Royal Opera House to release recordings of Wagner operas from Bayreuth Festival on DVD

October 1st, 2009 Estate of famed soprano Beverly Sills up for saleNEW YORK — The estate of famed soprano Beverly Sills is headed to the auction block in New York City. Costume designs, artwork, furniture and jewelry are among the items up for sale next Wednesday at Doyle New York auction house.

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 21st, 2009 Opera at Versailles reopensPARIS — The royal opera house at the palace of Versailles has reopened after two years of renovations to make the gilded hall more fireproof. The architectural gem with golden columns, elaborate moldings and dangling chandeliers was especially vulnerable to fire, as much of the interior is made of wood.

August 29th, 2009 Isolde alone cannot save this productionBAYREUTH, Germany — Tristan and Isolde, Wagner once wrote, was meant to be a "monument to that most beautiful of dreams" — love. But in Christoph Marthaler's production, this opera of sensual and psychological longing unto the death of the two lovers is more a memorial to boredom — over four hours of it.

August 28th, 2009 Bayreuth Wagner revival shinesBAYREUTH, Germany — Jackbooted Nazi storm-troopers. A mad magician in drag.

August 19th, 2009 Opera singer Hildegard Behrens dies in TokyoTOKYO — Soprano Hildegard Behrens, one of the finest Wagnerian performers of her generation, has died while traveling in Japan. She was 72. Jonathan Friend, artistic administrator of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, said Tuesday in an e-mail to opera officials that Behrens felt unwell while traveling to a festival near Tokyo.

August 19th, 2009 Opera singer Behrens dies in TokyoTOKYO — Soprano Hildegard Behrens, one of the finest Wagnerian performers of her generation, has died while traveling in Japan. She was 72. Jonathan Friend, artistic administrator of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, said Tuesday in an e-mail to opera officials that Behrens felt unwell while traveling to a festival near Tokyo.

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 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.

August 11th, 2009 UK's Royal Opera House to perform 'Twitter' operaLONDON — It probably won't be "Madame Butterfly," but it should be fun. In an effort to get more people involved with opera, which sometimes suffers from an elitist, highbrow reputation, London's world-famous Royal Opera House is turning away — temporarily — from classic talents like Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini and giving the composer's pen to ...

July 25th, 2009 Bayreuth opera festival opens under new directorsBAYREUTH, Germany — The annual Bayreuth opera festival opened under new management on Saturday, with composer Richard Wagner's great-granddaughters in charge for the first time after their father ran the show for more than 50 years. Half-sisters Katharina Wagner, 31, and Eva Wagner-Pasquier, 64, welcomed luminaries such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel — a regular pilgrim to Bayreuth — and Bavarian Governor Horst Seehofer to the Festspielhaus.

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 14th, 2009 Conductor Downes, wife die in Swiss suicide clinicLONDON — British maestro Edward Downes, who conducted the BBC Philharmonic and the Royal Opera but struggled in recent years as his hearing and sight failed, has died with his wife at an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland. He was 85 and she was 74.

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 20th, 2009 Album with Adam Lambert tunes expected this summerLOS ANGELES — Adam Lambert says an album of tunes he recorded before "American Idol" won't be anything like what he's planning now. Songs recorded by Lambert before his rise on the popular Fox singing competition are slated to be released this summer on the album "On with the Show" from Hi Fi Recordings and Wilshire Records, beginning with the single "Want." John Hecker, CEO of Hi Fi Recordings, said Friday that the tracks were recorded in 2007 and 2008.