Category Archives: News
Flip-flopping at Spoleto, Italy
First there was talk of sharing an opera, now there’s none.
Dan Wakin, the classical music reporter for The New York Times, is in Italy covering the Festival of Two Worlds, the counterpart to Charleston’s Spoleto Festival USA. He writes that the two festivals are considering sharing an orchestra next year, at a cost that was […]
Back to CCP’s Unscripted
Thanks to all the 5,000-6,000 readers who spent time with us during this year’s festival. Since about May 19, Spoleto Buzz has been my job and my passion. It’s been a blast the whole way.
Of course, there’s more to Charleston than Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto. Much more.
That’s why I invite you to switch tracks with […]
Crunching numbers
Spoleto released figures on ticket sales yesterday.
The final tally is $2.86 million in sales.
A total of 73,157 tickets were sold this year, down from 73,390 last year.
This year 70,257 tickets were in single ticket sales while 2,900 were in group sales.
In 2007, single tickets amounted to 69,690 while group sales added up to 3,700.
There’s not […]
The final rankings
Here’s my final rankings in theater, musical theater, opera, and dance for this year’s Spoleto. You’ll notice three of these are Piccolo events, one of which is comedy. Remember this is entirely subjective.
1. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
2. Low Tide Hotel (yes, this is a Piccolo Spoleto performance)
3. The Great War by […]
Wadsworth to retire after 2009 festival and 80th birthday
Charles Wadsworth, the director of Spoleto Festival USA’s chamber music series for more than 30 years, announced yesterday that he will retire after the conclusion of the 2009 festival.
The year will mark Wadsworth’s 80th birthday and the 50th consecutive season in which he has curated chamber music, beginning with Gian Carlo Menotti’s Festival of Two […]
Is Wadsworth stepping down?
In today’s P&C, Charles Wadsworth, founder of Spoleto’s chamber music series and series director for more than 30 years, hints at it. The piece is about the appointment of Geoff Nuttall, violinist of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, as associate artistic director, the first time Wadsworth has needed an assistant.
“In recent years, it has been […]
Will Lou Reed show up tonight?
I just got a call from a spokesperson from Spoleto Festival. She said that tonight’s performance of Homeland by Laurie Anderson at Memminger Auditorium might feature a special guest.
I couldn’t discern who that special guest might be. I asked twice if it were Anderson’s husband Lou Reed. She said she couldn’t say.
Even so, Reed has […]
Connecting the dots — part 2
GENDER BENDING
Taylor Mac, the drag queen, is an obvious gender bender. Not so obvious is Laurie Anderson. Twice during last night’s performance of her work Homeland, she used a sound effect to deepen her voice to that of a man — or demon or sage or motivational speaker (we’re never quite sure what it’s supposed […]
New Spoleto rankings
Now that we’re past the second weekend of Spoleto, and looking forward to a third, here is, once again, my unscientific, completely irrational, and wholly subjective ranking of what I feel are the best shows thus far in dance, theater, and opera. The rankings are from highest (I liked and respected it) to the lowest […]
Quoted over the weekend
“A tanorexic is a very tan person who looks in the mirror and doesn’t see a tan person.” — Taylor Mac, The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac
“The first African American I ever met was a white woman from Texas” — Marc Bamuthi Joseph, the break/s
Q: “Why don’t you have bluegrass at Spoleto?”
A: “What’s bluegrass?” — Emmanuel […]
