"Jukebox" opera was hardly unknown in centuries past; it was called pasticcio. And while Schubert was a master of vocal music, his operas are rarely revived. (Blame the bad librettos.) So conductor Raphaël Pichon has taken highlights from those operas and put them together with a new story. - The New York Times
The painting, in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, is of the Madonna and Child with angels and St. Francis himself. The project has restored some bright colors that were darkened in the painting's last conservation (1973) and repaired some damage suffered in the 1997 earthquakes. - Artnet
Many onlookers have been skeptical that The Line, Prince Muhammad bin Salman's planned glass-clad behemoth 170 kilometers long, 1,640 feet tall and only 660 feet wide, will ever really be built. But the project's CEO has now released photos of the initial excavation. - Dezeen
This past September, Deseret News, the Salt Lake City daily owned and operated by the Mormon church, launched The Digest, a monthly compendium of the best of the paper's journalism from all its platforms, mailed to 120,000 homes. It was profitable by the following month. - Poynter
"The new site (in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood) is less of a traditional comedy club than it is a sort of small campus for comedy aficionados. The 12,000-square-foot, two-floor complex includes two cabaret-style live theaters, a training center …, and a restaurant bar called The Bentwood." - Time Out New York
"Artists, writers and musicians have reacted with fury to an Arts Council England warning that “political statements” could break funding agreements. ... ACE advised the organisations it funds to be wary of 'overtly political or activist' statements made in a personal capacity by people linked to them." - The Guardian
"We try to strike a careful balance between experimenting with TikTok and posting on Instagram, as Instagram remains our most reliably steadfast channel. It’s been our widest-reaching and most actively engaged audience for years, and accounts for around three quarters of our total video views." - The Art Newspaper
“What people don’t realize is that in a $6 million budget, the expenses in Phoenix are only $1 million more. We netted close to $2 million more by being in two cities; we got two bats with only one batter." - American Theatre
Efforts to grow and embrace diversity at America’s great research universities have made them better than ever. If you want excellence, you need to find, attract, and support talent from every sector of society, not just from privileged groups and social classes. - The Atlantic
During a concert on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, the musicians of the Belgrade Philharmonic read a letter to the audience that pointed out their difficult position, and organizational and material problems that remain unresolved. - OperaWire
This young century, Americans have collectively submitted to a national experiment to deprive ourselves of camaraderie in the world of flesh and steel, choosing instead to grow (and grow and grow) the time we spend by ourselves, gazing into screens. It’s been a weird experiment. And the results haven’t been pretty. - The Atlantic
"Imagine a small island where, for an entire week, you’re in the company of some of the world’s finest classical musicians. They play almost continuously from 9.30am until bedtime. You’re one of more than 13,500 audience members." Welcome to the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam. - The Guardian
As the quantity and quality of professional arts coverage and criticism in major media outlets erodes, so too does much of the public’s awareness of, attention to, and discussion about the arts. And yet, alternative sources of arts coverage are surfacing. But are they too little, too underachieving, and too late? - Arts Fuse
Scholar Shannon McHugh reminds us that, going all the way back to the medieval Italian origins of the form, sonnets have been written to express deep affection for best buddies, siblings and other family members, living and dead — and sometimes even to the saints. - The Conversation
