Tag: 06.24.06

Report: Montreal Symphony To Get New Home

Montreal newspaper Le Devoir reports that the Montreal Symphony will finally get a new concert hall. “The MSO has been performing at the downtown Place des Arts complex, and efforts to move it into its own home have been underway since 1980. The new hall will be built on the Place des Arts site and is expected to have better acoustics and opportunities for the orchestra to expand its audience, with a seating capacity of between 1,800 to 2,200, the report says.”

Wait ‘Til The Harry Potter Kids Get Involved

“A London hospital that holds the copyright to Peter Pan has questioned the appropriateness of a series of books that portrays the character Wendy exploring her sexuality. The Lost Girls books, by graphic novelist Alan Moore, are about three world-famous characters: Wendy, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The characters meet one another and have sexual adventures. Wendy not only engages in erotic trysts but also encounters pedophiles.”

Japan’s Lone Wolf of Literature

“Haruki Murakami would seem the very picture of the Japanese writer-prophet… it’s hard to recognise the writer often derided by the Tokyo literati as an apathetic pop artist – a threat to the political engagement of Japanese fiction… As dreamy and introverted as his disaffected protagonists, Murakami has no literary friends and never attends parties. He has spent large stretches of his adult life in Europe and America,” and his writing often seems more at home in the pop culture-soaked West than in his native land.

Aaron Spelling, 83

Legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling, the creative force behind Charlie’s Angels, Beverly Hills 90210, and other prime-time soap hits, has died a week after suffering a major stroke. “According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Spelling was ‘the most prolific TV producer of all time,’ producing more than 5,000 hours of television programming, including more than 300 hours of made-for-television movies and at least a dozen films.”

PBT Extends Director, Promotes Six Dancers

“Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre announced Thursday a three-year contract extension for artistic director Terrence S. Orr, as well as its 30-dancer roster, starting with the 2006-07 season. Ten new dancers have been hired and six promoted… The resignation of four principal dancers was announced earlier this season. Seven members of the corps are not returning.”

Cleveland Museum Facing Construction Delay

“The Cleveland Museum of Art has delayed an addition to its parking garage — an important part of a larger, $258 million expansion and renovation — because of a holdup with a $7.5 million federal grant. The delay could increase the cost of the garage expansion because the museum had to reject construction bids this month and will have to seek new ones… The delay also means the museum will have fewer parking spaces than it needs in February when it holds a blockbuster exhibition on the paintings of French Impressionist Claude Monet.”

Trouble In Paradise?

Great Britain’s arts scene should truly be the envy of the world, and increasingly, the UK’s successes are making their way to other nations as well. “We export £6 billion of cultural products each year, mostly thanks to music and theatre. That’s more than the United States manages, for all of Hollywood’s huffing and puffing. Why, then, is there disquiet in the arts world? Is global success masking an intractable problem at home? Or is there a perception of black clouds massing on the horizon? The answer is both.”

Shakespeare In The Sky With… Umm… Music & Such-Like

“The residents of Stratford-upon-Avon awoke yesterday to find a flotilla of hot air balloons drifting over their roofs serenading them with ambient music and readings from Shakespeare. The abstract sound-dream music, the composer called it – was pumped out of speakers attached to seven balloons which, for 45 minutes, brought sleeping residents slowly and serenely to their waking senses as they floated overhead. That was the idea, anyway. The reality was, hovering sometimes as little as 150ft up, they provoked a rush of pyjama and dressing gown-clad men, women and children into their gardens to get a better look.”

Gelb’s Met Can’t Come Soon Enough

There’s no longer any doubt that the Metropolitan Opera will undergo a dramatic shift when Peter Gelb takes over this fall, and with all due respect to Joseph Volpe, Rupert Christian says it’s time for a change. “Artistically, [Volpe] has presided over a regime that has been cautious and conservative, excessively in thrall to the tastes of its elderly subscribers and sponsors. Despite its superb orchestra and roster of stars, the Met hasn’t had much luck with its half-hearted attempts to employ the more radical generation of directors, and its need to churn out seven shows a week often makes it seem more like a factory delivering the goods than a hub of creativity.”