Tag: 02.08.07

Critical Dust-Up

“Award nominations are generally occasions for exaggerated compliments and air kisses, so it was something of a surprise when Eliot Weinberger, a previous finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award, announced the newest nominees for the criticism category two weeks ago and said one of the authors, Bruce Bawer, had engaged in ‘racism as criticism.’ The resulting stir within the usually well-mannered book world spiked this week…”

Silent Communication

Theatre for the deaf isn’t a new concept, but it’s never been considered much of a growth industry, either. Still, Paris’s International Visual Theatre, catering to hearing-impaired audiences, has been around for three decades now, and this year, it found a permanent home for the first time. The theatre’s aim is “to build a bridge between deaf and hearing people by demonstrating that they can communicate perfectly with one another onstage as well as with an audience also made up of the deaf and hearing.”

Oundjian Earns An Extension In Toronto

The Toronto Symphony took a chance when it hired the relatively inexperienced (though unquestionably gifted) conductor Peter Oundjian to be its music director in 2004. But Oundjian’s skill on the podium and profile as a homegrown success story have boosted ticket sales, and this week, the TSO announced that he will be staying at least through 2012.

Could Spoleto Become Whole Again?

“When composer Gian Carlo Menotti left Spoleto Festival USA nearly 14 years ago in a raging dispute with the board, his action split the American event from its Italian counterpart, the Festival of Two Worlds. With the death of Menotti on Feb. 1 at age 95, the question arises: Will the two festivals he founded possibly reunite and share some of the same performing artists as they did in the past?”