So – more people attend theatre in Los Angeles than buy tickets for professional sports. It’s the kind of statistic that gets tossed around by those wanting to prove the relevance of an artform in the larger culture. But is it true? A LA Times reporter tracks down the truth. The real statistic isn’t really about theatre. And it’s an old one. Still, it originated from an actual study…
Tag: 01.13.03
Nobel-Winner Mahfouz In Egyptian Hospital
Naguib Mahfouz, 91, the first writer in Arabic to win the Nobel prize for literature, is in intensive care in a Cairo hospital. “We took him to hospital with a heavy flu which made his breathing difficult and he was admitted as an emergency to the resuscitation unit. His memory has been a little disturbed by the fever, [but] thank God, he is doing better.”
A Movie Critic’s Lament
“These are rotten times to be a movie critic. In a bad economy, an independent voice delivering judgments on a multibillion-dollar industry that represents a tremendously lucrative source of ad revenue is likely to be perceived as a detriment. It has become increasingly common for critics to be pressured by their editors (who themselves may be under pressure from the sales department) to change their opinions. Pressure that no paper would think to bring to bear on their Op-Ed writers is routinely applied to movie critics. This has nothing to do with the quality of a critic’s writing but solely with the content of their opinions, the area where a critic is supposed to be given free rein.”
Heppner Returns
When last we heard from Ben Heppner, he was walking offstage in the middle of a program complaining of vocal problems. Now he’s back, singing a program in Boston. Richard Dyer reports: “The Canadian tenor has emerged from 18 difficult months of vocal problems and cancellations. He has taken charge of his life; he must have dropped 50 pounds since the last time we saw him, and he looks terrific. And it is a relief and a joy to report that the mighty voice is back in full flood. This listener heard only one insecurely supported tone in the program, and it was quiet and in the middle register.”
Why Women In The Vienna Phil Matter
The Vienna Philharmonic has admitted its first woman musician as a member. American musicologist explains why it’s important to protest the orchestra until its policies about admitting women improve. “There has never been a more important time for all people to realize that chauvinism is a bottomless pit of hatred, violence and death. Every time we protest violence against human dignity, whether physical or cultural, we help make the world a better and more peaceful place for everyone.”
Big Changes Ahead For Big Music
Cracks in the music recording business are becoming more obvious as there is a growing recognition that senior recording execs are out of touch with new realities. “The industry is now selling 100 million fewer CD’s and cassettes than it did in 2000. According to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks album sales, 681 million were sold in 2002, down from 785 million in 2000. At the same time, music-swapping on the Internet, perceived as a major threat, continues to grow. The industry’s immediate problem is that although costs must be cut, the biggest costs of all — talent and marketing — are the toughest to rein in.”
How Police Recovered Stolen Beatles Tapes
Five hundred tapes of the Beatles’ recording sessions from 1969 that were stolen in 1970 have been recovered in a warehouse near Amsterdam. “While the tapes, enough to fill 15 CDs, will be returned to their legal owner, record company EMI, they could prove to be a source of further tension between the two surviving band members and the estates of their former colleagues, Harrison and Lennon. The Get Back sessions were dark, tense days for the Beatles and the tapes display the most intimate, and potentially embarrassing, details of that tension.”
Selling A Raphael To Save Art Heritage
After loaning his Raphael painting “The Madonna of the Pinks” for ten years to the National Gallery, the Duke of Northumberland decided to sell the painting to help pay for the upkeep of his estate. LA’s Getty Museum agreed to buy the painting, and the Duke has faced a barrage of criticism in Britain. Unfair, he says. He’s got to pay for his other obligations somehow. “I employ hundreds of people, maintain a historic landscape and look after one of the most important art collections in the country, enjoyed by more than 100,000 visitors each year. The cost is astronomic, but the entire business is vital to the economy of the region in tourism and related employment.”
Will UK Government Keep Raphael In Country?
The British government is expected this week to grant a temporary halt to export of Raphael’s “Madonna of the Pinks” to the US. “The new director of the National Gallery will then begin the fight of his life, to persuade the heritage lottery fund that saving Raphael’s exquisite Madonna of the Pinks is worth paying £20 million to one of the richest men in the country. The fund has the money: despite the sharp fall in lottery ticket sales it will have about £300 million to give away this year, as well as the interest on grants which have been allocated but not yet paid out.”