CHICAGO (AFP) ― Camilla Williams, the first black woman to perform with a major US opera company who became both a cultural ambassador and civil rights activist, has died at the age of 92, officials said Monday.“I can confirm that she died at home of complications from cancer,” Alan Barker, a spokesman for Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where Williams taught for 20 years, told AFP.Born in a small town in the segregated southern state of Virginia, Williams began her singing career at

CANNES, France (AFP) ― Asian stars flew into the French Riviera resort of Cannes at the weekend for the global music industry’s annual MIDEM pow-wow, in a state-backed bid to woo Western markets.Chinese authorities have sent one of the country’s biggest rising stars, Ruhan, to MIDEM to promote her debut album, “Time to Grow”, which features tracks sung in both Chinese and English.It is the first time that Beijing has brought an artist to the MIDEM fair.Taiwan also came to town with one of Asia’s

WILMINGTON, Delaware (AP) ― The year was 1839, and a young, unknown Italian composer was having his first opera produced at La Scala.Though only a modest success, “Oberto’’ launched the career of a man who over the next half-century would turn out nearly 30 operas, many of them now staples of the repertory, like “Rigoletto,’’ “La Traviata’’ and “Aida.’’But Giuseppe Verdi’s first work is rarely heard today. So it’s a service that the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia is presenting it in conce

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) ― Anyone who ever doubted the transformative power of Bob Dylan’s music need only look to Ke$ha.Yes, Ke$ha.The irreverent pop star known for singing about brushing her teeth with “a bottle of Jack’’ turns poignant while covering a song from one of music’s great lyricists on the new four-disc “Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International.’’ The project features 75 newly recorded Dylan songs by 80 artists, including Adele, Sting, Su

LONDON (AP) ― Margaret Thatcher chose Beethoven, Michael Caine picked Frank Sinatra and boxer George Foreman selected The Beatles’ “All You Need is Love.’’They are among almost 3,000 guests who have appeared on the radio program “Desert Island Discs,’’ a British broadcasting institution that turned 70 on Sunday.The show’s simple format hasn’t changed since 1942: Ask an illustrious or famous figure to choose the eight pieces of music they would take with them to a deserted isle, and talk about wh

MILAN (AP) ― La Scala’s general manager said Tuesday that he hopes Premier Mario Monti’s government will avoid cutting spending for culture, noting that music and theater can help unite people.Stephane Lissner told foreign reporters that La Scala will have a difficult time balancing the famed opera house’s budget in 2012 due to expected drops in public and private contributions, even as the Milan opera house increases attendance and the number of performances.“We are facing a very difficult move

LONDON (AP) ― Legitimate music downloads still aren’t growing quickly enough.A report published Monday by the recording industry’s main lobby group showed that digital revenue has grown 8 percent over the past year to about $5.2 billion ― a solid figure for some industries, but not one where overall receipts have fallen by nearly two-thirds amid a shift toward online ― and in many cases illegal ― music downloads.“The 8 percent figure should be much higher,’’ said Frances Moore, the chief executi