Anna Netrebko withdraws from new Met Opera ‘La Traviata’ in 2010-11 season

October 9th, 2009 ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA sequel will premiere on London's West End in March (10). Love Never Dies will officially open at the Adelphi Theatre on 9 March (10).

October 7th, 2009 NASCAR, TV execs to discuss 2010 start timesCHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR will move the bulk of its races to earlier start times next season in an effort to create more consistency and stop the slide in television ratings.

September 9th, 2009 2010 Tony Awards set for June 13 at Radio CityNEW YORK — Broadway's fall shows haven't even arrived yet but the date for the 2010 Tony Awards has been set — Sunday June 13 — at Radio City Music Hall. Winners of awards honoring the best of the 2009-2010 Broadway season will be announced during a live, three-hour telecast by CBS, 8:00 p.m.-11 p.m.

September 4th, 2009 Opera legend DAME KIRI TE KANAWA has dismissed rumours she is set to retire next year (10) - vowing to keep on singing until she dies. The New Zealand-born soprano admits she was left fuming by recent newspaper reports which claimed she is set to take her final bow at the Cologne Opera in Germany in 2010.

August 27th, 2009 Parker Posey withdraws from off-B'way productionNEW YORK — Parker Posey has withdrawn from a lead role in the upcoming Playwrights Horizons' production of "This" after developing Lyme disease. Artistic director Tim Sanford says the play by Melissa James Gibson will open Dec.

August 25th, 2009 Royal Opera, Bayreuth to release Wagner DVSsBERLIN — Germany's Bayreuth Festival has agreed to enter a deal with a production arm of Britain's Royal Opera House to produce and sell DVD recordings of composer Richard Wagner's operas recorded at the annual festival. Bayreuth Festival co-director Katharina Wagner said Tuesday the first recording would be Christoph Marthaler's production of "Tristan and Isolde" conducted by Peter Schneider at this summer's festival.

August 19th, 2009 Rome says Muti to lead its opera houseROME — Rome says maestro Riccardo Muti has agreed to lead the city's opera house, pending final approval of details. City Hall says Muti would continue to be the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's music director while assuming the helm in Rome starting in December 2010.

August 17th, 2009 Met Opera sells record $2.5 million of ticketsNEW YORK — The Metropolitan Opera was singing a happy song about the first day of individual box office sales for the upcoming season. The Met sold $2.5 million worth of tickets on Sunday at its box office, telephone call center and Web site, up from $2 million on the first day of sales last year.

August 12th, 2009 Gheorghiu withdraws from start of new Met 'Carmen'NEW YORK — Soprano Angela Gheorghiu has pulled out of the first six performances of the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Bizet's "Carmen," which opens New Year's Eve. The Richard Eyre staging was designed around Gheorghiu, making an unusual foray into a role written for mezzo-sopranos, and her husband, tenor Roberto Alagna.

July 7th, 2009 Opera singer performs in wheelchair in London LONDON — It was not such a lucky break. Opera singer Joyce DiDonato was appearing on a London stage in a wheelchair after breaking her leg during an earlier performance.

July 6th, 2009 Dessay takes on Verdi's Violetta for 1st timeSANTA FE, N.M. — Hey, Anna! Hey, Renee! There's a new Violetta in town, and she's staking a compelling claim to the role, orange wig and all.

July 2nd, 2009 Actress Anna Karen Morrow dies at 94ENCINO, Calif. — Anna Karen Morrow, an actress who had a regular role on the prime-time soap opera "Peyton Place" and also appeared on Broadway, in films and on numerous other television shows, has died.

June 17th, 2009 Villazon cancels 2010 "Carmen" premiere in ViennaVIENNA — Star tenor Rolando Villazon has canceled his May 2010 premiere of "Carmen" in Vienna as he recovers from surgery to remove a cyst on his larynx. Villazon was to have appeared alongside soprano Anna Netrebko and mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca in the May 3 premiere at the Vienna State Opera.

June 16th, 2009 Rene Pape withdraws from 'Hoffmann' at MetNEW YORK — Bass Rene Pape has withdrawn from the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann," the latest cast change to the staging that opens Dec. 3. Pape has decided not to add the four villains to his repertory, the company said Tuesday.

May 5th, 2009 'Family Guy' spinoff gets added boost from FoxNEW YORK — Fox is rewarding "The Cleveland Show" with a second season even before the first season has begun. The spinoff from the network's hit animated series "Family Guy" is scheduled to premiere next fall.