An official sculpture made from steel of the fallen World Trade Center has been sold on the internet, infuriating relatives of victims of 9/11. “The 5-inch sculpture – one of nearly 3,000 created from mangled steel beams – sold for $255 in an auction on the eBay Web site last week. It wasn’t immediately clear how one of the sculptures – distributed exclusively to victims’ families – got into the hands of the company that hawked it on eBay.”
Tag: 09.23.03
EMI’s Play For Warner Not Playing Well With Banks
Recording giant EMI confirms that it is in talks to buy Warner Music. But analysts say that EMI’s enormous debt is an imprediment to the deal, and its creditors are ready to downgrade its borrowing capacity. “They have very limited debt capacity and if they were to buy a valuable and profitable business it would have some earnings with it, but our concern is that there is not a lot of scope to increase the overall debt leverage.”
Hot Ticket Item: Stars Come Out For Disney Hall
The three opening galas in late October for Los Angeles’ new Disney Hall are the hot ticket of the season. “The first night is virtually sold out. Sure, the performing arts community is feeling pressure to attend the Disney galas — it can’t be easy to send regrets. ‘I wouldn’t want to be sitting home those nights. I’d feel so left out!’ But mostly the events are selling themselves, say organizers, who hope to net $7 million.”
Licensing Improves London’s Underground Performers
A scheme to license performers in London’s Underground is a success, and will be extended. “A trial period in which only officially approved buskers were allowed to perform in designated areas will continue until the end of the year. Organisers said there had been an 82% decrease in ‘busking-related’ police call-outs during the trial. There was less need for police to eject or arrest performers who blocked safety zones or abused staff, they said.”
Biltmore Once Again Graces Manhattan
New York’s Biltmore Theatre, once a thriving landmark, but more recently a derelict shell, is reopening fully refurbished as a home to the venerable Manhattan Theatre Club.
Twilight Of Broadcast TV?
“For the first time in any Emmy telecast, cable shows received more awards than those on the broadcast networks. And it was not even close.”
Sydney Opera House Gets An Original Completion
After 30 years, the iconic Sydney Opera House is having its interior redone by its original architect. Joern Utzon, now 85, was thrown off the project before the building was complete, and some of the interior was completed by others. Now he is getting the chance to see some of his original ideas take shape…
Child Star Tops Classical Charts
Sixteen-year-old “New Zealander Hayley Westenra has beaten the first-week sales set by artists like Pavarotti, Charlotte Church and Russell Watson with her UK release, Pure. Pure has shot straight to number eight in the UK pop chart and to the top spot in the UK classical charts.”
Seoul’s Opera Wars
“Seoul has witnessed the opera wars of 2003, a war waged mostly by over-the-top outdoor productions such as “Aida” and “Turandot,” financially and logistically ambitious campaigns designed to shock and awe audiences into submission. But an indoor opera has finally returned fire, a production boasting nudity, orgies, and violence with artistic credibility to boot.”
Aida In Workers’ Stadium
A giant open-air “Aida” lumbers in to Beijing’s Workers’ Stadium. “The main stage covers about 6,200 square metres, upon which stands a 40-metre-high pyramid and an 18-metre Sphinx. The 20-ton pyramid is equipped with 800 small tires at the bottom so that it could revolve freely. On the two sides of the main stage also stand two 18-metre-high pharaohs and 10 18-metre-high Egyptian temple pillars. And off the stage there are 40 4-metre-high Sphinxes. The ending scene will be a spectacle with thousands of butterflies flying into the sky, with 400 torches kindled.”