Director Peter Brook has felt “haunted” by the ghost of Hamlet since he first directed the play in 1955. His newest adaptation – a controversial 50-minute version – has taken Paris by storm. “Brook has had no qualms about putting his own spin on the Elizabethan original. He has eliminated the Fortinbras narrative, cut ‘between a third and half’ of the text, and reduced his cast to eight.” – The Telegraph (UK)
Tag: 12.04.00
IMPORTANT TO WHOM?
Is there a problem with labeling London art auctions as “important British art”? The answer is yes if the work can’t live up to the billing. “Christie’s and Sotheby’s labelled their main London sales as ‘important,’ though the catalogues looked anything but that.” Buyers were accordingly cautious, and a succession of over-priced paintings went unsold. – The Telegraph (UK)
VERSAILLES RESTORATION
Last Christmas, storms roaring through France blew down 10,000 trees at Versailles. A year later much of the damage is repaired and the palace looks again to receive 10 million visitors this year. The restoration effort is an example of the way the running of Versailles is changing. – The Globe & Mail (Canada)
PERILS OF PUBLISHING, CANADIAN EDITION
As Canada’s superstore bookseller struggles to keep alive, one thing is obvious: “This country is simply too sparsely populated over too great a geographic diversity to allow for the kind of volume turnover that a chain of 77 big-box stores and more than 200 smaller outlets requires to keep its bottom line from turning red.” So does Canada need more competition or less? – The Globe & Mail (Canada)
I WROTE IT. NO YOU DIDN’T.
Nega Mezlekia, who won the Governor General’s Award for non-fiction last month, is battling the novelist he hired to edit his book. Anne Stone claims she wrote much of the book, but Mezlakia denies it and sent letters to her accusing her of being ”dull, colourless, humorless, vulgar, and a complete failure. ‘You may have Penguin’s lawyers off your backs [sic], but rest assured my campaign has just began [sic]. I have set side $50,000 of my hard earned money to ruin you’.” – National Post (Canada)
- WHAT IT MEANS TO AUTHOR: The complicated relationships an author has with those who help bring a book to print can make the lines of authorship blurry. The Mezlekia/Stone dispute comes down to his stories and her help in getting them out. – National Post (Canada)
OPERA AND ADULTERY
It’s a natural pairing. And the changing notions of one are reflected in the other. – New Statesman
THE DISH ON OPERA
“James Jorden is the feared, revered creator of parterre.com, a biting, often bitchy roundup of raves, rants, reviews and gossip that’s read by everyone who’s anyone in opera.” – New York Post
ANOTHER ENDANGERED CLASSICAL MUSIC STATION
Chicago is one of the rare US cities that has two classical music stations. That may soon change. WNIB, the second station, has been sold, and it’s not considered likely that the new owners will keep the classical format. – Chicago Sun-Times
DEATHWATCH
- A mood befitting a bedside vigil has descended on Chicago’s classical music community, with tributes issued, guarded hopes expressed and numerous experts trying to determine whether WNIB’s situation was symptomatic of some grave illness plaguing America’s classical music scene. – Chicago Tribune
DANCING FOR PEACE
Nicholas Rowe, a former Australian Ballet dancer and choreographer, now teaches dance to Palestinian children in Ramallah as part of a unique program to use the power of dance to heal. “Giving them the chance to feel something other than anger is very important.” – The Age (Melbourne)