A chemist who made her fortune in pharmaceuticals, Varis was a revered supporter of jazz and opera as well as animal welfare and liberal political causes. Among her best-known arts initiatives is the $20 rush tickets program at the Metropolitan Opera.
Category: people
Actor Richard Pearson, 93
“Pearson was the kind of actor on which the British theatre has always relied: utterly dependable and totally distinctive. His particular forte, with his slightly fluting voice, was for revealing the chink in the armour of middle-class respectability” – particularly on television. He is also “remembered for his role in one of the most famous theatrical failures of modern times: what you might call a flop d’estime.”
How Oscar Wilde Painted Over Dorian Gray
Alex Ross looks at the various drafts of The Picture Of Dorian Gray and notes how Wilde edged toward – and then away from – unambiguously portraying homosexual desire.
The Beer Archaeologist
Patrick McGovern analyzes the traces of residue left on various ancient vessels for brewing and drinking beer. Then he reconstitutes the recipes and has brewers use them to recreate the brews of antiquity.
Remembering Lucien Freud
“Lucian was 79 when I first got to know him. And yet I have strong memories of him skidding to the phone in his socks, or leaping up the stairs, two at a time. His urgent focus on everything he did was exemplary.”
Frank Foster, Lead Saxophonist For Count Basie’s Band, Dead At 82
“[He] joined the Basie big band as a tenor saxophonist in 1953, just as the group was returning to its glory established two decades before. He was a spirited soloist whose bold playing brought a fresh bebop-accented flair to the orchestra, and he became one of the ensemble’s leading writers and arrangers.”
Black Kid From Oakland Becoming Beijing Opera Star
Fifteen-year-old Tyler Thompson began studying traditional Chinese opera in a local education program, and “became a sensation in China several years ago after Chinese Central Television broadcast his performance at a Lunar New Year show in San Jose.” Says one aficionado, “It’s very authentic because he hits the tones just right, so you understand everything.”
‘America’s Presidential Historian’ Charged With Major Document Theft
“As the self-styled ‘America’s Presidential Historian,’ Barry H. Landau was a regular network guest” and media figure. “That carefully crafted public image came crashing down this month when [he] was charged with stealing historic documents from the Maryland Historical Society that prosecutors value at $6 million.”
Conductor Falls To His Death During Rehearsal
The Swiss maestro Carl Robert Helg was rehearsing a gala performance at the Baden State Theater in Wiesbaden, Germany and climbed up to a lighting catwalk, ostensibly to get a better view of his massed choirs. He then fell from the bridge, sustaining fatal injuries; police are speculating that the incident may have been a suicide.
Art Collector, Folk Art Museum Patron Sentenced For Fraud
“American Folk Art Museum chairman emeritus and pioneering folk art collector Ralph Esmerian, 71, was sentenced on Friday 22 July to six years in federal prison along with 1,800 days of community service. He was also ordered to pay a $20m fine for bankruptcy, wire fraud and other charges.”