Arts & Culture

Imagine opera singers accompanied by Klezmer musicians, a rock and roll band or Yo-Yo Ma. George Steel can. The artistic director and general manager of New York City Opera told unionized singers and musicians that he wants the flexibility to present nontraditional works, giving them less work. That demand contributed to a collapse in labor talks and a lockout of artists a month before the company's first 2012 performance.

Thieves carried out a well-organized, pre-dawn heist at Greece's biggest state art museum on Monday, taking two oil paintings by 20th century masters Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian, police said.

Look who's sporting a big smile behind his mask on Broadway — none other than the once-mocked Spider-Man. The Broadway League reported Tuesday that "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" took in a whopping $2,941,790 over nine performances last week, which is the highest single-week gross of any show in Broadway history.

A 33.19-carat diamond ring given to Elizabeth Taylor by actor Richard Burton, whom she married twice, sold for $8,818,500 at an auction of gems, fabulous clothes, accessories and memorabilia amassed by the late actress.