“While every other art has remade itself several times in the past century, opera stuck to formula and shut the book on self-renewal. Considering the immensity of its contribution to 19th- century opera, it is anomalous that English literature has been bypassed by opera companies in modern times…”
Tag: 07.13.04
The Lacklustre Old Masters
The buzz at Sotheby’s last week was high as a Vermeer was put on the block. But “the atmosphere at Christie’s Old Masters sale a few hours earlier could scarcely have been more different. There were empty seats, little buzz and a lacklustre mood. Several of the most important pictures failed to sell, including El Greco’s Saint Francis meditating, estimated at £700,000 to £1 million, Il Vanvitelli’s The Piazza del Popolo, Rome, expected to fetch £1 million to £1.5 million, and Bodegon with bread by Luis Melendez.”
Are Landmark Buildings Ruining Our Cities?
“The true architectural icon is a building that is unmistakable, often provocative, and carries cultural signals far beyond its purpose. Obvious iconic landmarks include the Sydney opera house, the Pompidou centre, even the new Scottish parliament building – all of which initially met with disapproval. These modern icons simultaneously signal their function and their public importance. They convey the spirit of their age; they are both useful and memorable. But there are also less significant buildings that aspire to iconic status but do not always deserve the profile their sponsors demand.”
Town Of Books, Town Of Dreams
It’s been a year since “Blaenavon, the small coal and iron town in South Wales, launched an audacious experiment – to build a new prosperity based on second-hand books in a post-industrial graveyard of dead jobs. The town’s steep main street is a hill of dreams. The new booksellers have put behind them stalled lives, broken marriages, stifling jobs, and invested not just money but passionate hope.” So how’s it going?
Russian Fakes – A Growing Problem
There is growing awareness that there are many fakes of Russian master paintings on the market. “London sales of Russian masters exceed £10 million a year. But behind the scenes there are growing recriminations in the secretive world of Bond Street dealers. One accuses Sotheby’s, which dominates the market, of lack of competence. Another Russian dealer said: ‘Western auctioneers now have fakes in their catalogues all the time’.”
New Beatles Songs Found?
The songs are in an old trunk bought at a flea market in Australia. “Beatles experts had yet to properly examine the cache – thought to have once belonged to one of the British band’s close associates – but hope tapes within it could contain new material.”
Painting Revises Account Of Captain Cook’s Death
“When the explorer Captain James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii, the tragedy was immortalised as the murder of a peaceable man. But more than two centuries later, a painting has been discovered that shows a rather different version of Cook’s demise, with the captain engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the islanders.”