Angela Gheorghiu withdraws from opening 6 performances of new Met Opera ‘Carmen’

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).

September 30th, 2009 Conductor Levine withdrawing from upcoming showsNEW YORK — Conductor James Levine is withdrawing from upcoming performances with the Metropolitan Opera and Boston Symphony Orchestra to have surgery for a herniated disk in his back. Levine has had a series of health problems in recent years.

September 30th, 2009 Gatti subbing for Levine at Carnegie gala concertNEW YORK — Daniele Gatti has been selected to fill in for ailing conductor James Levine at Carnegie Hall's season-opening concert Thursday night. Carnegie's announcement Wednesday comes a day after the 67-year-old Levine withdrew from upcoming performances through December, while he recovers from back surgery for a herniated disk.

September 30th, 2009 Lyric Opera opens season with glowing "Tosca"CHICAGO — Less than a week after the boobirds perched at New York's Lincoln Center for the season opening of the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its own 2009-10 season Saturday night with the same opera, Puccini's "Tosca," and drew only cheers and applause. To be fair to the New York singers, the negative reaction Monday night wasn't directed toward them; the hoots were meant for Swiss director Luc Bondy and the Met's decision to used his heretical ideas in place of its comfortable old Franco Zeffirelli production.

September 30th, 2009 Fla. conductor breaks back in opening-night fallDESTIN, Fla. — A Florida Panhandle conductor is recovering after falling 14 feet into the empty space below a moveable orchestra pit on the opening night of an opera he had written.

September 30th, 2009 Conductor breaks back in opening-night stage fallDESTIN, Fla. — A Florida Panhandle conductor is recovering after falling 14 feet into the empty space below a moveable orchestra pit on the opening night of an opera he had written.

September 30th, 2009 90 years later, opera's back on Bourbon StreetNEW ORLEANS — Bourbon Street — where Dixieland jazz competes with karaoke bars, rock 'n' roll cover bands and strip club jukeboxes — is also one of the first places in America where opera was heard. Now, it's being heard there again, with a New Orleans-style twist.

September 22nd, 2009 Zeta-Jones, Lansbury set for B'way 'Night Music'NEW YORK — There will be more than a little star power in the upcoming Broadway revival of "A Little Night Music," the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler musical. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury will share top billing in the production which begins preview performances Nov.

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 13th, 2009 Opera star ANGELA GHEORGHIU has pulled out of a string of performances in the upcoming New York production of CARMEN, citing "personal reasons" for the cancellation. The soprano was due to take the lead in the new Metropolitan Opera show when it opens on 31 December (09), starring opposite her husband Roberto Alagna.

August 11th, 2009 Netrebko withdraws from new Met Opera 'Traviata'NEW YORK — Soprano Anna Netrebko (nuh-TREHB'-koh) has withdrawn from the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Verdi's "La Traviata" scheduled for the 2010-11 season. The modern-dress staging, directed by Willy Decker, is based on his 2005 production for the Salzburg Festival in Austria.

July 23rd, 2009 Bayreuth opening under new WagnersMUNICH — A new generation of Wagners is at the helm as the annual Bayreuth festival opens this weekend, with composer Richard Wagner's great-granddaughter saying that she hopes to help bring "opera to the people." Half-sisters Katharina Wagner, 31, and Eva Wagner-Pasquier, 64, were named as co-directors in September — becoming the first new management team in more than a half-century after their 89-year-old father, Wolfgang, agreed to end his long reign. Festival-goers may not immediately notice much change; with performers booked years ahead, this year's event offers no new productions.

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.

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.