“In roughly five years, the company has morphed from a conservative, standard-repertoire-based organization to a haven for new opera with a speed that astounds even those who made it happen. ‘Think about it: We have four [operas] under active commission and two others that we’re working on,’ said general director David Devan. ‘We have a composer-in-residence program’.”
Tag: 08.14.11
Construction Of Orlando’s New Arts Center Finally Underway
After several years of delays due to financial fallout from the recession, “workers have been scurrying [since late June] to keep to an aggressive 37-month construction schedule that would have the first phase of the complex building opening in summer 2014.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber To Fund Urban Youth Theatre In Scotland
The musical theatre mogul’s “charitable foundation is to fund a new theatre for some of the UK’s most socially disadvantaged youngsters. The youth theatre will be in Inverclyde, Scotland where, long after the demise of its shipbuilding industry, unemployment is at 24%.”
Bangladesh’s Top Filmmaker Killed In Bus Crash
Tareque Masud, aged 55, was his nation’s first director to win a prize at Cannes and to have a film submitted for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar. He and four others (including the head of one of Dhaka’s television stations) were killed when their car was hit head-on by a bus.
How’m I Doin’ In Des Moines? (Amazon Let’s You Track It)
“Amazon has begun letting writers check weekly print sales figures from retailers around the country, by city and region. That’s a blow to the power of book publishers (and some agents), who pay thousands of dollars annually for such numbers.”
Chicago’s New Mayor: We’re Going To Be Tops In Dance!
“Chicago’s gonna have one of the greatest dance festivals. We’re going to build it to be one of the great festivals of dance in the country.â€
Producer: Pop Music Industry Needs To Seriously Reinvent
“The triumph of the internet as a music provider has already wrong-footed the industry, but Harvey Goldsmith believes that the singing stars and rock bands of the future will suffer too if there is no concerted effort to bring fresh talent to the public.”
Toronto PAC Locks Out Workers To Force Work Rule Changes
The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts board of directors is hoping to change a clause in the current contract that requires management to continue paying employees even if there is no work. “We need to stop paying people when they’re not working.”
Video Game Sales Fall To Five-Year Low
“Sales of consoles and games plunged 26% last month to $707.7 million, down from $961.3 million a year earlier, according to the NPD Group, a market research firm.”
The Incredible Shrinking Album Art
“The digital revolution has already reduced record sales, and its impact is now being felt in packaging. Album covers appear to be growing simpler and less detailed than those in the past.”