Tag: 06.03.19

Anthony Davis Builds Operas From Headlines

“The words ‘Trump’ and ‘opera’ occurring in the same sentence might seem far-fetched, but for composer Anthony Davis, whose latest work, The Central Park Five, has its world premiere at Long Beach Opera on June 15, inserting a Trump figure was, in fact, integral to the story. Based on the notorious case of a quintet of African-American teenagers falsely accused and convicted of rape and assault after a 1989 attack on a white jogger — one in which presidential hopeful Donald Trump played an infamous role — the opera tops off a series of so-called ‘ripped-from-the-headlines’ works that Davis has composed in his decades-long career.” – San Francisco Classical Voice

This Orchestra Played An Entire Concert In Total Darkness

“The string players sat in concentric semicircles, with odd-looking tangles of wires running between the players’ feet. … As the lights dimmed, long drifting skeins of sound emerged, which coalesced into warm major chords and then drifted apart again, but what really seized my attention were the fluctuating patterns of light winking in the gloom.” Ivan Hewitt checks out the Aurora Orchestra. – The Telegraph (UK)

At Jaap Van Zweden’s Other Orchestra, Director Of Artistic Planning Is Abruptly Fired

In late May, the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s management dismissed Lam Fung, a local composer who took the position in 2017 and had received a good performance review as recently as March. “[The administration] did not offer reasons for Lam’s sudden dismissal, only saying in a statement that the orchestra ‘remains committed to the support and development of local talent.'” – South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

Egypt’s Government Has Even Cracked Down On The Soap Operas Popular During Ramadan

During the month of daytime fasting, families and friends often gather around the TV during and after the evening meal, and Egyptian networks prepare their biggest programming events for the season. This year, the regime of Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came down hard on the soaps, restricting and sometimes dictating content and even banning one of Egypt’s most popular actors from screens. – The Baffler

The Indictment Of Donald Duck

Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelart made the case in the 1990s: “What kind of a role model was he, this eunuch duck, who sought only fame and fortune, who ignored the plight of the working class, who accepted endless suffering as his lot? “Reading Disney,” they wrote, “is like having one’s own exploited condition rammed with honey down one’s throat.” – The New Yorker

Two Mexican Artists Deported From Cuba, Accused Of Trying To “Subvert” Havana Biennial

On the day of the opening of their exhibition Impulso in old Havana, the artists Jesus Benitez and his colleague, who has asked not to disclose her name in press in fear of further repercussions, were detained and interrogated by Cuban police for six hours. The artists were then deported back to Mexico from the Havana airport. – Hyperallergic

But It Messes Up The Meter! Grumpy Old Director Grumps About Gender-Swapping Shakespeare

Richard Eyre, a former director of the National Theatre in London, criticized a recent RSC production of Timon of Athens in which Lord Timon became Lady Timon — and, therefore, the line “I love that man” became “I love that woman”. Eyre, stressing the importance of Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter (which that extra syllable throws off), called the casting “a very bad decision. … Do the plays. Don’t rework it.” – The Times (UK)

Trump Administration Bans Tourist And Educational Travel To Cuba

The Treasury Department said in a statement that the U.S. will no longer allow the group educational and cultural trips known as “people to people” travel to the island. Those trips have been used by thousands of American citizens to visit the island even before the U.S. restored full diplomatic relations with the communist government in December 2014. – PBS News Hour