As in other countries around the world, new cases in Italy are being driven by young people, with several clusters traced back to nightclubs crowded with maskless patrons. Yet the new rules aimed at stopping young people from gathering en masse have also swept up older Italians for whom an evening at the dance hall is a cherished part of life. – The New York Times
Tag: 08.24.20
Alex Ross: The Entire History Of Film Music Is Saturated With Wagner
“Cinema’s integration of image, word, and music promised a fulfillment of the idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or ‘total work of art,’ which Wagner propagated at one stage of his career. His informal system of assigning leitmotifs to characters and themes became a defining trait of film scores. And Hollywood has drawn repeatedly from Wagner’s gallery of mythic archetypes: his gods, heroes, sorcerers, and questers.” – The New Yorker
Are All Arts Critics Really Just Bitter Failed Artists? No. No, They Are Not.
Well, what answer did you expect to find in a newspaper column? Nevertheless: “It might be difficult to grasp that writing a magazine cover [story] could appeal more than featuring on it, but for many it truly does. … [Critics are] besotted by an art form to the point [they] feel compelled to write about it for – let’s be honest – a meagre living.” Take, for example, Pulitzer Prize winner Jerry Saltz, who freely admits to being a failed artist but isn’t exactly known for being bitter or unenthusiastic. – The Guardian
Are The Detroit Institute Of Arts And Its Director Simply Out Of Touch With Their City?
“At a time when museum leaders across the country are being challenged on whether their institutions are systemically racist, few are confronting as many thorny issues as [Salvador] Salort-Pons. Current and former staff have called for his resignation, complaining he has developed a corrosive, authoritarian manner while retaining a certain obtuseness on matters of race in a city that is predominantly Black.” – The New York Times
New York’s Public Theater Gives Money To Its Out-Of-Work Freelancers
“The theater said it has given $1,000 ‘financial relief payments’ to 368 people including technicians and crew members like carpenters, truck drivers, engineers and programmers; teaching artists, who facilitate classes, workshops and talkbacks; and members of working groups, which support artists as they develop.” – The New York Times
During The Pandemic, Small Local Bookstores Have Gotten More Love Than They Can Handle (And Customers Don’t Love That)
“As the novel coronavirus takes its toll on businesses all over the world, many well-meaning consumers have flocked to local community bookstores. However, increased demand on these small shops has put a strain on business owners. Even worse, some have received backlash from impatient and disgruntled customers for slow shipping or sold out inventories.” – The Washington Post
Boston Symphony Lays Off More Than One-Quarter Of Administrative Staff
The dismissal of 50 out of 180 full-time office employees is “the latest in a stream of cost-cutting measures designed to help the orchestra weather a prolonged hiatus from live performance, which began in mid-March and will extend through at least late November.” – The Boston Globe
In Wake Of Sexual Misconduct Accusations, Ballet School In UK Shuts Down Completely
Earlier this month, more than 60 former students at Ballet West, a boarding school in the Scottish Highlands, accused Jonathan Barton, the school’s vice-principal and son of its principal, of pressuring teenage female students at the school to have sex with him and carrying on affairs with some of them. Over the past week, Barton resigned, the police began an investigation, and the teaching accreditations of both Bartons were withdrawn; consequently, Ballet West is now beginning the process of liquidation. – The Herald (Scotland)
How Theatres In Belarus Got Politically Active
Belarusian theatres, almost all of them state-owned since Soviet times, have officially remained outside of politics for 26 years. Everyone in management positions was appointed by the Ministry of Culture, and any political activity by employees was punished severely. But this August, it seems, even the Belarusian state theatres awoke from their slumber. – American Theatre
How Roman Holiday Took Audrey Hepburn And Catapulted Her Into The Stratosphere
Hepburn wasn’t well-known in the U.S. before William Wyler cast her against Gregory Peck in the bittersweet rom-com. But “her star rose so quickly after this movie. That is crazy. This movie comes out in the summer of ’53 and by September of that year, she’s on the cover of Time as this new discovery, she wins the Academy Award for this early in ’54. And three days after she picked up that Oscar, she picked up a Tony for a different role on Broadway. … So, you know, in a very short period of time, she really is launched into this kind of princesse stratosphere of stardom.” – Slate