Word: blisse
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Basho persuades Shogo's prime minister to go back with him to the deep North and enlist the aide of the "barbarians" in defeating Shogo and freeing the city. The barbarians turn out to be a British Commodore whose favorite saying is "ignorance is bliss," and his sister Georgina, a tambourine-waving soul saver. They all return to the South and a series of battles between Shogo's armies and the soldiers of the Commodore follow, with first one then the other side victorious, until finally Shogo is defeated and killed...
SHOW BUSINESS. Symphony orchestras, opera houses and dance companies have been financially strapped in the best of times; now many are struggling for survival. Washington's National Ballet halted operations last summer. Directors of New York's Metropolitan Opera elevated Anthony A. Bliss over General Manager Schuyler G. Chapin to the new post of executive director. Bliss's mission: to restore economic health to the Met, whose deficit is expected to be $9 million this year. On the pop scene, attendance at rock concerts promoted by Howard Stein Enterprises has fallen 25% to 40% below that...
...corporate and private contributions have dwindled because of the recession. Ticket sales (worth $10.3 million last year) are off another 3%. Most of the Met's $10 million endowment now has been expended to help meet the $3.8 million a year it costs just to maintain the house. Bliss, who is credited with bringing financial stability to the Jeffrey Ballet, must start full-scale union negotiations next year. The payroll for performers alone accounted for $10.7 million of last season's $24.6 million budget...
Tough Look. Complicating the negotiations will be the Met's desire to cut costs-every performance loses money-by revamping and possibly curtailing future seasons. Already projected is a three-week delay in next fall's opening. Says Bliss: "I am concerned about the human side of this. If there has to be a contraction, I want it to be done in a way that will minimize hardships for the members of the company." Other steps will include a tough look at what can be afforded in the way of new and perhaps less elaborate productions. Asks Bliss...
...Both Bliss and Chapin stressed that they would be partners, and Bliss said he would not interfere in artistic steps "unless, of course, we cannot afford them." For all that, the move was a clear downgrading of both Chapin and the job of general manager, even though Chapin has done a creditable job for the past two years under extreme crisis conditions. For the first time in its history, the Met's boss will be a man who comes from the board and will remain a member. Insofar as that signals the awakening of an often somnolent board...