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Famous mezzosoprano Denyce Graves talks with NPR's Tavis Smiley about her latest CD, Lost Days, and about her life as a diva in the world of opera.

A new CD by Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen has captured the attention of our reviewer Jim Fusilli. Here Gustavsen plays with a trio, and the music is an exquisite mix of slow passionate sounds and sparse melodies, reminiscent of Bill Evans or Keith Jarrett. The CD, available from ECM records, is called Changing Places.

Music critic Christian Bordal gives us his take on Rufus Wainwright's new album, Want One, and we listen to a cut from the CD.

NPR's Madeleine Brand reports on a suburban artist who is trying to look, sound and perhaps even behave like the late actor and rapper Tupac Shakur.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Recorded in B-Flat Minor, the new album by the Danish musicians The Raveonettes.

Joan Baez was in her late teens when her performance at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival and her self-titled debut album of traditional folk songs thrust her into the spotlight. Four decades later, the voice on her new CD — the first from her in six years — is huskier, a bit rougher perhaps, but no less powerful. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Baez about Dark Chords on a Big Guitar.

Ethel, a string quartet that plays amplified music and often collaborates with rock music composers, is making waves in the music world. The group's debut CD is called Ethel. NPR's Liane Hansen talks with Todd Reynolds and Mary Rowell, violinists for the band.

Singer-guitarist Dan Zanes once fronted the Del Fuegos, a popular rock band lauded by critics. But in 1990s, Zanes sought a simpler life and started a family. Now he's back with a kid-friendly CD of upbeat folk-flavored tunes called House Party.

Opera is an art form filled with great passions, and opera fans are also known for their intense emotional attachment to the art form they love. NPR's Lynn Neary reports on the sometimes outrageous lengths fans go to show how they feel about a performance — see and hear some extreme examples of opera fan feedback.

The culture and music of the west African nation Mali are on display this summer at the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. But there's another, far more remote gathering held every year in Mali, outside Timbuktu. Banning Eyre traveled to the Festival in the Desert and sent a report.