Reactions are mixed to Universal’s announcement that it will cut CD prices by 30 percent. “It as been hailed by some observers as a move guaranteed to revitalize the moribund recording industry, and by others as an act of capitulation by a giant brought to its knees by the revenue-sucking effects of illegal Internet music file-sharing and copying on home computers.”
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Tobacco Company To Sponsor Arts Despite Ad Ban
In Canada a new ban on tobacco advertising has arts groups worried that they’ll lose some major sponsoships. But at least one of the big tobacco companies – Imperial Tobacco – “has decided to keep funding the arts, despite a new federal law that bans tobacco advertising.”
Singapore Refuses To Do Away With Arts Licenses
In Singapore arts events have to be licensed by the government’s Censorship Review Committee on an event-by-event basis. Arts groups proposed doing away with licensing altogether. But the CRC has rejected the pleas, instead suggesting “that theatre groups apply for licences every two years instead of before every event.”
Arts Center Or Convention Expansion?
A long-planned arts center in Vancouver is in danger after the British Columbia provincial government said it might want to use the land set aside for the center to expand the city’s convention center.
The Mystery Of The Unpublished Agatha Christie Play
“Calgary’s Vertigo Mystery Theatre this fall will stage the world premiere of Chimneys, a play Christie wrote in the 1930s. The play originally was set to open at the Embassy Theatre in London in 1931. For some reason, it was dropped at the last minute and never heard from again until the Vertigo troupe found a tattered copy of the script when they moved offices earlier in the year.” Just how did it get there?
Opera Amidst The Microchips
For two decades, Irene Dalis has been at the helm of the opera company she helped to found in her hometown of San Jose. Opera San Jose is a major success story in a tough field, and Dalis gets much of the credit for keeping the company vibrant through good times and bad. “We don’t pretend to be something that we’re not. We’re certainly not going to be a San Francisco Opera. Their budget is around $60 million. Ours is under $3 million. But we have other values. Our company is the only one of its kind in America and it’s not because I’m such a genius. I’m copying the format used in Germany where each city of 100,000 or more has its own opera company and they hire singers by the year.”
Stafford To Lead Milwaukee Public
Michael Stafford has been named the new head of the Milwaukee Public Museum. Stafford has been the chief of a Michigan science museum, where he oversaw a $31 million renovation project. The hope in Milwaukee is that Stafford will be able to raise the museum’s local profile, and by extension, improve its fundraising abilities. The museum’s last president, Roger Bowen, resigned after only 15 months on the job.
Art For Art’s Sake
45 years ago, General Mills made a conscious decision to invest in serious contemporary art as a way to liven up its blockish new Minnesota headquarters. “Today, in an era of corporate cutbacks and pressures to increase employee productivity, sales and profits, General Mills is a holdout in emphasizing the importance of art in its corporate culture. The company displays original art and limited edition prints throughout its headquarters, and encourages employees with offices to choose pieces they like for display in their workspace. General Mills even has a full-time curator to oversee acquisitions, sales and care of the collection.”
The Importance Of Opera House Architecture
“Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, which opened in August, is one of the best-sounding opera houses in the country. With sonics vivid and full-bodied, the building seems to work well on both sides of the proscenium. It’s just too bad the building, inaugurated with a new Seattle Opera production of Wagner’s Parsifal, isn’t a better piece of architecture.” So says Dallas critic Scott Cantrell, scouting other cities for ideas to inspire Dallas’s own soon-to-be-built opera house. “Seattle’s approach certainly plays up clichés about the two cities. Dallas is supposed to be about dazzle and prestige, Seattle about living comfortably and not making a fuss.”
Hoping For A Quiet TIFF
It’s been a rough couple of years for the Toronto International Film Festival, with events from the 9/11 attacks to the SARS outbreak having a devastating impact on what has traditionally been one of North America’s most important film fests. But as critics prepare to descend on the Ontario capitol for this year’s TIFF, it seems likely that the festival will bounce back strong from its trials. The fact is that critics have a great time in Toronto, and the festival is famously well-run, in contrast to the haphazard feel of some other major festivals. Add in the panning that Cannes received this year, and Toronto may be poised to regain its position in the upper echelon of festivals.