Michael Cooper
@coopnytimes.bsky.social
deputy culture editor, The New York Times
OPERA NEWS: The Metropolitan Opera, one of the world’s most renowned performing arts companies, is turning to Saudi Arabia to help it solve some of the most severe financial problems in its 142-year history.
The Met Opera Turns to Saudi Arabia to Help Solve Its Financial Woes
www.nytimes.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:01 PM
OPERA NEWS: The Metropolitan Opera, one of the world’s most renowned performing arts companies, is turning to Saudi Arabia to help it solve some of the most severe financial problems in its 142-year history.
This is a fun read
Fewer People Are Reading for Fun, Study Finds
www.nytimes.com
August 21, 2025 at 5:34 PM
This is a fun read
The Smithsonian put up new text on Friday that changed its description of President Trump’s impeachment following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The Smithsonian Changes Its Description of Trump’s Role on Jan. 6
www.nytimes.com
August 8, 2025 at 9:16 PM
The Smithsonian put up new text on Friday that changed its description of President Trump’s impeachment following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Exit, pursued by a raccoon
Upstaged by Raccoons? The Joys of Playing Shakespeare in Central Park.
www.nytimes.com
August 5, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Exit, pursued by a raccoon
Hiroshima and the End We Refuse to Imagine
80 Years After Hiroshima Bombing, Art Needs ‘Courage to Be Afraid’
Eighty years after the city’s destruction, we seem to be blundering into a new age of nuclear perils. It is time for culture to rediscover “the courage to be afraid.”
www.nytimes.com
August 3, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Hiroshima and the End We Refuse to Imagine
pure charm
The Ballet Kids of ‘Midsummer’ Bring Magic to the Bugs
www.nytimes.com
May 28, 2025 at 8:03 PM
pure charm
Monticello is asking a question: Can leaning into the messy, complicated, nasty, origins of our partisan political system save us?
These Founding Fathers Were Frenemies. Maybe We Can Learn Something.
www.nytimes.com
May 25, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Monticello is asking a question: Can leaning into the messy, complicated, nasty, origins of our partisan political system save us?
Argue amongst yourselves:
The Best Movies of 2025, So Far
www.nytimes.com
May 24, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Argue amongst yourselves:
Makes me want to pack my bags
My Five Favorite Works of Art in Mexico City
www.nytimes.com
May 23, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Makes me want to pack my bags
“Making his way in the world today, Wendt’s performance suggested, took everything Norm had got.” — @poniewozik.bsky.social
Everybody Knew His Name: ‘Norm!’
www.nytimes.com
May 20, 2025 at 11:14 PM
“Making his way in the world today, Wendt’s performance suggested, took everything Norm had got.” — @poniewozik.bsky.social
‘Sesame Street’ will be brought to you by the letter N
‘Sesame Street,’ Facing Crisis, Signs New Deal With Netflix
www.nytimes.com
May 19, 2025 at 9:57 PM
‘Sesame Street’ will be brought to you by the letter N
The bust was a bust
Anatomy of a $70 Million Auction Flop
www.nytimes.com
May 15, 2025 at 1:11 AM
The bust was a bust
The new “Salome” at the Met has a fascinating new take on the scandalous Dance of the Seven Veils. Watch how it has evolved over the years…
Seven Takes on Opera’s Most Lurid Dance
www.nytimes.com
May 14, 2025 at 10:50 PM
The new “Salome” at the Met has a fascinating new take on the scandalous Dance of the Seven Veils. Watch how it has evolved over the years…
“Broadway’s box office has finally surpassed its prepandemic peak, fueled by three starry dramas and one green witch.”
George Clooney and Denzel Washington Power Broadway to Prepandemic Heights
www.nytimes.com
May 13, 2025 at 6:33 PM
“Broadway’s box office has finally surpassed its prepandemic peak, fueled by three starry dramas and one green witch.”
A House committee approved a budget proposal last week that called for allocating $257 million to the Kennedy Center for capital repairs and other expenses, roughly six times the amount it usually receives from the government.
Trump’s Kennedy Center Would Get $257 Million in House Republican Plan
www.nytimes.com
May 6, 2025 at 9:01 PM
A House committee approved a budget proposal last week that called for allocating $257 million to the Kennedy Center for capital repairs and other expenses, roughly six times the amount it usually receives from the government.
For nearly four decades the prop house History for Hire has helped filmmakers recreate the past. But with fewer films shot in Los Angeles, they are not sure about their future.
Where Would Hollywood Find Its Guillotines or Pay Phones Without Them?
For nearly four decades the prop house History for Hire has helped filmmakers recreate the past. But with fewer films shot in Los Angeles, they are not sure how much longer they can hang on.
www.nytimes.com
May 4, 2025 at 7:18 PM
For nearly four decades the prop house History for Hire has helped filmmakers recreate the past. But with fewer films shot in Los Angeles, they are not sure about their future.
New on NEA cuts:
The National Endowment for the Arts Begins Terminating Grants
The endowment told arts organizations that it was withdrawing or canceling current grants just hours after President Trump proposed eliminating the agency in the next fiscal year.
www.nytimes.com
May 3, 2025 at 3:37 PM
New on NEA cuts:
President Trump proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in the budget he released Friday, taking aim once again at two agencies that he had tried and failed to get rid of during his first term.
Trump Seeks to Eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts
The president’s budget proposal also called for getting rid of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences.
www.nytimes.com
May 2, 2025 at 9:40 PM
President Trump proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in the budget he released Friday, taking aim once again at two agencies that he had tried and failed to get rid of during his first term.
Some amazing ballet cameos in this show...
With ‘Étoile,’ Amy Sherman-Palladino Gives Ballet Another Whirl
Her “Bunheads” and other ballet shows were canceled quickly. This new series, created with her husband, centers on fictional companies in New York and Paris.
www.nytimes.com
April 28, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Some amazing ballet cameos in this show...
Some said the overlap between mega-galleries and museums is to be expected, since both spotlight the field’s most influential figures. Others warn that it can raise questions of conflicts of interest, since museum shows typically lift the reputations of artists and the prices of their work.
How Hauser & Wirth Took Over N.Y.C.’s Museums This Spring
Hauser & Wirth artists have major exhibitions everywhere you look, as a new analysis shows the rising influence of powerful art galleries on the city’s top museums.
www.nytimes.com
April 27, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Some said the overlap between mega-galleries and museums is to be expected, since both spotlight the field’s most influential figures. Others warn that it can raise questions of conflicts of interest, since museum shows typically lift the reputations of artists and the prices of their work.
Zoom in on the pope's favorite painting, by an artist you might not expect. This is well worth a moment of your time:
A Closer Look at Pope Francis’ Favorite Painting
Caravaggio was an artist of rare directness, whose naturalistic pictures brought the heavens down to earth. Our critic Jason Farago shows you what Francis may have seen in them.
www.nytimes.com
April 25, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Zoom in on the pope's favorite painting, by an artist you might not expect. This is well worth a moment of your time:
Scroll down for the full list of President Trump’s “American Heroes”
Trump Administration Seeks Artists for ‘Garden of Heroes’ Statues
Those selected would receive up to $200,000 to create one of the 250 sculptures, which will be paid for in part with canceled grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
www.nytimes.com
April 25, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Scroll down for the full list of President Trump’s “American Heroes”
“This sucks for academy members. But the upside for moviegoers? Maybe award-bait movies will start clocking in at a more reasonable 88 minutes. If they implemented the rule this year, ‘The Brutalist’ would have won squat.”
A New Requirement for Oscar Voters: They Must Actually Watch the Films
The new rule, announced this week by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was greeted with laughter and disbelief that it had not been required all along.
www.nytimes.com
April 24, 2025 at 7:42 PM
“This sucks for academy members. But the upside for moviegoers? Maybe award-bait movies will start clocking in at a more reasonable 88 minutes. If they implemented the rule this year, ‘The Brutalist’ would have won squat.”
If you've taken the train to the plane or the island, you've probably seen them....
Penn Station’s Not-So-Secret Other Life: The People’s Dance Studio
Smooth floors. Public restrooms. A built-in audience: The lower level of Moynihan Hall doubles as a rehearsal space for a variety of dance groups, including K-pop, salsa and Brazilian Zouk.
www.nytimes.com
April 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
If you've taken the train to the plane or the island, you've probably seen them....
The Times wrote about the accused art dealer in 1986, in a story headlined "Whiz-Kid Broker's Downfall." He did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the new charges, but said in an interview in August that “I don’t believe anything was a forgery — everything looked good to me.”
Miami Art Dealer Is Charged With Selling Fraudulent Warhols
The dealer, Leslie Roberts of Miami Fine Art Gallery, was accused of using fake invoices and forged authentication documents to make the works appear legitimate.
www.nytimes.com
April 11, 2025 at 5:13 PM
The Times wrote about the accused art dealer in 1986, in a story headlined "Whiz-Kid Broker's Downfall." He did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the new charges, but said in an interview in August that “I don’t believe anything was a forgery — everything looked good to me.”