good as Londoners are ever going to get.
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Looking For History In A Single Photo
“A horrific photograph of an execution in eastern Europe during the second world war can be seen in Holocaust archives and museums around the world. But who are the killers, who are the victims, who took it – and why?” The date and location given for the photo are misleading, for there were supposedly no Jews left in the identified town at the time, and in fact, no historian has been able to positively identify the victims as Jews, or their tormentors as Nazis. One researcher has devoted years to finding the answers, and all she has discovered is that the Holocaust remains simultaneously one of the most well-documented and murkiest events in human history.
Maybe It’s Time To Start Searching Toronto Frat Houses
The ivory miniatures stolen from the Art Gallery of Ontario ten days ago are now the subject of an international police alert, and the company which insures them is offering 10% of their considerable value in return for information leading to their recovery. The ivories were on loan to the AGO from UK publishing magnate Lord Thomson, who is one of the wealthiest private art collectors in the world. Investigators now believe that the theft may not have been a professional job, but “a student prank which went too far.”
Suppose Allen Iverson Reads Much?
England’s Hesperus Press is filling an interesting niche in the publishing world, churning out short pieces of literature which have, for one reason or another, escaped notice in the ever-expanding book universe. Some of Hesperus’s releases are minor works by major authors, and some are just stuff you’ve never heard of, which the editors thought you might find interesting. “Maybe we should think of Hesperus titles as the Allen Iversons of literary history, little folks bursting with talent and suddenly able to dominate when allowed to play.”
It All Depends On How You Define ‘Bad’
“Exactly how bad a year did the music industry have in 2003? It depends who’s asking. According to Nielsen Soundscan, American labels sold 687 million units (including 19.2 million paid downloads) last year—a drop of less than 1 percent from 2002. A widely cited survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project suggests that file sharing has plummeted since the Recording Industry Association of America started threatening traders with lawsuits… Of course, it may be more correct to say that half as many Internet users are willing to tell a pollster that they download music—these days, the first rule of File Club is you do not talk about File Club.”
What Good Is Music If You Can’t Mount It On Your Wall?
“At 11 a.m. today, in a midtown Manhattan music studio, a handful of record industry veterans will huddle around a reel of tape they say is an original master from the historic 1954 recording debut of Elvis Presley. Then, after a brief introduction, the tape will be chopped to pieces.” Why would anyone do such a thing to an undeniable piece of American musical history? For the merchandising money, of course. The bits of tape will be mounted on handsome plaques and sold for $495 apiece to the type of memorabilia-obsessed cretins who honestly believe that a mangled piece of magnetic tape is more valuable than the music which used to be on it.
Recovery In Sight?
“After a painfully slow year in the book trade, Canadian publishers are facing 2004 with cautious optimism. And, perhaps surprisingly, Indigo Books & Music is the reason. The powerful chain appears to have had a strong Christmas season, which has publishers excited. And the company, long criticized for its haphazard inventory control, is poised to introduce a new computer system that will likely solve many of the ordering and tracking problems that have plagued it in the past. Results for the crucial third quarter of Indigo’s fiscal year won’t be announced to shareholders till early February but publishers say Indigo… is sending out gratifyingly large payments.”
Bringing Theater People Together (Whether They Want To Or Not)
Theater is a competitive business, and theaters in the same city rarely join forces for any reason, for fear that success for one will mean failure for another. But a Twin Cities-based website is attempting to draw the region’s many theaters together on matters ranging from marketing to the hiring of actors. “Want to post your resume or audition listing? You can do so on the site. Need a set designer or a stage manager? You can cull the hundreds of techies and off-stage talent on the site’s searchable database… Maybe you’re a theater in need of a friendly audience for a free preview performance? [The] site will send out an e-mail to almost 1,000 subscribers giving them all the particulars.”
Cutbacks In Philly
Opera Company of Philadelphia announced its new season with something less than the usual fanfare this week. Citing financial constraints, OCP is cutting one of its five annual productions, and has adjusted its planned repertoire to add more crowd-pleasers and eliminate an expensive Tchaikovsky production. The company, which has historically operated in the black, ran a small deficit last season, and could lose as much as $200,000 this year. “Subscribers have declined from 11,568 last season to 9,233 this season, with a drop in total ticket revenue from $4.46 million to a projected $3.9 million.” Donations have been flat as well.
Oscar Nominees Announced
“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the final chapter in Peter Jackson’s majestic fantasy trilogy, led the Academy Awards race Tuesday with 11 nominations, including best picture and director. The Napoleonic era naval adventure Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World was right behind with 10 nominations, among them best picture and director. Bill Murray, Diane Keaton, Sean Penn and Charlize Theron were among the leading acting nominees. Other best-picture nominees for the 76th annual Oscars included Lost in Translation, about two lonely Americans in Tokyo; the brooding murder thriller Mystic River; and the horse-racing drama Seabiscuit.“