There is no question that the Narnia books contain strong Christian imagery, but even religious scholars have never agreed on what point of view Lewis intended to endorse. “In one camp are evangelicals, whose churches regularly use Lewis’s book Mere Christianity to introduce newcomers to orthodox understandings of Jesus Christ… Others, however, insist that Lewis cared chiefly about bringing the worldwide Christian family together. Since he helped advance a vibrant ecumenical movement in his day, he must not be reduced to a sectarian champion posthumously.”
Tag: 12.08.05
Whitman’s Signature Work Turns 150
“Devotees and scholars of the writer Walt Whitman are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the original edition of his seminal work, Leaves of Grass, the concise volume of 12 poems that pushed the boundaries of social decency and of poetry itself. By rejecting the rigid structures of British metre, Whitman offered readers free-spirited bursts of consciousness that forever changed American poetry… Experts suspect only a few hundred copies of the original edition exist and are using the anniversary to try to count them.”
Harding’s La Scala Debut “A Triumph”
Daniel Harding had a lot on his shoulders last night at La Scala, as seemingly the entire opera world waited to see whether the boyish conductor and his vision of Mozart’s Idomeneo could make Milan forget all about Riccardo Muti and his dramatic exit last spring. Apparently, he did. “After two curtain calls, Harding joined the cast on stage for 12-minute ovation. Members of the audience praised him for his ‘energy and verve’. The president of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who was present, said: ‘I saw it with new eyes’.” However, some Muti loyalists remain quite upset with what they see as La Scala’s move away from serious, cutting-edge opera, and with the treatment accorded Muti, whom La Scala managers painted as a dictator.
Orchestra Teams Up With Evangelical Mega-Church
The Houston Symphony has an unusual new partner for its holiday concerts: Lakewood Church, arguably the world’s most famous mega-church, seating 16,000, its services seen across the U.S. on television each week. “To Lakewood, the symphony offers cachet and a high-quality orchestra. To the symphony, Lakewood offers a large untapped audience and an extraordinary marketing machine… The church and the symphony readily admit that their usual audiences don’t overlap much, [but] Lakewood has far more to offer the symphony than just an audience. Symphony management can also learn something from Lakewood about branding… And it’s possible that further collaboration could provide a huge new outlet for the symphony’s work. The two organizations are eyeing a long-term relationship.”
Seattle’s Stealth Entry Into Basel Miami
Seattle galleries were shut out of official selection for the Basel Miami art fair. So a group of Seattle galleries got together and “booked an entire motel in Ocean Beach, a short walk from Basel/Miami. Then they crossed their fingers and asked 35 galleries to join them.” The idea was a hit…
SPAC Starts To Dig Itself Out
Upstate New York’s Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), attempting to dig out from years of questionable management and a wave of awful publicity, has announced that it will eliminate its $3 million debt using funds from its endowment. The organization, which plays host to a popular summer festival featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra and New York City Ballet, also says that it will have a balanced budget for 2005, its first black ink in 15 years. SPAC came under heavy fire for its management practices earlier this year in an independent report that led to the resignation of the center’s chief executive and much of its board.
A Messiah Done Modern
“Only in recent years has Handel’s piece — composed in 1741 and long associated with Christmas, though it was intended, one biographer wrote, ‘as a timely thought-provoker for Lent and Easter’ — been interpreted by choreographers. Schroeder points out that it has often been difficult for dance companies, including hers, to find willing collaborators among classical musicians, many of whom believe “Messiah” is strictly for voice and orchestra.”
Has The Turner Prize Become Too Safe?
“Monday night’s Turner Prize presentation was a confirmation, if any were needed, that that acceptance has now very much arrived. Watching three of the nominees talking about their work (painter Gillian Carnegie chose not to appear), you couldn’t help feeling that modern art, more than ever before, has become safe, approachable… comfy.”
Glimmerglass Makes Some Pragmatic Moves
Bowing to the bottom line, Glimmerglass Opera has asked the creators of a new work coming next summer to take “whore” out of the title. The company says it is also scrapping a production of the 17th-century work “Giasone,” by Francesco Cavalli, in favor of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance.”
Needed – New Ethics On Artifacts
“The latest troubles should cause Americans to ask questions about our ethics and practices. Do the Met, the Cleveland Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston – places that bring together cultures from around the world, act as safe houses for civilization and provide public access to millions of people – also have claims to the world’s art, claims that legitimately compete with the nationalist goals of countries that cannot always provide the same care and access? Isn’t it better for an ancient pot dug out of some farm in Sicily to end up at a museum like the Met, where it can be studied, widely seen and cared for, than to become booty in some billionaire’s safe in Zurich, Shanghai or Tokyo? At the same time, does encouraging the movement of artifacts into museums stimulate looting and, in the process, impede the circulation of critical information about the provenance, or history, of these objects?”