The 2010s Radicalized Video Games — And The People Who Make Them

“In traditional video games, labor and capitalism have been depicted in near-frictionless harmony. Take SimCity and Civilization‘s dogmatic views of economic progress popular during the booming real-life ’90s or even Mario’s insatiable accumulation of gold coins.” But in the wake of the 2008 financial crash and this decade’s insane lengthening of working hours, developers began creating games that imply real critiques of contemporary tech capitalism — and they began to consider unionizing. – The Nation

Prague’s Gorgeous Old Opera House Set To Emerge From Three-Year Renovation

“The Czech State Opera hoisted an ornate curtain on Thursday as a three-year project to restore the 19th-century opera building to its original glory neared completion ahead of a planned reopening next month. The 1.3 billion crown ($56.85 million) renovation aimed to get the main hall as close to how it looked when it opened in Prague in 1888 while adding some modern twists, such as touchscreen displays on all of the around 1,000 seats.” – Reuters

How To Deal With Racist Operas? Show, Don’t Hide

“To survive, opera has to confront the depth of its racism and sexism point-blank, treating classic operas as historical artifacts instead of dynamic cultural productions. Opera directors should approach the production of these classics as museum curators and professors — educating audiences about historical context and making stereotypes visible.” – The New York Times

When Shakespeare Stands Up To Sing

Giuseppe Verdi’s last two operas, the Shakespearean diptych of Otello and Falstaff, together constitute my favorite case study in what happens when a play is made to stand up and sing. Both the source material and the musical adaptations are works of singular beauty and power. To study these operas alongside their sources is to see what is gained and what is lost, what remains intact and what is transformed, when a complex human drama is adapted from speech into song. – New York Review of Books