“Coke, if I may extend my musings further, is the closest thing that exists to a religion of Americana. Not an American religion, but a religion devoted to the idea of America – which is to say, to those Norman Rockwell scenes of homecoming, fly fishing, and presents under the tree.” Paula Marantz Cohen visits the high temple: The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.
Indianapolis Symphony (Finally!) Posts Surplus
“A big boost in donations and hefty cutbacks pushed the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s annual budget into the black for the first time since 2007.”
The American Arts Economy (It’s Quite Depressing, Really)
As a reminder, the annual budget of the National Endowment for Arts in 2011 was $154.7 million. In that same year, the Philadelphia “Phillies,” a Major League Baseball team, paid their players alone $173 million.
Another Tenor Freaks Out Over Boos At La Scala
Back in 2006, Roberto Alagna actually stormed off the stage and out of the theater mid-performance after some of La Scala’s notorious loggionisti let him have it. This year – again in the house’s season-opening production – they did it again.
The Kennedy Center Honors’ Emotional Night
“This year, the Kennedy Center honored actress Shirley MacLaine, opera singer Martina Arroyo, musician Carlos Santana — who beamed while sitting next to first lady Michelle Obama — and two piano men: Herbie Hancock and Billy Joel. If the honorees had performed together, it would have been a dream collaboration — but as is the 36-year custom, they sat, smiled and watched others pay tribute to lives lived on stages and screens.”
Minnesota Orchestra Musicians Will Play On, Lockout Be Damned
“Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra sounded a note of resolve Monday to continue performing concerts if they remained locked out in their long and bitter confrontation with the Minnesota Orchestral Association.” And they’re raising money to do it – from community members and musicians in other orchestras.
What’s The Secret To Running An English Regional Theatre?
“Running one of Britain’s regional playhouses, a theatre director once told me, was a combination of ‘comedy on stage, tragedy off’. … So how do you construct a regional programme that will work?”
Johan Kobborg To Run Romania’s New National Ballet
The Danish dancer and choreographer – and the soon-to-be Mr. Alina Cojocaru – will move to his fiancée’s homeland next month ro run the new company, based at the national opera house in Bucharest.
What Happens When Ballet Dancers Date
“In this week’s episode of AOL’s City.Ballet web series, those questions are finally answered, and it’s just as gossipy as you might hope.”
The Roots Of Urban Planning In The Gardens At Versailles
An new exhibition at Louis XIV’s château posits that His Majesty’s landscape architect, André Le Nôtre, first put into practice ideas about layout that would influence urban planners for the next several centuries.
Cleveland Int’l Piano Competition Increases Top Prize By 50%
“Thanks to a gift from Mal and Barbara Mixon, the contest’s first prize now entails an award of $75,000, up from the previous $50,000. This makes Cleveland’s top prize one of the largest of its kind in the world.”
The Great Literary Feuds Of 2013
“Among this year’s conflicts, presented here in rough chronological order, a few themes emerge: clashes over the function of online literary criticism, questions about gender and literature, and struggles over who controls an artist’s legacy and fortune.”
What It Feels Like For A Girl – To Read Roth, Kerouac, And Other “Midcentury Misogynists”
Sara Marcus: “I remember putting On the Road down the first time a woman was mentioned. I was just like: ‘Fuck. You.'” Emily Witt: ““I read the [coming-of-age novels] by men instead, until I was like, ‘I cannot read another passage about masturbation. I can’t.’ It was like a pile of Kleenex.”
Nelson Mandela And ‘War And Peace’
The lessons Madiba learned from Tolstoy’s General Kutuzov, “whom everyone at the Russian court underestimated.”
How A Theft Made The Mona Lisa The World’s Most Famous Painting
It’s easy to assume that the case was big because the Mona Lisa was already “the world’s most famous painting”. It wasn’t. Its status was dramatically enhanced by the affair.
Is It Okay That Only 7 Percent Of British Movies Make A Profit?
“We’re nowhere near where we were in the ’80s when we were trapped in low budget British film-making, with films that no-one wanted to go and see.”
Violence Ratings On American TV Are Erratic, Group Claims
“Scenes of stabbings, shootings, rape, decapitation and mutilation invariably received a TV-14 “parents strongly cautioned” rating on network TV, according to the Parents Television Council study released Monday. But similar fare on cable typically was given the most stringent label, TV-MA for mature audiences only, researchers for the media watchdog group found.”