A rare collection of old master paintings, French furniture, silver, and sculptures from the collection of diamond merchant Julius Wernher (former governor of the South African conglomerate De Beers) sold at Christie’s in London Wednesday night for $30.4 million, twice its $15 million estimate. – New York Times
Blog
AND THE JOKE IS ON…
A lecturer who dislikes modern art decided to make his own. “He found a piece of scrap wood with grooves in from a cutting machine, painted it white and called it Millennium Dawn” and entered it in an art competition. Judges at Nottingham University awarded it a prize. – Ananova
NEW LIFE FOR DOOMED DOME
What to do with London’s boondoggled Millennium Dome now that the government has decided to sell it? As of now there are three contenders to take over the billion-dollar bust: a Japanese-backed company that would continue the current programming, the BBC, which, in partnership with Tussaud’s, would turn it into a theme park based on BBC TV characters, and a business group that wants to “strip out the current content and turn the site into London’s silicon valley.” – BBC
MORE THAN MARCHING MUSIC
Well known as the composer of “Stars and Stripes Forever” and dozens of other first-rate American marches, John Philip Sousa has not received much acclaim to date for the composing he did for the theater. Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, new York, opens its 25th-anniversary season this weekend with “The Glass Blowers,” Sousa’s last completed and most elaborate operetta. – New York Times
NOT EVERYONE CAN WRITE AN OPERA
Even with Franz Schubert’s great successes writing for the voice, his 11 attempts at opera never got him very far. One is being staged in Garsington now. What’s it like? “Schubert was one of the greatest songwriters who ever lived, yet there are only two arias in two-and-a-half hours of music. The whole opera has been conceived in terms of vast blocks of end-to-end ensemble: which are incredibly rich in their musical development, but at the same time make the opera a total nightmare to stage.” – The Guardian
ON THE OTHER HAND…
Composer John Duffy and New York Times sports columnist Robert Lipsyte have written an opera about Muhammed Ali. “Ali was poetic and prophetic,” said Duffy, who before becoming an acclaimed composer was an amateur boxer. – Sonicnet
STARVATION SUIT
Just days after a 15-year British study and a controversial new book were released both alleging that young ballet dancers’ training promotes eating disorders, the mother of former Boston Ballet dancer Heidi Guenther has filed a lawsuit against the company and its artistic director for being “recklessly and grossly negligent” in asking Guenther to lose weight to join the corps de ballet. Guenther died of anorexia nervosa in 1997 at age 22, weighing just 93 pounds. – National Post (Canada)
JEDI DANCER
Filmmaker George Lucas has hired San Francisco choreographer Michael Smuin to choreograph scenes for the next “Star Wars” movie. “George envisioned the saber fight to be more dancelike this time,” said Smuin. “It took three people to accomplish this: a sword master, a Cirque du Soleil acrobat and a dancer with the Australia Ballet.” – San Francisco Chronicle
STRATEGIC PLANNING
Organizers of Britain’s top film awards, the BAFTAs, rescheduled the annual ceremony for a month before the Academy Awards – an unabashed attempt to upstage (and hopefully influence) the Oscar outcomes. – Sydney Morning Herald 07/07/00
JEDI DANCER
Filmmaker George Lucas has hired San Francisco choreographer Michael Smuin to choreograph scenes for the next “Star Wars” movie. “George envisioned the saber fight to be more dancelike this time,” said Smuin. “It took three people to accomplish this: a sword master, a Cirque du Soleil acrobat and a dancer with the Australia Ballet.” – San Francisco Chronicle 07/07/00