Calle 13 tops Latin Grammy awards (Reuters)

Reuters - Puerto-Rican hip-hop duo Calle 13 won five Latin Grammy awards on Thursday, including the coveted Album of the Year, helping cement their reputation as being among the vanguard of alternative reggaeton music.

A more confident Faithfull puts pain behind her (AP)

AP - Marianne Faithfull has never been much for nostalgia throughout a roller-coaster career that's found her constantly reinventing herself. But when her band played "As Tears Go By" on her fall U.S. concert tour, she found herself flashing back to where her wild ride all began.

Iranian father-son musical perform for peace (AP)

AP - It's a seemingly simple approach to one of the modern world's most complicated political problems: By marrying the dainty lutes of the East with thrumming violas of the West, composer Hafez Nazeri says he wants to create harmony between the U.S. and his native Iran.

New York City Opera revives 'Esther' — and itself (AP)

AP - Launching its comeback in perilous financial times, the New York City Opera might well have played it safe with a surefire crowd-pleaser, like its production of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly."