The Washington National Opera prepares to premiere a new ending to Giacomo Puccini's unfinished opera Turandot, subverting the traditional male-dominated narrative.

Welcome to Wild Card with Rachel Martin. In this first episode, Rachel talks to Jenny Slate, known for her roles in Obvious Child, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and Parks and Recreation. Jenny opens up about whether fate brought her to her husband, what she's sacrificed for motherhood and what's so special about margarine and white bread sandwiches.

Dame Judi Dench has played everyone from the writer Iris Murdoch to M in the James Bond films. But among the roles the actress is most closely associated, are Shakespeare's heroines and some of his villians.

Amongst those roles are the star-crossed lover Juliet, the comical Titania and the tragic Lady Macbeth. Now she's reflecting on that work, and Shakespeare's work in Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent.

The book is comprised of Dench's conversations with her friend, the actor and director Brendan O'Hea.

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It was a crowded Tony Award season this year, with 36 eligible musicals and plays opening on Broadway stages.

The acclaimed singer and actor explains how the arts have that rare ability to change minds, give hope and connect people.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Judi Dench and director Brendan O'Hea about their new book Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent and a career and friendship forged by the Bard.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with playwright Peter Morgan about his Broadway production of "Patriots," a play about the rise of Russian oligarchs, Vladimir Putin, and the downfall of the USSR.

Davis led the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Britain's Glyndebourne Festival, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin, who star in the new Broadway revival of "Cabaret."

Stereophonic, a new play on Broadway with music by Arcade Fire's Will Butler, tracks the volatile creation of a rock and roll album over the course of a year in the 1970s.