From Intermezzo: Hey, if the mishap worked, why not advertise it? For its Elixir of Love production, the English National Opera made an 11th-hour substitution for the part of Nemorino; the replacement tenor only knew the part in Italian, however, so the show went on with the rest of the cast singing in English.

But who knew? The multi-lingual production became an instant ENO selling point.

Next week iTunes will release a new recording of pianist Lang Lang performing Chopin’s Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53, “Héroïque"; all net proceeds will benefit children in Haiti via the US Fund for UNICEF. The single also serves as a preview of Lang Lang’s March 21 performance at Carnegie Hall.

From ArtsBeat: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to The Phantom of the Opera opened in London this week, and most critics were far from enchanted - to the point that the new musical, Love Never Dies, may not even make it stateside (or will at least undergo major changes). But with nearly 10,000 Phantom performances in the U.S., we predict it's the money-making brand that will never die.

The month of March marks the inaugural BAM Opera Festival in Brooklyn, New York, as well as the company's 30th anniversary. Of particular interest? Conductor William Christie's and Baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants' productions of Dido and Aeneas, Acteon and The Fairy Queen - as well as a free archival exhibition of past Christie and Les Arts Florissants showings at BAM.

From Parterre Box: Unless you're friends with Peter Gelb, you'll just have to wait like the rest of us; tonight's final dress rehearsal of The Met's Hamlet, with Simon Keenlyside in the title role, has a tight guest list, to say the least. Ah, the anticipation...

pictured above l-r: Lang Lang, Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess in Love Never Dies and ENO's Elixir of Love

From CBC: To answer everyone's questions: No, Placido Domingo is not an android (he apparently sleeps sometimes and must undergo preventive surgery); and yes, he still takes the L.A. and Washington National Operas' calls (he is general director for both).

From L.A. Times: The Alberta Ballet will perform a piece about Elton John called Love Lies Bleeding (let's not get melodramatic or anything), which will open May 6 in Canada; and we say thumbs up to "sequined baseball uniforms" for "Benny and the Jets."

From Opera Chic: The Met's production of Verdi's Attila opens tomorrow, featuring the conducting premiere of Maestro Riccardo Muti; and OC has some great shots of the rehearsals.

From The Classical Beat: The CB breaks down the 2010-2011 lineup announcements from the "old money" New York Phil and the "funky" L.A. Phil.

pictured above: Albert and Elton's choreographer Jean Grand-Maître (oh, yeah) and Placido himself

While the premise of the new UK reality show Popstar to Opera Star kind of baffles me, its recent guest performance makes me so happy I will never begrudge the executives who greenlight-ed this ridiculous show. Watch the performance above - U.S.-ian soprano Danielle de Niese (you read our exclusive interview, right?) shares the stage with the Freddie Mercury-esque Brit pop singer Mika. Danielle does a brief solo - she's effortlessly wonderful, natch - and then Mika joins her to sing on of his songs, "Rain."

It's a little fascinating to hear Danielle reign in her voice and sing about "rainy days," even though her expressiveness certainly remains. What do we think? An interesting exercise? A little harmless fun? Or an offensive dumbing-down of Danielle's vocals? Eek! (Full disclosure: I am a big Mika fan; and you have to hand it to him - it takes a lot of guts to put your vocals on display next to the likes of de Niese's.)

If you're curious about this show, well, eight pop singers, including Jimmy Osmond and Darius Campbell, train (attempt to train?) in the ways of opera under the tutelage of Katherine Jenkins and Rolando Villazon. The judges, who determine the most-improved pop star, are Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and (wait for it...) Meatloaf.

Couldn't have made that up if I tried!