Arts Briefs

New York City Opera Protest

Musicians in New York protested last week on the steps of the Lincoln Center where it has been decided that the New York City Opera will no longer be performing. The Opera has been performing at the center since 1966. Clad in traditional tuxedo attire and performing a number of operatic selections, the protest has gone down as the classiest and best-dressed protest in history.

Erasure

Late last month, synthpop duo Erasure announced Tomorrow’s World as the title of their new album set to be released sometime in the coming fall. In addition to the new album, the group also announced their upcoming tour dates, which adds the first concerts in the U.S. in five years, and includes a stop at Portland’s Crystal Ballroom on Oct. 5.

MySpace sold

MySpace was sold on June 29 by its parent company News Corp to Specific Media, an advertising firm based in Irvine, Calif. News Corp purchased MySpace in 2005 for $580 million and sold the social network for $35 million.

Backstreets back out to sea

It’s official: The Backstreet Boys have announced their 2011 Backstreet Boys Cruise. The cruise is set to raise anchor on Dec. 2 and will take a three-day tour of the Bahamas all while offering passengers the opportunity to hang with the boys themselves—four out of the five anyway. Nick, Brian, AJ and Howie plan to perform for, and party with, all their fans—that is, if their fans can find babysitters or, let’s be honest, cat sitters.

Glenn Beck signs off, sort of

Television personality Glenn Beck delivered his last show on the Fox News Network on June 30. Beck plans on moving his politically charged monologues to a paying online audience. The final episode was chock-full of chalk boards, filled with memories and, rather surprisingly, not filled with tears. ?