By Daniel Edward Rosen 11/29/11 11:00am

power broker

The Mother-In-Chief at her office. (Courtesy Jackie Snow)

All In The Family

When the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts sought to sell a block of space at its Midtown building in 2009, the nonprofit turned to a straight-talking broker at the Winoker Realty Company whose talent for converting condo space into offices had long ago cultivated her a reputation for success in the real estate industry.

The Elizabeth Foundation was looking to sell three floors and a retail space at 323 West 39th Street to raise money to pay off some of its mortgage while funding its thriving arts programs. The foundation had purchased the 52,573-square-foot building in 1999 under the assumption that owning, rather than renting, has its benefits.

“Our [message] is, why should you pay your landlord’s mortgage if you can pay your own,” said Jonata Dayan, the Israeli-born, Flatbush-bred broker who represented the Elizabeth Foundation in a 2009 transaction. Read More

By Zachary Woolfe 9/28/11 12:37pm

Opera

Cashman and Netrebko.

Bravo Bolena! Soprano Anna Netrebko Dazzles in Met Production

Opera has never lacked for soprano showcases, but Anna Bolena has diva running especially deep in its DNA.

Donizetti wrote the work in the fall of 1830 in Como, Italy, at a villa owned by the great singer Giuditta Pasta, who was to star as Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s ill-fated second wife. It may have been Pasta’s epic presence—we are told that “no language could convey an idea of the beauty, the intensity, the sublimity of her acting”—or Felice Romani’s deep, humane libretto or Donizetti’s readiness to bring his artistry to a new level. Whatever the explanation, the result was a triumph: one of the great operas of all time and one of the great roles, a test of both vocal display and vocal control that culminates in a brilliant final scene in which the queen, unjustly accused of adultery, prepares to be executed.

But by the late 19th century it had mostly vanished from the repertory, and it had never been done at the Metropolitan Opera before Monday evening, when it opened the company’s 128th season as a vehicle for the Met’s star soprano, Anna Netrebko. Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 8/03/11 10:22am

The Eight-Day Week

Rangel.

The Eight-Day Week: August 3-August 10

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, August 3

The Ultimate Art Machine

Is the Guggenheim the Shake Shack of museums? Locations, locations, locations! Not content with outposts in the Basque Country and the United Arab Emirates (as well as the now-shuttered Las Vegas outpost, which seems in retrospect a bit of an overreach…to Read More

By Dan Duray 7/05/11 8:39pm

The Transom

photo(2)

How the Met Got (Fire) Hosed

So many artists aspire to one day be shown in the Met. But some strategies are more more creative than others.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will soon affix a standard label designating Dove Bradshaw’s “Performance” an official piece of its collection. The work itself technically never belonged to Ms. Bradshaw, nor is it entirely Read More