Archaeologists in Rome are dismayed that an important mosaic from the 4th Centuery is to be covered up and buried underneath a parking lot. Along with the mosaic, Italian archaeologists found “traces of warehouses, workshops and offices, along with numerous coins, lamps and amphoras, the tall, two-handled jars that were used to transport oil, wine and garum, a salty, fish-based sauce popular in the ancient world.”
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Kroc Leaves San Diego Opera $10 Million
In addition to giving National Public Radio $200 million, Joan Kroc has left the San Diego Opera $10 million in her will. “In appreciation of the bequest, the San Diego Opera will dedicate its 2005 40th anniversary season to Kroc. Thereafter, one of the five operas scheduled each season will be dedicated in memory of Kroc.”
Heppner’s Return
“The last time he sang at Roy Thomson Hall turned out to be the worst night of Ben Heppner’s astonishing career. As they stumbled out of the hall into the cold night air in January, 2002, his hometown fans murmured that he might be finished. And for several agonizing months Heppner — one of the world’s greatest dramatic opera tenors — wondered whether they might be right. But Heppner is full of confidence and enthusiasm as he prepares for his Thomson Hall return tomorrow night, his first since that traumatic occasion.”
Getting Sick: Hollywood’s Last Taboo
When Hollywood composer Michael Kamen died this month, after a years-long battle with multiple sclerosis, few of the news bulletins reporting his demise were able to give the cause. In fact, the afflictions of Hollywood stars are almost never accurately reported, and the very idea of sickness seems to be almost unacceptable in polite Hollywood society. It’s a bizarre taboo, but an undeniable one, and Kamen is only the latest example of a star-studded culture obsessed with health, and unwilling to discuss even the idea of sickness.
Note To Schubert Guardians: Get Over It!
The Scubert purists didn’t like Lang Lang’s recent Carnegie performance. But Charles Michener was thrilled: “Unlike the droves of super-trained but faceless young graduates—many of them of Asian parentage—who pour out of our conservatories, Lang Lang isn’t afraid to show us exactly who he is. Like Liszt, Paderewski and Horowitz, to name a few of his most adored predecessors, he comes to us not just as a virtuoso, but as a showman. If he was overdoing it the other night in front of the German crew who were filming the concert, I say God bless him. Another Liberace I can do without—but right now, classical music can use all the sensational showmanship it can get.”
In Memoriam – Getting Past Maya Lin
The finalists for the World Trade Center memorial can all trace influences from Maya Lin’s Vietnam memorial. “As successful as Ms. Lin’s Vietnam memorial was, the eight finalists prove that it has become a crutch, rather than an inspiration, for American memorial architecture. Indeed, Ms. Lin’s aesthetic presence in the plans speaks volumes about the state of memorial design in America. On one hand, the continued presence of Lin-esque minimalism in American monuments points to the long-awaited emergence of an American memorial style; on the other, the finalists’ failure to move beyond the threshold she set more than two decades ago points to a severe lack of vision in the way Americans build memorials to tragedy.”
Spare Change For A Proud Lady
The Statue of Liberty has been closed to the public since the 9/11 attacks, although most Americans are probably unaware of that fact. The statue won’t be able to open again until $5 million of security upgrades are in place, but the money has yet to be found. Several large corporations have pledged the majority of what’s needed, but the city of New York is still struggling to attract donors to round out the required funds. Even with all the new security measures in place, the days of tourists being allowed to climb up the inside of Lady Liberty are likely at an end.
WTC Tower Shaping Up (And Up)
In three weeks, designs for the tallest tower at the World Trade Center site must be finished. And there is constant negotiating going on. “Although many aspects of the proposed new tower are still in flux, several features are consistent to every recent draft rendering of the tower. Surviving from Daniel Libeskind’s original proposal is the asymmetrical shape of the tower, along with its narrow spire feature, both of which are meant to simulate the torchbearing arm of the Statue of Liberty seen from the harbor. Also surviving is the slanted roof that gives a spiraling sweep to the shape of the circle of the five skyscrapers, of descending height, called for in his master plan.”
Lofty Goals
“On Friday evening, Ottawa’s National Arts Centre will come alive with the hopes of an entire art form. Matjash Mrozewski, the 28-year-old Toronto-based choreographer who is rapidly gaining profile here and abroad, will unveil a work commissioned by the NAC for no less a purpose than getting young Canadians turned on to modern dance. It’s too early to say whether it will succeed on that lofty level, but given Mrozewski’s usual dynamic approach, not to mention the teenage focus group the NAC assembled to help guide his efforts, you can at least bet it won’t be boring.”
A Bollywood Nightmare
When Troy Niemans scored a job editing a big-budget Bollywood film, he thought his career was finally taking off. But after less than a month in India, the Canadian editor found himself unpaid, unwanted, and eventually jailed for supposedly stealing from the film company. India’s film industry is infamous for its heavy-handed tactics and alleged ties to gangsters and organized crime, but Niemans never suspected that he would become enmeshed in it all.