The one thing you can't wear to the opera
Plus, the violin that went missing during WWII.
On Saturday, I saw American Ballet Theatre’s production of Christopher Wheeldon’s A Winter’s Tale. It was principal dancer Cassandra Trenary’s last performance (for now, maybe) with the company before she joins Vienna’s Wiener Staatsballett in the fall. Trenary is a skilled technician and an expressive actress, and I hope that her move to Vienna affords her more opportunities to take on roles that showcase her artistry and physical prowess. I am optimistic, especially with the supremely gifted Alessandra Ferri leading the company.
Trenary excelled in the role of Hermione, as did Skylar Brandt as the young, spritely Perdita. Herman Cornejo proved his acting chops as Leontes, and Jake Roxander’s performance as Florizel led me to ask once again: when is he going to be promoted to principal? It has to be soon.
I am about halfway through Middlemarch and generally catching up from the long weekend. Quick and free letter today!
In Japan, ballet has a great audience—but not great conditions for dancers. Former Royal Ballet principal, Miyako Yoshida, who became the director of the National Ballet of Japan in 2020, is trying to change that. She tells The Times—in anticipation of her bringing her staging of Giselle to Covent Garden—that she is working to make sure ballet is a sustainable career in her home country. That means pushing for dancers to be salaried, with pensions, rather than getting paid a base and performance rate (as the system currently stands) and making sure they have access to good physical therapy and medical care. From the sound of it, there is still more to be done, but it’s heartening to see someone in a position of power advocate for dancers like this.
However, in many places, dance remains inaccessible for many. A recent report found that dance in Wales—meaning, the region’s traditional folk dances—is “elitist, tokenistic, and non-diverse.” That’s because of (no surprise…) a lack of funding, the BBC reports. The Arts Council of Wales is taking action to change that, with £350,000 allocated for the promotion of dance and expansion of dance training accessibility through the country in 2025 to 2026. The Welsh government, unlike most of the rest of the world, actually increased its arts funding 9.2 percent this year.
Artist Anna Weyant, 30, who you may know for her Vogue cover of Kaia Gerber, soft surrealism, and wonderful use of beiges and pinks, is getting her first museum retrospective at Madrid’s Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum. She spoke with the FT recently about her practice, her former romantic relationship with her art dealer, Larry Gagosian, and when she decides to kill a painting: “at this point, if it’s not exciting, it’s not worth it for me to let it out into the world.”
Nigeria’s Museum of West African Art, located in Benin City, will officially open to the public in November, though its campus is expected to be completed by 2028. The 15-acre(!) complex will feature a research institute, a contemporary art space, a hotel, and a performance space, ArtNews reports.
More artists are innovating ways to protect the environment. One of the latest is Ximena Caminos, whose seven-mile underwater sculpture park and hybrid reef will begin construction in September. Cultured has the details.
What happened to a 316-year-old violin that was stolen during World War II? It may now be in possession of Japanese violinist, Eijin Nimura, who acquired an eerily similar violin to the missing instrument in 2005—but he himself is not convinced of its alleged history. The New York Times has the full story.
Sorry but you can’t wear flip-flops at La Scala—Milan’s famed opera house—anymore.
The former librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden—who was recently fired by Trump—has a new gig. She’s joined the Mellon Foundation as a senior fellow, where she will advise on “opportunities to support and advance libraries, archives, and other organizations in the public knowledge ecosystem.”
An exhibit at the Smithsonian about pop culture is under review by the Trump administration because it addresses issues such as racism and colonialism.
I hate to tell you this but they are talking about straight white male novels again.
Let’s end on something positive with this story about UpBeat NYC, a music school in the Bronx where kids thrive on classical music. ▲