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‘Live Shows Are About To Come Roaring Back To Full Houses’, Says One Critic

Chris Jones: "There's real evidence now of pent-up demand. Consider what is happening in Las Vegas. Cirque du Soleil, which has emerged from bankruptcy protection and put its famous productions of both Mystère and O on sale last week …, has seen colossal demand for tickets. … Comedian Dave Chappelle sold 13,000 tickets for his July 2 concert. The...

That Long-Awaited Final Sondheim Musical? It’s Not Coming

The show, titled Buñuel and based on that filmmaker's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Exterminating Angel, had been in development with playwright David Ives (Venus In Fur) and the Public Theater for about a decade, with a workshop held in 2016. Now the Public says that the 91-year-old composer told the theater last year that he...

Florida Boosts Arts Funding by 24%

"The 2021-22 budget plan agreed to by the Florida House and Senate and sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis includes $26.7 million in two of the four budget categories that provide allocations for arts and cultural organizations and individual artists. That marks a 24 percent boost over 2020, when the Legislature approved $20.2 million in three categories." - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

As Western Museums Prepare To Return Benin Bronzes, Nigeria Prepares Their New Home

"The Legacy Restoration Trust … was set up by Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the Edo State government and the royal court of Benin to plan and build the Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City. … Designed by David Adjaye, the museum will house artefacts from the kingdom of Benin, which British troops invaded...

Medieval Treasures Stolen In 1989 Recovered In Sicily

"After being stolen more than 30 years ago from a village in Italy's Tuscany region, a group of stolen medieval artifacts has been located by police in the home of an antiques collector in Sicily. In that house near Catania, the police discovered a pilfered reliquary that dates back to the 13th century, as well as other objects including...

Paul Kellogg, Director Of Glimmerglass Opera And New York City Opera, Dead At 84

Over 27 years at the helm of the summer opera festival in Cooperstown, NY, Kellogg raised standards, doubled the productions per season, built a new theater, and earned the company a national reputation. In 1996, he took the reins at New York City Opera and began a very productive partnership between the two companies. Unable to fix City Opera's...

Why Modern Science Is Vulnerable To Science Deniers

Turns out this Science entity doesn’t have a single voice, and in many cases hearing what it has to say isn’t straightforward. As intellectual historian Andrew Jewett notes at the end of Science under Fire, “Such blanket injunctions to place our trust in science, or religion, or the humanities, or any other broad framework, offer remarkably little guidance on...

Where Threats To Academic Freedom Are

The example of Socrates has always been both an inspiration and a warning. Heterodox gadflies tend to get swatted. In the 21st century, however, academic freedom’s most determined adversaries are inside rather than outside academia. - Claremont Review of Books

The Rise Of Group Curation — A New Model?

‘We believe in a polyphonic time. Essentially the problem has been about dominant narratives and to get a much wider perspective. It is appropriate today that it is less about a single authorial model and more a collaborative research endeavour. Everything in the world at the moment is leaning towards learning from each other and bring together different expertise...

AI Routinely Misreads Emotion In Human Faces. Should We Worry?

Today affect-recognition tools can be found in national-security systems and at airports, in education and hiring start-ups, in software that purports to detect psychiatric illness and policing programs that claim to predict violence. The claim that a person’s interior state can be accurately assessed by analyzing that person’s face is premised on shaky evidence. - The Atlantic

A Philip Roth Bio Is Canceled — A Sea Change In Whether Books Are Published?

"I think this week marks a sea change in publishers’ interest in their authors’ behavior. The cancellation of Bailey’s books came just a day after news broke that hundreds of employees at Simon & Schuster have submitted a petition demanding that the publisher cancel its two-book deal with former vice president Mike Pence and refuse to sign any additional...

Back From The Brink Of Collapse, Australia’s Leading Professional Vocal Ensemble Is Hard At Work

Just two years ago, out of cash, The Song Company entered liquidation bankruptcy; it was rescued by a donor a month later. Then came 2020 and the pandemic, with Australia undergoing unusually strict lockdowns. Those measures worked, and with the country reopening, the ensemble has reorganized itself, started a professional apprenticeship for young singers, and is doing both mainstage...

The Biographer Has Been Accused Of Abuse. Should We Ignore The Book?

"If an artist is a bad person, should that change the way audiences interact with his art? In this particular case, if the author is a rapist, should that change the way we read Philip Roth: The Biography? Arguably, no. A book has an existence apart from its author, a truism that is extra true in the case of...

Honkaku: The Japanese Detective Novels Catching On In English

"Honkaku translates as 'orthodox', and refers to the crafting of fiendishly clever and complex puzzle scenarios – such as a murder in a locked bedroom – that can only be solved through logical deduction. … Honkaku stories have more in common with a game of chess than some modern thrillers, which can be filled with surprise twists and sudden...

Big Bump In UK Book Sales In 2020

UK consumer book sales climbed 7% to £2.1bn last year as people "rediscovered their love of reading" in lockdown, the industry body says. - BBC

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