Mark Swed: “The ramifications are considerable. If proved true, the allegations would be a tragic ending to one of the great careers in the history of opera, a tenor and now baritone who has sung more roles than any other, as well as a conductor, opera administrator and celebrity. It would also be a sad revelation about the catalyst and voice of opera in Los Angeles.” – Los Angeles Times
Tag: 08.14.19
The Musical Aspirations Of Charles Manson
Manson had three primary lures: LSD, sex, and music. But music, and its power to unite a community of outsiders and misfits, remains the least-examined weapon in his arsenal. – The New Yorker
On Broadway, Female Lead Producers Are Coming Into Their Own
“Many in this new generation of female producers are taking alternate paths to the industry’s top rung — picking up skills in the nonprofit theater world, which has become an important breeding ground for Broadway shows, or in the corporate entertainment industry, home to many of the movie and pop-music brands that end up seeding international stages.” – The New York Times
How Music Festivals Got To Be A Mega-Business
This year there will be roughly 100 large, multi-day events—attended by more than 10,000 people each—around the United States. Live Nation, the concert and festival promoter, is now arguably the most important firm in the music industry, with more revenues than most traditional record labels. It owns four of the five largest festivals. AEG, the sports and entertainment company, owns two others. – CityLab
Mural Muddle: San Francisco School Board’s Lose-Lose Decision on Its WPA Art
In a 4-3 decision that’s likely to satisfy no one, the board elected to cover the Life of Washington mural without destroying it. The estimated cost: $875,000. Wouldn’t that money be better spent on education, not obliteration? – Lee Rosenbaum
After Difficult Period, New York Public Radio Has New CEO
Goli Sheikholeslami, who since 2014 has led a major turnaround as Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ), will take the helm at New York Public Radio (which includes WNYC, classical station WQXR, NJ Public Radio, and WNYC Studios, a major podcast producer) in October. She succeeds Laura Walker, who presided over extraordinary growth over more than two decades but came under pressure after a series of accusations and scandals involving longtime radio hosts. – The New York Times
Viacom And CBS Merger Gives The New Company Scale To Compete With Disney, Streamers
In an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin, CEO Bob Bakish cited ViacomCBS’s content library, which includes 140,000 TV episodes, 36,000 films and 750 series, as enough ammo to fight the likes of Netflix, Disney, Comcast and others entering the TV streaming wars. – CNBC
Controversial San Francisco School Mural Won’t Be Removed. It Will Be Hidden By Panels.
In a 4-to-3 vote, the San Francisco Board of Education voted to reverse its earlier decision to paint over the series of 13 Victor Arnautoff frescoes, collectively titled The Life of Washington, at the city’s George Washington High School. Students and activists had complained of the murals’ depiction of Native Americans and of Washington’s African-American slaves, though Arnautoff had maintained that those depictions were meant to be critical of the country’s treatment of those two groups. – The New York Times