“The number one funding for Isis is oil, and after that, kidnapping and ransom demands. When they don’t have access to those, they look for something else, and the antiquities in their backyard have provided a natural source for income.”
Broadway Is Having A Wonderfully Diverse Season … In Front Of The Curtain
But backstage is a different story. When will that change?
Thomas Pynchon’s Puritan Ancestor Wrote The First Book To Be Burned On American Soil
“[William] Pynchon, a prominent layman with a devoted constituency, was charismatic enough to inspire a movement similar to the Antinomian debacle that had nearly brought the colony to its knees in the previous decade. Notwithstanding his lofty place in New England society, Pynchon and his book simply had to go. The ensuing controversy, placed within the context of Pynchon’s life, perfectly encapsulates the tenuous relationship between colonial New England’s people, its Church, and its State.”
Musical Chairs: Utah Symphony Struggles With Music Director’s Sudden Demotion Of Longtime Concertmaster
Tension is building as Thierry Fischer’s baton deftly draws his orchestra into Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. But the musical tension is nothing compared to the human drama being played out behind the scenes.
Acting ‘Death Of A Salesman’ In Yiddish: ‘It’s A Jewish Play Written By A Jewish Playwright About His Jewish Relatives’
That’s the take of Avi Hoffman and Suzanne Toren, who play Willy and Linda Loman in the New Yiddish Rep’s production. “[Hoffman] hears Yiddish in the structure of Mr. Miller’s dialogue, as when Willy’s girlfriend asks when he’ll be back in town and he says, ‘Oh, two weeks about.’ Ditto Linda’s famously awkward immortal line, ‘Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person.’ ‘Who talks like that?’ Mr. Hoffman asked, the question rhetorical. ‘That’s Yiddish.'”
Joffrey Ballet Presents Its Founder’s ‘Nutcracker’ For The Last Time
“By the time Robert Joffrey’s production of The Nutcracker was ready for its world premiere in December, 1987, there was as much (if not more) drama going on behind the scenes as there was innovation on stage.”
Documentary Films Are Changing In A Big Way. Finally The Oscars Have To Deal With It
“This year, the remarkable thing is that the Academy’s doc branch effectively may not have any choice but to nominate five films that defy previously obligatory conventions — because nearly every one of the year’s strongest docs, among the 124 eligible for a nom, does so.”
Estonia – A Country Built On Song
“Whether under German, Danish, Swedish, or Soviet occupation, Estonians have long turned to music as a way of preserving some semblance of national identity amid foreign domination.”
Casual Racism In Theatre Reviews
“Is there any legitimate reason for calling out this one actor’s race, since it is not being discussed as germane to any interpretation of the production or the particular scene. It is, so far as I can tell, casual and irrelevant. Which makes it stand out to me all the more.”
Marina Abramović Sued By Former Lover And Collaborator Ulay
“Belgrade-born Abramović and Ulay, real name Frank Uwe Laysiepen, were lovers and co-creators for more than a decade before their separation in 1988 … Ulay [has now] launched a lawsuit, to be heard in Amsterdam later this month, in which he claims Abramović has violated a contract they signed in 1999 covering works they had created together.”
Akram Khan To Create His First Classical Ballet
Choreographer and dancer Akram Khan is to create his first full classical ballet with a new version of Giselle, which will open in Manchester in 2016. … After Manchester, Giselle will move to the Bristol Hippodrome and Mayflower Theatre in Southampton before being staged at Sadler’s Wells in London next November.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 11.11.15
Fracking and Arts Marketing
Can’t wait to see where I’m going with this, can you? … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2015-11-10
Twombly Blackboard Helps Sotheby’s Chalk Up a Solid Contemporary Sale
Christie’s, the recent market leader in major contemporary art sales, has less to crow about this week: Its uneven sale last night made Sotheby’s contemporary sale tonight look good. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2015-11-11
How do you solve a problem like Leontes?
The problem with this “problem play” [The Winter’s Tale] is: why does he change so suddenly from adoring his childhood friend, Polixenes, King of Bohemia (whose visit has already lasted nine months) to being uncontrollably jealous, and certain that he is having an affair with his wife, Hermione? … If I were directing, I’d explicate the turnabout by making it evident that … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2015-11-11
Veterans Day 2015
For a couple more hours, it is still Veterans Day here in the western United States. I’ve been thinking that I should post something about this American holiday dedicated to the men and women who … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2015-11-11
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What Did Shakespeare Mean When He Called Othello Black?
When Shakespeare used the word “black” he was not exactly describing a race the way we would. He meant instead someone with darker skin than an Englishman at a time when Englishmen were very, very pale. Although Othello is a Moor, and although we often assume he is from Africa, he never names his birthplace in the play.
The City Of Detroit As A Symphony
“Having a project that is a kind of forum for people to be able to express themselves and to meet each other is wonderful. It can’t possibly be the ultimate story of Detroit, but it will allow people to rally around a narrative of their city.”
The World’s 10 Most Expensive Art Works Ranked By Quality
“The reason some paintings are so incredibly expensive is that they ought by rights to be in a museum. As modern art enters its third century (oh yes), most of its great canonical works are in collections like that of New York’s Museum of Modern Art or Guggenheim – so if a work of that calibre comes on the market it is worth, oh, about $274m.”
UK Warning: Our Regional Opera Companies Are In Danger
“Opera companies are [being] forced more and more to rely on any private money they can raise. Inevitably, a theatre like the Royal Opera House is able to raise more than smaller, less attractive companies. That’s why we’re seeing the extraordinary explosion of country house opera – Grange Park, Longborough, Glyndebourne and so on – and the shrinking of regional opera.”
Seeing Classical Music – A New Visual Imperative?
“The urgency to find a visual attraction to classical music feels rather more recent. A widely shared worry is that modern digital culture causes the visual element to be predominant. A teenager who considers YouTube a primary source of discovering music expects to see something.”