Opera Cinema: A New Cultural Experience
By Joseph Attard
Bloomsbury Academic

The author, an expert in media technol­ogy, charts the recent history of opera transmissions to movie theaters and explores how digital media has changed our relationship with culture. He consid­ers whether “opera cinema” is a hybrid art form in its own right or simply a new way of consuming an old art form. Included in the volume are the findings of an “opera virgins project” in which newcomers to the art form were invited to give their reactions to opera on film.


Minna Wagner: A Life, with Richard Wagner
By Eva Rieger
University of Rochester Press

This biography offers a reassessment of Minna Planer, Richard Wagner’s wife of 30 years, positing her as a self-as­sured woman and artist who was vital to her husband’s creative life. Reiger describes how Minna endured pov­erty with Wagner, nursed him through chronic illness, followed him across Europe as he evaded creditors and pur­sued his art, fled with him into Swiss exile, and ultimately separated from him when he became infatuated with the poet Mathilde Wesendonck.


Special Report:
Annual Report on Philanthropy
By Giving USA

Giving USA’s annual report provides the most comprehensive overview of charita­ble giving in the U.S. This year’s report, based on data from 2021, reveals that total giving in the U.S. — from indi­viduals, foundations, bequests, and corporations — reached $484.85 billion, flat with giving in 2020 when adjusted for inflation. However, it also offers the promising news that giving to arts and culture increased by 27.5% over the pre­vious year, among other findings