Ambroise Thomas' "Hamlet" was last performed at the Metropolitan Opera in 1897, and it's easy to see why more than a century passed before its revival.
Even with two outstanding singing actors in the lead roles, the work exudes at best a fragile charm, a refinement typical of French grand opera that is worlds apart from the visceral excitement Verdi summoned for his adaptations of Shakespearean tragedy, "Otello" and "Macbeth."
Fox Broadcasting is inching closer to bringing Conan O'Brien back to late night.
Key Fox executives, including Rupert Murdoch, are on board with the plan and would like to finalize a deal in coming weeks so they can make a splash on May 17 when the network unveils its new fall line-up. Several significant issues remain and the Fox talks could fall apart, according to people close to the negotiations who asked not to be identified because the discussions were meant to be private.
Latin Grammy winner Ramon Ayala says he had no idea his band was playing at a drug gang's holiday party before the Mexican military raided the event and detained them.
The renowned norteno (nohr-TEHN'-yoh) accordion player spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday since the Dec. 11 raid of a home south of Mexico City.
The man who spearheaded the record-breaking deal in which Michael Jackson's estate will get up to $250 million in the next seven years said Tuesday that Sony Music Entertainment bought a treasure trove of new Jackson music, some of it recorded "quite recently," some in collaboration with other artists.
John Branca, who negotiated the deal along with co-executor John McClain and team of attorneys, was clearly elated about the deal. He said in an interview with The Associated Press that this is only the first of more deals that will bring Jackson's music to his fans and introduce it to a world of potential new fans.
Tim Urban couldn't get any satisfaction on "American Idol."
The judges dismissed Urban's reggae rendition of "Under My Thumb" during a night of Rolling Stones tunes in the Fox singing competition's first round of finals Tuesday. "Idol" judge Randy Jackson dubbed the 20-year-old college student's take on the 1966 classic "weird," and Simon Cowell affirmed it was a "crazy decision." Urban shrugged off their criticism.
A judge has ordered rapper DMX to spend six months in a Phoenix jail for violating probation and to undergo a mental health evaluation.
DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, admitted in court Tuesday to a single violation of probation for failing a drug test last June. He was arrested March 9.
Singer and sometimes actress Jessica Simpson has paid the price of beauty, and now she's examining people's obsession with looking good.
She made headlines last year when photos of her performing suggested she might have gained a few pounds. That sparked a national debate on TV news channels, talk shows and in print asking if Simpson was, indeed, fat.
An Arizona judge issued a bench warrant Tuesday for Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Wayne after he failed to appear for a hearing on drug and weapons charges because he is serving jail time in New York.
A Yuma County Superior Court judge issued the warrant after the entertainer, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, failed to appear in court for a final trial management conference.
