Blanche Moyse may be classical music's best-kept secret.
The woman hailed as perhaps the best conductor of Bach has been quietly performing and teaching in Vermont for the past half-century
Christian Science Monitor 21 June 2002
"So cute you could belt her," said a Sydney columnist, "sickeningly sweet little miss" said a Melbourne paper. Classic tall poppy treatment - only Nikki Webster is 15 years old The Age 21 June 2002
Stephen Paulus, probably best known for his 1982 opera "The Postman Always Rings Twice," turned to Edith Wharton for his recent two-act work, "Summer" New York Post 21 June 2002
Stevie Wishart would rather things were different. About three years ago, when she was faced with a choice of remaining in Australia on the dole, or moving abroad for more work opportunities, the Australian composer-performer chose the latter The Age 21 June 2002
Kate Connolly in Berlin reports on a Swiss production of Brecht's classic play, performed in the playwright's custom-built theatre
The Guardian 19 June 2002
Ever in search of idols, the international ballet world has found one in Carlos Acosta, the charismatic 29-year-old Cuban who is dancing with American Ballet Theater for the first time this season New York Times 19 June 2002
Few composers need a centenary less than Richard Rodgers. Unless you reside
on a remote island in the South Pacific, or perhaps a lonely ranch in
Oklahoma, you will have known his songs all your life The Times 18 June 2002
There were fist fights and civil anarchy when Edward Hall took Shakespeare
abroad. Who says the Bard has nothing to say to us today? The Guardian 17 June 2002
When you're trying to break into show business, it helps if you have a
famous last name to get you in the door. (See Barrymore, Drew, and Paltrow,
Gwyneth.) New York Post 17 June 2002
Playwright David Williamson is glad to be back on the Sunshine Coast after
the hype of London, where his play Up for Grabs was front-page news because
of the lesbian antics of its star Madonna The
Age 17 June 2002
Heath Ledger is a full 20 years younger than Chris Nolan. Heath Ledger has
a multi-million dollar movie budget to work with, while Chris Nolan simply
has his life savings and proceeds from a fluffy-toy named "Neddy
Teddy" Sydney Morning
Herald 17 June 2002
When some of the city's sexiest dancers gather tonight at Roseland for the
12th annual "Broadway Bares" burlesque benefit, just how much clothing will
actually come off? New York
Post 16 June 2002
The Sydney Theatre Company has bucked the trend of sagging commercial
activity in the arts sector since September 11 with a modest rise in both
casual ticket sales and subscriptions over the last 12 months Sydney Morning Herald 14 June 2002
It took the Royal Shakespeare Company more than 20 years to get to China -
and almost as long to get the audience to pay attention The Guardian 12 June 2002
There were no fights to the death, but yesterday was still a historic
event, when the city's amphitheatre threw open its doors after a mere 1,600
years The Guardian 12 June 2002
"What we wanted to know was: what do boys and girls get up to when they are
running amok? And how old are you before you have to take responsibility
for your actions?"
The Age 12 June 2002
The history of opera in the 20th century is littered with torsos -
unfinished works that hint at the troubled, ambiguous relationship between
the genre and musical modernism. No fewer than four of the leading
composers of the first half of the century left their stage masterpieces in
various states of incompletion Sydney Morning
Herald 11 June 2002
Arts administrator Sue Nattrass, who has headed the Adelaide and Melbourne
Arts Festivals, has been named an Officer in the Order of Australia in
today's Queen's birthday honours list ABC 10 June 2002
Playwrights love parties. From Romeo and Juliet's masked ball to the bow
ties and cocktails of 1950s West End comedy to the gay orgy in Mark
Ravenhill's Mother Clap's Molly House, dramatists have practised their own
brand of party politics for centuries The
Times 10 June 2002
Wonderful dancing. Technical precision. Truly beautiful costumes and sets.
Tchaikovsky's score played well, if a little heartily. How could I possibly
be disappointed in the opening night of the Royal Ballet's Swan Lake?
Sydney Morning Herald 10 June 2002
He's 62, Catholic and a member of the most routinely reviled of all UK's
nationalities - the Welsh. He's written 13 plays, founded the Riverside
Studios and the National Theatre Studio and was a huge directorial presence
at the Royal Court in the 1970s, where he rediscovered D.H. Lawrence as
playwright The Observer 9 June 2002
British actors made a good show of being dumbfounded as they received two
of Broadway's most prestigious theatrical awards on Sunday night, in a
ceremony rendered sufficiently theatrical in itself by another actor's
outburst when her rambling acceptance speech was cut short
The Guardian 4 June 2002
Veteran actor Gwen Plumb died yesterday at the age of 89, after a career
that lasted six decades and took her from the stages of vaudeville to
national fame in TV soap operas
Sydney Morning Herald 6 June 2002
Smith's escape from home started when he was 10 and a librarian gave him "The Merchant of Venice." When he read the line, "In sooth, I know not why I
am so sad," he found a kindred spirit International Herald Tribune 5 June 2002
The future of one of the world's most acclaimed dance companies is in doubt due to political infighting on the council of the city of Frankfurt Sydney Morning Herald 31 May 2002
The English National Ballet is targeting World Cup widows in a campaign depicting near-naked ballet boys wrapped in national flags The Guardian 27 May 2002
He was one of the founders of 'kitchen sink' drama in the late 1950s. So why has Arnold Wesker's later career been marked by diatribes against directors? The Guardian 25 May 2002
They gave Madonna a standing ovation. But, since her performance in David Williamson's comedy is that of a dogged trier lacking in technique or mystery, the gesture is meaningless: what the audience is applauding is not achievement but some hollow concept of celebrity The Guardian 24 May 2002
Russian director Aleksandr Sokourov has pushed back the boundaries of cinema with Russian Ark, the first international feature-length film shot in a single take ABC 23 May 2002
An Australian has landed another plum British cultural job with the surprise appointment of Sydney Opera House chief executive Michael Lynch as the head of central London's most controversial arts complex, the South Bank Centre The Age 23 May 2002
In the theatre, once a scene is cut it generally disappears into a playwright's trunk. That history was rewritten last week at the Dramatists Guild of America's awards ceremony. A selection of forgotten moments were resurrected and introduced - sheepishly - by the creators themselves International Herald Tribune 22 May 2002
Edward Albee's "The Goat" and Ovid's "Metamorphoses" tied for the Drama Desk Award for best play last night - a surprising result that underscores how tight the race for the Tony is between these two shows New York Post 20 May 2002
When Luciano Pavarotti started bailing out of his New York farewell performances towards the middle of last week with the flu, he acquired the title "phantom of the opera", along with loads of bad press The Age 18 May 2002
This summer sees the relaunch of two of Britain's most celebrated seasonal music events. What does the future hold for Glyndebourne and Glastonbury? The Guardian 17 May 2002
When on his deathbed, the great British actor Edmund Kean remarked that dying isn't difficult, it's comedy that's hard. With that keenly in mind, British director Oliver Parker brings Oscar Wilde's well-known light-as-a-bubble play to the screen, "The Importance of Being Earnest," the first film version in half a century Christian Science Monitor 17 May 2002
Behind every number there lies a story and Opera Australia's newest numbers have a few good tales to sing. They are told in the fine print of the flagship company's no-frills 2001 annual report, released yesterday Sydney Morning Herald 17 May 2002
Madonna may have yet to master the finer points of being a thespian - for instance, it helps to keep your eyes open when talking - but she's given a David Williamson play its fastest and most unambiguous standing ovation The Age 15 May 2002
Too big and very naive - the latest recipient of a prestigious award doesn't think she would be taken on by opera houses nowadays Sydney Morning Herald 13 May 2002
Opera should be as emotionless as science, says Michael Nyman, ensconced in the Abbey Road studio. And he explains why musical theft is good - and the Proms are pathetic The Observer 12 May 2002
Exactly 21 years ago, back in May 1981, turning some amusing poems for children by that dry old stick TS Eliot into a show, with music by a little known composer called Andrew Lloyd Webber, and a stage set of giant dustbins and wrecked cars, was not an instantly obvious formula for success The Guardian 11 May 2002
Satire is a sport laden with jeopardy. Play it too rough and it becomes nasty and mean spirited; go in with the soft tackle, and you are relegated to second division. Satire, for it to be effective, must crash-tackle its opponent and move on Sydney Morning Herald 11 May 2002
As Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow become the latest US celebrities on the London stage, some query the wisdom of a starstruck philosophy The Guardian 11 May 2002
Richard Strauss was obsessed with his opera, Daphne - it haunted the rest of his life's work. Tim Ashley reveals the political intrigue and Nazi intimidation behind its creation The Guardian 10 May 2002
After a bruising on Broadway, choreographer Christopher Wheeldon tells our critic why he's glad to be back at the Royal Ballet with a new work
The Times 10 May 2002
Very little is known about Sir Derek Jacobi. One of Britain's most accomplished actors, his renown is centred on the famous characters he has played The Age 6 May 2002
Two weeks ago, Yevgeny Svetlanov, who has died aged 73 in Moscow, conducted the BBC Symphony orchestra at London's Barbican. It was the usual heady Svetlanov brew The Guardian 6 May 2002
David Williamson was accused of making theatre a "safe and comfortable place" last week by fellow playwright Andrew Bovell, but judges still voted his Charitable Intent best new play in the 20th annual Green Room Awards last night The Age 6 May 2002
Don't you hate theatre? It's so white, middle-class and expensive whereas cinema is more culturally diverse and much cheaper... Er, no The Observer 5 May 2002
His latest play is complex brain food, but what Colin Friels really wants to talk about is boxing, the Swans and his missus Sydney Morning Herald 4 May 2002
A $56,000 prize is incentive enough, but if six young singers need further inspiration for their performances in a national opera final tomorrow, they need only look back a month The Age 4 May 2002
Australian playwright David Williamson has dismissed rumours that the first three London previews of his play Up For Grabs have been postponed because the play's star, Madonna, needed more time to rehearse The Age 2 May 2002
After successful performances on television, notably SeaChange, plus movie roles in Lord of the Rings, The Bank, and the soon-to-be-released Molokai (the Fr Damien story), David Wenham has returned to the stage The Age 1 May 2002
The first three London performances of David Williamson's play Up For Grabs, starring Madonna in her West End stage debut, have been postponed Sydney Morning Herald 30 April 2002
"It's a sort of Faustian experiment," says Franco Zeffirelli. "Sell your soul and you get your youth back." The septuagenarian film-maker and opera buff is talking about Callas Forever, a fictionalised account of the last four months in the life of Maria Callas Sydney Morning Herald 29 April 2002
It's the Tuesday after the Oscars, and an American Airlines jet carrying actress Samantha Mathis is fighting some serious turbulence en route to New York New York Post 27 April 2002
When she was 7, Lisa Bolte learned of a dancer called Margot Fonteyn. She didn't know much, just what the grown-ups told her.
The image of Fonteyn, based on a few words, gave Bolte a reason to dance
Sydney Morning Herald 27 April 2002
The play's the thing — or is it? Based on the reviews of "The Graduate," it all seems to boil down to this: What does Kathleen Turner look like naked? New York Post 26 April 2002
The lingering feeling that there was something rotten in the state of Stratford was confirmed last night as the Royal Shakespeare Company's beleaguered artistic director, Adrian Noble, announced he was leaving The Guardian 25 April 2002
Remains of a timber framed house which Shakespeare may have built, and lived in with other actors from his company, have been found within a stone's throw of the site of his Globe theatre, and just round the corner from the modern replica where the 438th anniversary of his birth will be commemorated today The Guardian 23 April 2002
The 10-day 2002 Adelaide Festival has still finished up losing money — despite being propped up with a record $8 million in State Government grants The Advertiser 23 April 2002
Two young performers are set to become stage stars with the announcement that the Sydney production of The Lion King will be locally cast Sydney Morning Herald 22 April 2002
... the earliest known portrait of the third Earl of Southampton, Shakespeare's patron and possible lover. Its dramatic discovery will ignite a new debate about the playwright's sexuality The Observer 22 April 2002
Three acts for the under-fives were in BRW's recent top 50 entertainers' list and, this week, the Tweenies kick off their Australian tour ($35.60 per ticket). So, who's making all the money? The Age 22 April 2002
"The magic of the theatre, for me, lies in its profound simplicity and my innate willingness to hand myself over to a group of actors" The Observer 22 April 2002
He played piano in bars and worked as a stage hand in variety shows but his real passion was for theatre: a profile of the man described as Britain's best director The Guardian 20 April 2002
Remember that deliciously nasty lawsuit between Stephen Sondheim and producer Scott Rudin over Sondheim's new musical, "Gold!"? Though it was settled earlier this year, the suit continues to poison Sondheim's life, professionally and privately New York Post 19 April 2002
The Australian arts and entertainment industry has bounced back from a slump in 2000, according to the 10th annual Sweeney Arts Report The Age 19 April 2002
Back when the off-Broadway thriller "Perfect Crime" was just a glimmer in a producer's eye, the plum part of the possibly homicidal psychiatrist was up for grabs New York Post 18 April 2002
The oldest puppet theatre in Britain, which trained generations of puppeteers who went on to shows like the Muppets and Spitting Image, will close its doors in two weeks, and may shut forever at the end of the year The Guardian 18 April 2002
David Williamson would be wise to give extra thought to his seating arrangements at the opening of his new play tonight. Avoid proximity to literary lions, publishing executives, festival directors or best-selling authors Sydney Morning Herald 18 April 2002
The man with the busiest diary in town has replaced a man who was too busy to chair the Federal Government's main arts funding body, the Australia Council Sydney Morning Herald 17 April 2002
After 15 years at the Royal Opera, Bernard Haitink bows out with a glorious Tristan. Isolde (Brisbane gal Lisa Gasteen) is not bad, either The Observer 14 April 2002
Sixteen days, 1500 performances and $1.3 million worth of tickets into the Comedy Festival and the crowds are showing no signs of abating The Age 13 April 2002
Some readers will be depressed by a comparison of the classical top 10 in Australia and the UK, others reassured, writes Roger Covell Sydney Morning Herald 10 April 2002
Her London audience stamped and cheered as Australian soprano Lisa Gasteen took her first bow on the stage of the Royal Opera House Sydney Morning Herald 9 April 2002
Prejudice about physical disability once threatened to silence the voice of Thomas Quasthoff. Now the celebrated bass-baritone is singing Mahler across the world. And 'My Way'. Next stop, opera The Observer 7 April 2002