“World-renowned theatre maker Robert Lepage is to join forces with dancer Sylvie Guillem and choreographer Russell Maliphant to create a new show called Eonnagata, which will be staged as part of Sadler’s Wells spring 2009 season. The story recounts the life of Charles de Beaumont, a member of French King Louis XV’s spy network, the King’s Secret, whose true gender was a constant source of speculation right up to his death.”
Tag: 11.13.08
Obama Doc Draws Strong Interest From Industry
“A documentary, more than two years in the making, about President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign is gathering significant interest from international distributors just days after being picked up in the United States by HBO.”
Chagall Was ‘A Colossal Mama’s Boy’
A new biography of the painter says that he freely went from one parental figure to another to another for sustenance and nourishment. “Everyone embraced him, nursed him, held him aloft.” He was also, it seems, “a social climber and a prince of self-pity. He thrived in a bloody century that killed many friends… But he saw himself as Christ on the cross.”
Former Arts Patron Alberto Vilar’s Fraud Case Goes To Jury
“More accustomed to listening to performances he financed, Mr. Vilar heard a prosecutor on Wednesday accuse him of stealing from clients and call him a liar dozens of times during closing arguments, while defense lawyers lauded him as a top-notch financial brain who had no need to steal. The case, they said, was built on disputes that really belonged in civil court.”
Deeply Troubled Columbus Symphony Fires Music Director
“Junichi Hirokami, a native of Japan, took over the baton in June 2006 and had one year remaining on his contract. He was openly critical of the symphony board during labor negotiations with musicians in the last year. The contract dispute led the symphony to suspend operations for almost five months before reaching an agreement in September.”
Activists Angry About California’s Prop 8 Passage Boycott Movie Theatre Chain
“There has been talk of a boycott of the Cinemark movie chain, whose CEO gave money to “Yes on 8.” This could have a major effect on the Sundance Film Festival, which uses the chain’s theaters to show movies.”
Is Newfangled ‘Philanthrocapitalism’ Really Different From Good Old-Fashioned Philanthropy?
“Venture philanthropy” (“non-profit in nature, entrepreneurial in spirit” à la Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) – is it really revolutionary? One veteran argues that most such organizations have always been “extremely results-oriented… and the use of business principles has been in the foundation world for a long time.” Another contends that “some private sector principles… simply do not translate. Long-term ‘social transformation,’ for example, is neither easy to measure nor always cost-effective in profit-maximizing terms.” And what happens as the value of endowments plummets?
Ukraine Unlikely To Return Paintings Taken In War
“Ukraine is unlikely to return more than a dozen paintings by Western European artists brought here from a German museum as Soviet war trophies during World War II, an official said Thursday… Ukrainian law prohibits the return of World War II trophy art, she noted, adding that many Ukrainian paintings seized during the war have been exhibited in Germany but ‘nobody is returning them to us.'”
Must Be Better Than The Liverpool Oratorio
Peter Maxwell Davies has written a new piece dedicated to Paul McCartney: a 20-minute choral ode called Liber Pulsationis Fabulatoris. No, that’s not “the book of fabulous vibrations” – it’s a text by Hildegard von Bingen with the typically not-quite-sensical title “The Book of Pulsations of the Creator of Legends.” (By the way, PMax says that “Paul is as great as Schubert and still has not received the full recognition that his talent deserves.”)
Guarneri Quartet Violinist Stricken With Cancer
“The Guarneri String Quartet has postponed its Portland concerts on Feb. 14 and 15. John Dalley, the group’s second violinist, has cancer and needs to undergo treatment , according to Linda Magee of Chamber Music Northwest.”