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Maria Callas as Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbieri di Siviglia, at Milan's La Scala theater in 1956. Erio Piccagliani/Teatro alla Scala hide caption

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Erio Piccagliani/Teatro alla Scala

Maria Callas: The soprano of the century

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Shane MacGowan live onstage in 1988, courtesy of the documentary film Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan. Andrew Catlin/Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Andrew Catlin/Magnolia Pictures

Shane MacGowan, irascible frontman of The Pogues, has died at age 65

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A scene from Florencia en el Amazonas. Ken Howard/Met Opera hide caption

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Ken Howard/Met Opera

Finding a place at the Met, this opera sings in a language of its own

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Andrew Caira (left) and Adam Parbhoo (right) star in a performance of Saw the Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw at Manhattan's AMT theater. Natalie Keyssar for NPR hide caption

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Natalie Keyssar for NPR

A musical parody of 'Saw' teases out the queer love story from a cult horror hit

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Arielle Jacobs and Jose Llana as Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos in the Broadway musical Here Lives Love. Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman (2023) hide caption

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Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman (2023)

Blake Roman, left, Steven Telsey, Zal Owen, Danny Kornfeld, Eric Peters and Sean Bell in Harmony. Julieta Cervantes/Harmony hide caption

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Julieta Cervantes/Harmony

An early boy band was world famous — until the Nazis took over

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Costume designer William Ivey Long in New York City in 2016. Long is currently facing a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault. Theo Wargo/Getty Images hide caption

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Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Playwright Larissa FastHorse is a 2020 MacArthur Fellow and co-founder of Indigenous Direction, a consulting firm for Indigenous arts and audiences. John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation hide caption

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John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse takes on the 'wild mess' of Thanksgiving

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Billy Porter Franz Szony/Republic Records hide caption

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Franz Szony/Republic Records

'I've been trying to do this for over 30 years' — Billy Porter sings on his terms

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The award-winning young playwrights of Enough! take a bow at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in November 2023. Jati Lindsay/The Kennedy Center hide caption

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Jati Lindsay/The Kennedy Center

Teens wrote plays about gun violence — now they are being staged around the U.S.

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Cirque du Soleil is unveiling a plan to join its famous acrobatic shows with Nashville's country music. Here, a cast member performs during the The Beatles LOVE show by Cirque du Soleil at The Mirage in Las Vegas. Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Cirque du Solei hide caption

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Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Cirque du Solei

Left to right: Norm Sundholm, Lynn Easton, Dick Peterson, Mike Mitchell, and Barry Curtis of the touring version of the rock and roll band "The Kingsmen" perform onstage in 1964. Michael Ochs/Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs/Archives/Getty Images

'Louie Louie': The story behind the song everyone knows but no one understands

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PM Images/Getty Images

Oops, I messed up! 7 common public speaking issues — and how to fix them

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Sondheim had the highest standards for himself, the director of Here We Are said. Emilio Madrid/Here We Are hide caption

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Emilio Madrid/Here We Are

The task? Finish Stephen Sondheim's last musical. No pressure.

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A 24-year-old piano prodigy, Jahari Stampley, has won one of the most prestigious awards in jazz. The competition held by the Herbie Hancock Institute is widely seen as anointing new stars. Marcio Toledo hide caption

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Marcio Toledo

Pianist Jahari Stampley just won a prestigious jazz competition — he's only 24

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John Malkovich says theater is like surfing. Actors might think they are the wave — but they're not: "The wave is created by the collision between the material and the public. You ride the wave or you don't." Malkovich is pictured above in The Music Critic. Julia Wesely/Aleksey Igudesman hide caption

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Julia Wesely/Aleksey Igudesman

Even Beethoven got bad reviews. John Malkovich reads them aloud as 'The Music Critic'

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Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński also breakdances, two skills showcased in Semele at Munich's Bavarian State Opera this year before it heads to New York's Metropolitan Opera next season. Monika Rittershaus/Bavarian State Opera hide caption

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Monika Rittershaus/Bavarian State Opera

From opera to breakdancing and back again: Jakub Józef Orliński fuses two worlds

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Singer Taylor Swift and actor Ryan Reynolds are seen ahead of the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J. Elsa/Getty Images hide caption

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Elsa/Getty Images

Stephanie Mills in The Wiz, and Hasan Minhaj on stage. Hulton Archive/Kevin Winter hide caption

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Hulton Archive/Kevin Winter

Actor Michael Gambon took over the role of Albus Dumbledore in The Prisoner of Azkaban. Carl Court/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Carl Court/AFP via Getty Images

Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore in 'Harry Potter,' dies at 82

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