Olga Smirnova, a da Vinci of Ballet, Settles Into a New Life, New Rep
Frantic corrections filled the main studio of the Dutch National Ballet on a recent afternoon. A new Shakespeare adaptation, 'Lady Macbeth,' was about to go onstage, and the choreographer, Helen Pickett, and her assistants crisscrossed the room to deliver last-minute changes or tweak the positioning of an arm.
Then Olga Smirnova, a former star of the Bolshoi Ballet, stepped forward for a solo, and the room went still. With her back turned, Smirnova reached behind herself slowly. Her supple arms and fingers unfurled with a quiver, instantly conjuring Lady Macbeth's tangled emotions.
'It's like watching da Vinci work,' Pickett said with a contented sigh after the rehearsal.
Until 2022, Smirnova's blend of technical mastery and dramatic intensity made her one of Russia's most in-demand ballerinas, with a vast repertoire of leading roles at the Bolshoi and the prestige that comes with it in her country. Then, weeks after country invaded Ukraine, she announced she would leave it all behind and join the Dutch National Ballet.
In a post to the messaging app Telegram, Smirnova, who had a Ukrainian grandfather, wrote that she was 'ashamed of Russia' and opposed the war 'with all the fibers of my soul.' While a number of foreigners who worked in Russian ballet companies departed around the same time, Smirnova remains the most high-profile Russian dancer to have publicly made the move. Image Olga Smirnova and Timothy van Poucke rehearsing 'Lady Macbeth' at the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam. Credit... Jussi Puikkonen for The New York Times
The personal cost has been significant, Smirnova, 33, said in an interview in Amsterdam. Three years on, she still has 'very little contact' with her former colleagues and friends in Russia. Her parents struggled to understand her decision; she has not seen them since the war began, although she's working to find a way: 'I still want to have my family as my family.'
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CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
"O for a muse of fire": The modern appeal of Shakespeare
I know what you're thinking: Shakespeare, ugh! Is this one of those take-your-medicine, eat-your-spinach, good-for-you stories I should watch but really don't WANT to watch? Well, fear not! Ira Glass, creator and host of the popular public radio program "This American Life," has felt your pain since high school. "It was hard to read in school," Glass said. "It seemed like, Oh, that's what smart people like. I felt, there must be something here." And then, in 2014, Glass attended a production of "King Lear" in New York's Central Park, starring John Lithgow. John Lithgow as King Lear in a 2014 Shakespeare in the Park production of the tragedy, in New York's Central Park. Public Theater After the play, Glass tweeted out: "Shakespeare: not good. No stakes, not relatable. I think I'm realizing: Shakespeare sucks." @JohnLithgow as Lear tonight: amazing. Shakespeare: not good. No stakes, not relatable. I think I'm realizing: Shakespeare sucks. — Ira Glass (@iraglass) July 28, 2014 "I thought it was obvious that it was a joke, but people did not take it as a joke," he said. And the backlash was immediate: "Ira Glass is a philistine for saying Shakespeare sucks" (The New Republic); "The internet is freaking out about Ira Glass saying Shakespeare sucks" (The Atlantic); "Ira Glass hates Shakespeare" (Chicago Tribune). Glass said, "But I think that's the problem with Shakespeare. I think, like, if you dare to say anything bad about it, you feel like, Oh, I must be dumb." Revenge and murder and treachery "If Shakespeare saw a lot of his productions, he would say he sucked," said Farah Karim-Cooper. "I don't think Shakespeare would ever have been able, in his own time, to put a four-hour 'Hamlet' on his stage." And that's from someone who has devoted her career to Shakespeare. Karim-Cooper, director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washingto, D.C., says Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" spoke directly to her: "I think as a Pakistani-American teenager, I couldn't believe that Shakespeare actually understood my family. Because my grandmother had an arranged marriage, and then my mother was told she has to marry someone that they choose. And she's like, No, I'm marrying this man. And she married my dad who was a sea captain. So I was like, How does he know about Pakistani families?" It seems that Shakespeare, born in 1564, also knew about teenage girls growing up in Washington, D.C. "When I was 13, my older brother took me to see my first Shakespeare, and I immediately decided Hamlet was my boyfriend, not realizing he may be the worst boyfriend in the world!" said Maureen Dowd, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times. "Then, I began studying Shakespeare in school and completely fell in love with his work." Two years ago, Dowd went back to school and received her master's degree in English Literature from Columbia University, where she focused on Shakespeare. "What I love about Shakespeare is he deals in primary colors," she said. "He is about revenge and murder and treachery – that's actually exactly how I program my Netflix algorithm. So, to me, he's very modern." "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" Opened in 1932, the Folger Shakespeare Library was a gift to the nation from businessman Henry Folger and his wife, Emily. Recently renovated at a cost of $80 million, the library holds the world's largest collection of what are known as first folios – the earliest printed compilations of 36 of Shakespeare's plays. The folios, said librarian Greg Prickman, mark "a transition from Shakespeare on the stage to Shakespeare on the page." Today, the folios have been sold for as much as $10 million. Without them, his plays may very well have been lost. Some of the first folios in the collection of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. CBS News Dowd says it's fitting that the Folger is located in the nation's capital: "Outside in the garden, there's a silvery statue of Puck from 'Midsummers Night's Dream,' and the line, 'Lord, what fools these mortals be,' and it faces the Capitol. And there's never been a more apt description of politics in Washington than that." In fact, Dowd says, Shakespeare was a cultural father figure to America's earliest leaders. "The Founding Fathers were very steeped in Shakespeare," she said. "Thomas Jefferson advised people to read Shakespeare from the time it got dark 'til the time they went to bed." John Adams read Shakespeare to better understand the dark side of power, and how to protect against it. "The Founding Fathers definitely used it to form the Republic," she said. Dowd herself cites the Bard in her new collection, "Notorious," just as she has in her column ever since 1995, when Bill Clinton was president. "Clinton just is such a classic Shakespeare character because he just had this tragic flaw of recklessness," Dowd said. She compared Vice President Dick Cheney to Iago, preying on the insecurities of George W. Bush's Othello … Barack Obama to Hamlet, for his hesitancy and indecisiveness … and as for Joe Biden? "If Joe Biden had read 'King Lear,' he would've realized the dangers of the gerontocracy, and you really should not cling to power and suffocate the younger people who are coming along," Dowd said. And then there's the current commander-in-chief: "Donald Trump reminds me of several different plays. He's kind of like late Lear, howling at the moon. He's also like Julius Caesar in a republic, but trying to grab the crown and think of himself as an emperor," Dowd said. "Thou art a villain" Actor Patrick Page was introduced to Shakespeare by his father, also an actor. In his first copy of Shakespeare, given to him when he was nine years old, Page's father wrote the following inscription: "To Patrick – May you find much joy in these words. Love, Dad." Patrick Page in his one-man show, "All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain." "All the Devils Are Here" Since 2017, Page has been performing his one-man show, "All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain." As he describes it, "Their tragedy is not that they are evil; their tragedy is that, hand in hand, they choose evil." Asked why Shakespeare's villains are so enduring, Page replied, "I think because we're all interested in the darkness in ourselves. Shakespeare gives these villains true motivations, true inner lives, true back stories." In his show, Page explores the villainy of characters who still speak to us today. For example, both Heath Ledger's Joker in "The Dark Knight" and the Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz," he says, are descended from Shakespeare's deformed-with-evil Richard III, while Walter White, in "Breaking Bad," is very much like Macbeth. As terrifying as these characters are, Dowd says there's nothing to be afraid of when it comes to Shakespeare. "With Shakespeare there are always more layers," she said. "I mean, it's a constant source of amazement, because Shakespeare was the best entertainer of all time, I would say." WEB EXCLUSIVE: Extended interview - Maureen Dowd on Shakespeare For more info: Story produced by Jay Kernis. Editor: Lauren Barnello. Brush up your Shakespeare: FROM THE ARCHIVES: Rebuilding Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (YouTube Video) American actor Sam Wanamaker fought for years to recreate Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, which had burned down in 1613. He didn't live to see a new Globe rise on the south bank of the Thames. In this Aug. 3, 1997 "Sunday Morning" report, correspondent Tom Fenton talked with actress Zoe Wanamaker about her father's obsession, along with master builder Peter McCurdy; Mark Rylance, the actor-manager of the Globe; and American actors Christian Camargo and Steven Skybell, about bringing the immortal works of Shakespeare to life in "The Wooden O." Also:
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
These Broadway portraits were stolen from Sardi's restaurant
It's not easy being green. Of the nearly 1,000 celebrity caricatures on the walls of iconic theater-district institution Sardi's, the one pilfered the most, oddly, is Kermit the Frog. 'Kermit was stolen three times. And then we screwed him up to the wall,' Johnny Felidi, longtime maître d' at the 100-year-old eatery, told The Post ahead of Sunday's Tony Awards. Advertisement Another celebrity who had to be screwed at the beloved West 44th Street eatery: Barbra Streisand. After her original 1963 portrait was purloined, it took the 'Funny Girl' 55 years to agree to another caricature. 8 Kermit the Frog, who filmed a scene at Sardi's for 'The Muppets Take Manhattan,' had his caricature stolen three times. J.C. Rice Advertisement 'And you're gonna love what she wrote on it — 'Don't steal this one,'' said Felidi, who has worked at Sardi's for 26 years. 'Julie Andrews was another one that went missing for a long time and then it was allegedly found at an auction,' added receptionist Lydia DeLuca, who spent last summer updating the binder that lists every celeb's name and their location on three floors of the four-story restaurant. 8 Barbra Streisand also had her caricature taken off the wall, so she wrote 'Don't steal this one!' on her second portrait. Jeremy Wagner Bob Hope's was looted as well — and his thief, who was drinking at the bar, was captured on their security cameras. Advertisement 'So we got their credit card information, called them up . . . and of course they get belligerent. And we said, 'We don't want to have law enforcement involved, so just return the caricature.' And they did,' recalled Felidi, a native of Parma, Italy, who grew up in the Bronx. 8 Maître d Johnny Felidi has been at Sardi's for 26 years. J.C. Rice Due to all the star-snatching, the priceless portraits adorning the walls of Sardi's — where the idea for the Tonys was conceived over lunch — are now duplicates of the originals, which are stored in a safe. It wasn't until 1986, after the death of James Cagney, that founder Vincent Sardi decided to start using dupes. Advertisement 'The night he died, they stole his caricature, never to be seen again,' said Felidi. 8 George Clooney, who made his Broadway debut this year in 'Good Night, and Good Luck' had his Sardi's portrait unveiled in April. J.C. Rice The time-honored tradition started when Sardi hired Russian immigrant Alex Gard to create the portraits in the fledgling restaurant in exchange for meals in an attempt to 'drum up business.' Brooklyn native Richard Baratz, a former engraver for the treasury department, is now the artist behind the boldfaced names. 'That's why now you see tiny little lines in his work,' Felidi noted. 8 Denzel Washington, pictured here with his 'Othello' co-star Jake Gyllenhaal, had his Sardi's portrait revealed right before the Tony Awards. Getty Images This season, Baratz sketched the portraits of Broadway A-listers Nick Jonas, Jake Gyllenhaal, Denzel Washington and George Clooney — nominated for a Tony for his debut on the Great White Way in 'Good Night, and Good Luck.' Legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has six Tonys and is nominated for another for 'Sunset Boulevard,' also went up this year, after a decade-long wait. Advertisement 'We've had his caricature ready and drawn. It was scheduling conflicts and so we never had our paths crossed enough to do it until recently,' DeLuca explained. 8 Sardi's receptionist Lydia DeLuca spent last summer updating the binder that contains every celeb's name and their portrait's location. J.C. Rice To make room for the newcomers, current owner Max Klimavicius chooses which ones to remove and puts them into their storage facility, which contains around 500 portraits. About 230 others have been donated to the New York Public Library. Many of the famous faces are purposefully placed — and celebrity couples such as Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson and Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward are nestled side by side. Advertisement 'We have Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster together — they're dating,' Felidi said of Broadway's newest it couple. 'When Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith got divorced, we separated them. We have Richard Burton up there, we have Liz Taylor down here so they don't fight.' When Tony Danza starred in 'Chicago,' he got his portrait done — but only agreed to it under one condition. 'He said, 'Please put me next to Sammy Davis Jr. And never take me away.'' Advertisement 8 Celebrity couples, like Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman, are placed side by side. J.C. Rice Two former employees — who worked at Sardi's before they got famous — also had their images drawn. 'Martin Sheen worked here as a busboy in the 1960s,' Felidi said, pointing to the image of Sheen on the back wall of the first-floor dining room. However, Chevy Chase, who worked there as a doorman in the '70s, still hasn't gotten his hung. Advertisement 8 Sardi's, located at 234 West 44th Street, opened in 1927. J.C. Rice 'Every time he comes here he goes, 'Where's my caricature?' And I tell him, 'Chevy, it's in the office, we're waiting for you to sign it.' And he says, 'Okay, after I finish my meal, I'm gonna sign it.' And he always forgets.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
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Social media users react to Musk-Trump feud
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's war of words has left Washington analyzing how quickly their once close relationship deteriorated and the implications. But social media users around the world took out their popcorn, flocked to their devices, and chimed in as the feud played out on social media. From Musk and Trump's supporters cheering each of them on, with others telling them to cool things off, to memes from other internet users relishing in the back and forth, platforms like X, Truth Social, and BlueSky have allowed the public to watch it all unfold and weigh in in real time. "They see this as a catfight," Jennifer Grygiel, an associate professor of communications at Syracuse University, told ABC News. "The one reason people are tuning in is because we are watching mutual destruction." MORE: Trump tells ABC Musk 'lost his mind'; 'not particularly' interested in talking to him Grygiel noted that while some of the social media engagement might be all fun and games, it does speak to a larger issue about the public's dissatisfaction with the current state of politics and civic engagement. More important, the professor pointed out, it does distract from the bigger political issues and debates going on. As soon as Musk's and Trump's posts dropped Thursday afternoon, social media users started to post themselves. "This is like Drake and Kendrick Lamar but they're both Drake," Anna Hughes, a Canadian Ocean conservation researcher in a viral BlueSky post. One famous support of both Trump and Musk urged them to stop. "Broooos please noooooo 🫂 We love you both so much," rapper Ye posted on X. Others started making memes, some of which used AI-generated images, of Trump and Musk fighting or appearing as a couple breaking up. "LET ME HOST THE REUNION!" late night talk show host Andy Cohen posted on X. On the serious side, Republicans on the Hill, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance, put out statements on X defending the president and the spending bill. "There are many lies the corporate media tells about President Trump. One of the most glaring is that he's impulsive or short-tempered. Anyone who has seen him operate under pressure knows that's ridiculous," Vance posted. Conservative commentator Jack Posobiec claimed in an X post that the pair's back-and-forth was blown out of proportion. "Some of y'all cant handle 2 high agency males going at it and it really shows," he said. Some Democrats took to social media to gloat. MORE: Trump Musk feud explodes with claim president is in Epstein files "Siri, play 'Bad Blood,'" Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on BlueSky Thursday evening, referencing the Taylor Swift song about a relationship on the rocks. The online peanut gallery wasn't limited to American spectators. Dmitri Medvedev, the former Russian president and Russian prime minister, took to X early Friday morning with a georpolitical dose of sarcasm. "We are ready to facilitate the conclusion of a peace deal between D and E for a reasonable fee and to accept Starlink shares as payment. Don't fight, guys," he said. Grygiel said Trump and Musk knew they would stir up their political bases and the general public by taking their quarrels to their respective social media platforms, likening it to how media tycoons owners used the magazines and newspaper they owned at the turn of the 20th century. "It's almost like all of these social media platforms are sports teams, with their own personalities," they said. "If anything both men obviously know the importance of tweaking public opinion." Grant Reeher, professor of political science at Syracuse University, told ABC News that Musk and Trump's use of social media has encouraged this political engagement for years. "I think it's very emblematic of the whole process of a lot of big changes in political communication and campaigning rhetoric. Grygiel, however, said the posts and comments by some social media users show the public's increased distrust and frustration with their elected leaders. MORE: CBO estimates Trump's bill could add $2.4T to deficit, leave 11 million without health insurance "The jokes speak to a lack of disengagement and how we feel like this is ridiculous," they said. Grygiel, however, warned the engagement over the spat is overall detrimental to the general public as other pressing issues, including Trump's budget cuts, which set off the feud in the first place. Connecticut Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy echoed this sentiment in a blunt BlueSky post Thursday. "When 15 million Americans lose their health care and plunge into personal crisis, none of them are going to give a s--- about a made-for-clicks Twitter fight between two billionaires arguing," he said.
