NPR Classical Stories

The mischievous visionary offers a career-spanning set with nods to dogs, the stars and her late husband, Lou Reed.

Byrne is one of the few actors to receive both an Oscar and a Tony nomination in the same year —for the indie film If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, and for Fallen Angels on Broadway.

When John Cage composed an opera commemorating the American bicentennial audiences walked out. Now, it's being reinterpreted by new artists in a Detroit Opera production, as the nation turns 250.

The song, penned before American Independence by a slave trader turned abolitionist, has remained a source of comfort, inspiration and redemption.

From championing women choreographers to upending classics, the former Royal Ballet star turned artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet doesn't play it safe.

Gabriela Lena Frank's first opera, in its Met debut, sees late Mexican painter Frida Kahlo leaving the underworld on the Day of the Dead to be reunited with her husband and fellow artist Diego Rivera.

Sharpe played a newly rich tech bro on vacation in The White Lotus. Now he's starring as Mozart, a musical genius who struggles to "read the room" in a new limited TV series.

Seller has been a key behind-the-scenes figure for some of Broadway's biggest hits including, Hamilton and Rent, but he got his start on a much smaller scale. Originally broadcast June 30, 2025.

Lane is nominated for a Tony for his portrayal of Arthur Miller's iconic salesman: "When people come back and talk about it, if they're not weeping, they're saying things like, 'You were my father.'"

Two musicals are tied with 12 nominations each: a special-effects-crammed The Lost Boys, and the candy-colored satire Schmigadoon! The Pulitzer-winning Liberation was nominated for Best Play.

The composer created her own symphonic fable that weaves Andean cosmology with the natural world.

Lawyers made arguments in hearings for two separate lawsuits against President Trump and the Kennedy Center's board this week. Both lawsuits want to halt plans to close the performing arts venue for two years for renovations.