MEXICO CITY(AP) — The first thing opera buff Marcelo Perez did when he retired eight years ago was take a bus to the U.S. border and then a train to New York, where he realized a lifelong dream by catching a performance at the Metropolitan Opera.

BEIJING – It says something about the brand-conscious culture here that classical music is also a slave to fashion. Only last season, “Turandot” was still threatening to become China’s national opera. Now, 2010-11 has become the season of “Tosca.”

The English National Opera can hardly be accused of artistic stasis, having announced operas by four living composers as part of its 2011-12 season. Among them is John Adams and Alice Goodman’s 1991 work, “The Death of Klinghoffer,” about the hijacking in 1985 of the cruise ship Achille Lauro by the Palestine Liberation Front.

VIENNA — If you wanted a fun night at the opera, you’d probably pick a Rossini comedy, or maybe “Così fan tutte.”

NEW YORK (AP) — “James Levine: 40 Years at The Metropolitan Opera” (Amadeus Press), by the Metropolitan Opera: There are few surprises or fresh insights but plenty of nostalgia in this softcover coffee-table book that celebrates James Levine’s extraordinary career at the Metropolitan Opera.

THE question of whether opera should be performed in the language that most of the audience speaks, or in the language in which it was originally written, is an extremely contentious one.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jonas Kaufmann knew he was taking a risk when he agreed five years ago to sing the role of Siegmund, the doomed hero of Wagner’s “Die Walkuere,” in the Metropolitan Opera’s new production that opens next week.

Forget the hair, the gowns, the claws and the ego trips. There is only one thing that makes a true opera diva: weak knees.