“Next week Tan Dun will be the first composer in more than 60 years to conduct his own opera at New York’s Met. Ten years in the making, it’s a hugely ambitious project for all involved,” and will be the most expensive production the Met has ever mounted. Ultimately, Tan “is stretching for a new musical form that is neither oriental, nor western, nor, crucially, a fusion of the two.”
Tag: 12.15.06
Contemplating A Life After Dance
“Darcey Bussell, regarded by many as the most inspiring dancer of her generation… leaves the Royal Ballet, her mentor and springboard, next June.” At 37, Bussell is already two years past the age when she planned to retire, and her body can no longer tolerate the physical demands of her craft. “The question is what Bussell will do next. She has a packed schedule for the first six months of next year, but after June – nothing.”
Bizet Bust Stolen From Paris Cemetery
“The Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris, where famous residents such as Molière, Marcel Proust, Edith Piaf and Maria Callas attract 2 million visitors a year, has been the victim of theft. Six bronze busts were stolen last month from its 19th century tombs, including that of Georges Bizet, the composer of Carmen.”
Call It The Eastwood Effect
Artistic society tends to celebrate the young prodigy above the experienced craftsman. But a look around Hollywood reveals that many of the top directors of both our era and those past were in their 70s and beyond when they began turning out their best work.
Christmas Rock That Won’t Make You Retch
Depending on your viewpoint, this time of year is either a musical panacea… or a hellish monthlong sentence of forced caroling and treacly muzak. But assuming that we can all agree that some Christmas music is actually worth hearing, are there any new holiday albums that are actually worth the plastic they’re carved on? Surprisingly, John Harris says that there are.
Well, They Are The Hollywood Foreign Press
This year’s Golden Globe Award nominees seem to have a decidedly British flavor. Among other UK-born nominees, “three British actresses will vie for the Golden Globe award for best actress in next month’s ceremony,” and one of them, Helen Mirren, will also be up for awards for her television work.
Detroit Keeps The Good Fiscal News Coming
The Detroit Symphony ended its 2005-06 season in the black, posting a $53,000 surplus despite a modest raise in the base pay for the orchestra’s musicians. “The orchestra is now in the midst of its most sustained run of black ink since a three-year stretch of balanced budgets from 1999 to 2001.”